Chen Tianhua suddenly remembered that a senior martial artist once said that there are three bowls of noodles that are the most difficult to eat as a human being: human face, scene, and human face.

That's really what happened.

The relationship between the seven eldest aunts and the eight uncles must be properly handled by myself, otherwise, gossip will spread that they look up to this one and look down on that one.

Thinking of this, Chen Tianhua picked up the rice wine in the soup bowl and said:

"You are all my Tugen cousins ​​and cousins-in-law. I understand your feelings very well. After the first month of the year, if you want to work in a trading firm, it's no problem. I will definitely give you the face and opportunity."

"But master brings you in, and you have to rely on your own practice. Whether you can succeed in the end and whether you can make money depends on you, and you have to rely on your true skills to make a living."

"I did this business for my eldest cousin, not only because he is a close relative, but the key is that he has this ability, and his ability is to understand the market and quality of ships."

"..."

…

It started counting from the second day of the first lunar month when Chen Tianhua went to his uncle's house to visit relatives, and ended on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

During these ten days, I either went out to visit relatives or received visiting relatives at home. I was extremely busy.

During the first lunar month, country people are like eating wine and drinking water, one house today, another house tomorrow...

It is also impolite to come and go without reciprocating.

The funniest thing is that this Chinese New Year gift package is also circulated among relatives.

Chen Tianhua discovered that the gift he just received today is the package that his family sent out a few days ago, because he had marks on the red paper gift package.

Haha... This was the case in the countryside of Shaoxing in the late Qing Dynasty. During the Chinese New Year, relatives only had time to walk around and walk around in circles.

If a house is bustling with people during the first lunar month, it means that the house is rich, popular and well-fed, and many people come to fawn over it.

This is a symbol of face.

No, Chen Tianhua's family is especially busy this year.

But he made it miserable.

There were several days when several groups of relatives came to the house at the same time, and it was hard to greet them.

According to my mother, some of the relatives who came here had not moved around for many years and were not very familiar with each other. Some of them could not even be called by their names.

But it’s all here this year.

For several days, there was no place to stay at home, and Wu Laosan and the others had to arrange for Wu Laosan and others to temporarily borrow the tables, benches, pots and pans for eating.

There was no room to sit in the main hall, so a tent was set up outside the door to accommodate them.

The chicken, duck, fish and meat prepared at home were not enough to eat, so we had to go to the town to buy them at a high price.

But who will open the shop during the first month of the year?

No idea, if you can't buy it, just borrow it and make do.

Chen Tianhua seemed even busier. In addition to relatives, he also had to visit people in his own circle, both in and outside the village.

For example, in Liu Yufang's father's eldest family's house, the elders needed to visit, but Wu Laosan and Lin Gen's family were very demanding and had to go.

He has to go in person when visiting, and he has to accompany him when he is serving guests at the table. Because the hero is not at home, it is rude not to say anything, and he cannot open the table to entertain guests.

Mother could only stay with Qing for a few words and serve snacks to treat the guests. When it was time for the main meal, she could only call Chen Tianhua back.

During the first month of the first lunar month, Chen Tianhua would often come to the Xijia residence, and Youjuan would come and call her. She would call grandma back when someone came to the house.

He had no choice but to apologize to the host, drink a bowl of wine, move his chopsticks, and then leave.

"Tu Gen, you are now prosperous, but don't forget us poor relatives. When your father lost all his money in gambling and was chased and beaten, I helped him to stop him, otherwise..."

"..."

Chen Tianhua can only bear these old debts silently. These are old debts from his father's generation, and a son can only bear them for his father.

Not only these, but even the red envelopes he prepared for the New Year. He originally equipped hundreds or dozens of them, but all of them were not enough, so he went to equip more than a hundred.

If I ran out of copper coins at home, I would go to the town bank to exchange them for silver coins.

Every day, a bunch of children come to the door of the house, saying they are his relatives and juniors, asking for red envelopes.

"Happy New Year, cousin, may you make a fortune!"

"Happy New Year, cousin, may money roll in!"

"Happy New Year, uncle!"

"Happy New Year, may you get rich!"

"..."

There are more than ten or twenty people there every day, including teenagers and children; some they know and some they don't know, and some of them are not brought by these groups of relatives at all.

When he saw Chen Tianhua, he knelt down to pay New Year greetings, and then his dirty little hands stretched out to ask for red envelopes.

At first, Chen Tianhua still tried to identify himself and said, "Whose family do you belong to, and what is your name?"

Later, it was too chaotic, so I stopped recognizing it.

"Okay... everyone, please don't crowd, everyone has something... hehe."

The red envelopes in his hand were quickly distributed.

"Youjuan, go to the house quickly and bring me the red envelope!"

"..."

"Haha, Tu Gen is handing out red envelopes at the doorstep!"

"Boss Tugen is handing out red envelopes at home!"

With this call, the adults who were huddled in the surrounding corners also gathered around with jealousy, eager to fish in troubled waters.

In the first month of this year, there was a lot of noise at home for seven or eight days. Mother was so tired that she lay down on the bed, and sisters Tingjuan and Youjuan were also too tired to straighten up.

Oh shit, just spending the New Year like this is several times more tiring than the days when I was fishing for shrimps and touching river mussels. I really can’t stand it anymore.

There was no other way, but fortunately there were still a group of brothers under his command, Wu Laosan, Lin Gen and the others promptly arranged for family members to come to help.

Later, I heard Wu Laosan and Lin Gen's wife whispering about this phenomenon. In the countryside of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there is a buzzword called "big eaters".

"How big of a family am I? There are only three bungalows in my house. I just renovated and painted the walls, made a few new windows, and painted the doors a few times a year ago. It's really unfair."

Chen Tianhua also couldn't figure it out for a moment.

"Look at what you're wearing, tsk tsk... woolen coat, foreign watch and gold chain hanging out of the pocket... isn't this a wealthy person?"

"It means Tugen, who made rice cakes and wrote Spring Festival couplets a year ago... This is called exposing one's wealth."

"..."

After some chattering from their wives, Chen Tianhua seemed to suddenly realize it.

This person is still as poor as in previous years and lives a good life with his tail between his legs.

But this is not in line with his style and habits of doing things.

Who cares, what will happen if I keep a high profile?

Chen Tianhua disagreed in his heart.

…

Although New Year's Eve has passed, the flavor of the New Year has not disappeared in Xibutou Village.

Throughout the first month of the first lunar month, Xibutou Village is immersed in the strong flavor of the New Year. Visiting relatives, visiting friends, singing operas, and performing dragon lanterns are very lively.

The flavor of this year, in the late Qing Dynasty, gradually faded away after the fifteenth day, but it would probably be officially over after the first month of the year.

This is known locally as ‘the first month of the month’.

In the eyes of rural people these days, the first month of the year is a time to show off one's own strength, and everything that tastes good, is good to wear, and is useful must be put to a test.

Every household has to spend all the money they have saved for a year, lest they be looked down upon by others.

Open the door to welcome guests, let relatives and friends eat and have fun, even if your own family eats bran and drinks pickle juice every day after the new year, they will accept it.

Chen Tianhua discovered that people in rural areas in the late Qing Dynasty were more particular than people in big cities in later generations and loved to save face.

To save face or suffer the consequences.
Chapter completed!