She first took out a book to read. After reading for more than an hour, she felt that she couldn't read it anymore, so she could only pick up the sweater she had not finished knitting and continue knitting.
This sweater was knitted for Yaya. She thought that it wouldn't last long after knitting it this year, so she knitted it a little bigger, thinking that Yaya would wear it next winter.
She knitted one piece like this for several hours. After hearing the clock in the space strike twelve o'clock, she put her things away and lay down on the quilt to rest.
She fell asleep not long after lying down. She had not slept so late for a long time, so she managed to stay up all night and slept until dawn the next day.
After she got up on the first day of the new year, she washed up and cooked breakfast. Then she took out the dried fruits she had saved. They had been fried years ago. She poured some melon seeds into them and mixed them, and grabbed two more. Mix the hard fruit candies in it, put it on a large plate, and put it on the table in front of your house.
After finishing it, I went to open the courtyard door. I did this to entertain the children in the village who came to pay New Year's greetings today, as well as the villagers who came to visit.
This is Fang Nuo's first New Year in this era, and he doesn't know if the children from the village will come here to pay New Year greetings, but he still prepares the things that should be prepared, just in case.
Yaya woke up soon after, washed her face, and put on a new suit of clothes she had made for her. The clothes were made of red cloth. When Yaya put them on, she looked like a lucky doll. She looked very beautiful.
After she cleaned up Yaya, she played with her on the kang, waiting to see if anyone would come to visit her for New Year greetings.
This is how it is in the village. Today, the children at home go out to pay New Year greetings, and the adults entertain the children at home.
There were also children who came to chat today, but every family in the village would leave one or two adults at home.
No one from Fang Nuo's family came over until lunch. It was only after Yaya had taken a nap that she heard a sound at the courtyard door.
"Xiao Nuo, happy New Year!" Aunt Dahua's voice came into the house before she appeared at the door of the courtyard.
When Fang Nuo heard the sound, he happily walked out the door and replied with a smile: "Happy New Year to you, Auntie."
"Oh, I've brought a lot of little people here. Come and catch some melon seeds for them." Auntie Dahua appeared at the door with a group of village children.
There were seven or eight children who came. They didn't look around when they entered Fang Nuo's yard. They all followed Aunt Dahua obediently and looked at Fang Nuo curiously.
"Everyone at home is in bed. Come here and I'll catch them for you." Fang Nuo smiled and said to the children.
None of the children came towards her immediately. Instead, they waited for a while, and a bolder one stepped forward and said, "Happy New Year, Fang Zhiqing."
"Okay, happy New Year to you too. Come to the house and I'll get you something to eat." Fang Nuo smiled and led people towards the house.
Seeing that she was not aggressive at all, the other children had the courage to follow her. A small group of children followed Fang Nuo into her house. Fang Nuo grabbed a handful of mixed melon seeds and candies from the plate on the side.
"Here, open the pocket and I'll pack it for you." She grabbed two candies, which made the child so happy that she quickly opened the small pocket of her clothes.
"Thank you, Fang Zhiqing." He pretended to be a child and politely thanked him, and then moved aside so that the children behind him could each receive a handful of snacks after paying New Year greetings to Fang Nuo.
Later, after each child received snacks, they hurried to the next house, said goodbye to Fang Nuo and left.
After everyone left, Aunt Dahua walked over and said, "You are too generous. If you give two candies to one person, you will attract many children in a while."
"I'm so happy today. It only happens once a year. It doesn't cost anything," Fang Nuo said with a smile.
"Yes, but there are many children in the village. You should prepare less for next year. Just give each person a candy to sweeten your mouth. By the way, Yaya is sleeping?" Aunt Dahua said.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, Auntie. Yaya just took a nap, Auntie, are you here for dinner? If I didn't go to heat up the dishes, you could eat here," Fang Nuo asked.
"I just finished eating at home. Several cadres in the village came to my old man for a drink. I prepared the food for them. I ate something simple in the kitchen and then went out to avoid it. Otherwise, those old men drank. "Wine, always ordering people," said Aunt Dahua.
"Well, on the first day of the lunar month this year, a lot of people came to visit the captain to pay New Year's greetings. I'm the only one at home today, so I have to watch at home, otherwise I'd be thinking about going to pay New Year's greetings to you two elders tomorrow." Fang Nuo pretended. A small plate of mixed snacks was placed on the Kang table.
"Then when you come over tomorrow, don't eat at home. Eat at my aunt's house, you know?" Aunt Dahua said
"Okay, I'll come to your house to eat tomorrow." Fang Nuo didn't refuse. After all, she had refused many times before, so she agreed this time.
The relationship between the two families is getting better and better, so they can't be so open-minded at the same time.
"Auntie, please sit down and have some snacks. I also mixed some pine nuts that I beat in the mountains in autumn and fried them myself. Please try it." Fang Nuo said, pushing the snack plate toward her.
"Hey, you're a little girl who knows how to make it. At my house, it's just a plate of melon seeds with some candies mixed in," Auntie Dahua said, grabbing a handful of melon seeds.
"I just met him when I was mowing the grass. I didn't go out of my way to find it." Fang Nuo also grabbed a handful and said.
"That's because you are lucky. Otherwise, I haven't heard of anyone in the village who can pick up these things by going up the mountain. And every time you go up the mountain, you never come back empty-handed," Aunt Dahua said.
In fact, some people in the village have picked pine nuts, but they have not told anyone about it.
After all, everything now belongs to the group. If an individual picks up a small amount, it will be ignored. If there is a large amount, it must be handed over to the public, and then the people above will distribute it equally.
Therefore, most people in the village would hide any chestnuts or pine nuts they picked up in the mountains and exchange them for money, or they would eat them with their own family without telling anyone about them.
Then there are the small animals caught in the mountains, such as rabbits and pheasants. They can take them home and eat them themselves, but if they catch them often, they cannot devour them all.
Therefore, when the family hunted prey, they avoided people on the way home, trying not to let people know if they could.
"Auntie, what you said is so exaggerated. I often go into the mountains to cut grass, so I can encounter some things. Others work in the fields every day and have less time to go to the mountains, so they don't pick up things like me. There are so many things,” Fang Nuo said.
"What you said makes sense." After hearing this, Aunt Dahua nodded.
At this time, another voice came from outside: "Is Fang Zhiqing at home?"
When the two heard the sound, Fang Nuo got up and walked out of the house. Looking outside, he saw an aunt from the village. Everyone called her Aunt Wenjuan.
"It's Aunt Wenjuan, come in and sit down quickly," Fang Nuo called enthusiastically.
"Oh, you're at home," Aunt Wenjuan said when she saw her coming out.
