With the deepening of reform and opening up, compared to the 1980s and 1990s, rural living standards after 2000 have significantly improved due to easier access to work opportunities outside the villages.
However, for those who are usually very frugal, there is still not much rich food in their bellies.
Therefore, rural banquets primarily focus on affordability.
There are no high-end ingredients, just common ones like pork, chicken, and fish, piled high on the plates.
The chef was from the same village.
In those days, no money was exchanged, but a carton of cigarettes was customary.
Tan Jincheng's fourth maternal uncle, Zhang Qingliang, was a good cook and often served as a chef for others during Chinese New Year.
However, today he was visiting as an uncle to offer congratulations and could not take on that role, as it would seem disrespectful.
Besides the eldest and second maternal uncles who had always stayed in the hometown, this was the first time the other three biological maternal uncles, born of the same mother as his mom, had met Tan Jinyue.
There was nothing for it; they were all working away from home, and when they returned, the family was busy.
His youngest maternal uncle would get married on the fourth day of the first lunar month this year.
He remembered in his previous life, he had climbed onto the rooftop platform to scatter wedding candies.
Being acrophobic, he was so scared that his legs trembled, not daring to look down, scattering the candies with his eyes closed.
"Let me use your car on the fourth day of the first lunar month to pick up guests,"
The youngest maternal uncle, Zhang Qingxuan, said to Tan Jincheng, who was serving dishes, during a lull in the meal.
"No problem."
It seemed he wouldn't have to climb onto the rooftop to scatter wedding candies this time.
With people coming and going, and his uncles getting tipsy, Tan Jincheng didn't find an opportunity to talk to his fourth uncle about renovations after the New Year and could only reluctantly give up.
He would have to bring it up again when visiting relatives on the second day of the first lunar month.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household cleaned their homes.
The main roads leading out of the village were bustling with people going to buy groceries, preparing for tomorrow's New Year's Eve dinner.
The Tan family was also doing their big cleanup.
Fearing that little Tan Jinyue would inhale dust, Tan Jincheng pushed her around in a stroller.
Passing by some households, he would occasionally hear children crying.
They were being beaten.
In the village, this was called "peeling skin," because children could not be disciplined during the first lunar month, so they would get a beating before the New Year to make the naughty children behave.
It was said that the Tan family's traditional pre-New Year event used to be a beating for Tan Licheng.
Among Tan Jincheng's generation, apart from Tan Licheng's paternal younger cousin Tan Jinen, none had received such treatment.
"Big Brother."
Speak of the devil and he appears; just as Tan Jincheng thought of Tan Jinen, he saw him running over in a hurry from behind.
Seeing his flustered look, Tan Jincheng guessed what had happened:
"Got another 'peeling'?"
"Yeah, I stole my dad's lighter to set off firecrackers, and he wanted to hit me, so I came out to hide."
10-year-old Tan Jinen said indifferently, then reached out to pinch little Tan Jinyue's cheek, scaring Tan Jincheng into quickly stopping him.
His mischief was intercepted, but Tan Jinen didn't mind.
He still followed behind Tan Jincheng, his large eyes darting around.
"Don't hurt your sister; she's still small and has tender skin. Your hands are dirty,"
Tan Jincheng warned.
"No way, I just wanted to touch her. Oh, by the way, Big Brother, can you buy me some pop-pops? My family doesn't have any left."
"You finished them all before the New Year?"
"Yeah, my dad won't buy me anymore. Big Brother, do you have money? Can you buy me a few boxes?"
"It's not that I can't buy them, but you can't throw them into haystacks. If a fire starts during New Year's, that's no laughing matter."
"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm, I'll throw them in an open space."
"Alright then, let's go to the small shop and see if they still have any."
Hearing this, Tan Jinen immediately trotted happily behind his paternal older cousin.
This kid was very shrewd; he had noticed that ever since Big Brother returned from the Mid-Autumn Festival, he seemed to have endless money and was also very agreeable.
Today, he tentatively asked for some pop-pops, not expecting Big Brother to agree so readily.
"Oh, I should have asked for bottle rockets. Those are more fun, just a lot more expensive than pop-pops."
The small shop at the village entrance wasn't far.
Usually, it just sold some meat and daily necessities to cover expenses.
During Chinese New Year, it would stock up heavily, mobilizing friends and relatives to buy New Year's goods wholesale from them, so its usual reputation was very important.
Even if it was a child, the shop owner would greet them with a smile.
It didn't matter if they didn't bring money; everyone was from the same village, and they basically knew all the children.
This was even more true for Tan Jinen, who was well-known in the village.
"Take whatever you fancy, and get some for your two elder sisters too."
The two elder sisters Tan Jincheng referred to were his paternal uncle's paternal younger female cousin and his aunt's paternal younger female cousin, both 12 years old this year.
Additionally, his paternal uncle and aunt each had a younger brother, both currently 5 years old.
The reason Tan Jinen was younger than his paternal uncle's paternal younger female cousin was that he had an older brother who died prematurely shortly after birth.
Perhaps due to this reason, Tan Jinen was quite pampered from birth, developing a naughty and mischievous personality.
However, after growing up, this boy became very stable, completely different from his childhood self.
Children raised in the countryside are mostly like this: mischievous in childhood, shouldering family responsibilities when they grow up.
"Really? I can take whatever I fancy?"
Tan Jinen's eyes lit up.
"Yes, you can take anything, but no large items, they're too dangerous."
Nowadays, the fireworks and firecrackers sold in these small shops were basically produced by some small factories nearby.
They had no licenses, and the quality was not guaranteed.
Every Chinese New Year, Tan Jincheng would hear news of someone getting injured by fireworks.
Tan Jinen felt that coming out today was the right decision.
His eyes gleamed as he stared at the fireworks and firecrackers in the corner, but he also knew his limits, taking only a few of each type.
It must be said that these younger siblings, whether mischievous or not, all had good upbringings.
While it's hard to say how successful they would become, at least none of them caused any trouble for society or their families.
Tan Jinen was not good at studying.
He initially learned car repair, and later followed his youngest maternal aunt to Zhili to work in clothing.
After struggling for a few years, he settled down and earned quite a lot of money.
The family's later renovated new house and car were all earned through his own efforts.
His other two younger sisters and younger brothers also had good academic records.
His paternal younger female cousin went to a provincial key university for her bachelor's degree and a prestigious university in Shanghai for her master's.
His paternal aunt's paternal younger female cousin also graduated from medical school.
One of his younger brothers got into Anhui Province University, and the other got into a Project 985 university.
Such achievements were absolutely dazzling in a rural family.
Relatives from his maternal uncle's side, even those younger than him, also got into universities and were fully capable of solving their own employment issues.
His immediate family members were all independent and primarily focused on studying.
Therefore, Tan Jincheng truly wasn't worried about how many relatives would come to sponge off them; the problem of having too many relatives, as mentioned by Zhang Xupeng, simply didn't exist for Tan Jincheng.
(End of chapter)
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