Chapter 27: The New Year's Eve Tea Party

  "Uncles and aunts, as well as younger brothers and sisters, time really flies, we've been here for less than four months and it's already Lunar New Year. Here, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy new year." After all the uncles, aunts, younger brothers and sisters had arrived and taken their seats, Yang Heng said these words first.

  "Alright, nephew, we're all family, what's the point of saying so much?" "Uncles, have you ever thought that since there are five households here, it would be perfect to form a production brigade? My idea is that next year after the waterwheel is added, if you think it's suitable, why not also take over that nearly 200 mu of barren land on the side and move here to build houses?"

  "Ah, good, good, this place is so clean and quiet. And I think the land here is not bad at all, it's much better than the fields in our village." Before Uncle could say anything, Auntie spoke up first. Yang Heng noticed that recently, every day, Auntie would either grab a handful of soil from their field or gaze around with envy in her eyes. It seemed like Auntie had been thinking about this for a long time already. This couldn't be helped, after all, Auntie came from a family that was good at farming, but since coming to Uncle's house, she hadn't been able to contribute much.

  "Juanjuan, don't interrupt." Little Uncle was unhappy now. Wasn't Auntie challenging his authority? Among the five brothers, none of them had spoken up yet, how could it be Auntie's turn to speak?

  "What's wrong with me interrupting? Which of you four brothers has the vision of our elder brother? Look at how he saw potential in this unwanted place and now look at its development. Next year will definitely be a bumper harvest, whereas we have so little land in our family. When I first married into your family, the matchmaker said so many good things about it, but what did 'separate households' mean? It meant getting rid of you as soon as possible! Whether it's our family or other families, don't they all have less than ten mu of land? If this land were fertile, that would be one thing, but these are just sandy fields where crops can't even grow. The annual income is barely a dan of grain, and if things get any worse, we won't even be able to recover the seeds! Now Elder Brother wants to help you out, what's not to like about that?"

  "Alright, alright, Auntie. We're here to keep vigil tonight, let's not say anything unnecessary." Yang Heng thought this was going badly; if he didn't speak up now, it would turn into a complaining session.

  "It's New Year's Eve, we can't just idle around. Uncle and aunties, you go ahead and eat and drink first. Come on, younger siblings, now it's your turn to report back. Take turns coming up, recite the Thousand Character Classic that I taught you. Let's start with the oldest one first. Come on, Egg, you go first."

  As soon as it was said that the children would recite the Thousand Character Classic, the uncles and aunts stopped talking and eating, and sat up straight to listen to the children reciting the article.

  Yang Heng suddenly realized that this was another failure on his part. He had been here for so long, yet he still let Uncle and Auntie kneel down, today they removed the screen from the kang, now everyone is kneeling on the kang, it's just this place is warm, can't let them get arthritis or something.

  "The sky is dark and yellow, the universe is vast and desolate... I sat in the morning to ask about the Tao, and hung up the flat chapter. Finished! I just recited it all the way here." "Good, good, our son is not bad at all, he can recite such a long poem!" All parents in the world are the same, their sons are always good, and this Egg Egg has simply become more familiar with the Thousand Character Classic.

  "Grandfather, mother, brother, this is called a good back, and he's still carrying the little girl I taught him. Let me carry it, the sky and earth are yellow, the five continents are red flowers... Suspending doubts, going and using one." This is where Yang Heng has been teaching.

  "You little girl, what do you know? You can't even speak clearly, and yet you're learning to recite poems. Go play somewhere else and let your other brothers continue their studies."

  "Second Uncle, what are you talking about? It was Little Sister who taught Stinky Egg the Thousand Character Classic! Listen to me translate... 'Store with a sweet fragrance, leave and hum more.' Second Uncle, how's that? We've memorized way more than Stinky Egg!"

  "I, I, I will recite, Tian Di Xuan Huang..." This is Chou Chou, and he can actually keep up with Xiao Niang's rhythm. It seems that learning has nothing to do with age or gender. The other children also recited it once, but none of them exceeded Xiao Niang's level, they didn't reach the progress Xiao Niang had achieved.

  Yang Heng found that these children began to show their respective characteristics, perhaps next, Yang Heng would teach them something according to their individual talents, and of course, the Thousand Character Classic would still be taught.

  "Hey, if you want to talk about being impressive, it's still the big brother's nephew. Look at how these kids have been taught by their big nephew, they're so impressive! You kids all remember this, if you become successful in the future, don't forget your brother!" As they spoke, the uncles and aunts started flattering Yang Heng, they also knew that if their own children were to become successful, it would definitely be because of Yang Heng's teaching.

  "Alright, uncles and aunts, let's not talk about it anymore. Everyone is eating and drinking, next I'll show you all a set of boxing moves to make everyone happy." Boxing, Tai Chi, can't do it, Bagua Palm, also can't do it, Five Animals Play, still can't do it, so what to do? Of course, it's the popular boxing method. Military Boxing, still the first set, Yang Heng even forgot the names of the moves at this time.

  "Hoo-ah, hoo-ah..." Why does it feel so awkward? It's because the space is too small. In a place with only two square meters, how can you even swing your fists? After not being able to land one move, you still have to adjust your body to throw the next punch, there's no continuity at all. That's just how it is. The uncles and aunts are still cheering, but they're just here for the excitement. As for Dad, he looks like he's deep in thought. It seems that Dad really is suited for being a soldier. Maybe tomorrow Dad will ask Yang Heng to teach him this set of boxing moves.

  Forget it, the boxing performance wasn't very successful, so next. "Girl, come and explain to me 'Hanging the people and punishing the crime, Zhou Fa Yin Tang' this sentence." "Brother, this sentence is talking about King Zhou of Shang being tyrannical, and Ji Fa of Western Qi rising up in arms against him, establishing the Zhou Dynasty's story."

  "Ah, okay, Niu Zi explained it well. Now that we've reached this point, I'll tell you all a story tonight." It was already late at night and there wasn't much to do, so Yang Heng naturally wanted to find something to pass the time. What could he talk about? "Journey to the West" wouldn't work since it took place after Li Er became emperor, and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" might only interest Old Father. Lately, Yang Heng had been hearing some stories about Jiang Zi Ya, so why not tell them about "The Investiture of the Gods"? These stories would probably be enjoyable for many people to listen to.

  Today, we're talking about the first episode, which is the story of King Zhou's daughter, Nüwa Palace, who offended Nüwa Niangniang. The poem goes like this: "In the beginning of chaos, Pangu was born, Taiji and the four symbols were suspended...". ... Heaven and earth, people and animals, all have their own merits, and there are those who avoid disasters and have good fortune... Yang Tianyou is also known as Shangfu, and his name is listed on the divine altar, where the spirits of all sizes are ranked in order. The legend of the Shang and Zhou dynasties has been passed down through the ages... If you want to know what happens next, let's wait until next time.

  Unbeknownst to them, everyone was drawn into Yang Tianyou's story and lost track of time. Now that it's already past midnight, the task of guarding the year is basically over, and some children have even fallen asleep. But there's one who hasn't slept - Xiaoniang, she's still listening with great interest.

  "Little girl, did you understand?" "Yes, brother said that in the beginning of chaos, the ancient disk was divided..." "Alright, alright, little girl, go to sleep now and talk about it again tomorrow."

  Boom boom bang bang, Dad and the uncles have started setting off firecrackers outside, while the aunts are with Mom on the side using the limited flour to make dumplings that aren't exactly dumplings, wontons that aren't exactly wontons, preparing to cook them for eating, and they're all filled with pure meat fillings.