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Chapter 123: Officials on the 23rd, Commoners on the 24th, Boat Dwellers on the 25th
Chapter 123: Officials on the 23rd, Commoners on the 24th, Boat Dwellers on the 25th
As the students began their winter break, the New Year's celebrations were drawing closer.
The Hakka people generally offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God on the 23rd, 24th, or 25th of the twelfth lunar month. This is known as "Officials on the 23rd, Commoners on the 24th, Boat Dwellers on the 25th," meaning that officials perform the ritual on the 23rd, commoners on the 24th, and those living on boats on the 25th. This day is also referred to as the Little New Year.
Apart from the ritual to the Kitchen God, the Little New Year also marks the start of the annual deep cleaning of the home.
This extensive cleaning typically happens only once a year, requiring the entire family to work together for an entire day to thoroughly clean the house inside and out.
In previous years, the Deng family would have done the same. However, this year, they had moved into a new house, and their eldest daughter had been particularly diligent in maintaining its cleanliness. She would remove any cobwebs she spotted and sweep the floors daily, keeping the house in a consistently clean state.
Therefore, this year's deep cleaning was much less demanding, requiring only a light dusting.
The old house, on the other hand, no longer needed cleaning. Deng Shirong planned to plant lychee trees immediately after the New Year and then demolish the old house. He would then build a water wall and lay a concrete floor, expanding the front yard to make the house look more impressive and spacious.
With the Little New Year approaching, the villagers also began preparing for the New Year's festivities.
The market days in Shuangwang were on the 2nd, 5th, and 8th of the lunar month. Therefore, the 22nd, 25th, and 28th of the twelfth lunar month were the days when the people of Shuangwang would go to the market to buy their New Year's supplies.
In this era, life was tough for most people, and they couldn't go on a shopping spree like in the future. They would simply buy some candies, cookies, and sunflower seeds, and those with better means might purchase some tea and pastries to serve guests during the New Year.
This year was the first New Year since Deng Shirong's rebirth, and he took it very seriously. On the 25th market day, he went out to buy a large quantity of candies, cookies, dried fruits, and pastries, filling his large basket to the brim.
When he returned, his children and daughter-in-law were stunned!
Seeing the variety of New Year's goods in the basket, Deng Yunzhen asked with wide eyes, "Dad, why did you buy so much?"
Deng Shirong, after fetching his pipe, sat down and smiled, "Half of it is for entertaining relatives, and the other half is for your brother and sister-in-law to take back to their in-laws' house on the second day of the New Year."
Zhang Xiuping felt a warm glow in her heart. The thought of bringing such a large amount of New Year's goods back to her parents' home made her feel very proud. Her father-in-law truly cared for her.
...
December 26th
At the pottery factory, Deng Shirong and Deng YunGui, the two owners, were discussing the factory's holiday schedule.
"Uncle Jiu, how many days do you think we should give the workers off?" Deng YunGui asked.
Deng Shirong considered for a moment and said, "We can give them their wages today and start the holiday, resuming work on the 8th day of the first lunar month. What do you think?"
Deng YunGui replied, "Uncle Jiu, starting the holiday today is fine, but resuming work on the 8th might be too long. The workers might want to start earning money sooner."
Deng Shirong understood. In this era, workers were different from those in the future, who would eagerly wait for a month or two of holiday during the New Year. With the tough living conditions, the workers might prefer to start earning money as soon as possible. If they were made to stay home until the 8th, they might not be very happy about it.
With that in mind, Deng Shirong said, "Yungui, why don't we pay everyone their wages for this month first, and then ask for their opinions?"
Deng Yungui nodded. "Alright, let's ask them."
With their minds aligned, the two bosses gathered the workers and began distributing the last wages of the year.
Deng Yuntao had worked fewer days last month due to his wedding, earning only about 180 yuan. This month, he had been more diligent than ever, and his earnings hit a new high at 237 yuan.
Since his father had said that he could keep his earnings for his wife, Deng Yuntao didn't hand over the money to his father. Instead, he happily tucked it into his pocket, much to the envy of his childhood friend, Deng Changyuan.
After distributing the wages, Deng Shirong said, "The brickyard will be on holiday starting now. Yungui and I have set two dates for next year's reopening: the sixth and the eighth day of the first lunar month. Which date would you prefer?"
Deng Changbiao replied, "Master, I'll follow your lead. Whatever date you choose, I'll be there."
Deng Shirong smiled. "It doesn't matter to me which date you choose. The important thing is your own convenience. If you want to start early, choose the sixth. If you prefer to start later, choose the eighth. The majority will decide."
"Uncle Jiu, I choose the sixth. The earlier we start, the sooner we earn."
"Uncle Jiu, I also choose the sixth. There are many expenses at home, and it's better to start earning earlier."
"Uncle Jiu, let's go with the sixth. My son is at the age where he needs to start thinking about marriage. We really need to earn more."
"..."
The decision was clear. All the workers wanted to start work on the sixth day of the first lunar month.
Understanding their preference, Deng Shirong concluded, "Alright, we'll start on the sixth."
...
After the Little New Year, every household began preparing for the Spring Festival.
Before New Year's Eve, they would offer sacrifices to the Land God and the God of Light (the legendary three-eyed Horse King). In the Shuangwang region, families would perform a blessing ceremony at the beginning of the year, and at the end of the year, they would repay the favor.
By the time all these preparations were done, it was already the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
On this day, the Deng family slaughtered their New Year pig.
The butcher, of course, was Deng Shirong's brother-in-law, Chen Dachong. They had arranged this in advance, so around ten in the morning, Chen Dachong and his wife, along with Chen Daming and his wife, arrived to help.
Deng Shirong had already planned what to do with the pig. Two sides of the belly were to be made into steamed pork, which would be given to his eldest son and daughter-in-law to take back to their in-laws' home on the second day of the New Year.
Each of his two brothers-in-law received a hindquarter, including the leg, which amounted to about twenty pounds each.
For his sister's family, Deng Shirong provided two front legs with the meat, weighing about twenty pounds in total, which his eldest son delivered.
The rest was kept for the family to enjoy during the New Year.
In this era, rural households didn't have refrigerators, so they had to preserve the pork with salt.
Although Deng Shirong had a time-stopping system space that could keep things fresh indefinitely, he couldn't reveal this to anyone. So, he followed the common practice and salted the remaining pork to preserve it.
As for the internal organs, they couldn't be left to spoil. The best option was to eat them fresh.
(End of Chapter)
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