Xu Yue stretched out her hand to help Zhao Bei up, then turned to look at his family, "The trade in Juyong City has just started, and it is an important border pass, so it cannot be empty."
"Father and mother-in-law, you stay here and take charge. Sister, the three of us will go to Zhuo County to deal with Zhao Yu and others. At the same time, we will inspect other counties in Youzhou on the way to consolidate the influence of the Xu family army in various places."
The four of them looked at each other and had no objections.
The matter was settled like this. After dinner, Zhao Bei took Zhao Adou and left, while Ajian stayed at Xu's house and slept in the guest room.
It was windy and snowy at night, and when people opened their eyes and woke up, the sky and the earth were all silvery white.
Such heavy snow made traveling difficult, and Xu Yue's plan to go to Zhuojun in person could only be postponed by one month.
Wait until after Zhengdan, when the temperature gets warmer and the snow melts, before setting off.
However, the snow was falling so heavily that Zhao Yu and others in Zhuojun were unable to take any action.
Everyone seems to have this awareness, so on this official day, everyone had a relatively relaxed and happy life.
Busy with land construction in the past two years, Xu Yue found that her family had not had a good New Year celebration for a long time.
There is no shortage of good goods in Juyong City. Businessmen from all over the world gather here. You can see a very complete range of goods in this small town.
The three-day annual holiday begins the day before the New Year's Day.
Heavy snow cannot dispel people's enthusiasm for buying new year's goods.
The braised pork shop has the best business. Before dawn, residents living in the city come here early to queue up, just to buy a good dish for this year's Zhengdan banquet.
When the city gate opened, villagers who took the early morning bus and carriage from surrounding villages and towns also arrived.
Everyone has empty baskets in their hands and empty baskets on their backs, specially for shopping.
"Sir, would you like some cotton thread? There is a year-end sale. As long as you spend 500 chips in the convenience store, you will get a 20% discount!"
"The fresh green vegetables from the shed will add green to your table at the New Year's banquet. Your relatives will be envious to death? There are only a few handfuls left. If you don't buy them, they will be gone! I won't be out stalling tomorrow!"
Hearing this, the villagers who had not planned to buy such precious things as winter vegetables couldn't help but rush towards the stall, as if they would suffer a big loss if they didn't buy.
"Couplets, couplets! The bright red couplets are so festive! The couplets written by the leader himself, posted on the door, no one can say that we are literate!"
This is a strange thing. People have never seen it before. When they heard the vendors shouting like this, they all gathered together.
An Mi put one hand in his trouser pocket and gnawed a hot bun in the other. As he moved up, he sighed to his wife and children who were following him:
"I haven't seen such excitement in more than ten years."
Mrs. An paid attention to her appearance and swallowed secretly due to the aroma of the meat buns, but she still resisted moving the food box in her hand.
There were too many people, so An Ming opened a hand to protect his wife and children as they came to him.
The whole family followed the onlookers, curiously looking at the long red papers hanging on the stall.
There are words written in black ink on the red paper, which read: Wealth will come to you every day, and fortune will come with spring every year.
There was a shorter note across the middle, which said: Happy New Year!
There is another one that reads: Create a great cause and prosper for a long time. Expand your ambition and achieve glory.
Horizontal criticism, great ambitions!
"Wow! This couplet is majestic, great!" An Mi clapped her hands excitedly, and the remaining half of the meat buns almost fell to the ground.
These fragrant meat buns are not cheap. An Ming, with his quick eyes and quick hands, pocketed them with the hem of his clothes and stuffed them directly into his mouth. After eating them in two bites, he wiped his hands on the side of his pants and stepped forward to take a closer look at these profound couplets.
Mrs. An witnessed the whole process, her eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe that the vulgar man wiping with the hem of his pants in front of her was actually her elegant and well-rounded husband.
Mrs. An discovered that since her husband started working with Xu Jiajun, a member of the engineering team, his behavior had become increasingly vulgar.
As soon as they got on the kang, they would pick their feet with their hands. When they were done, they would grab the cakes in the bowl and stuff them into their mouths to eat.
When she saw her for the first time, Mrs. An stood there stunned for five minutes. Then her husband looked over with a blank look on her face and asked her what was wrong.
Mrs. An felt like she was struck by lightning and couldn't accept it for a while. She went back to her room and cried bitterly for half an hour, covering her hands with the quilt.
So, compared with the matter of eating with the hands that are picking at the feet, the trivial matter of my husband just wiping his hands with his pants seems insignificant, right?
Young Master An didn't notice his mother's change. He was so young, so he followed his father to the front and arrived at the stall.
It is rare to see such a bright color like red. Young Master An was not interested in the long piece of paper. He immediately noticed the small top with red paint next to the stall.
The boss was explaining the meaning and usage of the couplets to An Mi and others, but did not notice the children next to him.
The clerk's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of Young Master An staring at the top. He picked up the top with a smile, rolled it up with a whip made of colorful strips of fine cloth, and then threw it to the ground with a "snap".
With a "Woo~" sound, the red top spun, and the colorful threads drawn on the top surface turned into a rainbow during the rotation, causing the children to scream with joy.
"Hit it, hit it!" Seeing that the top spun slowly, the children anxiously urged the boy.
The waiter swung his whip again in a funny way, and the sound of "snap" spread on the street, giving this year a little more of the familiar smell to Xu Yue.
There were no firecrackers, but the children swung the tops and made a "crackling" sound, and the streets and alleys became lively, as if they were setting off firecrackers.
When he exited the stall, An Mi had a few more couplets in his arms, holding them carefully as if he had found a treasure.
Young Master An held a colorful muslin whip in his hand, and at Mrs. An's displeased urging, he trotted while swinging the top.
Unfortunately, the top was not as obedient as in the hands of the assistant, and it stopped spinning after just a few hits.
Young Master An had no choice but to put away the top first, and hurriedly followed his parents' footsteps amid his mother's threatening words.
Mrs. An had already bought the meat and vegetables. When she heard about the convenience store’s year-end promotion, she pulled her husband and son in and walked in.
The old ladies of the government had already gathered in the store, and were noisy around a piece of cloth about how many meters away each house was.
When I saw Mrs. An arriving, I hurriedly asked her to take the lead, so that no one would be disobedient to the other.
"Hello, Minister An." The ladies nodded and greeted An Mi.
An Mi nodded awkwardly and silently led her son, who wanted to play with tops, back to the door to avoid being hit by the women in the store who were rushing to buy goods.
"Dad, leader!" Young Master An, who wanted to play top but couldn't find an open space, suddenly pointed to the street and shouted.
Xu Yue, who was followed by A Jian, Daniel, and Zhao Adou, and An Mi in the room raised their heads at the same time and smiled at each other.
"Happy New Year, Minister An!" Xu Yue said with a smile.
