Chapter 100 - Chapter 100: Chapter 100: New Year’s Painting Doll 1 (1/2)

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: New Year’s Painting Doll 1

Translator: 549690339

The next part was about preparing festive foods for the New Year celebration.

Old Man Jiang and his wife were grinding beans at home to make tofu, and they poured out unseasoned soy milk for each child to taste.

Chunniang and her sister-in-law steamed buns and rice cakes for the festival together.

Some of the buns were shaped into figures of cows, sheep, pigs, and rabbits, with red beans for eyes. They then painted red flowers on the white dough using sumac water, which looked very beautiful.

In another large pot, they were cooking a full pot of sausages, pork trotters, and a pig’s head.

There was also a basin of ready stewed chicken with yellow beans, the delicious aroma of which could be smelled from afar.

The happiest at this time must be the children because no reading and writing, no work, and they even get lucky money.

On the first day of the new year, Chunniang and Jiang Sanlang got up before daybreak, giving each sleepy child two pieces of Cloud Cakes, implying a cheerful and happy new year.

After urging them to finish their cakes, the two of them went to the stove room to boil water for dumplings and glutinous rice balls, symbolizing a smooth and reunion new year.

Yingbao knew that she shouldn’t dawdle in bed at this time. She quickly got up, put on the new clothes and trousers her mother had set at the head of the bed the night before, put on the beautiful tiger head shoes, thought for a moment, and put on the tiger head hat as well.

The new cotton-padded jacket was red with yellow flowers. A pattern of the Five Blessings was embroidered on the front and back, and a circle of white rabbit tails was sewn around the collar, soft and good-looking.

Paired with green pants and a tiger-head hat, Yingbao looked like little New Year’s baby doll.

After dressing up, Yingbao went to wake up Xiaojie and Xiaowu, dressed them, put on their shoes and hats, and dragged them to wash up.

“Come and eat dumplings!” Chunniang brought a pot of dumplings from the kitchen and put it on the large table in the hall, then went to bring a few bowls of rice balls.

Each bowl only contained four, symbolizing everything going as one wishes.

The family sat around the large table, eating rice balls and dumplings. After the meal, Chunniang gave Yingbao two small silver ingots, each weighing roughly one tael, and also gave one to each of her twin sons.

Yingbao and her two younger brothers knelt down to salute and wish their parents a happy new year.

Receiving the silver ingots, the twins were overjoyed and wanted to rush out to show off to Brother Huzi.

Chunniang quickly grabbed them, “Let your mother save the New Year’s money for you. You won’t find it if you lose it outside.”

Xiaowu immediately refused: “No! I won’t lose it.”

Xiaojie echoed, “No, it won’t be lost! We’ll keep it in our pockets.”

“What if it’s lost?” These two little guys must be crazy. Since when did pockets ever serve to hold things?

“Shall your mother put some candies in your pockets instead?”

“No, no!” The two little guys struggled, finally escaping from their mother’s claws.

Jiang Sanlang saw his wife’s annoyance and laughed, “Let them go.” What were two taels of silver after all? If lost, they could search it.

Next, the family of five went to Jiang Dalang’s house to celebrate the New Year, and Yingbao and her younger brothers received here another wave of lucky money.

Xiaowu stuffed his New Year’s money into his sister’s hand for safekeeping.

Seeing this, Xiaojie also handed all of his lucky money to his sister to keep. He sneaked a glance at his mother, worried that she might come for it.

Then, a few boys took out the leather ball Yingbao had bought, divided into two teams to play soccer, so engrossed they didn’t even have time to eat.

The next day, Chunniang and her husband took their three children back home to celebrate the New Year.

The Xu village wasn’t far from Dongchen Village, but it wasn’t close either, being about seven or eight miles away.

The eldest nephew, Jiang Cheng, first drove the cart to send Uncle San’s family, then hurried back to take his parents and siblings to celebrate the New Year at his uncle’s house.

Chunniang had a brother and a sister. Her father passed away early, and after her younger sister got married, her widowed mother, Old Lady Xu, was living with her only son, Xu Da.

Old Lady Xu was looking forward to them from early in the morning by the door. Seeing her eldest daughter’s mule cart arrive at the entrance to the village, she jogged over to greet them.