I am your natural enemy

On New Year's Eve, the sky was slightly bright, and Wen Yan's family was already busy.

The housekeeper was conscientious and responsible, and he could be regarded as the most diligent person in the family. On such a big day, of course, he got up the earliest.

When Wen Yan got up, the housekeeper had already kneaded the dough and prepared to make dumplings.

The housekeeper was born in Guanzhong County. Wen Yan had lived in Guanzhong County for nearly 20 years. It was her habit to get up on the morning of New Year's Eve to make dumplings and post Spring Festival couplets.

Although she used to complain every year, dumplings on New Year's Eve, dumplings on the first day of the New Year, dumplings on the fifth day of the New Year...

But after a few years, Wen Yan still felt that it was better to eat a few dumplings to show his respect, so he decided to do it yesterday.

The meat filling in the dumplings had been prepared as early as last night. After getting up this morning, she cut the green onions and leeks and made pork green onions and pork leeks. Finally, she made a vegetarian dumpling with three fresh ingredients. Whoever likes to eat can eat whichever one.

Wen Yan got the couplets from Fuyu Mountain again. This time, it was not because he wanted them, but because Fuyu Mountain had the most of them. Last time he went there, a senior brother stuffed a bag into his bag.

Writing talismans and copying scriptures are the basic skills of every serious Taoist priest in Fuyu Mountain. Even the most amateur people would not think that the level of calligraphy of the worst calligraphers was not enough to write couplets.

Every year, Fuyu Mountain would arrange people to go down the mountain to write couplets for the residents at the foot of the mountain for free.

This is not a big deal, and every year these disciples would write couplets until their hands were sore, but they were still willing to compete for this quota.

The disciples who can be selected are all recognized as those who have worked harder in the previous year, made more progress, and have not made any mistakes, and are good in all aspects.

Fuyu Mountain is not like other mountain gates. They select disciples with good bones since childhood.

The disciples of Fuyu Mountain basically depend on fate. There is naturally a gap in talent. Who is qualified to be awarded the talisman in the end depends on the accumulation of these little things in daily life.

For example, this kind of small matter of going down the mountain to write couplets is a small means of verification at the end of the year.

Wen Yan is now selecting couplets. The senior brothers in the mountains are afraid that they will not give enough or the specifications and sizes are different. The number given to Wen Yan is enough for Wen Yan to use for six or seven years.

He gave a set of extra couplets to Lao Zhao's family, and also gave a set to Gao Si, Fox Demon, Water God and others. Anyway, most of them will not buy these things.

The housekeeper said that the dumplings are put into the pot and the couplets are pasted. Once the dumplings are pasted, they are cooked.

Wen Yan was pasting them here, and he saw Zhang Laoxi's apprentice coming to the neighboring house to the east to paste couplets.

Zhang Laoxi is also miserable. He has been pulled to special training for more than three months, and he has not been released from the mountain yet.

His apprentices have not had a good time these days. It is said that when they call Zhang Laoxi, Zhang Laoxi always speaks very harshly and checks them after they come back.

Whoever has not improved his level or who is lazy should quickly learn a serious technology and work hard.

The master rolled up, and the apprentice was not immune.

Wen Yan could only occasionally see people next door now. Most of the time, Zhang Laoxi's apprentice was running outside, practicing with his peers everywhere. When he had free time, he would read books and make up for his lessons, fearing that he would fall behind. His enthusiasm was really comparable to that of many high school students.

Seeing Wen Yan, Zhang Laoxi's apprentice hurried over to greet him, explaining that he was very busy recently and had not returned to the city, so he did not come to pay his respects. He still had work to do today, so he hurriedly took the time to come and post a door couplet to indicate that someone lived here.

Before the couplet was posted here, Wen Yan received a message from Feng Yao.

Yesterday morning, a strange beast was found and caught in Zhongyuan County. Later, it was found that it was not the Nian beast.

At the beginning, everyone thought that the strange beast appeared at 11 o'clock in the evening, that is, it appeared at midnight, and it appeared specifically in a small town where fireworks were prohibited. It should be the Nian beast.

But Yan Zhikong of Laojun Mountain personally took action, and Niu Zhiqiang was also there. After catching the strange beast, they confirmed it many times and had to conclude that the strange beast was not the Nian beast at all.

It should be a strange beast that also appears during the Chinese New Year, and it is one of them.

