February 8th, New Year's Eve.
Before 7 AM, Tan Jincheng was pulled out of bed by Tan Lihua.
In the morning, the entire village would gather at the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors.
The ceremony would begin promptly at 10 AM, and those who missed it would miss it; there would be no waiting.
Ancestral worship typically involved forming teams based on brothers from the same branch.
For example, on Tan Jincheng's side of the family, counting from his grandfather's generation, Tan Lihua's generation had over 10 brothers who formed a team to worship together.
Each household, from oldest to youngest, was responsible for the ancestral worship activities during Qingming Festival, the Ghost Festival (Seventh Month Half), and New Year's.
The New Year's worship was much grander, requiring preparations such as a pig's head, cold chicken, cold fish, tea, wine, and other sacrificial items.
At least one string of firecrackers for each grave mound, and these alone were quite a lot.
In lean years, ancestral worship was also a significant expense.
He remembered his grandfather once saying that when everyone was very poor, each household would chip in money for the annual ancestral worship.
This year, a granduncle from his paternal grand-grandfather's family was in charge, so things like pig's heads didn't need to be prepared.
However, with Tan Jinyue's birth, Tan Lihua also had to prepare a few extra strings of firecrackers and fireworks.
After ancestral worship in the morning, households would post couplets around two or three in the afternoon.
If one saw a courtyard with couplets already posted, they couldn't enter before the New Year's Eve dinner concluded, so as not to disturb the household's good fortune for the new year.
New Year's Eve dinner was relatively early for every household; most finished before 6 PM.
After dinner, people were free to do as they pleased, and the sounds of firecrackers could be heard everywhere in the village and surrounding hamlets, filling the air.
No matter how the year had been, tonight everyone would let down their guard and happily celebrate the New Year.
His grandparents stayed with Tan Jincheng's family to celebrate the New Year in the ancestral house.
This building was constructed in 1997, a year when rebar and cement were particularly expensive, and they even borrowed some money back then.
Then, they encountered the great flood of 1998.
Those days were likely the most difficult period for Tan Lihua after starting his family and career.
Eight years passed, and though the house was somewhat old, the small building with its red brick and precast slab structure remained sturdy.
However, his grandfather said that if there were strong winds and heavy rain, the roof tiles would leak.
Tan Lihua's intention was to wait a couple of years until the family's finances were more comfortable to renovate it from the inside out.
They originally had this plan for this year, but Tan Jincheng wanted to buy a house, so they dropped it.
Tan Jincheng didn't object, nor could he.
The older generation's attachment to their hometown was deeply rooted; many who had developed their careers elsewhere for years, even those whose homesteads had been reclaimed, would try every possible means to return home and build a house.
Those who truly couldn't obtain a homestead would rely on brothers who remained in the village, using their homesteads to build houses, leaving a few rooms for themselves to live in when they returned for festivals and holidays.
The sentiment of those born in the 60s and 70s towards their hometown was something the 80s and 90s generations could not understand.
Even in poverty, they still yearned for it.
Around 7 PM, more and more people started visiting houses in the village.
Some were paying New Year's greetings to elders, while others were calling out to friends to organize mahjong games.
In previous years, Tan Jincheng would not have been invited to play mahjong.
For some reason, quite a few people invited Tan Jincheng to play mahjong this year, but Tan Jincheng declined all of them, citing the need to look after his younger sister.
His younger siblings also came to pay New Year's greetings to their grandparents, each carrying fireworks.
They weren't planning on leaving later, as Big Brother had not only plenty of fireworks and firecrackers, but also many unfamiliar and untasted snacks, and some fun toys.
At 8 PM, the Spring Festival Gala officially began.
The quality of the Gala at this time was still quite high.
After the opening dance, it was Huazi's solo rendition of "Gong Xi Fa Cai".
"I wish you prosperity, I wish you brilliance; let the best come, let the bad go, courtesy never offends."
Such was the charm of music; a few simple lines drew Tan Jincheng, who had been somewhat detached from this era, right in.
At this time, Zhou Dong, who would later be revered, still carried the title of being the 'eternal runner-up'.
In 2003, 'Dong Feng Po' lost to 'Twilight' at the Golden Melody Awards, and in 2004, 'Qilixiang' lost to 'Jiangnan'.
If nothing unexpected happened, this year he would lose again to 'Fairy Tale', released on January 21st.
As a fan of Zhou Dong, if other songs losing to that year's champion could be called unjust, then losing to 'Fairy Tale' in 2005 was no injustice at all.
From the moment 'Fairy Tale' was released, its spread was like the circulation of air.
Just how popular 'Fairy Tale' was in 2005, only those who experienced that era would know.
To exaggerate slightly, in 2005, all other songs combined couldn't beat 'Fairy Tale' and its music video; 'Nocturne' losing to it was no injustice at all.
In his memory, from 2003 to 2008, among the annual Golden Melody Award winners, wasn't Zhou Dong always the runner-up?
Tan Jincheng watched the Spring Festival Gala with great interest.
There was a female actress in the host team and in a skit who seemed to have passed away quite early in later years, and also some actors who would never appear on the big screen again in the future.
For example, the son of Long Ge, who was the first to appear in this year's pop medley.
After a certain incident, he would completely disappear from the public eye.
And immediately after this kid's appearance was actually "Mouse Loves Rice," a viral internet song that surprisingly made it onto the Spring Festival Gala.
This was quite a surprise; why didn't he remember it before?
You know what, viral internet songs were synonymous with being 'tacky' in this era, but for someone like Tan Jincheng, who had experienced the 'crap-like' music scene of later generations, this song actually wasn't bad at all!
Those catchy, 'shallow' songs once thought unfit for the stage, when heard again, were already our youth~
Tan Jincheng watched the Spring Festival Gala intently for four hours, a level of engagement he had never shown before.
This made Zhang Suzhi somewhat puzzled; ever since he returned home, her son usually didn't watch TV much, except for occasionally tuning into sports channels.
Even before, she had never seen him watch the Spring Festival Gala so earnestly and honestly.
If it weren't for it being New Year's today, Zhang Suzhi would have really wanted to ask her son what was wrong.
As soon as the 12 o'clock bell rang, a new round of firecrackers erupted in the village.
These were New Year's firecrackers to welcome the new spring, and every household had to set them off.
The crackling sounds made Tan Jinyue cry loudly.
During these New Year days, little Tan Jinyue suffered greatly.
The sporadic sounds of firecrackers often scared her, and her usual routine was severely disrupted.
After the midnight bell, there were still some programs left in the Spring Festival Gala, but at this point, he no longer had the mind to watch.
Except for those staying up to welcome the New Year, everyone was going to bed.
Tan Jincheng's phone started ringing incessantly, and he no longer had the mind to watch the Spring Festival Gala.
Text messages for New Year's greetings were popular these days, and those who knew Tan Jincheng's phone number were mostly business partners and work-related contacts.
Among his classmates, only Zhang Xupeng and Chen Shuyi knew Tan Jincheng's phone number.
However, some classmates with whom he had a good relationship in the past would also send New Year's greeting messages on QQ.
Of course, most people sent mass messages; but regardless of whether it was a mass message or not, he had to reply to the messages and calls he received.
It was a matter of politeness.
"Hmm? Why did she send a message too?"
(End of Chapter)
---------------------
Support me on P@treon
[email protected]/charaz
$3 -> 15 chapters in advance
$5 -> 30 chapters in advance
$10 -> 60 chapters in advance
Check my pinned post on P@treon