1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 77: The streets were deserted.
(The previous chapter was originally intended to have the protagonist spend the Lantern Festival with the female lead in Shashi, but I thought it might be inappropriate, so I revised it.)

Cenhe Commune.

A sewing shop.

Qiao Dajiang and Xu Cuihua ordered clothes here.

Now that the Qiao family has chosen an auspicious day to inform the bride's family, the bride's family has also officially presented the gift list, which requires two sets of clothes. Therefore, today Qiao Dajiang accompanied Xu Cuihua to the sewing shop to order clothes.

In this day and age, it's incredibly kind of the bride to only ask for two outfits when getting married; it's practically the bare minimum requirement.

Most women requested four or six sets of clothes, and some even requested eight sets. In the days when cloth ration coupons were needed to buy fabric, these requests were a real headache for countless families. It wasn't that they couldn't afford the money, but the key was that cloth ration coupons were hard to come by!
After the tailor took Xu Cuihua's measurements, Qiao Dajiang said, "Master, we need to order six sets of clothes, using the best polyester fabric."

Polyester khaki fabric, also known as polyester khaki cloth.

Of course, it also has another well-known name: Dacron.

This fabric was popular in Hong Kong in the 20th century, and it was called "Dacron" because of the Cantonese pronunciation of the English name for polyester, Terylene.

In the 1970s and 80s, Dacron was truly synonymous with fashion and high-end. Whoever owned a Dacron shirt would be the coolest kid in the whole village.

Upon hearing this, Xu Cuihua tugged at Qiao Dajiang's clothes and whispered, "Brother Dajiang, aren't we only making two sets of clothes?"

Qiao Dajiang recalled what his second brother had told him last night: marriage is an important moment that women should remember for a lifetime. Even decades later, when they talk about their wedding, women can still clearly describe the dowry and other gifts they received.

Therefore, in order not to leave his sister-in-law with any regrets and to give her more face, the second brother suggested that he, as the eldest brother, should adjust the gift list appropriately, such as increasing the number of custom-made clothes from two to six.

This small change won't cost much money, but it will make the Qiao family and the eldest sister-in-law proud when they talk about it in the future.

Qiao Dajiang thought it made sense, so he adopted his second brother's suggestion and ordered six sets of clothes for his future wife.

Now, upon hearing Xu Cuihua's question, Qiao Dajiang smiled and said, "I know that when my parents-in-law made the gift list, it was to take care of me and reduce my burden. But since my parents-in-law are taking such good care of me, I can't be inconsiderate. These two sets of clothes are not enough. At least six sets should be made."

Xu Cuihua was truly touched by his words. The four extra sets of clothes were nothing compared to Qiao Dajiang's affection for her. She looked at him with teary eyes and asked, "Do you have enough cloth coupons?"

"Don't worry, it's enough."

After saying that, Qiao Dajiang paid the money and cloth coupons, and then agreed on a date to pick up the clothes. Only then did he and Xu Cuihua walk out of the sewing shop.

This time, the two of them went out to order clothes, which could be considered their first date.

Qiao Dajiang checked the time and suggested, "Cuihua, let's go eat first, and then I'll take you back. While you're at it, could you take me to the Dingxiang Temple ruins to see that 1,700-year-old ginkgo tree? My second son told me that the ancient ginkgo tree is very beautiful!"

Xu Cuihua laughed and said, "That ginkgo tree is indeed very beautiful, especially in autumn when the leaves turn golden yellow and are extremely beautiful under the sunlight. But now it's winter, and the ginkgo tree has lost all its leaves, leaving it bare and not pretty at all."

Uh… Qiao Dajiang smiled awkwardly and said, “I’d forgotten that ginkgo trees lose all their leaves in winter.”

Xu Cuihua smiled and said, "If you want to see that ancient ginkgo tree, I'll take you there when the leaves grow back, or when the leaves turn golden in autumn. That's when it will be the most beautiful."

Qiao Dajiang said, "Alright then, let's not go to the Dingxiang Temple ruins yet. Let's go see a movie after we finish eating?"

Xu Cuihua nodded and said, "Okay, let's go see a movie then."

……

The Lantern Festival is the last important festival in the Chinese New Year tradition.

Before the Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival was often called "Yuan Ye", "Yuan Xi", or "Shang Yuan", while the term "Yuan Xiao" is more commonly used in literature after the Song Dynasty.

The Lantern Festival has a long history of development, and there are many theories about its origin. One of the more influential theories is that it originated from Emperor Wu of Han lighting lamps to worship the God Taiyi on the first Xin day of the first lunar month.

Therefore, if we start counting from the Western Han Dynasty, it has existed in China for more than two thousand years.

