1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 74 Flying Lion
The family ate, drank, and chatted, and before they knew it, dawn had broken.

In the Cenhe area during that era, after staying up all night to welcome the New Year, the older generation would go back to their rooms to sleep; this was called "digging a cellar."

Huang Hongmei usually goes to bed early, but now that it's dawn, she's already feeling sleepy, so she went back to her room to sleep.

Young men were required to visit each household in the village to offer New Year's greetings. So Qiao Erhe and his older brother went out of their house to visit each household in the village to offer New Year's greetings.

Paying New Year's visits is a traditional folk custom in my country, a way for people to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, and to express their best wishes to each other.

In ancient times, the original meaning of the term "拜年" (bàinian) was to pay New Year's greetings to elders, including bowing to them, wishing them a happy New Year, and inquiring about their well-being. When encountering peers or relatives, one should also pay respects and offer congratulations.

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year's greetings has been continuously enriched with new content and forms. In addition to following the traditional ways of greeting, new forms of greeting have emerged, such as greeting by telegram, telephone, text message, and online.

In many places, New Year's greetings are usually exchanged from the first to the fifth day of the lunar new year. Visiting relatives and friends after the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is considered to be paying New Year's greetings early, while visiting relatives and friends after the fifth day of the first lunar month but before the fifteenth day is considered to be paying New Year's greetings late.

Both early and late years are emergency or remedial measures to avoid regrets. There is a folk saying: "It's never too late to pay New Year's greetings on the fifteenth."

In the Cenhe area, New Year's greetings are highly valued. There is a saying: "The New Year is over on the fifteenth or sixteenth, and New Year's greetings are given until the wheat turns yellow."

In the Cenhe area, people still greet each other with New Year's greetings almost every time they meet for the first time in the first half of the year.

The first stop for the village New Year's greetings was at Qiao Erdie's house. Upon meeting, the two brothers bowed with their hands clasped in greeting.
"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Happy New Year and May you prosper!"

"Congratulations on your continued good health and longevity."

Qiao Er's father and mother also bowed with smiles on their faces, saying auspicious words.

Then, the Qiao brothers bowed and greeted their cousins ​​Qiao Xiangdong and Qiao Xiangnan, exchanging New Year's greetings and auspicious words.

After paying their New Year's respects to their second uncle's family, Qiao Erhe and his brother went to pay their respects to their third uncle's family.

After paying their New Year's respects to their third uncle's family, they immediately went to the next house. There were less than 30 households in the entire Qiaojiawan area, and Qiao Erhe and his elder brother quickly visited all of them.

After the two brothers returned home, other young men from the village kept coming to their house to wish them a Happy New Year. Qiao Erhe's smile never stopped. He didn't find it annoying at all; in fact, he enjoyed it.

After all, this unique New Year's greeting custom couldn't last much longer. Qiao Erhe remembered that after the 1990s, his village stopped exchanging New Year's greetings like this. At most, people would greet each other and say a blessing when they met on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Unlike now, people don't go out of their way to visit each and every household to offer New Year's greetings.

Moreover, the way they pay New Year's greetings in Qiaojiawan is not the most grand. The most grand way is the way they pay New Year's greetings in Miaoxing Brigade, Shanmu Brigade, Guihua Brigade, Cenhe Brigade, and Shakou Brigade.

Because these brigades all have their own lion dance troupes, they go to each household as lions to offer New Year's greetings, which is much more elaborate than what they do in Qiaojiawan.

While Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Erhe were busy paying New Year's visits to the villagers, Qiao Sanduo led her younger siblings to feed the chickens. These 6000 laying hens were the Qiao family's most important source of income, so naturally they had to be well taken care of.

After exchanging New Year's greetings, Qiao Erhe said, "If you're sleepy, go to sleep. I'm going to go to the Guihua Brigade next door to watch the fun."

In 1976, Guihua Brigade merged with Hongshan Brigade, where Qiaojiawan was located, and they were collectively called Hongshan Brigade. The two brigades were separated in 1978.

