166 Chapter 166 New Year (2)
âBring what?â Zhou Ying turned her head and asked in confusion.
âDidnât anyone tell you?â
âPlease say what you want, as I do not understand what you mean?â
âYou meanâ¦â Mrs. Wang didnât know what to say when she saw her confused look.
After that, she pulled her aside and asked, âYou know that we need to burn paper money to pay respects to our ancestors, right? Youâve already separated from your main family and are now independent, so you must prepare some paper money for each ancestor.
âThereâs also pork and noodles for the offering. Although they were bought with money from the clan, each family would also prepare some more food when they came.
âBasically, just some simple cooking or offerings.â
Zhou Ying nodded and said, âThe patriarch told us to prepare some fried goods, so we didnât prepare anything else.
âHowever, itâs probably too late to buy paper money now.â n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHow about this? I still have some paper money left at home, so come with me. No matter what, you need some.â said Mrs. Wang.
âSure, Iâll let Sixth Aunt know.â Zhou Ying agreed, and she went to her, âSixth Aunt, Iâm going out for a while. Iâll fry the crispy meat when I come back.â
After that, the two women hurried out. Zhou Ying quickly cut the paper money while Mrs. Wang helped arrange them. After 15 minutes, they had a stack ready.
Mrs. Wang measured the thickness and said, âIt should be enough, so remember to give it to Chengrui. Heâll have to go to the ancestral hall to burn these.
âOh right, incense too. Chengrui will need these too.â
Mrs. Wang said as she turned around, took out a small incense stick from the cabinet drawer, and handed it to her. âLetâs go.â
âThank you so much, Auntie,â said Zhou Ying after they went out. âOtherwise, we would have made a fool of ourselves today.â
âYou canât be blamed for this since no one told you about it. You wouldnât know about this otherwise.â Mrs. Wang couldnât help but ridicule Madam Qiao and the others at this time.
How could those elders not tell the younger generation about such an important thing? What an irresponsible bunch!
She didnât know Madam Qiao and the others had long forgotten this rule.
When they were in the capital, they only returned with gifts yearly and had never participated in ancestral worship.
Paying respects to their ancestors in the capital was a simplified process. The servants had prepared those during the new year and festivals, and the masters were there just for formality. So they always assumed it was the same over here as well.
Father Gu and Second Uncle Gu were stuck in a rut when the two women returned. The patriarch was going around and exchanging the things they needed and asking the other clan members to give them a portion if they had any extra.
Just as Gu Chengrui was thinking of asking someone else for some, Zhou Ying walked to his side. âCrazy, right? These are for you. Later on, watch what others do and quickly learn. Donât make a fool of ourselves again.â
Gu Chengrui saw the items in her hands and almost kissed her on the spot. He took it and exclaimed excitedly, âYou really are my savior.â
âAlright, I canât be here anymore. I have to go and cook.â After Zhou Ying clenched her fist to cheer him on, she turned around and returned to the shed to help with the cooking.
The main dishes were crispy meat and stir-fried vegetables, most of which were almost finished.
Just as she was about to start cooking, she suddenly heard a series of shouts, followed by a commotion.
Since she couldnât enter the ancestral hall, she couldnât be bothered to go over. Instead, she continued her cooking.
When it was time to eat, she was dumbfounded again. After cooking all this time, no woman was allowed at the table, and they could only hide in the shed and eat.
Also, they could only eat steamed buns with vegetables, which was frustrating to her.
This also reminded her of the status of men and women in this society. No wonder Mrs. Liu didnât dare say anything to Father Gu, no matter how arrogant she was.