Chapter 260 Chinese New Year

After breakfast, Wang Luo followed Goushengzi's father, Wang Fugui, the village chief of Wangjia Village, and began to visit the martyrs' families one by one, delivering the money and gifts they brought from the capital to each household. This was the case every year. Wang Zhonghua was too busy with work to come back, so Wang Luo's grandfather used to be in charge, but now that his grandfather has passed away, Wang Luo has taken over.

After finishing this task, the restless young and strong people started to do something else. What were they doing? Hunting, of course. In the whole year, people in the countryside can only rest for a few days during the Spring Festival. The rest of the time they are working. How can they have time to rest? Even after finishing the work in the fields, they still have to do public affairs, such as building roads, digging reservoirs, leveling the land, etc. They cannot rest.

Carrying a hunting rifle, we headed into the mountains. Why don't we hunt in winter? For the sake of meat, all these rules are invalid.

This year, another person named Wang Luo joined the group. All the villagers knew about the fact that he killed a tiger and a black bear in the capital. They didn’t bring him back home before, but they must bring him this year.

At night, following the method of trapping rabbits taught by Wang Luo, they not only caught a lot of wild rabbits, but also killed several wild boars, badgers, foxes and so on. They did not kill pheasants, mainly because they were too thin and had no meat.

At night, we light torches and cut up the wild boar. Then we set up a big pot and stew all the bones and internal organs. We have a delicious meal with the multi-grain pancakes.

The rest of the good meat was distributed to each household based on the number of people.

As the meat was distributed, the festive atmosphere began to take shape. Each household began to prepare new year goods. No matter how poor they were, they would make some preparations. Master Wang Luo and his apprentice were simple. They ate all over the village, eating at one family and another. They didn't even have to prepare a new year's eve dinner. They went straight to their great-grandfather's house to eat. This was all already agreed upon. Apart from putting up some couplets, there was nothing much to do.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, I first took the offerings and ran to the old woods on the back mountain to pay homage to my grandparents. After coming back, I was sent to follow the young people in the village to post couplets for the lonely elderly people in the village.

In the past, it was the great grandfather who wrote the couplets, but this year he voluntarily withdrew and was replaced by Li Jun. Li Jun's son, Li San of the Swallow Gate, was a hero famous throughout Shandong Province, and Li Jun's calligraphy was indeed good, so this year all the couplets in the village were written at Wang Luo's house. With villagers coming in and out, it was very lively.

After the couplets were posted, it was New Year's Eve. Master Wang Luo and his apprentice closed the door, took a few bottles of wine and a piece of cooked beef, and went straight to the great-grandfather's house to have the New Year's Eve dinner.

When we arrived at my great-grandfather's house, the food had already been served on the table. A bowl of pork, a bowl of chicken stewed with mushrooms, a bowl of stir-fried cabbage, and a bowl of shredded potatoes were the entire New Year's Eve dinner. In addition, there was the beef that Wang Luo brought, which was absolutely tough in that era.

At the dinner table, five people sat happily on the kang. Wang Luo was now 15 years old, and this year he was allowed to drink alcohol as an exception, so he, like Goudan, had a wine glass in front of him.

"Brother Li, I didn't expect that at our age, we would still be in such a good time that we can even have five dishes for the New Year. In the past, I couldn't even think about it. Not to mention not having food to eat, I would be lucky if I didn't go out to avoid debts and those landlords and bullies on New Year's Eve. I thank Zulong and the organization for my current life. Even though my life is a little harder now, I have a goal in life and don't have to worry about it anymore!"

Great-grandfather is quite satisfied with his current life and cherishes it very much.

"Oh, it would be great if the children were still alive. We would be a big family now. Now it's just the two of us old folks and Goudan left alone!" Every New Year, the grandmother couldn't help but think of her children who died on the battlefield.

"Why are you saying this? They sacrificed their lives for the country. It was worth it. Without them, there would be no country and no peaceful family reunion dinner!"

Great grandfather paused for a moment and said something to great grandmother.

"Brother Wang, it's human nature, there's nothing to complain about. I'm the same. If it weren't for Xiao Luo, this New Year would be no different from any other year, drinking alone in the house. Let's not talk about that, just go for our good life!"

"Go one!"

The five of them raised their glasses together to celebrate this hard-earned life.

After dinner, Wang Luo took Goudan and other people of the same age in the village to set off firecrackers on the street in the village, shouting and yelling, as if they were back in their childhood.

This scene has completely disappeared into history in later generations. Perhaps the biggest regret of later generations is that the Spring Festival seems to be getting more and more deserted, and the festive atmosphere is getting weaker and weaker. Many elements of the New Year have disappeared or been replaced by new elements, and the feeling of celebrating the New Year can never be found again.

In the past, during the Spring Festival, the streets were very lively, with adults dancing dragons and lions, and children chasing and playing, creating a lively and prosperous scene. Now, although the streets are clean and decorated with lights and colors everywhere, there are not many people to be seen. Many places even staged the "empty city plan", giving people a cold and deserted feeling, even in this era of lack of clothing.

Villagers from all over the country would go to the nearby central town to attend the big market, which was the main way for people to buy things during the Spring Festival. The market was crowded with people, and people had bright smiles on their faces, and they would always greet acquaintances. In later generations, people flocked to shopping malls and supermarkets, but the dazzling array of goods could no longer arouse people's desire to buy, and it was rare to see innocent and bright smiles on people's faces.

At that time, Spring Festival couplets were written with brushes, but later they were produced by machines. Although they looked colorful and beautiful, they lacked the strong cultural atmosphere. At that time, writing and pasting Spring Festival couplets was people's expectation for a better life. Later, pasting Spring Festival couplets was just for the sake of beauty, and it was just a custom that had to be done. In some places, even before the end of the New Year, that is, before the end of the first month of the year, some people would remove them all on the pretext that it would affect the appearance of the city.

During the Spring Festival, the family gathered together to chat and play cards. Later, when television was available, they watched the Spring Festival Gala in front of the TV, and they were very happy. In the later generations, everyone holds a mobile phone, chatting online, playing games, collecting lucky cards, and grabbing red envelopes. Some people even work overtime on New Year's Eve. The feeling of watching the Spring Festival Gala and chatting with the family can no longer be found. Many people are even too lazy to talk. Although the family is around, the company and warmth they once had are missing.

Nowadays, during the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off everywhere, and melon seeds, peanuts, and ordinary maltose can make the New Year happy. But in later times, firecrackers are not allowed, and everywhere is deserted. There are all kinds of snacks and dried fruits on the table, but no one is interested. Even if someone eats melon seeds, it is just to kill time.

Anyway, Wang Luo himself didn't know whether it was good or bad. In short, compared to this era, the material life in later generations was richer, but the human touch was completely gone. Everyone lived in the city and locked themselves in a cage surrounded by anti-theft windows. No one knew each other, and no one dealt with each other. Everyone came and went in a hurry, running back and forth every day for a few taels of silver. Alas.

(End of this chapter)