Chapter 596: New Year Traditions
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Binglan felt her play would create a lively scene. She considered getting people to set up stalls in the surroundings before everyone rushed over to watch. It would be like going to the cinema in the modern world.
When people arrived, Su Binglan would get people to act out the play she wrote. She believed Su Teng Market would be even more lively that way.
‘Everyone will want to watch my play at night. If that’s the case, we might need to expand the market. Fortunately, the village still has plenty of land to do that.’
Since it was almost the end of the year, more people would visit Su Teng to buy goods for the New Year’s celebration. Su Binglan planned to give all her workers leave during the holidays.
She wanted to give everyone a little vacation and only have them return to work after the Lantern Festival.
When Su Binglan lived in the modern era, she felt she did not have enough time to celebrate New Year’s. Most people rushed home from far away but had to hurry back to work in a few days.
Su Binglan felt she had not spent enough time with her family and did not enjoy the holidays as much in the modern world. However, she felt deeply moved by this era and wanted to give her workers more time off.
After all, she had the final say in most of the business in Su Teng Village and Tenghe Tovvn. She wanted everyone to have a lovely New Year. Also, she could spend more time with her family and relax at home.
The people in this era, especially those in Su Teng Village, loved New Year celebrations and usually bought many things before the holidays.
They typically visited their distant relatives during the first month of the year. People’s kinship was also stronger during the holidays as distant relatives came and went from far and wide.
Even so, Su Teng villagers’ relatives did not live too far away. Everyone was close to each other or from the surrounding villages. If one lived further away, one could take an oxcart to visit one’s family for New Year.
No one minded the troubles of traveling and wanted to visit their relatives.
People even happily traveled together, even though they might not be related, forging new friendships.
According to Su Binglan’s memories, people would carry baskets filled with cakes made with white flour whenever they traveled to visit relatives. They usually went for lunch and returned home in the afternoon.
Relatives would also trade delicacies with each other during this time. That was because some people in this era were from poorer conditions than others.
The best those families could afford as gifts were cakes made with white flour.
Still, white flour was not cheap, and their distant relatives were grateful.
This year, most people in the villages in Teng County had better family conditions. Therefore, they could afford to bring more gifts whenever they visited their relatives for New Year.
Su Binglan was confident that it would be much livelier this time. In addition, she planned to let her employees off of work before the celebration so they could prepare.
Many people also used buns, rice cakes, bean cakes, etcetera as offerings to their past ancestors.
Su Binglan remembered that everyone would freeze their food before New
Year to save money. These foods tasted like cured meat but were not as easy to store. During winter, they could either keep or eat them.
It was also one of the few delicacies people of this era looked forward to during New Year. There were many New Year traditions here, and Su Binglan smiled when she imagined how things would be like in Su Teng Village when that time came.
When she said she would write a play and gather actors, Lan Ruozhu and Luo Jin’an were shocked. They did not expect Su Binglan to know about such things.
Of course, the duo quickly remembered that she was not an ordinary young lady. She could always surprise them.
Luo Jin’an’s mood improved when he saw his wife’s smile. He asked, “What are you thinking about? You look so happy?”
He knew she was happy because the war had ended. Everyone could relax since there should not be more battles for a while.
Su Binglan smiled and said, “I’m thinking about how close we are to the New
Year. I feel like it’ll be even more interesting this year.”
Luo Jin’an nodded. He had heard about Su Teng Village’s traditions since returning. It was more lively than when he was at the border. He had experienced its warmth and liveliness and enjoyed the atmosphere very much.
Naturally, he would want to spend New Year in Su Teng Village.
Lan Ruozhu added, “l want to celebrate the New Year with Sister and my godparents.”
“All right, we’ll celebrate together.” Su Binglan was delighted, especially because she could celebrate with her long-lost brother and husband. She could not wait to have a good New Year.
“Oh, we can arrange for someone to perform on New Year’s Eve. Everyone can join in the fun. I plan to give everyone working in the winery a vacation during the celebrations.’
Luo Jin’an smiled gently. He could imagine how the employees would react when they learned they would be on leave for the holidays. “It’ll be nice for them to relax and prepare for the New Year.”
Everyone would be idle after the autumn harvest. At the end of the year, they would be busy preparing for the holidays. They would only return to farming when spring arrived.
Therefore, the tradition in Su Teng Village was to celebrate the New Year from the end of the year to the end of the first month.
Everyone had worked hard all year just to have a better New Year. The market and shops in town closed at the end of the year and would only open after the first month.
Everyone wanted to buy things and prepare food for the celebration. They also needed to have enough to eat to last them the month. Otherwise, no shops would be open to buy necessities.
Although it was pretty inconvenient, Su Binglan considered opening a convenience store. She could open one at the village entrance where people usually gathered for the market.
That way, everyone would notice the convenience store and go in to check it out. However, the store would need plenty of daily necessities to provide convenience for everyone. It needed to be stocked up and have a supply channel.
Still, the villagers did not need many daily necessities since they did not use much oil and salt. They had a steady oil supply from the rapeseed, enough to last a year.
After careful consideration, Su Binglan decided not to open a convenience store yet. She would first buy some goods and prepare things for the holidays. She also had to pay her employees their wages and New Year’s bonuses.
Su Binglan wanted to give gifts and start writing her play. She felt she should get busy.
“You’re always considerate of everyone,” Lan Ruozhu said, “No wonder everyone is desperate to work for your business.”
Luo Jin’an sighed, “Su Teng Village has changed significantly over the past six months..
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