I played as an assistant in ancient times

Chapter 134 Very Sweet

Time passed quickly and it was already the afternoon of New Year's Eve.

Although it was not Shen Xiaoye’s first time to celebrate the Spring Festival in the Great Zhou, it was his first time to celebrate the New Year in the capital.

Since the morning bell rang, there have been continuous sounds of firecrackers and big red lanterns were hung outside the gate early in the morning.

All the male members of the family followed my grandfather into the temple and lit eternal lamps for their ancestors.

Mr. Pan, who was thought to be staying here temporarily, moved to his own house as early as the afternoon of the day he arrived. It turned out that his old wife and grandson had moved to Beijing in advance.

She also told her uncle that Mr. Pan was a secretive person and actually had a house in the capital.

Shen Changsui laughed at her at the time: "You forgot that the master retired from the fifth-rank official rank, and his calligraphy and painting are very famous. Any one of his paintings can cost more than a hundred taels."

"Uncle, it's not too late for you to work hard now. Maybe after you become an official, you can make money with your Yan style calligraphy." Shen Xiaoye discovered another way to make money.

As a result, her uncle just shook his head and walked away, without responding to her proposal. Only her cousin agreed very much.

"Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, we are back." Speak of the devil, and Shen Cungeng's voice echoed from the main gate to the second gate.

Grandma Lin smiled and said, "Run slower, Xiaoye is feeding the horses in the back."

"Grandma, I've fed them." Shen Xiaoye came back carrying the hay bucket. The little black cat on her shoulder sniffed and jumped off and ran to the kitchen.

After a while, the voice of my great grandmother Qian was heard from the kitchen: "The fish has just been put into the pot. You can take it out later."

Here, Shen Cungeng handed the basket to Lin: "Grandma, Xiaoye and I will go with Fourth Uncle for acupuncture."

"Where are your great-grandfather and grandfather?" Lin walked to the hanging flower door, but no one came in.

Shen Cungeng said: "He was playing chess with a group of old men in the temple. He said he would be back soon."

"What time is it now? It's unreliable. You should go and come back quickly, and don't wait until the streets become too crowded and unpacked." Lin said, and went to the kitchen to fill them with freshly fried fried dough twists and charred leaves.

"We'll be in a hurry and be back soon." Shen Cungeng responded and pushed Xiaoye out the door.

Shen Changsui, who was waiting in the car, said with a smile: "Xiaoye, you forgot to lock the door just now. This is not like the village."

Fortunately, there were many people patrolling the streets today, and soldiers from the Five Cities Military Department and the Five Military Governor's Office were everywhere.

Moreover, once you enter the yard, you will see nothing valuable except two carriages.

"Yes, I'll ask my great grandmother to come and tie it up." Shen Xiaoye really forgot, but before she could walk back to the moon-shaped door, Qian came out quickly, "Did you forget to take something? I told you to tie the door up."

"I came back to ask you to lock the door. It's great to have grandma around." Shen Xiaoye held her arm and walked to the door, saying nice things all the time.

Qian was so coaxed by her that she couldn't stop smiling. She kept watching outside the door until she saw their car drive out of the alley. The old lady sighed and closed the door, lamenting that her grandchildren were not close to her.

……

At this moment, the streets are decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, and wealthy families have set up beautiful flower sheds.

There were vendors selling goods everywhere, and children were running around their parents, laughing and holding windmill whistles.

There were not many people on the road, but there were people coming and going. Shen Xiaoye asked curiously, "Aren't you going to worship your ancestors?"

"There are too many people, and most of the people from Beijing moved here when the capital was moved. They only offer tablets and burn incense at home to worship their ancestors." Shen Changsui instructed his nephew, "Don't go on the main street, turn left and go to the alley or hutong.

Then, from Beijuxianfang, cross Dongmen Street and go straight into Nanfang."

"Fourth Uncle, is this possible?" Shen Cungeng was not familiar with the road after all.