Since the Taichu Calendar was established and promulgated in the Han Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has been designated as a major festival.

Since the Tang Dynasty, there has been a custom of viewing lanterns during the Lantern Festival, so the Lantern Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival. With the development of the times, the Lantern Festival has become more and more grand, with stronger national characteristics, and the lantern season has become longer and longer.

The Lantern Festival lasted one day in the Han Dynasty, three days in the Tang Dynasty, five days in the Song Dynasty, and was extended to a full ten days from the eighth to the eighteenth day in the Ming Dynasty, making it the longest Lantern Festival in Chinese history. In the Qing Dynasty, it was shortened to four or five days.

In the Cenhe area, the Lantern Festival is also highly valued.

On this night, every household eats glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) to celebrate the Lantern Festival, and then plays dragon lantern dances, lotus boat dances, stilt dances, and lion dances. The sound of gongs and drums fills the air, and firecrackers are set off continuously. Every village is packed with people, and the fun continues until late at night.

In some villages, people even invite the God of Baskets or the God of Prayer at night to inquire about the harvest.

At the same time, the wife will also go back to her parents' home to pay New Year's visits and may stay for a while.

In 2012, Cenhe Town hosted a grand Lantern Festival, a renowned knitting town in China, which drew huge crowds and was an unprecedented spectacle.

The following year, Cenhe Town held another "Building a Town-Level City, Jointly Constructing a New Cenhe Lantern Festival", which also attracted people from many surrounding counties and cities to come and see the lanterns.

The two lantern festivals attracted visitors from more than ten surrounding counties, cities, and districts, including Jingzhou, Jiangling, Shishou, Jianli, Honghu, Gong'an, Songzi, and Yichang, with a total of 25 visitors, making them incredibly popular.

Today is the Lantern Festival, and people from all the natural villages in Hongshan Brigade will gather at the brigade to perform. Qiaojiawan has prepared a lotus boat dance.

Among the various folk dances in Cenhe area, the most common and with the largest number of participants is actually dragon lantern dancing. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, you can see dragon lanterns of various colors dancing in almost every village.

The Lotus Boat Dance, also known as the Lotus Boat Dance, is a popular folk dance in the Cenhe area.

The lotus boat dance is performed by three people: one plays the woman, one plays the boatman, and one plays the boatwoman, while there are more than ten people accompanying the dancers and singers.

The decorated boats are made with bamboo and wood frames, with a boat-shaped bottom about five or six feet long, and a tower or pavilion on top, all covered with colorful paper.

During the performance, a young woman stood in the boat, holding onto the edge of the boat with both hands, making a swaying motion.

The boatman (who poles the boat) wears a straw hat or bamboo hat, holds a bamboo pole in one hand, and pulls the colorful boat with the other, constantly swaying or rowing as if he were rowing. The boatwoman (who drives the boat) holds a broken banana leaf fan and makes funny faces as the boat moves to amuse the passengers.

The decorated boats swayed and danced to the songs of the boatmen and singers. Every two lines of the song, the boatman would pole the boat several times, and the boat would spin and dance. When the pole stopped, the dance would stop, and the singing would continue.

The lyrics are mostly auspicious phrases, accompanied by traditional percussion instruments, and occasionally firecrackers are set off to express gratitude. It is a very wonderful folk dance, and you can only experience the charm of this traditional folk dance by watching it live.

Unfortunately, in later generations, this kind of performance became increasingly rare. Before his rebirth, Qiao Erhe had not seen a lotus-picking boat performance for more than ten years.

Because they were going to the brigade to watch a performance that evening, the Qiao family ate dinner much earlier than usual. After dinner, the family took turns boiling water to take a bath. They knew they wouldn't be back until late at night, and by then it would be too late to take a bath.

Therefore, I need to take a shower first before watching the various performances.

Of course, with the weather being cold these days, many people in the village only take a bath every one or two days, and it's even normal for some unhygienic people to only take a bath every three or four days. When they don't take a bath, they just wash their face and feet and that's it.

In his previous life, Qiao Erhe was used to taking a bath every day. After being reborn, he also had the habit of taking a bath every day. Under his influence, his other siblings also took baths every day. Only Fatty Ba did not change her lifestyle and still took a bath every one or two days.

After the siblings had all finished bathing, Qiao Erhe said to the two strong local dogs in the house, "Dahuang and Xiaohuang, you two have to guard the house well tonight, understand?"

"Wang Wang!"

"Wang Wang!"

Both yellow mongrels wagged their tails and barked, as if in response to Qiao Erhe.

With these two local dogs guarding the house, the Qiao siblings felt at ease heading to the brigade.

As darkness fell, the villagers hurried toward the main group in groups.