This news came from the strange beast, because during this period, the luck is blazing, people's hearts are like fire, and all kinds of thoughts are burning. It can basically be said that throughout the year, most of the strange beasts related to people are the most active.

The strange beast refused to say who it was, but combined with the ability of that guy, it can modify the documents that have been issued, so that the information in everyone's mind is based on the modified ones.

Finally, the Lieyang Department looked through the materials and couldn't find a matching record, so they asked a folk big man who specializes in studying these cultures to help and found a most matching strange beast, named elephant.

This strange beast first appeared in Zhongyuan County, but later it was confused with the real elephant. After all, there were really elephants living in Zhongyuan County before.

There are few records of this strange beast, because this guy almost only appears during the Chinese New Year, and it doesn't appear every year.

It only appears in some times when the social environment is relatively stable and the population is large. Most of the time, it appears in Zhongyuan County.

It appears very rarely, which makes it very easy to confuse it with the real elephants that once existed in Zhongyuan County.

The appearance of this strange beast is often concealed by the locals because from a human perspective, it is a conservative.

It will be attracted by the thoughts of the locals, and then obtain power, information and other things from the locals, and then help the locals to fulfill some of the most simple wishes that can maintain local customs and culture.

This time, the elephant beast was able to enter the local government office building as if it were in an empty place, find the documents it was looking for easily, and modify the documents like a template, all for these reasons.

It never felt that it was doing anything wrong, it felt that it was doing the right thing.

And the people in that small town did have a lot of opinions about others being able to set off fireworks while we couldn't.

The other documents that the beast didn't have time to modify at the time were generally of similar nature, and they all seemed to have no problems, but in fact the locals had a lot of opinions.

Now that the elephant beast has been caught, the documents that were modified by the elephant beast can't be changed, and we can only treat it as it has been from the beginning.

The local people are partying, and even some sensitive people can now feel that something is wrong.

They think that those merchants have a problem with their brains. Before New Year's Eve, these merchants didn't go to apply for certificates and didn't buy more goods. By New Year's Eve, they couldn't make up for the goods. These few days are equivalent to several months of normal times. They really don't make money.

Some people feel weird, but no one thinks that there is anything wrong with no one setting off fireworks before New Year's Eve.

Of course, regulations are regulations, but there are still people who release them every year, and some small merchants will secretly purchase goods.

Now suddenly, everyone feels that it has been relaxed, so no one dares to make a temporary regulation that it cannot be released at this time, which is just looking for trouble.

The big problem now is that the elephant beast said that there are several strange beasts that may appear during the Chinese New Year.

It doesn't know where the other brothers are, and it doesn't know if they will come, and they don't even have a good relationship with each other.

The Xia Dynasty called Sui, the Shang Dynasty called Si, the Zhou Dynasty called Nian, and the Tang and Yu Dynasties called Zai.

Although they all generally mean a year, their roots are different.

Sui is the year star, Si is a sacrifice, Nian is the harvest of grains, and Zai means the beginning of all things.

Similarly, the strange beasts that appear during the Chinese New Year may have their roots related to the concept of a year, but their final temperament, strength, habits, etc. are also very different.

The elephant beast is a relatively mild one, that is, it is more stubborn, and everything else is fine.

The people of Lieyang Tribe are having a headache now. They originally thought that there was only one Nian Beast, but they didn't expect that in the worst case, there might be three or four kinds of Nian Beast.

Wen Yan was speechless when he saw the message sent by Feng Yao, and he replied.

"Do you think sending these messages to me is useful?

This obviously requires people with cultural background to find it from the root.

To find out what the possible strange beasts look like, what their temperaments are, and what their abilities are, you naturally have to find the roots first.

If you don't tell me, I think one year, one year, and one year, most of the time, mean the same thing.

I want to work overtime, but it's not my turn to be a slacker."

Feng Yao didn't reply for a long time, and after several minutes, he replied.

"I just told you because I was afraid you were curious!"

"Happy New Year, you don't have the habit of eating dumplings, so I won't send them to you."

"Today there is boiled chicken."

"I understand, in the next half month, it's impossible to finish the boiled chicken."

"..."

Wen Yan happily put down the phone and prepared to eat.

Dumplings and dishes were served to the big guys, and they were cooking in the pot. While the dishes were not ready, Wen Yan asked Quemao to send some to Gao Si.

Originally, she wanted to invite Gao Si and the others to come over to celebrate the New Year, but none of them wanted to come in.

