PFC Chapter 917 The Atmosphere of the Chinese New Year
Chapter 917 The Atmosphere of the Chinese New Year
On the cart was their damaged courtyard gate.
Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang hurried forward, greeting them as they took the car.
"Uncle Carpenter, the gate to the courtyard was repaired so quickly."
The old carpenter chuckled, "Isn't it almost Chinese New Year? It wouldn't be right to leave you without a gate during the holiday."
Inside the house, Old Man Zhuang heard the voices, came out and saw this scene. He quickly clapped the flour off his hands and went forward to greet them.
"Oh my, the gate to the courtyard has been repaired."
Old brother, thank you so much for your help.
"You haven't had a chance to rest all this time!"
The old carpenter waved his hand, indicating that everything was alright.
The old carpenter's son stood to the side, smiling and chiming in.
"These past two days, my whole family has been working day and night by oil lamp, just trying to get the door out as soon as possible."
My dad said last night, "Brother Lu, you saved the villagers."
Even if we don't have a gate for our own yard, we won't let you have a bad New Year.
When the old carpenter heard his son say this, he pressed down on his hand.
He was honest and upright his whole life, and even when he did something for others, he didn't like to talk about it.
Hearing her son say that made her unhappy.
But in front of outsiders, she didn't get angry at her son.
Old Zhuang could also see that the father and son had different personalities, so he quickly invited them into the house to sit down.
As soon as the old carpenter and his son entered the house, they smelled the aroma of fried food.
Among them, the aroma of fried meatballs is particularly irresistible.
After instructing Sun Yue to make tea, Old Man Zhuang took out a plate of fried dough sticks and a plate of fried meatballs from a small cabinet next to the stove.
He placed the two items on the table and invited the old carpenter and his son to eat.
The old carpenter waved his hands repeatedly, "Old brother, we ate at home, don't bother."
The old carpenter's son's eyes never left the two items on the table, but upon hearing his father's reply, he waved his hand.
"Uncle Zhuang, don't bother, we've already eaten."
Old Zhuang repeatedly offered them tea, but seeing that the two really didn't want to eat, he had no choice but to pour them some.
After drinking two bowls of tea, the old carpenter felt warm in his stomach and regained his energy.
He then got up and called to his son to go and install the courtyard gate.
Seeing this, Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang stepped forward to help lift the door.
Although the old carpenter was a carpenter, he had spent his entire life in Fushan Town.
The carpentry work he did most often involved making items that were commonly used by the townspeople.
As for gates like those for courtyards, I don't know how many I've built or repaired in my lifetime.
This makes the installation process even more efficient.
In no time at all, the courtyard gate was installed.
Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang looked at the newly repaired courtyard gate, which had been painted with tung oil, and tried opening and closing it a few times.
It's even easier to use than before.
The workmanship is also very meticulous, as can be seen from the position of the door hinge.
Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang praised him repeatedly, making the old carpenter smile from ear to ear.
With the door installed, the old carpenter prepared to pack up and leave.
Lu Qingqing hurriedly ran back into the house and saw that Old Man Zhuang had already packed his things, so she brought them out.
After another round of arguing, the old carpenter finally gave in to Lu Qingqing and accepted the item.
In the courtyard, Lu Qingqing, Qin Lang, Sun Yue, and Old Man Zhuang looked at the newly built gate and were all quite satisfied.
In fact, the four of them had already made plans to not have a gate during the Chinese New Year.
Unexpectedly, the old carpenter and his son were so helpful and finished it in time.
Looking at the courtyard gate, which had been freshly painted with tung oil and gleamed, Sun Yue suggested that they put up a pair of Spring Festival couplets.
This statement piqued the interest of the other three people.
Lu Qingqing went to Wu's shop behind the house and successfully bought blank red paper for writing Spring Festival couplets.
In addition, I also bought thin red paper for cutting paper snowflakes.
Upon returning, Sun Yue volunteered to take on the task of cutting paper snowflakes.
The task of writing the Spring Festival couplets was entrusted to Qin Lang, who had the best calligraphy skills among the four.
Yes, the one with the best handwriting among the four is neither the oldest, Old Man Zhuang, nor Lu Qingqing, who has been in school for over twenty years.
It was Qin Lang, whose mind had only recently become clear.
Lu Qingqing took out a brush and inkstone and began grinding ink.
Qin Lang then took a brush and practiced on ordinary straw paper.
I only started writing when I felt it was about time.
Sun Yue then took a pair of scissors, folded the red paper, and began to cut paper snowflakes.
Old Zhuang was busy working on the stove, occasionally glancing up at the three people working diligently.
At this moment, perhaps the tranquility of life is the most authentic portrayal of this courtyard.
The three of them finally finished their work before dark.
The festive couplets and beautiful paper-cut window decorations gave the courtyard a festive atmosphere for the Chinese New Year.
Before we knew it, it was New Year's Eve.
Today, many households in the village have already put up Spring Festival couplets.
However, most of the Spring Festival couplets in the village were written by Uncle Lao Wu.
There are only three exceptions, one of which is Lu Qingqing's family, written by Qin Lang.
The font isn't particularly attractive, but it's designed to be neat and upright.
The other group consists of the women of the East Wing.
It was written by Ruyue, who had studied poetry, calligraphy, and painting; the characters are beautiful and graceful.
The last one is the courtyard of Bai Song and his soldiers, all of which were written by Bai Song.
Despite Bai Song's seemingly unrefined manner, he was a genuinely well-educated man who had attended school.
His handwriting was much better than that of Uncle Wu.
Once the Spring Festival couplets were put up, the whole village was filled with the festive spirit of the New Year.
In fact, you can see quite a few children running around on the streets.
A group of children were commenting, one saying that this family's Spring Festival couplets were beautiful, another saying that that family's window paper was pretty.
In addition to the two entrances to the village, there are thick ice walls, which are guarded by villagers.
The rest are not much different from ordinary holidays.
Because of the attacks by refugees and the disasters this year, the villagers started preparing for the New Year later than usual.
Many families were still busy on the afternoon of New Year's Eve.
Meanwhile, two of Lu Qingqing's regular visitors returned to her courtyard.
Bai Song and Yan Xu came over again with some things.
To be honest, it was Yan Xu who strongly urged us to do this.
The last time he went back from the small courtyard, he missed the delicious food that Old Man Zhuang cooked.
However, Bai Song was preoccupied with the affairs of those women in the East Courtyard.
He thought he had a falling out with Lu Qingqing and refused to come over on his own initiative.
These past few days, Yan Xu has been trying to persuade him day and night, and it was only with great difficulty that he finally convinced him.
When Bai Song came over this time, he saw that Lu Qingqing and Old Man Zhuang's attitudes had not changed, so he relaxed again.
Bai Song and Yan Xu stayed by the stove all afternoon.
When Old Man Zhuang made something delicious, the two of them would start eating with their chopsticks.
They ate all afternoon and were stuffed.
When it's time for dinner, Old Man Zhuang will make dumplings and cook meat dishes.
But the two of them had no appetite and said goodbye.
Lu Qingqing, Qin Lang, and Sun Yue didn't eat much snacking in the afternoon, just waiting for this dinner.
By evening, Old Man Zhuang's feast was finally ready.
Old Zhuang wiped his wet hands on his apron, lifted the curtain, and went out to call them in to eat dumplings.
Lu Qingqing and the other two, who were busy in the yard, readily agreed.
The room was filled with steam as plump dumplings were served.
Next to it, a table was piled high with dishes such as fried meatballs, braised pork ribs, sauerkraut stewed with pork bones, and stir-fried cured meat.