In addition to cleaning, there are many other things to do on the 23rd day of the lunar month. For example, some families make their own tofu, which is a tedious and delicate task. Before making tofu, you need to prepare alkaline soil, and the child will get up early to go to the broken cave to sweep the alkaline soil. The next step is to grind the bean juice, boil, order the brine, pack, and press the water, each of which needs to be carefully operated.
In the village, the smell of the New Year began to get stronger. People began to kill pigs and sheep, and it was very lively. The neighing of pigs and the excitement of the people mingled, and the whole village boiled. However, behind this bustle, there are also people who are immersed in sadness. The screams of the pig mingled with the voice of an old man, the pain and helplessness of the loss of a loved one.
On the twenty-third day of the lunar month, the woman was not idle. They were busy preparing new clothes and shoes for their families. With my wallet in my hand, I went to the supply and marketing cooperatives to buy back a lot of fabrics and oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. In the dead of night, they were busy until late at night with the lights on the lamps, comparing, tailoring, and sewing.
Age is not only a matter for men and women, children also have their own tasks. For example, the New Year's stove is built, and the child consciously opens up. They went into the mountains with hoes and axes to look for the roots of the stoves. The boy piled his own stove high and lit it vigorously, beating everyone's. The flames flew higher than the pear trees in the yard, and the couplets on the door were redder than red.
On the day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the family is the busiest. There are many things waiting for them to do, such as frying twist flowers, making flower buns, steaming rice cakes, making dumplings, building a stove, pasting couplets, and so on. They all know that this year, however, there is no end to the work at hand. On this day, the sun also ran very crazy, until it fell to the west of the mountain beam, the sun hesitated, it was really reluctant to leave the village, trying to hold on to the mountain and not let go, its face was blood-red, and it was about to cry. The stove was built, the couplets were on the wall, and the dumplings were served the next year. The man walked into the yard with a "two-kicker". With the crisp sound of the "horn", even if the New Year comes, the year is over.
This is the story of the 23rd day of the lunar month, and it is also a microcosm of the traditional customs of rural China. On this special day, people are busy preparing various items and food needed for the New Year, praying for good luck and happiness in the New Year. Although the preparations for the Chinese New Year are tedious and hard, people are full of joy and anticipation to complete every task. Because for them, the Chinese New Year is not only a traditional custom and a way of cultural expression, but also a kind of spiritual sustenance and emotional belonging.