When the dumplings were served in the pot, Quemao flapped his wings and flew back with the food box.

"Fat Fox and Shishi went to the store. I called them and they said they were busy in the store.

Fat Fox said that he wanted to accumulate merits and would give out 800 copies for free today."

"Uh, where did she hear that? Is her income enough for her to give out so much?"

"I don't know. She said you don't need to worry about her."

"Okay, let Xiao Mo deliver it to the store. Just eat two. At least it's a token of my appreciation."

Quemao's whiskers trembled and he pouted.

"Why are you so obsessed with eating dumplings? Don't you dislike them?"

"Do people in Nanwu County like to eat boiled chicken during the New Year?"

Quemao gave up the argument and shouted that he was hungry.

"Are you ready? I'm hungry. I want to eat that steamed beef with rice flour. I haven't had breakfast yet."

There was a commotion at home. They started eating. In addition to dumplings, there were also cold dishes and hot dishes. Everyone had different tastes, so they gave different things.

Xiao Huomiao was holding a kerosene lamp to eat fire. Things that seemed to have the same taste to others tasted very different to Xiao Huomiao.

Wen Yan's home was very lively, and so was another place.

In a private chat room, there was also a group of people chatting.

Don't Eat Onions, Ginger and Garlic: "So annoying, what kind of New Year is this? There are people setting off firecrackers and fireworks everywhere. It doesn't pollute the environment."

Bone Itch: "Okay, just bear with it for a few days. I've never seen you making such a fuss before."

Old Black: "It's New Year's Day, why are you making such a fuss? Wait for the fun. I overheard a message today that the Nian Beast is coming."

"Is it true?"

"Same question."

A bunch of lurkers immediately popped up below.

Old Black: "Hey, of course it's true. I heard from the people in that department that many of them are working overtime today because of this."

Don't Eat Onions, Ginger and Garlic: "Oh my goodness, you're moving a stool to watch the fun. I heard that the Nian Beast will eat two-legged sheep."

Old Black: "Where did you hear that rumor?"

Not eating onions, ginger, and garlic: "How can this be a rumor? My ancestors once saw people who ate two-legged sheep. They also liked to eat Taoist food. They preferred steaming and boiling without spicy food."

Lao Hei: "Just listen to your ancestor's bragging. When the Nian beast we are talking about really appeared, it was still the Age of Ending Law. Why are your ancestors so awesome? In the Age of Ending Law, you can see the Nian beast popping out to eat with your own eyes. Two-legged sheep?”

Don’t eat onions, ginger, and garlic: “Believe it or not, you will be knocked down if you don’t believe it, just witness it with your own eyes.”

Seeing that these two guys were already quarreling, someone immediately came to smooth things over.

Itchy Bones: "Stop arguing, let's see what to do with that department and those mountains. Let's just have fun."

Lao Hei: "I'm too lazy to argue, I'm just waiting to have fun. No one knows where Nian Beast will come, what he will look like, how much he will need to eat to be full, and when he will disappear."

Itchy Bones: "Hehe, hehe, none of us know, so no one in the department knows, just watch the excitement."

Not eating onions, ginger and garlic: "Why didn't the group leader come out today?"

"have no idea."

"I don't know +1."

Lao Hei: "Do you think the group leader will take the opportunity to go hunting?"

"Hey, don't tell me. It's really possible that someone disappeared at this time and never came back after the New Year. It's too normal and won't arouse anyone's suspicion."

Lao Hei: "It's bad, the group leader is careless. I overheard it by the water. The people in that department are very angry now. Don't let the group leader be discovered."

After they discussed it for a few minutes, someone suddenly appeared.

Just love Hei Changzhi (group leader): "Don't talk nonsense. I'm busy with business and have no time. I'll tell you later. If it works out, we don't need to be so cautious."

Not eating onions, ginger and garlic: "It's a pity that the old foodie is gone like this, and the shop has been demolished."

"He is too high-profile, I thought he was there before."

Just love Hei Changzhi (group leader): "Okay, close the group. I'm busy talking to people about things. You all should keep a low profile lately, especially Lao Hei."

Lao Hei: "What's wrong with me? I've been keeping a low profile lately."

I love Hei Changzhi: "What's wrong? Haven't you noticed that the wind direction has changed in that large area of ​​​​Xijiang River? Since the little water god appeared, the other water monsters, no matter what they say, their bodies are more and more beautiful. To be honest, I'm afraid that if you can't hold it back for a moment, you'll get pissed off."