Shen Changsui said: "Basically, you can get through. If you make a mistake, just turn back and walk."

Because of this detour, they arrived at the old imperial physician's house half an hour later than scheduled.

Add to that the acupuncture, and you’ll be back even later.

The alleys here were full of kids gathering together and throwing firecrackers. It took quite a while just to protect the blue and white mule and avoid them.

As soon as I got onto Dongmen Street, I was instantly shocked by the crowds of pedestrians on both sides of the street. I wanted to shout for people to cross, but the crowd did not disperse.

Some even turned around and made faces at them with a smile.

It's a real ghost face because the person is wearing a ghost mask.

Shen Xiaoye suddenly saw it and quickly lowered the car curtain.

"Why are they all crowded on the side of the road?" Shen Cungeng held the reins tightly, fearing that the blue and white mule would butt up against someone's head.

Shen Changsui reminded: "Don't leave, the exorcism should be started."

Shen Xiaoye then got out of the carriage, stood up and looked around, and sure enough, he saw a number of flower cars coming from the East City Gate.

She said, “I’ve never seen that before.”

Nuo is a traditional Chinese activity to drive away ghosts and welcome gods. According to legends dating back thousands of years, it was created specifically to drive away the monster "Nian".

By her time, some places no longer held the festival.

"Yes, I have. Have you forgotten that Qiu County also has Nuo opera during the New Year? But there are no floats, and people just walk on foot." Shen Cungeng asked her to sit down.

Shen Xiaoye shook her head, "I'm standing very steadily."

"I'm afraid I can't hold the blue and white mule firmly." Shen Cungeng actually wanted to stand higher and have a better view. After all, there was a crowd in front of him and his vision was blocked.

Shen Changsui simply jumped off the car, untied the mule and said, "You two stand on the car and watch."

Shen Cungeng: "Don't you want to watch, Uncle?"

Shen Changsui: "I am taller than you."

"Haha..." Shen Xiaoye laughed.

"..." Shen Cungeng decisively stood on the shaft of the carriage and looked around.

After a moment, the float approached amid the cheers of the crowd.

Shen Xiaoye saw that on each float there were men and women wearing masks, and there were musicians playing musical instruments behind them.

As they danced gracefully, music began to play as accompaniment. Low or high-pitched folk songs came from each float, attracting many people on both sides to respond.

After a while, with the sound of gongs, many children in the crowd put on their masks and shouted, jumping and dancing happily after the floats.

Shen Xiaoye noticed that since the children followed the car, there were soldiers on both sides to protect them. She couldn't help but nodded and let them pass safely.

Sometimes they would get close to the float to take the candies from the lead dancers on the float, and sometimes they would run back to their parents who were following them to ask them to help pack up the candies.

Shen Cungeng smiled and said, "Xiao Ye, we also served as guards when we were young, and we could always get a lot of candy from the leading dancers."

"Is it sweet?" Shen Xiaoye had no impression.

Shen Cungeng nodded: "Very sweet."

As soon as he finished speaking, a vigorous song rang out from the float again: "I have come from afar to the palace gate, and I saw groups of devils.

Among them was a black man, with a straight body and a headless head. He had a slender figure, a brazier on his head, red eyes, and wore a scarlet trousers.

The blue sky is fierce, the green is gentle. The courtyard is bustling, the yard is in chaos. Calling Zhong (Zhong) Kui, Lan (Lan) blocks the door.

Throw it on the head, and let it breathe. Break the ribs, and pull out the tendons. Pull out the tongue, and cut off the lips. Going due south will take a thousand miles, and going due north will not matter.”

Although this long passage was sung in Mandarin, Shen Xiaoye couldn't keep up even if he wanted to sing along.

However, Shen Cungeng who was beside her sang very well.

Many people on both sides of the crowd followed the floats and danced along, with some even jumping to the beat.

All Shen Xiaoye did was clapping and applauding.