Fight the Giants

  Chapter 173 Miss

   After eating breakfast on New Year's Eve, the family sent Huo Erhuai away in a carriage.

  Huo Xi hesitated for a long time, and asked Yang if she could go to the incense and candle shop today, and would there be any taboos if she burned paper money in the courtyard.

  Mr. Yang understood immediately, felt distressed, and took her hand: "Let's go, mother will take you to buy together. Let's burn paper in our yard, what can others say."

   "Thank you, Mom."

   "Thank you. My mother didn't think about it."

  On New Year’s Eve, the capital, even in the outer city, is bustling and bustling, a scene of prosperity with singing and dancing. Tomorrow is Zhengdan, lanterns are hung everywhere, people walking on the street bring their families with them, their clothes, shoes and socks are brand new, and everyone's face is full of joy.

  Most of the shops on the street were open, but the incense and coffin shops were closed a few days earlier. Every house is lively and festive, but yours is the only one with the door open, I'm afraid you will be scolded for bad luck.

   After walking for a few streets, I found a half-open incense and candle shop. The shop is half-open not for business, but because the backyard is the house, and the front door is half-open to enter and exit.

  Business will be delivered to your door, and you will not stop doing it. The store happily sold two sacks of incense candles, and sent people away with copper coins.

   "Xi'er, are these enough?" I don't know how many people Xi'er will burn, and it's not easy for Yang to ask.

   "That's enough, mother." Seeing that she was carrying Huo Nian on her back, Huo Xi wanted to hug a sack of incense candles, and reached out to take it.

  Mr. Yang refused, "It's not heavy, mother can handle it."

  Yang Fu threw the sack over his shoulder: "It's very light. When my sister gets tired, I can still carry it for her."

   "That's right, don't worry about it, just lead the way."

As Yang said, looking at the small body of Huo Xi who was leading the way, wondering if the child was sad, she pondered and said, "Maybe my mother will take you to the Dabaoen Temple to burn incense tomorrow, and I will also order some for your family." An everlasting lamp?"

  Huo Xi was a little moved, thought for a while, and shook his head again.

   "I still won't go. Dabaoen Temple estimates that the people in the city will rush to burn incense before dawn tomorrow. Every year, the area is crowded with cars and horses for ten miles. The road is blocked. Let's not join in the fun."

  Mr. Yang had only heard of it, but had never been there, and asked curiously: "Is it really blocked for ten miles?"

Huo Xi nodded: "Well, some people send their servants to take up a seat in front of the mountain gate in the early morning. Before dawn, all the cars and horses in the city are rushing there. Stop again, and you can’t walk a few miles in an hour. In the winter, you can sweat in the carriage.”

  Mr. Yang and Yang Fu listened to their mouths and talked about it. When burning incense is not enough, why do they rush to burn the first incense.

   "Then it's better to go by water." Yang Fu said.

   "Many people choose waterways, but the river is also blocked in Zhengdan."

Huo Xidao: "Isn't there a river in the city called Jinxiang River? That river leads to the temples outside the city, because all the way is for offering incense. Later that river was changed to Jinxiang River. We went there that day. Picking up guests from the river."

  Mr. Yang clicked her tongue when she heard this: "Then let's not crowd with rich and noble people. Mother will take you to the temple to light the ever-burning lanterns after the Chinese New Year."

"Um."

  Going back to the yard, Yang led Huo Xi, hugged Nian'er, and burned incense, candles, paper money, paper clothes, paper horses, paper figurines and other things in the courtyard.

While burning, he muttered: "Mother Xi'er, don't worry, Erhuai and I will treat the two children as our own, so that the two children will grow up healthy and healthy, and the wind and rain will not invade. Don't worry, go, My sister will take care of them for you..."

  A gust of wind blew up and down, rolled up some black ash, whimpered around Huo Xi and Huo Nian, rolled up higher and higher, and finally dissipated with the wind.

  Huo Nian looked at the black ash blown up by the wind, and stretched out his little hands to grab it, while Huo Xi shed tears as he watched the black ash blown away by the wind.

  In the Beiping Governor's Mansion, Zhang Wenbi was also burning paper money.

  While throwing paper money into it, he muttered: "Xinrou, why have you not dreamed of me for so long, is it because you blame your husband?"

  The flame in the brazier burned hotter and hotter, and almost touched Zhang Wenbi's beard and hair. Zhang Wenbi retreated reflexively, staring at the flames rising up in the brazier, and was stunned.

