Year's End

They did a thorough cleaning of the house, inside and out, and the next day the family started making tofu. The soybeans had been soaked the day before, filling a large basin. Because both Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Yuanbo loved to eat tofu, and with the addition of new family members, Zhang Shi was making more tofu this year than in previous years.

Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Yuanbo ground the soybeans into soy milk. There was a stone mill in the yard that Liu Yuanbo had just made a few days ago. Liu Da heated the water, while Zhang Shi and her daughter-in-law, Li Shi, filtered the ground soy milk, pouring the juice into a large pot to boil and make tofu. The soy pulp was spread out in the yard to dry, and could be mixed with cornmeal to make soy pulp pancakes.

The soy milk quickly boiled, and Zhang Shi took out a small porcelain jar, pouring out something that looked like a piece of ice about half a fist size. This was nitre, used to curdle the tofu. Zhang Shi dissolved the nitre in a bowl, and waited for the soy milk in the pot to cool down a bit before starting to curdle it. As the nitre was slowly poured in, white and yellow bean curd gradually separated out from the soy milk, and the unique smell of tofu wafted out. Liu Yuanzhou, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but swallow, making a smacking sound.

"It'll be ready soon, go mash some minced garlic," Zhang Shi instructed Liu Yuanzhou. Liu Yuanzhou accepted the order and quickly went to mash the garlic juice.

The bean curd was placed in a mold to press out the water, and the tofu was ready. Once all the tofu had been pressed, Li Shi cut the freshly made, still steaming tofu into small pieces and served a bowl to everyone. The whole family stopped what they were doing and gathered around to eat the tofu. Fresh tofu, dipped in garlic juice, was a delicacy beyond compare.

After finishing the tofu making at noon, there was nothing much to do at home in the afternoon. Liu Yuanzhou leisurely strolled to Third Master's house. He stood in Stance Training for a while, practiced his fist techniques a few times, and finally boiled a pot of water and made a cup of hot tea. Liu Yuanzhou sat on the kang, thinking about the future.

Since entering Samadhi, Liu Yuanzhou's Stance Training had improved rapidly. Judging from the current situation, he might be able to stand for twenty-odd sections by March or April next year, and then he could start to comprehend the complete force. According to Miss Qin, the complete force is about accumulation, and comprehension is not difficult, it is a matter of course.

What to do after becoming a Martial Master? One thing is certain, he will definitely go out and make a name for himself. As for where to go and when to leave, he has not yet decided. He has quite a few options. One is to work as a household Martial Master for a wealthy family. This is stable, but the future is almost set in stone, because without subsequent cultivation methods, the Ming Jin Realm is the end.

The second is to join a martial arts gym or biāojú (security company), because these two places are in urgent need of Martial Masters. As long as the background is clear and they are not criminals, they can generally join. Because it is considered an employment or cooperative relationship, the martial arts gym or biāojú will not ask about your master's background. If you want to take the martial arts a step further, this path is also difficult.

The third is to join a sect. Sects have a complete system of cultivation inheritance, and the future is the best. But there are two problems here. One is that it is difficult to join a sect. Without an introduction, it is generally difficult to enter. Second, his own kung fu is of somewhat unknown origin, which involves Miss Qin and Bage, and the situation is complicated and cannot withstand scrutiny.

After thinking about it, Liu Yuanzhou found it difficult to make a decision. The second option is the most stable, but he is not willing to settle for it. Who doesn't want to climb to the higher peaks of martial arts?

"Alas, I don't want to think about it, it gives me a headache. I'm still far from being a Martial Master, what's the point of thinking about this?" Liu Yuanzhou shook his head and sighed. Sometimes having too many choices is also a problem. Before learning kung fu, he wouldn't even dare to think about working as a household Martial Master for a wealthy family, but now, he looks down on it.

In the next four or five days, in addition to practicing martial arts, Liu Yuanzhou was helping his family prepare for the New Year. His mother, Zhang Shi, and his sister-in-law, Li Shi, were busy sewing and mending clothes and bedding: making a new set of clothes for each person, taking apart and washing quilts and cotton clothes, and mending old clothes.

As the saying goes, new for three years, old for three years, mending and patching for another three years. Ordinary rural families live their lives like this. And the New Year is a day to get rid of the old and welcome the new, so before the New Year, everything that should be washed should be washed, and everything that should be removed should be removed, in order to seek a new atmosphere in the coming year.

The three men of the Liu family also took advantage of the good weather in the days before the New Year to go to the mountains to collect firewood. There was still a thick layer of snow on the shady side of the mountain, and the snow on the sunny side had begun to melt.

They were busy until the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month before the father and sons stopped. Looking at the pile of firewood that almost surrounded half of the yard, Liu Da smiled and said to his two sons, "Burning it with all our might will be enough to burn until next spring, so we don't have to worry about being snowed in and having no firewood to burn."

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was market day at Crouching Tiger Slope, the last market day before the New Year. The next market will have to wait until after the twentieth day of the first lunar month next year. Therefore, the market on this day was exceptionally lively, and everyone was rushing to make the last wave of purchases before the New Year.

Liu Yuanzhou invited Liu Chuang and Zhang He to go to the market together. Because the family had just held a wedding banquet for Liu Yuanbo last month, and there was still a lot of frozen meat and wine left over, enough to eat for the New Year, Liu Yuanzhou's family mainly bought some fresh vegetables and firecrackers at this market, not much, so there was nothing much for Liu Yuanzhou to do.

