Chapter 131 Qi Zhi
It just so happens that the weather is cold now, so it is a bit difficult to dig out the gold from the kang; besides, although there is a vegetable cellar in the new house, it does not meet Wang Deming's need to hide gold.

Transfer the oceans and other treasures first.

It just so happens that tomorrow is both Sunday and the twenty-fourth day of the lunar year, so the house needs a thorough cleaning without anyone noticing.
No, I have to ask my cheap second brother-in-law again next week, when exactly will Liu from the pawnshop go to Hong Kong to exchange US dollars after the New Year?
And how many times a year do you go?
There is also Bao Fu Ge who I met last time. I will go to his shop "Wan Juxing" after the New Year to have a chat. The antique shops that can continue to survive after liberation will definitely have connections with Hong Kong!

Walking on two legs is steady.

Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers rang out in the yard. Chang Renchun jumped up from the kang without even putting on his coat, and ran over to Wang Deming, shouting, "Uncle, let's go out and set off firecrackers to send the Kitchen God to heaven!"

Wang Deming was amused by his nephew Renchun's eagerness. He pointed at him and said with a smile: "Were you pretending to sleep just now?"

Chang Renchun didn't dare to look up and just laughed.

"Okay, go back to the house and put on your clothes to avoid catching a cold. I'll take you out to set off firecrackers to send the Kitchen God to heaven."

Godmother Wang Shuqin and sister Yan Baozhen returned to the inner bedroom to help Renchun put on her clothes.

Wang Deming went outside to the kitchen under the corridor, took down the paper image of the Kitchen God with its mouth sealed with glutinous rice candy, and pasted it next to the door. Then he went back to the house and took down a string of firecrackers hanging on the ceiling, took out the fuse, and placed it on the eight-immortals table, waiting for Renchun.

"Uncle, I'm fine!"

Wang Deming put on his hat from the hanger beside the door, struck a match and lit three incense sticks, walked out of the room, bowed three times to the paper image of the Kitchen God, took it off again and held it in his hand. He lowered his head and said to Renchun, "Let's go and set off firecrackers."

He hung the firecrackers on the clothesline in the yard, handed a burning incense stick to Renchun, patted his head, and said, "Go."

"Great!"

Chang Renchun tiptoed towards the firecrackers, and with the faint light coming from the room, he tremblingly extended the bright or dim incense head towards the firecracker wick.

"Crack!"

From under the clothesline to the ground, firecrackers sparkled in the dark night.

Renchun scurried back to Wang Deming, watched the firecrackers explode and the flames flash with excitement, and danced with excitement.

After a while, the sparks died down and the sound of firecrackers stopped. Chang Renchun looked up at Wang Deming and asked, "Uncle, can we set off the firecrackers again?"

Wang Deming rubbed his hat and said, "Don't worry, wait until New Year's Eve, and then you can have as much fun as you want!"

"Uncle will open another string of whips for you to play with. But you have to promise to keep an eye on your sister and make sure she doesn't get scared or hurt."

"Yeah, I promise!"

Wang Deming rubbed his nephew's hat again and said, "Okay, you go back to the house first. I will burn the Kitchen God and then go back."

"Ah."

Wang Deming crumpled up the paper image of the Kitchen God and threw it into the stove in the kitchen. Without even striking a match, he placed the head of a freshly lit incense stick on a corner of the paper image.

Slowly the paper began to light up, and the faint light coming through the house was like a wisp of green smoke rising up to the top of the corridor and then slowly dissipating.

"Huh!" Wang Deming exhaled a breath of cold air, and suddenly he felt inexplicably touched in his heart.

Being able to eat enough and live a smooth life is such a good expectation.
But suffering and hardship are the truth of life, right?

Other families in the courtyard also started to set off firecrackers to send off the Kitchen God, greeted each other warmly, and talked about their satisfaction with their current lives and their expectations for happiness in the coming year. Wang Deming blended in with them, and a smile slowly rose at the corners of his mouth. He didn't need to wait until next year for my wish of having a happy family to come true!
In fact, I really refused at first.
Wang Deming thought arrogantly, but I really couldn't resist the charm of the fairy sister.
I guess there are some people who can hold on, but not many, right?
Twenty-four, clean the house.

As soon as they finished breakfast, the whole family started to move. Lian Renchun and Yichun put on sleeves, each holding a rag in their hands, and followed Yan Baozhen's instructions in a serious manner, wiping the tables, chairs and benches.

Wang Deming and Qin Huairu were the main workers. They first took feather dusters and brooms to carefully clean every corner of the room, especially the cobwebs; then Wang Deming continued to sweep the dust on the ceiling and walls, and Qin Huairu began to wipe the windows.