Lao Hei: "They are so awesome, can they drain the river?"

"Old Hei, stop talking."

"They really can."

"They can't. A Guilong King has awakened in Xijiang. You'd better be careful."

The others immediately tried to persuade him, and Lao Hei immediately stopped talking.

But after these topics were brought up, some people started to see who was not excited, and quickly advised those who were not excited not to go hunting.

…

On the other side, at the fried chicken restaurant on the street, Wang Jianjun is still preparing ingredients. Little Fox and Shishi have recently been watching TV dramas and reading novels in their free time. They don’t know where they saw something, so they are doing good things here today.

The little fox was also jealous, knowing that if she started in the morning and said it would be free, her income would not be able to sustain it, and maybe someone would come to get it.

In the afternoon or evening, she felt that this thing might be given to someone who was really destined and needed it.

On the night of New Year's Eve, if there was anyone in Nanwu County who was not at home to celebrate the New Year and would not eat the chicken at home and would go out to eat chicken, then she would be willing to give it to him.

By the afternoon, there were actually no people outside, and all the shops that should be closed were closed. Everyone went home to celebrate the New Year, and they would not open their doors until the market opened on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

But this time it is open, that is, in some large shopping malls and other places, small stores can only come and open for half a day.

When it gets dark, the fried chicken restaurant has little business, and the number of passing vehicles on the street outside is mostly less than usual.

Wang Jianjun will not go back to his hometown now. He is very happy to have his whole family here. His wife also hopes that he can settle down in peace and contentment.

Originally, this store was sold to Quemao, but without Wang Jianjun, the taste was not the same as before. When Wang Jianjun came back, he invited Wang Jianjun over again. After the Chinese New Year, the store had to expand again, and the stores next to it were all sold out. down.

Such a shop, relying on Wang Jianjun's craftsmanship, can easily feed several people.

Just now, customers who came into the store were told it was free when they checked out. Now the little fox quietly hung out a sign saying it was free for a limited time, with a limit of one serving per person, and drinks would be given when dine-in, while stocks last.

However, when the sign was not hung, there were still customers. After the sign was hung up, after waiting for more than ten minutes, no one came.

All the nearby shops were closed, and only this fried chicken shop on this street still had its lights on.

A man carrying a suitcase was passing by when he saw the sign. He was slightly startled and stopped at the entrance of the store.

The little fox had sharp eyes and immediately opened the door.

The plan she had just learned to accumulate merit should not be aborted at the beginning. At noon, she was afraid that she would not be able to lose money. It was dark, so she hung up the sign for fear that no one would see it. She still used the light sign, but no one came. The little fox was a little anxious.

"Want to try it? It's free, and dine-in drinks are also free."

The passerby hesitated and stepped into it.

The little fox quickly served him a cup of homemade milk tea.

"What kind of food do guests want to eat?

I recommend the original flavor. My master’s skills are very good and I still can’t learn it.

My master is here today, and all the ingredients are prepared by my master.

Besides, it’s free, and the drinks are also free. ”

“Then let’s have the original flavor.”

The little fox was in a good mood. She wrote the sign herself, and she even practiced calligraphy for it.

The freshly fried chicken was served, and the little fox also took a small portion and found a table to eat.

Wang Jianjun came out from the back and saw this scene. Even though he saw it often, he couldn’t help laughing.

Wang Jianjun turned on the TV and tuned to one channel, ready to wait for the Spring Festival Gala to start.

He sat next to him with a cup of tea, looking at the passers-by, and asked casually.

“Brother, how does it taste?”

The passer-by tasted a bite of the fried chicken, savored it for a long time, and then replied seriously.

“Very special, very delicious.”

“Where are you from, brother?”

“From Zhongyuan County, I’m going back late, so I’m not going back. I’ll go to work on the bridge and levee repairs here in a few days.”

“Oh, then our fellow villager, where are you from, brother? "Wang Jianjun smiled and his tone became much more friendly. No wonder he sounded familiar with the accent just now.

"Bianjing." The passerby replied casually while eating fried chicken.

Wang Jianjun was slightly startled and didn't react for a while. Where is this Bianjing? After thinking about it for a while, he remembered that Bianjing seemed to be a name used a long time ago and it is no longer used now.