https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-167-The-First-Catch-of-the-New-Ship/12935345/
Chapter 168: Whose Fortune Will Prevail?
Chapter 168: Whose Fortune Will Prevail?
Little Fishing Village
At 7:30, Tea Caihua came over to the old house to see if there was anything she could help with.
Zhou Chengxin had gone out to sea early, and Tea Caihua wasn't surprised to not see Zhou Fu and Zhou Chenglei. Today was just the groundbreaking ceremony, and having a woman at home was sufficient.
Tea Caihua noticed that Jiang Xia's room was still closed, so she asked, "Mom, is Xia still sleeping? Isn't eight o'clock the auspicious time? Shouldn't we wake her up?"
Jiang Xia was indeed lucky. Sometimes, she would come over after 8 o'clock, and she would still be sleeping.
Zhou Mu: "No, she went out with your father and the others early this morning."
Tea Caihua's lips twitched.
She never expected that on such an important day, Jiang Xia would also go out to sea.
On the first day of construction for their new house, she didn't even personally offer sacrifices to the gods. She truly had a big heart!
Now that they were living in that new house, she had actively fought for it and personally offered sacrifices.
The gods will protect those who show devotion, and now, wasn't the house hers?
At this moment, Great-Grandpa and Zhou Yongguo walked over.
Great-Grandpa smiled and said, "The auspicious time is almost here. Let's help move things over."
Zhou Mu smiled and asked them to move an Eight Immortals Table over.
Then, she and Tea Caihua carried the prepared offerings out, and as they did, they met Zhou Bingqiang's family, who were also carrying an Eight Immortals Table and offerings.
Upon seeing Zhou Mu, Zhou Bingqiang immediately exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, what a coincidence! You're also starting construction at this auspicious time? My wife went to consult a fortune teller to pick a date for building a house, and the fortune teller said that today is the best day in the latter half of the year. I thought, since we're building a new house, it doesn't matter if we build it a bit later or earlier. Might as well choose the best day! After all, a house is for a lifetime, so of course, we should build it on the best day. Don't you think so?"
Today was indeed the best day for construction in the near future, but his desire to start early was to avoid being outdone! Otherwise, when they all attended the Millionaire Assembly, if someone asked, he would be outshone by Zhou Yongfu's two-and-a-half-story building.
Zhou Mu's lips twitched, and she knew in her heart that he didn't want to be outdone by her family, intentionally coming to annoy her father.
On such a joyous day, she didn't want to argue with anyone, nor did she want to say anything inauspicious. Zhou Mu forced a smile and said, "Yes!"
Zhou Bingqiang's wife, Zhang Guiying, also smiled and said to Zhou Mu, "From now on, we'll be neighbors! Come over to our place when you're free."
Zhou Bingqiang's old house was right next to Great-Grandmother's, and they had moved to Big Tree Garden after building their new house.
When Zhou Fu built his house, he had specifically chosen a spot farther away from Zhou Bingqiang, but he never expected the other party to come back and build here, clearly intending to annoy their family.
Zhou Mu was furious inside, cursing silently, but on the surface, she maintained her forced smile and said, "Yes!"
It was truly annoying!
Indeed, the plot of land next to their homestead was Zhou Bingqiang's.
If that land didn't belong to Zhou Bingqiang, Ah Lei would have wanted to buy the remaining plot to expand the courtyard and use it for drying fish.
Zhou Mu was truly infuriated!
But it was someone else's land, and she could do nothing about it.
It was all that old man's fault, always showing off. Now, he had revealed their good fortune, and this dog had deliberately chosen the same day to follow and annoy them!
Great-Grandmother, fearing that Zhou Mu might start an argument, smiled at her and said, "Hurry and set up the offerings. It's almost eight o'clock. Don't miss the auspicious time."
Zhou Mu knew that arguments should be avoided during the groundbreaking, so despite her anger, she smiled and placed the offerings on the Eight Immortals Table.
Zhang Guiying smiled and called out to Wen Wan, "Little Wan, come and set up the offerings. You come and worship the gods."
"Okay," Wen Wan smiled and stepped forward to help.
After the house was built, it would be hers, and it would be valuable.
Wen Wan had originally planned to go back to school for classes today, but when she heard from Zhou Guohua that his father intended to build a new house for them, and on the same day as Zhou Chenglei's, right next to Zhou Chenglei's new house, she decided to take a leave of absence and witness the groundbreaking.
