The mage in the late Qing Dynasty

Twenty-three, the sugar melon is sticky. Twenty-four, clean the house. Twenty-five, grind tofu. Twenty-six, go and cut the meat. Twenty-seven, slaughter the New Year chicken. Twenty-eight, hair. Twenty-nine, steamed buns. Staying up all night on the 30th, twisting and turning on New Year’s Day, and having dumplings on New Year’s Eve every year!

Zhao Chuanxin bid farewell to Chen Daguang's motorcade and returned to Lugangling Village to rest for a night with his salary and insurance team members. He would go to the city to prepare New Year's goods the next day.

The New Year atmosphere has already set in, and some people in the city are now hanging up red lanterns.

Zhao Chuanxin couldn't write calligraphy, so he bought some ready-made couplets and hung them with thousands.

Then he also bought a lot of foreign wax, iron wire, red paper, firecrackers, candied pastries, melon seeds...

In the markets and shops selling New Year's goods, Zhao Chuanxin and his group went crazy...

Finally, an ox cart and a mule cart were loaded, and everyone's horses were also fully loaded.

Not only did the members of the insurance team in Lugangling Village become rich, but the women who made coats also made a fortune and were able to live a prosperous year.

Zhao Chuanxin also bought some rice, flour, grains and oil, a lot.

After returning home, he and Zhao Zhongyi drove an ox cart to deliver the goods to the homes of widows and widowers.

Gao Laowei: "Why do you still give me rice?"

"Everyone has a share, you don't have to refuse." Zhao Chuanxin took off the dozens of kilograms of rice bags with one hand, put it on his shoulder and put it in the house.

"I'm so ashamed..."

"Don't nag me. You know I don't want to hear nagging."

Gao Laowei: "..."

This has never happened before.

How can anyone give rice and noodles to others during the Chinese New Year?

A group of snot-nosed children wearing tattered coats ran behind the bullock cart.

When they arrived at anyone's home, they would run in first to report the news.

When passing by Li Laosan's house, Li Laosan leaned on the door frame and said with a smile: "Pass the salary, why don't you give me some too?"

Zhao Chuanxin spat: "You have hands and feet, why are you still serving food?"

Li Laosan: "..."

Gradually, everyone came to understand that poverty does not mean it will be given to you for free. Only those who have no main labor force at home and who try their best but still have enough to eat can get it.

Zhao Zhongyi Zhao Chuanxin delivered something, touched his nose and said: "Zuanxin, if you give it like this, some people will be dissatisfied. They feel that they didn't get it."

Don’t people suffer from the imbalance of poverty?

Nonsense!

Zhao Chuanxin said: "Can I get used to his problems? If anyone is dissatisfied, come to me and I will teach him how to behave."

Just like Li Laosan, he responded directly.

There was a scoundrel in the village who stopped the carriage and insisted on delivering a bag of noodles to his family.

Without saying a word, Zhao Chuanxin jumped out of the bullock cart and strode over, picking up his collar and snapping loudly.

"You're so stupid, why don't you give me some face? I've killed more people than all your dead ancestors put together. I'll give it to whomever I want, but you still dare to ask for it?" Then he turned around. He said to Shuangxi: "Hold him down and beat him to death with a whip. If he is beaten to death, it will be mine. If you dare, go to the county government and report it to the magistrate. You can see if the county magistrate dares to take care of him."

The second-rate mother-in-law rushed over like a fool and was kicked to the ground by Zhao Chuanxin: "Young master, you're going to do this to me. If you dare to scream again, I'll beat you too!"

The woman's voice stopped suddenly.

At this moment, the voice of dissatisfaction suddenly disappeared.

Only then did everyone remember that the person in front of them was a murderer!

After delivering the things in a noisy manner, Zhao Chuanxin took a group of snot kids to the river to get ice.

The cut out ice was dragged by a group of children to Zhao Chuanxin's house.

He used an elf carving knife to carve out a hollow pattern on the ice. After hollowing out the middle, he placed a candle inside and lit it.

They even organized people to build a slide made of ice cubes.

At night, candles are lit, and rows of various ice lanterns reflect the bright light. On the ice skating, a group of snot-nosed kids were skating there with really big snot noses.

Too happy.

Even the adults in the village came to watch the fun.

This is the atmosphere of the New Year.

While Zhao Chuanxin was busy preparing for the New Year, Chengming was suppressing bandits.

He led his men and picked out Lone Goose's hair in one go. And it only took three days.

Guyan's men were dying and running away.

The scene was very chaotic.

At that time, Guyan was beaten and left alone, and fled to the mountains to hide.

In the middle of winter, I lay down all night in a snowy nest deep in the mountains and managed to avoid freezing to death.

I thought I was going to die here, but unexpectedly, there was a shout from the bottom of the mountain.

It's his godfather Yang Yushu!

When Yang Yushu picked up Guyan, Guyan's ears were cracked by the cold, his lips were pale, and he was very miserable.

"Ganglao, I, I'm really miserable. You have to save my life."

Yang Yushu looked at the miserable Lone Goose and asked someone to bring him a fox coat and put it on him: "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, no one can touch you."

Yang Yushu is not talking big words.

He is the "general boss" of this land. This time he rescued Lone Goose, integrated several gangs, and purchased a batch of foreign guns and bullets from the Russians. This was the time when the army was strong.