Guihua Brigade was the brigade closest to the commune in the entire Cenhe area. Perhaps for this reason, Guihua Brigade had much less farmland than other brigades, with an average of just over four-tenths of an acre per person. It was a typical case of having little land and a large population.

Perhaps because he had eaten a large bowl of sweet rice wine with eggs earlier, Qiao Sihai, the half-grown boy, was quite energetic. Hearing that there was something exciting to see, he immediately asked, "Second Brother, what kind of excitement is there in Guihua Brigade? I want to go too."

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "I'm here to watch people perform lion dances and offer New Year's greetings."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Sanduo's eyes lit up, and she said, "Second Brother, I also like watching lion dances, and I want to go see one too."

Qiao Wuhu also spoke up, "Count me in, I'll go too."

Qiao Liuduo and Qiao Qitan were still quite young, and they were really sleepy, so they said goodbye to their older brothers and sisters and went back to their rooms to sleep.

Qiao Dajiang was in good spirits at the moment, so he said, "Let's go together then. I heard that the lion dance skills of Guihua Brigade are the best in our Cenhe Commune."

Qiao Erhe nodded and said, "That's right. The lion dance skills of Guihua Brigade are indeed the best in our Cenhe Commune. I heard that when the lion visits each household to wish them a Happy New Year, the host will hang rewards such as cigarettes and pastries on the beam of the main room. The lion can leap up and take the things down from the beam. It's really amazing."

Qiao Dajiang said, "I've heard about that too. It's said that the lion dance of Guihua Brigade can fill 9 or 11 square tables!"

Playing with square tables is a performance style of lion dance. Square tables are stacked one by one, ranging from 7 to more than 10, reaching a height of about 8 to 12 meters. The lion dancers need to roll up layer by layer to reach the highest layer.

The whole process was thrilling, spectacular, and suspenseful.

The lions from other brigades usually tumble down layer by layer after reaching the highest level, but the lions from the Osmanthus Brigade can leap down, which is called "Flying Lion in the Air," and it's really quite impressive.

"Enough said, the lion dance performance by the Osmanthus Brigade has probably already started, let's hurry up and go!"

"Well, let's go!"

……

"it is good!"

"Amazing!"

"That's a really high jump."

"As expected of our Guihua Brigade's lion dance, their lion dance skills are absolutely amazing."

"..."

When Qiao Erhe and his sister arrived at Guihua Brigade, they witnessed the spectacular "lion" New Year's greeting performance. The roof beams were already quite high, requiring two lions to work in perfect coordination, yet the lions were able to leap up nimbly and accurately remove objects from the beams, a truly breathtaking sight.

The entire New Year's greeting scene was filled with thunderous applause and cheers, and the lively atmosphere made everyone feel happy.

After paying New Year's greetings to one household, the "lion" moved on to the next, and the villagers followed to watch the spectacle.

The thousands of people followed the "lion" and went from house to house to offer New Year's greetings. The grand scene moved Qiao Erhe deeply. Such a scene could only be seen in this era. In later generations, the traditional custom of "lion" offering New Year's greetings disappeared into the long river of time.

After watching the lion dance performance for over an hour in Guihua Brigade, Qiao Erhe and his sister suddenly heard someone in the crowd say, "Third Uncle, I just heard someone say that there are people performing dragon lantern dances in the commune. Do you want to go and see?"

"Alright, we've seen enough of the 'lion' New Year's greetings, let's go see the dragon lantern performance!"

"I haven't seen a dragon lantern performance in over ten years, I'd like to go and take a look."

Qiao Erhe's heart stirred upon hearing this. In their Cenhe area, various folk dances were popular, with the main performance forms including lion dance, dragon lantern dance (commonly known as playing with dragon lanterns), lotus boat dance, clam spirit dance, and stilt dance.

These folk dances are mainly performed by villagers during the Spring Festival to celebrate the new year.

As for dragon lantern performances, they have been suspended for more than a decade for well-known reasons, and many young people are unaware of what dragon lantern performances are like.

Now that they had seen enough of the lion dance, Qiao Erhe notified his brothers and sisters, saying, "Someone in the commune is performing a dragon lantern dance; let's go check it out."