She also suggested that Zhou Bingqiang invite lion dancers to liven up the occasion and outshine the Zhou family, putting Zhou Chenglei's family in their place.
After the worship and groundbreaking ceremony, the lion dance troupe arrived.
As it was already 8 o'clock, both families remained silent and quickly arranged the sacrificial offerings, ready to begin the worship.
Wen Wan secretly competed with Zhou Mu, wanting to be the first to complete the worship.
Zhou Mu was not in a hurry; worship was about sincerity. She sincerely worshipped in the center, then at the eight directions of the house, burning some spirit money and speaking many auspicious words.
An hour later, Great-Grandpa took the iron hook and dug a scoop of soil, exclaiming happily, "Groundbreaking Ceremony! Let's start work!"
Great-Grandpa and the hired workers began pulling ropes, measuring the position of the house, and preparing for the foundation work.
Zhou Mu, Tian Caihua, and Great-Grandma, along with her daughter-in-law, carried the offerings back home.
The four of them came out again and watched the workers digging the foundation when they heard the sound of drums beating.
Then, Zhou Mu saw the lion dance troupe pushing a large drum on a handcart, beating the drum, and carrying the lion head as they approached.
Many children and villagers followed behind, enjoying the spectacle.
Zhou Mu thought to herself: Did the old man invite the lion dance troupe to celebrate today?
Zhou Bingqiang approached her with a smile, saying, "Sister-in-law, I invited the lion dance troupe to perform and bring good fortune to the new house. Since your family is also building a house, you can share in the joy too! By the way, where are Yongfu and Chenglei? They're not still out at sea on the day of the new house's groundbreaking, are they? Let them come out and watch the lion dance too! Touch the lion head for health and longevity! Share in the joy!"
Sharing the joy was just an excuse; recently, Zhou Yongfu's family had been experiencing an exceptionally strong streak of good fortune, almost surpassing his family as the richest in the village.
So, Zhou Bingqiang invited the lion dance performance to enhance the new house's fortune, bringing prosperity and good luck.
With both families starting construction together, his family had the lion dance to bring blessings and improve their fortune, while Zhou Yongfu's family did not. From the start, their new house's fortune was stronger than Zhou Yongfu's, suppressing their luck.
Wen Wan glanced at the direction of the Zhou family's old house, feeling a bit disappointed at not seeing Jiang Xia. She wanted to see his expression.
Zhou Mu was furious!
What did Zhou Bingqiang mean by this?
Zhou Mu, being superstitious, believed that the lion dance had the effect of exorcising evil and warding off harm. On an auspicious day like this, inviting the lion dance troupe to perform could drive away bad things, bringing prosperity, good fortune, and continuous luck to the family.
But the groundbreaking ceremony for the new house was a significant event! Zhou Bingqiang inviting the lion dance troupe meant that their new house was right next to hers, potentially driving all the bad luck and negative energy to her new home and taking away all the good fortune.
This truly touched upon Zhou Mu's taboo, and she was furious!
Just as she was about to scold him, Great-Grandma quickly pulled her away, smiling, "On such a wonderful day, since Bingqiang wants you to share in the joy, then go ahead and share it! This is Bingqiang's good intention; how can we refuse? Right, Bingqiang?"
Zhou Bingqiang smiled, "Yes! Sister-in-law, I specifically invited the lion dance troupe to let your family share in the joy too!"
Great-Grandma stepped forward and said to the lion dance troupe, "Masters, did you hear that? Bingqiang said he wants my niece-in-law to share in the joy too! Today, my niece-in-law's land is also blessed for groundbreaking. Please help Bingqiang's land first, and then perform on this land as well. Bingqiang will pay you later!"
Zhou Mu's eyes lit up, "Yes, yes, yes... Thank you so much, Bingqiang! Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of inviting the lion dance troupe. Thank you for your kind gesture! Masters, after you finish performing for Zhou Bingqiang's family, please come and dance at our homestead site! Bingqiang just said he wants our family to share in the joy! Everyone in the village heard it; he's the richest in our village and won't go back on his word!"
Zhou Bingqiang's entire family turned pale with anger!
Zhou Bingqiang, being proud, didn't know how to respond and could only force a smile, "Yes! Dance for their family too!"
Wen Wan looked at Zhou Bingqiang in disbelief.
Zhou Mu, seeing their awkward expressions, finally felt relieved.
Hmph!
Let's see who suppresses whom!
I'll get my revenge!
After they finish dancing, we'll dance and drive all the bad luck back to their house, bringing back our blessings and good fortune!
(End of Chapter)
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