   "You must be blaming your husband." Zhang Wenbi stared at the copper basin in a daze.

After a long while, I mechanically threw paper clothes and money into the copper basin: "I don't know if it's a son or a daughter in your womb. Whether it's a brother or a sister, Nanxi will definitely be a good sister. With them by your side, you won't be too happy." Living alone..."

  Thinking of the sweet time with his wife in the past, Zhang Wenbi had tears in his eyes.

After returning to the study room, she sat for a long time, took out a bunch of golden bells from her sleeve, and touched them again and again: "Daughter, this is a gift from you when you were seven years old. Dad will keep it for you. Dad will remember it every year, and give it to you." You prepare a gift, father dare not forget."

  After rubbing it for a while, he opened the hidden compartment of the desk, opened the painting box, and put the golden bell in it.

  On New Year’s Eve, the small courtyard in Qionghua Lane was warm and harmonious, and the wind and snow did not invade.

   Looking at a large table of dishes, Yang's expression was excited: "It's been ten years, and our family hasn't eaten such a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner in ten years."

  Yang Fu held up the chopsticks and looked left and right, not knowing which one to eat first: "Sister, you have cooked too much, brother-in-law is not here, can we finish it?"

  Chicken, duck, pork, fish and shrimp, as well as vegetables and soup, the table is full. His sister is rich and confident. Wow, the gap between her fingers is so wide.

   "You're not satisfied with eating some, why don't you still eat salted fish and pickled vegetables like last year?" Yang stared at him.

  Yang Fu quickly stuffed meat with chopsticks into his mouth: "Then I don't. I'm not stupid. I don't eat the dishes on this big table, but eat salted fish and dried vegetables." He made a face at Yang.

   "Then you're not good." Yang shook his fist at him.

   "I'm afraid that the leftovers will be wasted."

   "There are leftovers from today's meal." Huo Xi was drooling as she looked at a large table of dishes, her mother's cooking skills were getting better and better.

   "Ah, why?" Yang Fu was puzzled.

   "Uncle, haven't you heard that there is a surplus every year? Some surpluses mean that life is easier, and there will be surplus food next year."

   "Ah, really? How come my sister never said that?" Didn't he and his sister and brother-in-law eat up every year? He was about to eat leftovers, and his sister scolded him for wasting, and beat him up.

   "We didn't have enough to fill our stomachs before, there is still some left!" Yang stared at him.

   "That's right. Then let's have a little left on each plate today, and there will be more every year." After Yang Fu finished speaking, he greeted Huo Xi to sit down, and you and I enjoyed eating with each chopstick.

  Huo Nian was hugged by Mrs. Yang, looking at this and then at that, the whole table of food couldn't be eaten, and he was in a hurry. The egg custard fed by Yang was no longer fragrant, she turned her head and refused to eat it, her eyes were drooling as she stared at the big fish and meat.

   "Why is Nian'er drooling again, and the scarf is wet again." Not seeing his nephew's greedy cat, Yang Fu dipped some vegetable juice with his chopsticks and was about to stick it into his mouth.

   was shot away by Yang.

  Nian'er just opened her mouth and stretched it out, but she didn't eat, she shrugged her mouth at Yang Shi aggrievedly, wanting to cry or not.

   "We don't want to eat, mother feeds delicious balls."

  The little thing turned his head and refused to eat, his eyes were looking at a large table of delicacies, his eyes were persistent, and his saliva was dripping.

   "This little glutton is drooling all over the place. Sister, at least let him taste it."

  Yang wiped the saliva for Nian'er, with a smile on his face: "Nian'er may be about to grow teeth, so I can't control my saliva."

   "Are you going to grow teeth?"

  Yang Fu and Huo Xi were stunned for a moment, and quickly ran over to open his small mouth to look, and sure enough, they saw a white tooth on the lower gum that was about to be exposed.

   "Ah, I think we have teeth, so my sister will give you something delicious." Huo Xi searched the table, found a vegetable stalk, rinsed it in the soup, and handed it to him.

  Nian'er reached out to take it, stuffed it into her mouth and sucked it, and smacked loudly, smiling at everyone, very satisfied, that little appearance is so cute.

  The capital here happily ate the New Year’s Eve dinner, but a dilapidated house in the middle of Sichuan seemed quite miserable and deserted.

  (end of this chapter)