webnovelfull Chapter 90 It's Chinese New Year! It's Chinese New Year!
Chapter 90 It's Chinese New Year! It's Chinese New Year!
Jia Hu was quite satisfied. He was still young and shouldn't be too high-profile; it was better for him to develop quietly.
Besides, he has many prescriptions, and these two prescriptions can bring him the Emperor's protection, which is better than anything else. As long as the Jia family is safe, he can live on his own and have more money than he can spend.
In the days that followed, Jia Hu wholeheartedly immersed himself in the joy of the New Year, focusing on doing whatever made him happy.
Jia Hu had never experienced such a formal New Year's holiday. His impression of the New Year was watching TV and eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, without any family members around, not having to visit graves on New Year's Day, and just scrolling through his phone and sleeping during the holiday.
This was also my first time experiencing the various customs of Chinese New Year. Although the customs were complicated, they were full of festive spirit.
The Jia family's New Year celebrations officially began after the Laba Festival, and both mansions were busy.
This year, Grandmother Jia and Jia Min were preparing for the New Year, and she also sent people to make gold and silver ingots of various designs.
We also need to send the Ningguo Mansion the time for hosting guests in the first month of the lunar calendar, in case there is a conflict between the two mansions.
He then sent Jia She and Jia Zheng to check the New Year's goods and silver tributes from various estates, preparing to distribute the New Year's goods to the various sons and daughters of the clan, keeping everyone extremely busy.
The Ningguo Mansion was even busier. Jia Daihua was also opening the ancestral hall, having people clean it, and preparing for all the major and minor matters related to ancestor worship.
The adults were all too busy, so the children could play however they wanted without anyone supervising them. Jia Hu, along with Jia Zhen and Jia Zhu, practically roamed freely in the Jia household.
After seeing all the toys in the palace, Jia Hu led his younger brothers to make toys as well, from small Rubik's Cubes to puzzles, and later they even made a wooden scooter.
Jia Hu wasn't very satisfied with the scooter; the wheels were still made of wood. It would be amazing if they could get rubber wheels someday.
The roads in the Jia family mansion were all paved with stone slabs, so their carriages could pass through without any obstruction. Even if they occasionally fell, it wouldn't matter. In winter, they wore thick clothes, and Jia Hu had the maids sew knee and elbow pads out of leather.
Now the three brothers are so cool when they go out. They line up and skateboard, making a scene wherever they go. Jia Hu even got a special parking space for them at Pear Fragrance Courtyard. The three cars are parked neatly. Grandmother Jia dotes on them and has also designated a special area for them in Rongxi Hall.
The joy lasted until the twenty-ninth day, when the Jia family invited portraits of door gods to be pasted on the main gate, and also repainted the peach wood charms, making the mansion inside and out look brand new.
Jia She and Jia Zheng went to the courtyard to talk to Jia Hu and the others about what the children needed to carry for the ancestral worship ceremony the next day, and what the rules were.
Actually, it had already been explained before, but the ancestral worship ceremony tomorrow is an important event, so the two of them came to explain it again today.
They saw Jia Hu and his companion's carriage. The two had only heard of it before, but had never seen it. Intrigued, they began to fiddle with it. Jia Zheng was a little more cautious, but Jia She was unrestrained and stepped onto it.
When Jia Hu and the others heard the commotion and came out, they saw Jia She, with his large body, about to get into the small carriage. Before they could speak, Jia She immediately fell backward.
Jia Zheng was startled and quickly went to help Jia She. Jia Hu and the others also rushed over. Because they were dressed thickly, it didn't hurt too much, but Jia She just felt somewhat embarrassed.
"This thing is quite troublesome."
After checking that his father was alright, Jia Hu went forward and said:
"Dad, how could you step on it?"
Jia Zhen immediately took out the car and performed, "Uncle, you should do it like this."
He then steadily rode his bike, and with one foot on the ground, he performed a drift.
Jia She looked at it, and then tried it under Jia Hu's guidance, and found it enjoyable.
"Hu'er, this car looks fun, but it's too small."
Jia Hu was speechless. This was originally made for children to play with. Even his father, who was a grown man, was afraid that the car would collapse if he stepped on it.
"Dad, this was made to fit a child's body."
Jia She stroked his chin.
"Can't we make that for adults too?"
Jia Hu nodded and said, "Of course, but this is a toy."
Jia She laughed heartily, picked up Jia Hu, bounced him around a bit, then put him down and said:
"Hu'er, you're so clever! This is a novel item, and neither adults nor children are reluctant to spend money on it."
Jia Hu hadn't considered selling this before.
Jia She laughed and said:
"Nothing else is needed. Just take this car and let the children from other families play together when we have a New Year's banquet."
After Jia Hu nodded in agreement, he wondered if his father had somehow unlocked some kind of business acumen.
On New Year's Eve, Grandmother Jia went to the palace to pay homage and receive a banquet. After Grandmother Jia returned, everyone in the Jia family gathered at the ancestral hall of Ningguo Mansion to offer sacrifices.
The men of the Jia family were led by Jia Daihua, while the women of the Jia family were led by Grandmother Jia.
The entire ancestral worship ceremony was solemn and awe-inspiring.
Jia Hu followed his elders and completed the task earnestly, bowing sincerely and promising his ancestors once again that he would definitely save the Jia family.
After the ancestral worship ceremony, the New Year's greetings began. Men sat in one group and women in another, receiving greetings according to seniority.
The happiest people during this part were Jia Hu and his two children. The two families were celebrating the New Year together, and the three of them, being the only ones with children, had so many gifts that they couldn't carry them all. Jia Daishan even had someone carry boxes to follow them, making the three children extremely happy.
In the evening, all sorts of delicious food were served. The chefs in the kitchen used every trick in the book to showcase their culinary skills to the masters of the mansion.
Amidst laughter and chatter, just as everyone was about to sit down for their meal, Dai Quan arrived from the palace with a dozen or so eunuchs. The group quickly greeted him.
Dai Quan approached with a smile and bowed to Jia Daishan and Jia Daihua:
"Lord Duke, Happy New Year! These dishes were bestowed by His Majesty."
Jia Daishan was a little surprised, as the emperor had never bestowed any dishes upon him in previous years.
Seeing his confusion, Dai Quan smiled and said:
"Your Majesty is also holding a family banquet. After tasting tonight's dishes, he said they were quite good. He mentioned that your young master is a good eater, so he bestowed a few dishes upon the Duke and young master Jia Hu."
Jia Daishan quickly bowed towards the direction of the palace to express his gratitude.
Amidst the compliments of the Jia family members, Dai Quan left with gifts and a smile.
He loved money, but he also knew which families he could accept and which he couldn't.
He wanted to befriend the Jia family, but he didn't want them. However, the Jia family was generous and spoke nicely, and it would be awkward not to accept them, so he took them. As he left, he whispered to Jia Daishan:
"His Majesty has recently shown considerable impatience with the Sixth and Seventh Princes."
Jia Daishan's eyes darkened, then he smiled and said:
"Thanks for letting me know."
Jia Daishan realized that the sixth prince was the son of Consort Rong, and the seventh prince's mother had died early. He was also from Consort Rong's palace, so the emperor entrusted him to Consort Rong to raise.
The seventh prince was the one who poisoned him, so it seems the sixth prince wasn't clean either.
Jia Daishan's eyes flickered with a mixture of light and shadow. He had always known that the Seventh Prince was ruthless, while the Sixth Prince, who always pretended to be gentle and refined, was actually a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.