He has many godsons and even more younger brothers. However, the only one who won his heart was Lone Goose.

In front of him, Guyan was really as obedient as his own son, thinking of this gangster no matter what the benefits were.

Just like a little golden boy, he doesn't care if he dies. As soon as he heard that something had happened to Gu Yan, he immediately brought people to rescue him.

Over there, Chengming also brought people to catch Lone Goose.

The two parties faced each other from a distance.

Chengming shouted: "Yang Xiucai, I have military orders this time and must arrest Guyan. What he has done is too big."

Yang Xiucai is the nickname of Yang Yushu.

People who knew that he was the "general boss" secretly called him Xiu Cai Duan Zi or Xiu Cai Beard.

Yang Yushu replied: "Master Zhentai, Gu Yan is Yang's son, why not let him go, and the Niu family's goods will be returned in full."

Chengming sneered: "I am not discussing with you, my words are military orders!"

Yang Yushu looked back at his own troops and became proud: "Today, I will give Yang some face."

Chengming didn't talk nonsense to him and said to his subordinates: "Get ready to attack!"

In the past, when hunting gu geese, Chengming used more to kill less. At this time, facing Yang Yushu's troops, they used less to defeat more.

In addition, Yang Yushu's hands were actually full of brand-new foreign guns and countless ammunition. The morale of those gangsters was greatly boosted by relying on these guns and ammunition.

Chengming's troops were unable to support him, so he had to lead his troops to retreat.

There was a bad breath in his heart.

It is unbearable to think that I am a dignified infantry commander, but have nothing to do with a bandit.

Are we just going to let these guys do whatever they want?

Suddenly, he thought of someone.

…

Lugangling Village.

When Chengming came here, the New Year was just around the corner.

At the entrance of the village, there are still a few dogs standing guard.

The only difference this time is that the dogs all have new nests.

The kennel is made of wooden boards, with thick straw mats inside, and a curtain blocking the entrance and exit, which can block the howling and biting northwest wind.

Still when the dog was biting, members of the insurance team on horseback appeared quickly.

Seeing that it was Chengming, the man nodded and took him directly to Zhao Chuanxin's home.

Zhao Chuanxin was outside the door, making lanterns for a group of little snot-nosed children.

He brought back some glass jars from Shengjing.

He tied the top edge of the jar with thin wire, tied it to a wooden stick, and sat a candle inside.

The glass jar is windproof and light-transmissive, making it especially bright at night.

When Chengming saw that Zhao Chuanxin had finished one, he handed it to a snot baby, who happily held a lantern and ran around in the fenceless yard.

This scene is very heartwarming.

He stepped forward and said: "Glass products, foreign wax, these things are very expensive, you just give them to a group of children to play with?"

Zhao Chuanxin looked up and was slightly surprised to see that it was Cheng Ming.

Then he said: "What does this mean? Happiness is a priceless treasure. Wait a minute, there are two more, I will finish them."

It must be done, otherwise some children will have lanterns, some will not, and those without will definitely get angry.

After he finished making all the lanterns, the group of snot-nosed kids ran away while carrying the lanterns.

As Zhao Hongzhi ran, he turned back and shouted: "Uncle, what should I do if the candle burns out?"

Zhao Chuanxin waved his hand: "Whoever's candle is gone, come and get it from me."

Then, take Chengming into the house.

Chengming looked around and found a lot of red paper and paste on the familiar desk.

Next to it, there is a stack of sticky red envelopes.

The red envelopes are very delicate, with straight fold marks and uniform cuts. There are paintings on each red envelope. The paintings are very simple, such as a fish, some a rabbit, some a dragon, some a lantern, some with the word "福"... …

Although the painting is simple, just a line outline, it is very charming.

There is also a piece of wooden board, which is round and has lace on the edge. In the center is the word "福", and the rest of the board is decorated with dragon figures, lanterns, copper coins and other styles.

Next year is the Year of the Dragon, so many things have the dragon in them.

The wooden board was pasted with the word "福" made of red paper. A hole was punched in the wooden board and a rope was tied to it. The end of the rope was tied with an iron hook and could be hung in some places.

Chengming took a sip of tea and said, "You are living a unique life this year."

He looked through the glass window and saw the slide made of ice outside, and the lamps carved from ice, with candles already lit inside.

The snot-nosed kids who had just run home to show off were now running back, circling around the ice lanterns, or going up and down the slide, sliding tirelessly.

There is also an open space that seems to be deliberately watered and frozen, and there are children whipping tops carved out of wood.

Zhao Chuanxin took out a Luzon cigarette and signaled it to Chengming. After Chengming shook his head, he lit it himself.

Leaning on the office chair, he put up his legs and said while puffing away: "I like liveliness and children. When there are more children, it will be lively, and only during the New Year will there be an atmosphere. I am willing to spend money for them, you see, spend a little money , I can watch them play, it’s so exciting.”

In the later generations when he came back, there was no such atmosphere during the New Year.

Not to mention this small amount of money, he would be happy even if it cost ten times the amount.

Chengming also felt very good, but the Chinese New Year was coming soon, and he came to Lugangling Village not to watch the children play.

Finally, he couldn't help but clarify his purpose: "I am here to ask for your help."