Chapter 123 Officials 3, Civilians 4, Boatmen 5

*Skip Chapter 122, No Story and Only Author Notes

Chapter 123 Officials 3, Civilians 4, Boatmen 5

As students began their holidays, the Spring Festival drew closer.

For the Hakka people, the period from the 23rd to the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month is traditionally reserved for worshiping the Kitchen God. There's a saying: "Officials worship on the 23rd, ordinary people on the 24th, and boatmen on the 25th." This means that officials pay their respects on the 23rd, common folk on the 24th, and boatmen on the 25th. This day is also known as Little New Year.

In addition to offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, families also begin their annual spring cleaning during the Little New Year.

This thorough cleaning is typically done only once a year and requires the entire family, young and old, to work together for a full day to clean the house inside and out.

In previous years, Deng Shirong's family followed this tradition as well. However, this year was different. The family had built a new house, and the eldest daughter had been diligent in maintaining it. She would remove any spider webs she saw and sweep the floors daily, keeping the house relatively clean.

As a result, this year's spring cleaning only required some light dusting, making it much easier than in previous years.

The main reason for this was that the old house no longer needed to be cleaned. Deng Shirong planned to plant lychee trees shortly after the New Year, demolish the old house, build a water wall, and then pave the cement floor. This would create a more spacious and open area in front of the house, making it look more beautiful and imposing.

When the Little New Year arrived, it was time for villagers to prepare their New Year's goods.

The Double Prosperity Market was held on the 2nd, 5th, and 8th days of the lunar calendar. Therefore, the 22nd, 25th, and 28th days of the twelfth lunar month were the days when people in Double Prosperity prepared their New Year goods.

Of course, life was difficult in this era, and people couldn't go on shopping sprees like future generations. They typically bought some candies, biscuits, and melon seeds. Those who were better off might also purchase tea and pastries to serve to guests during the Spring Festival.

This year was particularly special for Deng Shirong, as it was the first Spring Festival since his rebirth. Naturally, he attached great importance to it. On the 25th market day, he went out and bought candies, biscuits, dried fruits, candied fruits, melon seeds, cakes, and more. As long as it could be used during the Spring Festival, he bought it in bulk, filling the basket he had brought with him.

When he returned home, the children and his eldest daughter-in-law were stunned.

Seeing the assortment of New Year goods, Deng Yunzhen widened her eyes and asked, "Dad, why did you buy so much?"

The first thing Deng Shirong did upon returning was to grab his pipe, sit down, and say with a smile, "Half of it is for entertaining relatives, and the other half is for your eldest brother and sister-in-law to take back to her parents' home on the second day of the New Year."

Zhang Xiuping felt a warm glow in her heart when she heard this. She could imagine how happy she'd be if she brought back so many New Year's goods. She was deeply touched by his kindness.

…

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, at the tile factory, Deng Shirong and Deng Yungui, the two bosses, were discussing the holiday schedule.

"Uncle Jiu, how many days of holiday should we give the workers?" Deng Yungui asked.

Deng Shirong thought for a moment and said, "We'll start the holiday after paying everyone their wages and resume work on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. What do you think?"

Deng Yungui replied, "Uncle Jiu, it's fine to start the holiday today, but waiting until the eighth day of the New Year to resume work might be too long. The workers might want to start earlier to earn money."

Deng Shirong understood his point. Workers in this era weren't like those in later generations, who might prefer long vacations. Most people were struggling financially and would likely want to return to work as soon as possible to earn more money.

After considering this, Deng Shirong said, "Yungui, how about we first distribute this month's wages and then ask for everyone's opinion?"

Deng Yungui nodded. "Okay, let's do that."

Once the two bosses reached a consensus, they gathered the workers and began distributing the final wages of the year.

Deng Yuntai had worked fewer hours last month due to his wedding, earning just over 180 yuan. This month, however, he had worked harder than ever, and his income reached a new high of 237 yuan.

Since his father had said that all the money he earned would be saved by his wife, Deng Yuntai didn't hand his wages over to his father. Instead, he happily pocketed the money, leaving his childhood friend Deng Changyuan extremely envious.

After paying the wages, Deng Shirong announced, "The Tile Factory will be closed starting today. Yungui and I have set two possible dates for resuming work next year: the sixth day or the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. Which day would you prefer?"

Deng Changbiao spoke up, "Master, I'll follow your lead. We'll start whenever you say."

Deng Shirong smiled. "It's up to you. If you want to start earlier, choose the sixth day. If you want more time off, choose the eighth. The minority will follow the majority."

"Uncle Jiu, I'll choose the sixth day. I'd like to start earning money sooner."

"Uncle Jiu, I'll also choose the sixth day. My family has a lot of expenses, so I'd rather start working earlier."

"Uncle Jiu, let's go with the sixth day. My son is old enough to get married, so I really need to work hard and earn money."

The result was clear: the workers unanimously chose to resume work on the sixth day of the New Year.

After hearing everyone's opinion, Deng Shirong made the final decision. "Alright, we'll start work on the sixth day of the New Year."

…

After the Little New Year, every household was busy preparing for the New Year.

Before New Year's Eve, families had to offer sacrifices to Baigong (the God of Land) and Huaguang (the God of Wealth, also known as the three-eyed Horse King in legend). In the lands of Double Prosperity, every household would seek blessings at the beginning of the year and repay them at the end.

By the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, all these preparations were complete.

On this day, Deng Shirong's family slaughtered their New Year pig.

The task was naturally handled by Deng Shirong's brother-in-law, Chen Dacong. They had been notified in advance, so around ten in the morning, Chen Dacong, his wife, Chen Daming, and his wife arrived to help.

Deng Shirong had already made plans for the New Year pig. Two pieces of pork belly were fried into braised pork, which he would give to his eldest son and daughter-in-law to take back to her parents' home on the second day of the New Year.

He also gave each of his two brothers-in-law a hind rump with the pig leg attached, each weighing over 20 pounds.

For his third sister's family, Deng Shirong gave two front legs with the meat still on them, totaling about 20 pounds, and asked his eldest son to deliver it.

The rest of the pork was kept for the family to consume during the New Year.

In this era, rural households didn't have refrigerators, so the only way to preserve pork was to salt it.

Although Deng Shirong had his system space, where time stood still and food remained perfectly preserved, he couldn't reveal this to anyone. So, he followed the common practice of salting the pork and hanging it up.

As for the internal organs, they had to be eaten fresh and couldn't be preserved.

(End of this chapter)