The three of them arrived at the market when the sun was already high in the sky. At this time, both the temporary market and the street of shops were crowded with people, and the sounds of hawking rose and fell one after another. The shop owners simply set up stalls in front of their shops to sell goods.

Liu Yuanzhou and his companions walked along with the crowd, looking around, and stopped to watch for a while when they encountered novelties. Liu Yuanzhou saw a large group of people gathered in front of them to watch something, and the crowd let out a burst of exclamations. Liu Yuanzhou asked someone what was going on inside, and the person said they were selling talismans. The three of them stood on tiptoe and looked inside, but couldn't see anything.

Zhang He then said, "I'll go in and take a look." He was small, and as he spoke, he burrowed into the crowd.

Liu Yuanzhou winked at Liu Chuang and shouted loudly, "Hey, whose wife is that? She's really good-looking."

Liu Chuang understood and quickly followed up, "Yes, yes, she's too good-looking."

Hearing that there was a good-looking girl, many people in the crowd couldn't help but turn their heads to look back. Liu Yuanzhou and his companions took the opportunity to bend down and squeeze into the crowd.

In the middle of the crowd, a piece of white cloth was spread on the ground, with some bright yellow talisman papers arranged on it. Behind the cloth stall sat a person holding a burning talisman in his hand. Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Chuang were stunned when they saw the person's appearance. The person saw three more people suddenly appear in front of him, looked up, and was also stunned.

The stall owner was actually Wang Wu. At this time, the talisman in his hand was about to burn out, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand. He subconsciously threw the talisman paper forward. After the talisman paper was thrown out, he realized what he had done and was about to reach out to grab it.

Liu Chuang saw a ball of fire coming towards him and thought that Wang Wu was attacking with a talisman. He was so frightened that he retreated backward and shouted, "Wang Wu, what are you doing?"

Liu Yuanzhou saw clearly that it was just a burning talisman paper, floating towards him, so he waved his hand and flicked it back. At this time, the fire on the talisman paper had gone out, turning into a gray thing. Wang Wu grabbed it and blew on it again, and in front of everyone's eyes, the burned talisman paper immediately turned back to its original appearance, with the runes clearly visible.

The crowd couldn't help but let out another exclamation.

Wang Wu had now regained his composure. He held up the talisman paper, looking proud, looked at Liu Yuanzhou and his companions, and laughed, "Haha, you have been hit by my talisman. You will definitely have disasters within three days. If you want to resolve the disaster, quickly kneel down and kowtow. If I am in a good mood, I will resolve it for you."

"You're full of crap!" Although Liu Chuang was afraid in his heart, his mouth remained tough.

"Why do you want to harm us?" Zhang He asked in fear.

Liu Yuanzhou naturally didn't believe his nonsense, but he didn't want to stay any longer, because behind this Wang Wu there was also a White-Haired Taoist. Who knew what they were plotting? He was still very wary of that White-Haired Taoist.

Immediately, Liu Yuanzhou pulled Liu Chuang and Zhang He out of the crowd, giving Wang Wu, who was smug, a deep look before leaving.

Once out of the crowd, Liu Yuanzhou saw Liu Chuang and Zhang He with long faces and said with a smile, "You really believed his nonsense?"

"But..." Zhang He was about to say something, but Liu Yuanzhou interrupted him, saying, "If he really had that ability, would he still be selling talismans on the street?"

Zhang He and Liu Chuang were still skeptical, thinking of going back to the Dragon King Temple in the village to offer incense and get rid of bad luck. The three continued to stroll around the street.

The encounter with Wang Wu was just a small interlude.

December 29th, Lunar New Year's Eve.

Getting up early in the morning, Liu Yuanzhou set off firecrackers, and he and his elder brother put up couplets on the doors and windows, while their father, Liu Da, swept the yard. Zhang Shi and her daughter-in-law, Li Shi, were busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. This year, Zhang Shi prepared an exceptionally rich New Year's Eve dinner, including fried meatballs, braised pork, stewed chicken, braised carp, beef, mutton, and of course, the indispensable tofu and vermicelli stew.

After breakfast, Liu Da, along with his two sons, met up with his younger brother, Liu Jiahong, and his two sons to burn paper money at their parents' graves.

In the evening, just as the sun was setting, the New Year's Eve dinner began. All the dishes were brought to the table, and the family sat around it. Liu Yuanzhou poured wine for everyone. Liu Da picked up his wine glass, seeming to want to say a few words, but in the end, he only said, "Let's start eating." With that, he finished the wine in his glass in one gulp. Everyone followed suit and drank their wine.

Liu Yuanzhou laughed and said, "Dad, why don't you say something?"

Liu Da, whether it was from drinking or something else, had a flushed face and only focused on eating, not responding.

Zhang Shi tapped Liu Yuanzhou with her chopsticks, "Eat your food."

Li Shi, seeing her father-in-law's embarrassment, covered her mouth and laughed, earning her husband a glare.

Zhang Shi also laughed, and everyone joined in the laughter.

After dinner, Liu Chuang and Zhang He ran over to invite Liu Yuanzhou to drink. According to local custom, people visit each other's homes to drink during New Year's Eve, continuing throughout the night. Zhang Shi also prepared some snacks and drinks.

The three of Liu Yuanzhou walked on the road in the village. At this time, the sound of firecrackers rose and fell, ringing non-stop. There were also groups of children running around the village with lanterns, laughing and playing.

"Di---Peng!" A huge firework exploded in the sky, it was Li Laocai's family starting to set off fireworks.

Liu Yuanzhou looked at the dazzling firelight, and couldn't help but think, "Where will I be next year for the New Year?"