Qiao Dajiang and the others readily agreed. The lion dance performance by the Guihua Brigade was indeed spectacular, but the repetitive movements greatly diminished its appeal. It would be better to go to the commune to watch other people perform the dragon lantern dance.

Moreover, apart from Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Erhe, none of the other younger siblings had ever seen what it was like to play with a dragon lantern, and they were all very curious.

Among the crowd, there were quite a few people like the Qiao siblings. After receiving the news, at least half of them chose to go to the commune to watch the dragon lantern dance.

This place was not far from the commune, and soon the Qiao siblings arrived at the place where the dragon lantern was played with the others.

Dragon lanterns in the Cenhe area are generally made of bamboo and wood, with a dragon head, body, and tail, connected by cloth to form a whole, and can be several meters long. They come in red, yellow, blue, white, and black.

The performance consists of about 20 people. One person holds a pearl and leads the long dragon in the prelude. The others climb on the dragon's head, body, and tail. The dragon's head follows the pearl, and the long dragon follows the head, leaping left and right, and dancing up and down, making the shapes of "dragon playing with pearl", "dragon soaring and flipping", and "dragon wagging its tail".

Meanwhile, the entire process is accompanied by traditional percussion instruments, and the dragon dance reaches its climax when the rhythm is tight and powerful, while the dragon dance is usually in a leisurely state.

In addition, in the Cenhe area, there are also people who play with grass dragon lanterns. Most of these are for the purpose of warding off evil spirits and thanking the gods. The grass dragon lanterns are made of grass woven into the body and tail of the dragon, and they are burned after the performance.

When Qiao Erhe and the others arrived, the dragon dance was in a relaxed state.

Before long, as the rhythm of the percussion instruments became more powerful, the dragon dance reached its climax. The exciting scene and atmosphere were no less impressive than the "lion" New Year's greetings we had just seen. However, the dragon dance was certainly not as thrilling and exciting as the lion dance in terms of skill.

After the climax, it's inevitable to feel a bit bored.

Seeing that it was getting late, Qiao Erhe said to his siblings, "Big brother, we've seen enough now. I'm going back to eat something and go to sleep. What about you?"

Qiao Dajiang said, "Then let's go back. There's really nothing else to see."

Qiao Sanduo and the others agreed, so the siblings headed back home.

……

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, in most parts of the country, sons-in-law visit their parents-in-law with their wives and children to pay New Year's greetings.

In the Cenhe area, those who are engaged also visit their future in-laws' home to offer New Year's greetings and gifts in the years leading up to their wedding, just like a true son-in-law. Therefore, after breakfast, Qiao Dajiang began to prepare New Year's gifts, preparing to visit his future mother-in-law in Xujiatai.

This time, Qiao Dajiang didn't bring preserved vegetables. Instead, he brought cigarettes, alcohol, tea, eggs, and pastries—all high-end items that would surely impress his future in-laws.

Qiao Erhe actually wanted to visit the Su family on this day, but considering the importance of this day, and that the Su family also had their own relatives to visit, he decided to choose another day to pay his respects since his identity was unclear. He didn't want to go and join the crowd on this day.

What's more, today the siblings are also going with Fatty Ba to pay New Year's respects to their uncles.

In the Cenhe area, there is a set order for New Year's greetings. As the saying goes, a mother has her maternal uncles, and a grandfather has his paternal uncles. New Year's greetings are generally given according to the fixed public order of bloodline, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins. In other words, the first person to be greeted is the closest relative.

However, the closeness of each family is different, and each family naturally knows how to choose who to visit for the New Year.

Since we had already said goodbye to the New Year before the holiday, there was no surprise of a long-awaited reunion. We just sat together, ate and drank, and chatted about everyday things.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the family headed home.

Not long after they returned, Qiao Dajiang also came back, just like when he went to say goodbye before the New Year. He returned with a flushed face from drinking, clearly because his future in-laws had given him a proper welcome.

Before we knew it, it was the third day of the Lunar New Year. The family got up early and set up incense bowls and candlesticks in the courtyard. Qiao Erhe, the head of the family, lit the candles and incense, knelt down to worship heaven and earth, and then set off firecrackers to send off the New Year.

