Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

As the saying goes, "On the 23rd, sticky candy; on the 24th, write the character '福' (fortune); on the 25th, sweep away the old soil; on the 26th, stew pork; on the 27th, kill the rooster; on the 28th, prepare the dough; on the 29th, go buy wine; and on New Year's Eve, stay up all night."

Lin Shengli returned to Heisonggou Village on the last day of the Lunar New Year, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, when preparations for the festival had already quietly begun.

A joyful atmosphere permeated the village.

The chimneys of every household seemed to be emitting smoke for longer periods of time.

The air was filled with the faint aroma of steamed noodles, the oily fragrance of fried New Year's goods, and the rich aroma of braised meat.

These flavors intertwine, heralding the approaching New Year.

The children, dressed in bulky cotton-padded jackets and trousers, their faces red from the cold, chased and played in the courtyard and alleyways that had been initially cleaned by the adults, their shouts particularly loud.

Occasionally, some daring child would light a disassembled "firecracker," and with a crisp "snap," startle a few dogs into barking, which would then draw laughter and scolding from the adults, but would only add to the lively and festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Lin Shengli and the other three educated youths came from all over the country, and their New Year customs were different.

But since we've settled in this rural Northeast, we naturally have to adapt to local customs.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, they made a special trip to Grandma Hu's house to ask her about the old customs of celebrating the New Year in the area.

As Grandma Hu sewed shoe soles, she recounted the customs with great familiarity: "In the old days, there were so many rules: ancestor worship, offering sacrifices, staying up late on New Year's Eve, kowtowing to relatives and friends, and dancing the Yangko... Now, some of these customs are no longer observed. But we still have to clean, prepare things, put up couplets, make dumplings, and have a reunion dinner, all for good luck and celebration."

When the topic of couplets came up, Jiang Yuanchao was a bit stumped: "Grandma, none of us have any red paper."

Grandma Hu laughed: "What's so difficult about that! Go find your Uncle Guangming! The team office always has some leftover red paper from previous years, so ask the village accountant to write a few pieces."

So Lin Shengli and the others went to the team headquarters and explained their purpose to Hu Guangming.

Hu Guangming readily agreed, rummaging through the cabinet and pulling out two sheets of paper with slightly rough edges but still red in color. He also took out half a bottle of ink and a worn-out calligraphy brush: "These are the only two sheets of red paper left. They're just enough for your educated youth settlement and Lin Shengli's room to put up."

The old accountant took the pen, pondered for a moment, and then wrote two couplets. The one for the educated youth was: "Refine your red heart in the vast countryside, take root in the countryside to carry out the revolution," with the horizontal inscription "Aspire to go far and wide."

The inscription for Lin Shengli's courtyard reads: "Silver needles and herbal medicine relieve pain, barefoot and devoted to the people," with the horizontal inscription "Hygiene Pioneer."

Although the language is straightforward, the black ink on red paper conveys a simple revolutionary enthusiasm and best wishes.

The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month is traditionally a day for "sweeping away the old soil," which symbolizes sweeping away bad luck and bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new.

Lin Shengli's house was spotless, but he still symbolically took a broom and swept it around the yard a few times.

Afterwards, he went out for a walk around the village and saw a bustling scene. The aunties and grandmas from the neighborhood, with old towels or scarves wrapped around their heads and their cotton-padded jacket sleeves rolled up high, were diligently sweeping away the dust and cobwebs that had accumulated on the beams and walls over the past year, using brooms with long handles and homemade feather dusters.

The men were responsible for the heavy physical labor, carefully moving the cabinets, tables, and benches in the room one by one, and then using large brooms to thoroughly sweep the dusty corners and under the kang (heated brick bed) that were usually hard to reach.

The children were also busy, and were assigned tasks, such as taking small brooms to clean the corners of the yard, or running around to help hand over tools or move light objects.

Although life was hard and resources were scarce, everyone's face was filled with anticipation for the New Year.

Seeing Lin Shengli strolling over, Aunt Liu, who was standing on a stool wiping the window frame, greeted him with a smile: "Dr. Lin, you live alone, so you must be quick to clean, right? Look at all the stuff we have in this house, we've been busy all morning and haven't even finished yet!"

Lin Shengli looked up and laughed, "Aunt Liu, mine was simple, I finished it in no time. Yours is so shiny!"

"It's Chinese New Year, so we need a fresh start!" Aunt Liu said, her hands moving non-stop, her voice full of enthusiasm.

After sweeping away the dust, the next step is to prepare food for the New Year, which is the most important part for every household.

Lin Shengli's space was well-stocked with supplies, including rice, flour, cooking oil, meat, eggs, poultry, and even rare and dried mountain delicacies.

But he knew in his heart that these things were not yet openly available. It was fine for him to enjoy them secretly behind closed doors, but if he were to openly take them to the educated youth settlement or distribute them to others, it would inevitably attract unnecessary attention and suspicion.

Fortunately, even during the Lunar New Year, people don't have that much in abundance right now.

They were perfectly content with just one or two more substantial dishes than usual.

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Shengli strolled over to the educated youth settlement.

The courtyard was also bustling with activity.

Jiang Yuanchao, wearing a makeshift "engineer's hat" folded from old newspapers, was standing on tiptoe, carefully cleaning the spider webs remaining on the beams and corners of the walls with a long-handled broom.

Wei Jun was sweating as he chopped firewood in a corner of the courtyard. With each swing of his axe, he split the large wooden stumps into evenly sized pieces of firewood, which he then stacked neatly.

