Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 471: Fireworks and Flowers

Three days before the Gu family army returned to the capital, the Beijing Street Office received an order to clean all the streets in the capital and arrange them to welcome the returning Gu family army and the New Year.

So during these three days, not only the officials but also the people were mobilized to clean the streets, scrub the doors, and replace all the lanterns on the lampposts with new ones. Some wine shops and teahouses even hung lanterns everywhere they could. The colorful and beautiful lanterns decorated the entire capital with joy.

In addition to the lanterns, there are also some colorful decorations hung along the streets. They are so colorful that adults and children alike are dazzled.

On the day when Gu's army returned, the emperor, along with the empress and the prince, personally went out of the city to welcome them. As family members of great heroes, Song Chunlin and Gu Fengyun enjoyed the highest treatment - standing on the left of the emperor and empress, a position higher than that of the prime minister.

However, the Prime Minister had no objection to this. On the contrary, he smiled and made room for the two of them.

The crowd didn't have to wait long in the cold wind before Gu Fengyue's team appeared from a distance. This time he brought the vanguard, all of whom were brothers who had been through life and death with him. The small team of about a hundred people received the warmest welcome from all the officials.

Unlike the last time he returned, this welcome ceremony was obviously more grand. Even the emperor excitedly held Gu Fengyue's hand and talked for a long time. Then everyone went to the Taimiao to prepare for the sacrifice to heaven.

Gu Fengyun told Song Chunlin in advance that this sacrifice to heaven would take a long time, and asked him not to fall asleep during it.

"You are also one of the heroes. You must set an example."

Under Gu Fengyun's earnest instructions, Song Chunlin really didn't doze off, because he drank a large cup of Jasmine Snow Bud before setting off. The caffeine content of this stuff is extremely high. In his previous life, Song Chunlin only needed half a cup to be excited for the whole day. In this life, even his body transformed by the spiritual spring water could not withstand the power of this large cup. Song Chunlin just felt that he was extremely excited at the moment, and he did whatever he was told to do without any sleepiness at all.

His abnormal behavior made Gu Fengyue think. When everything was over, it was already afternoon. Everyone was hungry and went to the palace to attend the palace banquet.

The palace banquet was just like the ones he had had before, boring and tedious. Song Chunlin quickly took a few bites to fill his stomach and put down his chopsticks. Gu Fengyue beside him did the same. After he was no longer so hungry, he put down his chopsticks and picked up the teacup to drink slowly.

The emperor and empress did not stay long and left the banquet halfway through. As soon as they left, the atmosphere in the palace banquet immediately became relaxed. Many people came down from their seats and came over to greet the Gu brothers. As they drank, both of them drank a lot, so they quickly called for a stop.

It was already the second half of the palace banquet. Seeing that the time was almost up, Gu Fengyue hurriedly took Song Chunlin to say goodbye. When the three of them returned to the Marquis' Mansion, it was already time to light the lamps.

Everyone in the Marquis' Mansion, young and old, had not yet eaten. They were all waiting for Gu Fengyue to come back so that they could have a reunion dinner together.

As soon as Gu Fengyue came back, she attracted the attention of the whole family. The steward smiled and asked the kitchen staff to serve the dishes quickly. The whole family sat at three tables and had a late dinner in a lively atmosphere.

The next day after Gu Fengyue came back, he had to go to the palace to hold a small court meeting. Gu Fengyun also wanted to go. Song Chunlin did not go. This time it was just Gu Fengyue's personal work report, so it didn't matter whether he went or not.

Fortunately, the emperor still had a conscience and specially gave Gu Fengyue a one-month vacation so that he could have a relaxing new year.

Knowing that Gu Fengyue only had a month's vacation, Song Chunlin wrinkled his nose and said with some disdain, "Only a month. I thought he would have at least a year or two. After all, I helped him build such a large empire."

Gu Fengyue laughed. "It's impossible to leave it that long. There's still a lot to do after the New Year. I'll probably have meetings every day. Although a group of people have been arranged to go to the North to manage it before the New Year, they still need to send military generals to take charge. I think there's a high probability that you will be sent."

Song Chunlin couldn't believe it: "What? Send me there? Why?"

Gu Fengyue was silent for a while before hesitantly giving a reason: "Maybe, because you love farming?"

What a lame excuse! The emperor couldn't possibly be so heartless as to send me there.

Song Chunlin thought, that’s not right, he is not a military general, what is he going to do there?

Realizing that Gu Fengyue was teasing him, Song Chunlin gritted his teeth, let out a roar, and pounced on him, ready to bite off two taels of flesh from him, but ended up being held down and kissed until he suffocated.

Afterwards, Song Chunlin accused the other party of a foul, but Gu Fengyue didn't care. Instead, he kissed him on the face several more times until the other party protested and then let him go.

The servant waiting outside the door blushed when he heard the noise inside, thinking that the young couple really felt like they were newlyweds after a short separation.

It was rare for the Gu family to have a lively New Year this year. On the 29th, the Marquis' Mansion began to get busy. The entire mansion had been thoroughly cleaned a few days ago, so it was much easier to clean now.

The big kitchen also became busy. There were a lot of ingredients to be processed today. Not only were there the two big fat pigs brought by the Song family, but also the cattle and sheep brought back by Song Chunlin, all of which were bought from the herdsmen. It was the first time for the chefs to see so much meat, piled up like a small mountain.

Song Chunlin didn't say that there were still a lot of seafood in his space. He bought them in a coastal city in the north. That small city didn't have any special products except seafood, and there was little arable land, so the population was very small.

Seafood is what the people living on the water there eat every day. It is much cheaper in the market than in Beijing. Song Chunlin bought a lot of seafood and made up for the shortage of seafood he had eaten before, and even more. Song Chunlin now feels that even if he eats seafood every day, it will take him one or two years.

This was the first time Song Chunlin had eaten fresh local seafood since he came to this world. He felt that it tasted fresher and sweeter than in later generations. He wondered if it was because the environment was better now, so the seafood tasted better.

On New Year's Eve, a bonfire was set up in the backyard of the marquis's mansion. A whole roasted lamb and a crispy roasted pig were cooked. The fragrant aroma wafted from far away. Several children squatted over the pig and lamb, their saliva dripping all over the floor.

After a lot of effort, it was time for dinner. The three elders, Grandpa Song and a group of men who were drinking sat at one table, Amma Song and Old Madam Su sat at another table with their wives and granddaughters-in-law, and the other younger generations took the initiative to sit together with their four youngest children. The three large round tables were all full. The servants had gone to the backyard early, and they also set up three tables there. The dishes on the table were no different from those at the host's house.

The whole Marquis' Mansion celebrated the New Year in a lively and fulfilling way. The elders were all grinning from ear to ear, the adults enjoyed their meals, and the children were also happy. After the meal, there were limited edition fireworks to set off, all of which were from the stock in Song Chunlin's space. There were all kinds of fireworks, hens laying eggs, and other beautiful and fun things. He took them all out and let the group of children have fun setting them off.