During these three days, one cannot pour water or garbage out, cannot fetch water, cannot quarrel or say unlucky things, and women cannot do needlework.

After the New Year celebrations ended on the third day of the Lunar New Year, and after offering sacrifices to the Dragon King in the river, the remaining water, ash, and other debris from the past few days could be sent away, and the task of fetching water for washing could begin.

However, on the other hand, although the most important days of the Lunar New Year in Cenhe area are the first, second and third days, and the New Year is sent off on the third day, there are actually three other important days besides these three: the seventh day, the ninth day and the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The seventh day of the first lunar month is "Renri" (Human Day), a saying that has been around for a long time. As early as the Han Dynasty, Dongfang Shuo said in his book "Zhan Shu" (Book of Divination): "Eight days after the New Year (i.e., after New Year's Eve), the first day is for chickens, the second for dogs, the third for pigs, the fourth for sheep, the fifth for cattle, the sixth for horses, the seventh for humans, and the eighth for grains."

This is also recorded in the "Chronicle of Seasonal Customs in Jingchu" by Zong Lin of the Liang Dynasty: "On the seventh day of the first month, people make soup with seven kinds of vegetables, cut colored paper into human figures, or carve gold foil into human figures to paste on screens and also wear them in their hair; they also make flower ornaments to give to each other, and climb to high places to compose poems."

On the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month, people in the Cenhe area set off firecrackers, and they do so in a basin or net, making a loud banging sound. It is said that setting off these firecrackers will bring prosperity to people and livestock.

The ninth day of the first lunar month is called Shangjiu in the Cenhe area. It is a very important day after the New Year. After all, in ancient my country, nine represents the extreme number and is the most noble number among all numbers. Shangjiu is the first nine-day period of the year, so it is naturally very important.

If you can't finish making New Year's visits on the first, second, and third days of the Lunar New Year, then you can skip the next few days and just schedule it for the "Shangjiu" day, which will make the host very happy.

Qiao Erhe then chose to visit the Su family on the ninth day of the first lunar month, bringing gifts with him.

……

noon.

After getting off work, Su Jinxiu rode her bicycle home.

The weather is cold these days. I don't feel it much when walking, but when I ride a bicycle, the cold wind is biting and makes me shiver.

Fortunately, Su Jinxiu had wrapped herself up tightly, wearing a fluffy hat, a scarf around her neck, and gloves on her hands. Only her face was unprotected, and she felt a bit uncomfortable from the cold wind.

As she passed by a certain place, Su Jinxiu subconsciously glanced at it. This was where the Qiao brothers set up their egg stall. However, it was during the Spring Festival, and she hadn't seen Qiao Erhe for a long time before and after the New Year.

"I wonder when this guy started setting up a stall in Shashi. He's kept his eggs for so long, the quantity must be astonishing!"

With Qiao Erhe in mind, Su Jinxiu unknowingly returned to the family compound of the Industry and Commerce Bureau.

About a hundred meters away from the family compound, Su Jinxiu spotted Qiao Erhe waiting there at a glance. She was both surprised and delighted. She immediately stopped her bicycle in front of him and greeted him with a smile, "Brother Qiao, Happy New Year!"

Qiao Erhe bowed to her and said, "Jinxiu, Happy New Year! Wishing you prosperity!"

"Congratulations on getting rich! What kind of wealth could a mere employee like me possibly have!"

At this point, Su Jinxiu asked, "Have you been waiting here for a long time?"

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "No, I know you have to go to work, so I came at just the right time."

Su Jinxiu nodded and said, "Let's go then!"

Qiao Erhe said, "I apologize for coming today. Should you go back and inform your parents first?"

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "It's alright, come with me. With these two jars of sweet glutinous rice wine you brought, my parents will welcome you no matter when you come."

Qiao Erhe smiled upon hearing this and, without saying anything more, took the gifts and followed Su Jinxiu into the family compound.

……

Su family.

In the kitchen, Su's mother was busy cooking.

