The days were busy, and time flew by! Soon, it was Zhao Xiaoyue's full moon celebration. After breakfast, the mother-in-law found Chen Lan and pulled her aside to a secluded spot. Chen Lan, bewildered by her mother-in-law's actions, grabbed her hand and quickly asked, "Mother-in-law, what do you need me for? Just tell me directly, there's no one else around."
The mother-in-law released Chen Lan's hand and whispered, "Lan'er, there's something I need your advice on."
Chen Lan curiously asked, "Mother-in-law, tell me, let me hear it and see if I can help you."
So, the mother-in-law immediately whispered, "Xiao Lan! Little Moon's full moon is the day after tomorrow. How do you think we should prepare for it?"
Chen Lan was surprised and asked, "So soon? Little Moon is already going to be a month old. Mother-in-law, have you asked Cui Mama and Uncle De, and Er Hu Ge for their opinions? How do they want to prepare?"
The mother-in-law said with some difficulty, "Of course I asked. Your Uncle De and Er Hu, their father and son, think that given our current conditions in the valley, there's no need for old customs. We can just have a lively meal at home with our family.
They also said that there are now two to three hundred people in the valley. We shouldn't set a precedent. If we have a grand celebration for our own child's full moon today, then when other people in the valley have birthdays, anniversaries, or when a child is born and has their full moon, must we also have such grand celebrations? Then we won't have time to work and will only be busy with these small matters."
Chen Lan nodded and said, "Uncle De and Er Hu Ge have a point. We shouldn't set a precedent, otherwise, it will be difficult to manage later. Mother-in-law, then why did you come to me? Do you still want to have a big celebration?"
The mother-in-law shook her head and said, "Of course not. My thoughts are the same as your Uncle De and the others. We can just have a lively celebration at home. It's Cui Mama who's worried that Xiaoyue might feel bad about it."
Chen Lan immediately asked, "Mother-in-law, do you mean that Xiaoyue wants a big celebration?"
The mother-in-law shook her head and said, "Not really. Cui Mama and I have just been discussing how to tell her about it. Cui Mama is worried that Xiaoyue will overthink things and feel that we didn't have a big celebration because she gave birth to a daughter."
Chen Lan asked uncertainly, "Mother-in-law, Xiaoyue, she shouldn't think like that, right?"
The mother-in-law said with some emotion, "Why wouldn't she? Lan'er, do you think everyone is as easygoing as you? You're always afraid of trouble. When Jia Yao and Jia Hui had their full moon celebrations, you didn't even return to the capital to your mother's home to 'hide from the noise' and just said to have a simple celebration at home.
But then again, that was the only way back then. Firstly, it was chaotic outside, and the roads were unsafe. Secondly, your mother-in-law was worried about you traveling so far with the children. So, your mother and their maternal uncles came to take care of you during your confinement, and we don't really care about these things."
Chen Lan thought for a moment and said, "Mother-in-law, how about this? Let's just follow the old customs for the baby at home this one time. As for inviting guests, we can just say it's a pre-autumn harvest gathering, since we'll be starting the autumn harvest soon."
Chen Lan then continued, "Mother-in-law, it's a bit difficult to 'hide from the noise' this time, as Xiaoyue's maternal home is thousands of miles away from our valley. What should we do?"
The mother-in-law thought for a moment and suddenly clapped her hands, saying, "It's 'hiding from the noise' anyway! We can just move the mother and daughter from upstairs to downstairs. The distance is a bit closer, but we'll make sure she has everything she needs!"
The mother and daughter-in-law agreed, and then they parted ways to prepare for their respective tasks. Chen Lan watched her mother-in-law's happy, receding back and smiled, thinking that her mother-in-law was truly a kind-hearted and warm-hearted old lady.
Soon, it was the day of Zhao Xiaoyue's full moon celebration. Cui Mama first asked Granny Qian, who had helped with the delivery, to shave the baby's hair. Then, the hair was wrapped in red cloth and placed inside the baby's pillow, believed to have a calming and warding-off-evil effect.
Wen Kai and Wen Qi acted as the baby's uncles to escort Xiaoyue and her mother to "hide from the noise." The uncles coming to pick them up symbolized "family harmony."
The mother-in-law somehow found a peach branch, on which she had tied five red-dyed peanuts and seven copper coins with red thread.
Chen Lan knew about this! A peach branch can ward off evil. Peanuts symbolize longevity, and the seven copper coins represent "seven stars shining, bringing prosperity and wealth."
Immediately after, the mother-in-law picked up the chubby little girl and drew a red "hook" on her forehead with red rouge. Chen Lan wasn't entirely sure what this meant, but she guessed it was also for warding off evil.
Then, the mother-in-law, holding the peach branch and the baby, turned and walked towards the door. Everyone followed her downstairs.
The elderly mother, representing the maternal grandmother, placed a longevity lock and silver bracelets on the chubby little girl. She also hung some long threads around the baby's neck, presumably to symbolize "tying down" and "long life."
The large kitchen in the valley was also unusually lively today. Chen Lan had also given everyone a day off, but unfortunately, Teacher Zhou, Xiang Dong, Er Hu, and Xiang Xi couldn't rest because they had to rush the construction schedule. However, they would definitely have the big meal! Xiang Xi had specifically requested hot pot and beer. Chen Lan readily agreed.
Now, the young women and wives were gathered in the large kitchen, helping to slaughter pigs and skin and clean game. That's right, Chen Lan had specially gone back to the valley where they had hunted the wild boar for today's feast. This time, she had brought back three adult male wild boars.
On the way back to the valley, Chen Lan took a new route she had never traveled before and discovered a smaller valley. In that valley, she hunted three roe deer. There were also red deer in the valley, but Chen Lan worried that red deer meat might not taste good, so she didn't hunt them. Thus, the red deer temporarily escaped their fate of being hunted.
Xiaoyue and her mother stayed downstairs for six days, symbolizing "six six great顺, everything goes smoothly." Today was the day they were supposed to return. The baby had to be dressed in new clothes. The mother-in-law said that at this time, the baby should wear tiger-head shoes, tiger-head hats, red-collared white shirts, red bellybands, and other items made by aunts and other relatives from the maternal side. In short, everything from head to toe had to be new!
Before they left, the mother-in-law drew a white "hook" on the chubby little girl's forehead with white powder. The mother-in-law was muttering something, saying, "Red hook comes, white hook goes."
During the meal, because Xiaoyue had just turned one month old, they were afraid that the outside wind might be too strong and cause her to have a headache later. So, they specially prepared a table at home, with Chen Lan, Ming Wei, Cui Qiao, Hu Yuzhen, Chun Cao, and Ru Yi, as well as Xiao Xue, their close friends, as company.
After settling the few little troublemakers, the main feast for Chen Lan's table officially began. Although there were fewer people at home, everyone was more relaxed. Over the meal, they enjoyed hot pot and chatted about everything, creating an equally lively atmosphere.
Chen Lan and the other women, along with their children, drank red wine, talked about their current happy lives, and their beautiful aspirations for the future!