Li Kuiyong was the strongest and was assigned to clear the thick snow and garbage piled up in the backyard. He worked so hard that he was sweating profusely, and his cotton-padded coat was open.

Seeing Lin Shengli approaching, Li Kuiyong straightened up, stuck his shovel into the snow, wiped the sweat from his brow, and grinned, "Shengli, you're here! Is your little yard all tidied up? We've been through a major campaign here!"

Lin Shengli walked over and nodded. "Mine was simple, I finished it in a few seconds. Yours is quite presentable." He paused, then lowered his voice and asked, "Kuiyong, tomorrow's the 26th, are you free? Shall we go for a walk in the mountains?"

Li Kuiyong's eyes lit up immediately: "Go into the mountains? In this weather? Hunting?" He subconsciously rubbed his hands together, clearly intrigued.

"Yeah, let's try our luck." Lin Shengli said casually, "I've been cooped up in training for more than two months, and I really want to go up the mountain to stretch my muscles. Even if I can't catch any big livestock, I'll see if I can run into a pheasant or a rabbit. It's better than staying at home."

"Sure!" Li Kuiyong immediately perked up, his voice rising a few decibels. "I'm so tired of tidying up these odds and ends at home! Yuanchao and Junzi are meticulous and skillful, so it'll be perfect for them to finish the rest. We'll go first thing tomorrow morning!"

After the two agreed, Lin Shengli greeted Jiang Yuanchao inside the house and Wei Jun in the yard.

Jiang Yuanchao got off the stool, pushed up his glasses that had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and looked at him with concern behind the lenses: "It's freezing cold here, the mountain roads are slippery, and wild animals are short of food. Isn't it too dangerous?"

Wei Jun, however, was quite easygoing. He stopped chopping wood and laughed, "Go on, go on, wear more clothes and bundle up. If we can really bring back some game, our New Year's Eve dinner will be truly impressive! Yuan Chao and I will take care of the cleanup around the house. Oh, by the way," he remembered something, "Captain Hu mentioned yesterday that the team might be distributing soybean oil tomorrow, per person. When we go to collect it, we'll bring your share back too."

Lin Shengli nodded: "Okay, then I'll leave the 'home' to you. We'll try to come back as soon as possible so as not to cause any trouble."

As we left the educated youth settlement, the sun was already setting in the west, and the sky was a clear grayish-blue.

Lin Shengli thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards Hu Guangming's house.

Hu Guangming was in his own yard, directing his eldest son to paste paper on the windows.

The old window paper was carefully torn off, revealing dried traces of old paste on the window frame.

The father and son used a brush to dip into freshly cooked, thick batter and carefully pasted the cut pieces of "rough paper" onto it. Then they used a clean cloth to press it down little by little, removing air bubbles and making sure that the edges and corners were neat and tidy.

"Uncle Guangming, you're busy," Lin Shengli called out from outside the fence.

"Victory! Come on in, it's cold standing in the yard, come inside and sit down." Hu Guangming turned around and saw him, waving enthusiastically, his hands still covered in flour paste. "Finished sweeping the house? You're so fast, all by yourself."

"Well, I just tidied up a bit, not much stuff." Lin Shengli walked into the yard, looking at the half-painted window. "Uncle, I'm thinking of going into the mountains with Kuiyong tomorrow to see if we can find some New Year's goods."

Upon hearing this, Hu Guangming paused in his actions, his brows furrowing slightly.

He turned around, wiped his hands on his old cotton-padded coat, and his tone became serious: "In this freezing weather, the snow in the mountains can be knee-deep. It'll be difficult to walk, not to mention what if you two young people run into some hungry wild animals? Are you sure you can handle it? How about I have Lao Pao go with you when he has some free time? He knows the way well and has experience."

Lin Shengli is now the only licensed barefoot doctor in the village, and Hu Guangming truly regards him as a "precious asset," fearing that he might make the slightest mistake.

Lin Shengli understood Hu Guangming's concerns, but still said firmly, "Uncle, don't worry, we won't go deep into the mountains. We'll just go to those familiar gullies near the back of the mountain to see if the traps we set before have yielded any results, and we'll also collect some firewood. We promise not to take any risks, and we'll definitely be back before dark."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, and knowing that he was usually steady and not reckless, Hu Guangming pondered for a moment and finally nodded: "Alright, you must be extra careful, go and come back as soon as possible, safety first." He leaned forward and lowered his voice even further, "If you really find anything in the mountains, just bring it back quietly, don't make a fuss about it everywhere."

Lin Shengli felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that this was Hu Guangming's heartfelt protection and reminder. He nodded solemnly in agreement, "I understand, Uncle. Thank you for reminding me."

As Lin Shengli left Hu Guangming's house, only a faint, dark red sunset remained on the horizon. Instead of returning directly to his courtyard, he turned and headed towards the small supply and marketing cooperative's sales point at the west end of the village.

The consignment shop was dimly lit, with sparse shelves and a very limited selection of goods.

But with the Lunar New Year approaching, there are more "New Year's goods" on the counter than usual.

Lin Shengli looked around and bought half a pound of fruit candy, intending to give some to the children who came to visit during the New Year. He also bought two packs of "economic" cigarettes to entertain guests and two bottles of bulk liquor.

These items are not particularly outstanding; they are the most common and safest things to bring when giving gifts during the Lunar New Year or when entertaining guests in rural areas.