In fact, it wasn't just Qiaojiawan; people in other natural villages of the entire Hongshan Brigade did the same. In this era of limited entertainment, as long as they were healthy, they would all come out to watch the festivities on the Lantern Festival.

The brigade was not far from Qiaojiawan; it only took a few minutes to get there.

From afar, you could see the threshing ground of the brigade bustling with people.

Of course, this statement is a bit of an exaggeration. After all, among the various brigades in the Cenhe area, the Hongshan Brigade has a relatively small number of people, less than a thousand.

Unlike Muyuan Brigade and Malin Brigade, which have populations of over 2500.

Especially the Guihua Brigade, which was closest to the commune. Although it had the least amount of farmland, it had a population of over 3000, making it the most populous brigade in the Cenhe area. However, on the other hand, when several hundred people gathered together for activities, the scene was extremely lively.

"Third Uncle, I wish you a Happy New Year! Congratulations on your continued good health as you get older."

"Uncle Liu, I wish you a Happy New Year and all the best in the coming year."

"Grandma, I'm here to wish you a Happy New Year! Congratulations..."

"..."

They were all from Hongshan Brigade. Although they were not in the same natural village, many of them knew each other. This was the first time they had met since the New Year. In addition, since the various performances had not yet started, the acquaintances who met each other exchanged New Year's greetings.

The Qiao siblings also greeted each other with clasped hands and a New Year's bow when they met acquaintances.

When it was almost time, the various performances began one after another.

The threshing ground of this brigade is quite large. In addition to the part hardened with lime, the adjacent grassland can also be included. It can easily accommodate several thousand people.

Today, this place is divided into several areas: one for dragon lantern performances, one for lion dances, one for lotus boat performances, one for stilt walking, and one for clam spirit performances.

Qiao Erhe and his sister were the first to arrive at the lotus-picking boat area to watch the performance prepared by the people of Qiaojiawan.

The performance process has already been described before, so I won't repeat it again. Qiao Erhe, who hadn't seen it in a long time, watched it with great interest.

It wasn't until the lotus-picking boat dance had finished its performance and the performers were taking a break that Qiao Erhe and the others moved to other areas to watch the show.

Qiao Erhe and his siblings had already seen dragon lantern and lion dances on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so they came to the stilt walking area.

Stilt walking, also known as stilt dance or walking on stilts, involves a varying number of performers who dress up as various characters, with their feet tied to two or three-foot-high poles. They stand up and dance, often performing a folk dance or acting out their costumes and roles during the performance.

Tonight's stilt dance performance by the Hongshan Brigade featured performers portraying the legendary Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Regardless of whether the performers' performances were truly convincing, their costumes and various comical antics frequently elicited bursts of laughter from the audience.

After watching the stilt dance for a while, Qiao Erhe and his sister came to the clam shell dance area.

The performance of the clam shell dance is performed by two people. One person is dressed as a beautiful young woman, wearing colorful clothes and graceful posture. She hides inside a clam shell made of bamboo and paper that can be opened and closed. She holds the two edges of the clam shell with both hands and keeps opening and closing it, making it look like she is floating freely in the water.

One person, dressed as a fisherman (commonly known as Sha Wujing), carries a fish basket on his back and holds a fishing net, making actions such as preparing the net, casting the net, and pulling in the net, to show that he wants to catch the clam spirit.

Then, the clam spirit lured the fisherman with a dance, and the fisherman tried to catch the clam spirit.

With rich imagination and graceful dance moves, the two sides take turns rhythmically to the sound of gongs and drums. It has a strong local flavor and mythological color and is a folk dance with more characteristics in Cenhe area.

Undoubtedly, this unique folk dance will soon disappear from Cenhe. Qiao Erhe has not seen such a wonderful performance for many years, and he is watching it with great interest.

At the same time, Qiao Erhe also had a vague idea in his mind. This was a unique dance that had been passed down for many years in their Cenhe area. He had to make sure that such dances continued to be passed down and that these unique dances did not only exist in the memories of the older generation.

Making this happen is not difficult; all you need to do is invest money.

In any case, these traditional folk dances were popular in the Cenhe area in the 1980s. However, in the late 1990s, as entertainment options became more diverse, these traditional folk dances gradually declined, and fewer and fewer people participated in them.

Given Qiao Erhe's abilities, by the 1990s he would probably have become a very wealthy man. At that time, he could easily invest some money to keep these traditional folk dances vibrant.

Before we knew it, the performance of the clam shell dance was over.

Next, the Qiao siblings watched a series of exciting performances, including dragon lantern dances and lion dances.

After watching all the programs more than once, it was already late at night.

The performers on those shows were all exhausted after performing for several hours straight.

Having had their fill of fun, the villagers dispersed in small groups.