In the living room, Su Jianguo was chatting with his son Su Shanhe, mainly talking about some things within the system.

After all, his son was a proper college student, and after graduation, he would definitely work in the system like him. Therefore, whenever Su Jianguo had time, he would teach his son some ways of being an official and dealing with people, so that his son would not be a naive greenhorn after entering the system, because he would not go far.

In particular, Su Jianguo would repeatedly bring up some thrilling examples of struggles and analyze them with his son, discussing what methods to use to win the struggle if the same thing happened.

Just as the Su father and son were chatting, they suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Su Jianguo checked the time and said, "I guess your sister forgot her keys. Go and open the door for her!"

Su Shanhe responded and got up to open the door: "Sister, you're back. Oh... who is this?"

Su Jinxiu smiled and introduced them: "Shanhe, this is my friend Qiao Erhe. Brother Qiao, this is my brother Su Shanhe. You can just call him Shanhe."

Qiao Erhe immediately greeted him with a smile, "Shanhe, Happy New Year."

Su Shanhe also greeted him, saying, "Brother Qiao, Happy New Year."

Hearing the commotion, Su Jianguo, who was sitting in the living room, got up and came over, greeting him with a big smile: "Comrade Qiao is here!"

Qiao Erhe handed the gifts in his hand to the Su siblings, then bowed and said, "Uncle Su, I've come to wish you a Happy New Year. Congratulations on your promotion and prosperity in the new year."

Su Jianguo laughed and said, "Thank you for your kind words. I also congratulate Comrade Qiao on your prosperous New Year."

After the Su family father and daughter welcomed Qiao Erhe into the house, Su's mother, who was busy in the kitchen, came out when she heard the noise.

"It's Comrade Qiao! Congratulations on your prosperous New Year!"

"Aunt Su, I've come to wish you a Happy New Year! Congratulations on getting younger and younger every year."

Mrs. Su smiled broadly and said, "Thank you, Comrade Qiao. Please have a seat. I'll cook two more dishes, and then we can eat."

Holding the two jars of sweet glutinous rice wine that Qiao Erhe brought, Su Shanhe said with shining eyes, "Brother Qiao, your sweet glutinous rice wine is absolutely amazing! The taste is indescribable. I've never tasted such delicious wine before!"

What's most amazing is its health benefits. I drank a lot of it after returning from my vacation, and I feel my physical condition is much better than before!

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "If you like to drink, come to my house as a guest during summer vacation this year. You can drink as much as you want then."

Su Shanhe's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "Brother Qiao, you said it yourself, right? I'll definitely come to your house as a guest." As he said this, Su Shanhe glanced at his sister and then added, "Take my sister with me."

"This brother-in-law is easy to get along with," Qiao Erhe said with a smile. "No problem, I'll definitely treat you well."

Su Shanhe said with great interest, "I've heard that there are many birds in the countryside. Brother Qiao, you have to take me to hunt some birds. I've never experienced the kind of rural life where you hunt birds and catch fish before!"

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "That's easy. I'll get a hunting rifle and we'll go bird hunting together."

In those days, my country had not yet begun to ban guns. Hunting rifles were common in almost every village. Given Qiao Erhe's status in the village, it would have been no problem for him to get a hunting rifle for hunting.

Su Shanhe's eyes lit up as he said, "Brother Qiao, it's settled then. When summer vacation comes this year, my sister and I will visit your house. You have to show us around!"

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "No problem, I'll be waiting for you."

Seeing this man getting along so well with her younger brother, and remembering how her parents had praised him before, Su Jinxiu couldn't help but feel a little strange.

She's not young anymore. Many girls her age are either married or engaged. It's rare to find someone like her who hasn't gotten engaged yet.

Last year, her mother was quite worried about her and even wanted to ask someone to find her a partner. But after she met Qiao Erhe, her mother never mentioned finding her a partner again, obviously because she felt that this man had the potential to become her son-in-law.

Su Jinxiu's idea was to let things take their course, let the two spend more time together, and if they were truly compatible, they would naturally come together.

In any case, matters of the heart should not be rushed.

(End of this chapter)