Cleaning windows is definitely a delicate job. You have to peel off the Dongchang paper that was pasted on the windows little by little before you can clean the outermost glass.
This took the whole morning.

It was almost noon and the task was completed. Wang Deming waved his hand and said, "Let's go to Longfu Temple!"

The two children, Renchun and Yichun, immediately cheered and jumped for joy, causing the children next door to drool.

Walk north from Nanluoguxiang along Huangchenggen to Gongxian Hutong, then east, cross Mashi Street and you will reach Longfusi Street.

When passing by Gongxian Hutong, Wang Deming looked at Zhang Boju's house curiously. Wow, it was another three-courtyard house. If he wanted, he could change it anytime.

Life is really lonely like snow.
People were coming and going on the street, wearing long gowns, Mao suits, double-breasted cotton jackets, and satin slanted collars. Although they were dressed differently, they all had ruddy faces and looked high-spirited.

Especially near the New Year's Day, the newly opened "Dongsi People's Shopping Center" has more people flowing in, and the snack vendors on both sides of the street are shouting: "The candied haws are so sweet!" "The cakes are so glutinous!"

People were jostling each other in the middle, accidentally bumping into each other, and they politely bowed and smiled at each other, saying, "Please forgive me" and "You're welcome."

The People's Department Store was bustling with people: people selling cloth and clothing, needles and thread, preserved fruits, New Year paintings and window decorations, fireworks and firecrackers, and mixed honey.
The hawkers' cries and the bargaining shouts mixed together, creating a beautiful scene of worldly life!
Wang Deming and Qin Huairu each held a child in their arms, and went with the flow, eating as they went, "bean flour cakes", "dalan fire-baked bread", and "shaomai", and they were very satisfied.

Each of these stalls sells one thing only, which are snacks made by Hui Muslims, and their main feature is that they are clean and hygienic.

Wang Deming spent money like crazy, buying 10 yuan worth of firecrackers for the children to play with, 5 yuan worth of mixed food for his favorite food, and 10 yuan worth of honey for the ancestors.
The children laughed all the way, and Wang Shuqin and Yan Baozhen kept winking at him, but he pretended not to see.

On the way back from a big shopping trip, I would go to the east entrance of Zhushi Street, turn a corner, buy a bunch of cooked food from Puyunlou and take it home to save myself the trouble of cooking dinner.

Puyunlou used to be a pork shop, selling raw meat and cooked food together. Later, when its cooked food became good, it only sold cooked food. The shop even had a phone, and take-out boxes could be delivered to homes with just a call.

It's a pity that I live in a slum now, so doing this is too conspicuous and out of touch with the masses.
After resting for a while at home, Wang Deming coaxed the women out to visit neighbors in the name of "cleaning out the stove ashes."

After a while, Wang Deming carried the heavy "furnace ash" to the bridal chamber of Xiaojingchang. The national treasure porcelain was still hanging on the beams above the ceiling, and the foreign dollars were buried in the east and west rooms.

After the ashes were cleared out, the women began to put up wallpaper, New Year pictures and window decorations: a lion rolling an embroidered ball, three sheep (yang) bringing good luck, two dragons playing with a pearl, a deer, crane, tung tree and Chinese toon (six harmonies in spring), and a lotus (continuous) year with fish (surplus).

On the twenty-fifth, grind tofu; on the twenty-sixth, stew meat; on the twenty-seventh, kill the rooster; on the twenty-eighth, let the dough rise; on the twenty-nineth, steam the buns. Ouch, it's time for the wedding night.
According to the old custom of the Bannermen, at 9 o'clock in the evening, four cars drove out of Qihelou Hutong one after another.

The first car was for the bride-welcoming ladies, and the last car was for the bride-sending ladies, all of whom were married women with perfect qualities; Zhang Shouchun sat in the second car; and Qin Huairu sat in the third car.
Wang Deming and the bride-welcoming lady rode in the first car together. The bride-welcoming lady was the fifth grandmother of Prince Qing's mansion and Zhang Shouchun's aunt, a noble lady about 40 years old.

Looking at Wang Deming sitting in the passenger seat from the back seat, his eyes not only showed admiration but also a hint of confusion, "Deming, after Shouchun returns to live with her for a month, my daughter will live with her in the small factory for a while."

Wang Deming smiled and said, "Don't worry, we will follow the rules of the Bannermen."

"Yeah." Fifth Aunt also had a smile on her face.

In Xiaojingchang Hutong, Wang Deming got out of the car first, opened the doors, and pulled Zhang Shouchun, who was wearing a red silk headscarf, over the threshold of the courtyard, followed by Qin Huairu, who had a rosy face.

The happy life has begun.
(End of this chapter)