After returning home, Qiao Sanduo went straight to the kitchen to start a fire and cook glutinous rice balls.

Qiao Erhe looked at the night sky, wondering how Su Jinxiu was spending the Lantern Festival tonight.
……

In the early 1980s, contractors in the Cenhe area were still in their infancy.

Before this, when villagers built houses, they would call on relatives, friends, or brothers and uncles from the same village to help, and the houses could be built in a very short time.

The main reason is that in those days, villagers in the Cenhe area built new houses by building tile-roofed houses, which didn't require much technical skill, and almost everyone could help.

It wasn't until the 1980s that villagers began building multi-story houses, which required a certain level of technical expertise and led to the emergence of contractors.

Yang Mingkun, from the Guihua Brigade's Hualantai, was the first person in the entire Cenhe area to become a contractor.

After the Guihua Brigade distributed land to individual households last year, Yang Mingkun, who came from a background as a mason, was quick-witted. He gathered masons, tilers, carpenters, and other craftsmen in the village who were involved in construction and formed a highly skilled construction team to undertake house building projects.

In less than three months, their construction team undertook two house construction projects in the village, completing both projects quickly while ensuring quality. This earned them a good reputation in the village, and the team has grown to more than 20 people, showing promising prospects.

That day, after having breakfast, Yang Mingkun planned to go to other brigades to inquire about any families who needed to build new houses and see if he could take over the construction projects.

However, just as Yang Mingkun pushed his bicycle out, preparing to go out and inquire about the news, a young man rode his bicycle to his house.

The young man stopped his bicycle in front of Yang Mingkun and politely asked, "Hello comrade, is this Comrade Yang Mingkun's home?"

Yang Mingkun replied, "I am Yang Mingkun. May I ask who you are, comrade? What can I do for you?"

The young man smiled and said, "So you are Comrade Yang Mingkun. I am Qiao Erhe from Qiaojiawan, Hongshan Brigade. I heard that you have set up a construction team. My family is planning to build a new house, so I came to ask if your construction team has any time recently and if you can take on my job."

It turned out to be a customer. Yang Mingkun immediately parked his bicycle and greeted him with a smile: "Oh, it's Boss Qiao. Our construction team certainly has time. It's cold, so come in and have a cup of hot tea. We can talk about building the new house inside."

"Ok."

Qiao Erhe responded, parked his bicycle, and went inside with Yang Mingkun.

After entering the house, Yang Mingkun called out, "Wife, we have a guest. Quickly serve tea."

"coming!"

Soon, Madam Yang brought over two cups of tea.

Leaving aside the pleasantries, the two men took a sip of tea and then got down to business.

Without wasting words, Qiao Erhe pulled out the design blueprints for the townhouse from his pocket and handed them over, saying, "Comrade Yang, these are the design blueprints for the new house I want to build. Take a look and see if you can accept this project."

Yang Mingkun was somewhat surprised to hear this. Generally speaking, when rural people build houses, they usually tell the bricklayers roughly how many rooms they need and the approximate size of each room, and then leave the rest to the bricklayers to figure out.

This was the first time Yang Mingkun had ever seen someone like Qiao Erhe come to his door with house design plans.

When Yang Mingkun took the house design drawings, his eyes widened instantly. He was completely shocked by the design.

In this era, Yang Mingkun was able to become a contractor, so he naturally knew how to read house design plans. Therefore, he immediately recognized the brilliance of this townhouse. He really never expected that Qiao Erhe, a rural man like himself, would build such a luxurious and exquisite house.

Just by glancing at the house design drawings, Yang Mingkun knew that building this house would not only be extremely expensive, but would also require a large amount of steel bars and cement, which are not things that money can buy.

Therefore, after regaining his senses, Yang Mingkun bluntly said, "Boss Qiao, your new house has truly opened my eyes. However, I must make it clear to you beforehand that building this house requires a large amount of steel bars and cement, and I do not have the ability to help you purchase them."

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "Comrade Yang, you don't need to worry about any of the building materials. I will take care of them myself. You just need to help me build this house. I wonder if you and your construction team can do that?"

Yang Mingkun nodded and said, "Of course I can do it."

These townhouses are exquisitely luxurious in structure, but not particularly difficult to construct. Yang Mingkun is a bricklayer who inherited his father's business and has extensive experience in the construction industry. Even though he had never built a townhouse before, with these design drawings, construction was not a big challenge for his construction team.

"It's good that it can be built. Let's discuss the construction period and cost in detail!"

"Okay, Mr. Qiao, please have some tea first, and let me make an estimate."

Qiao Erhe nodded and waited for Yang Mingkun's estimate while drinking tea.

(End of this chapter)