Today， a week before the Chinese New Year， she is back again， her daughter has taken her (and her son) there another time. Wang QingFang is walking with the baby in the stroller while her mother goes to the temple. In previous years， her daughter travelled with her husband at New Year to the respective families， back in the hometowns， but since the year before the last， it is the other way round. Her daughter and her son-in-law have rented an apartment nearby from friends who went to their respective parents， there， the parents of the son-in-law and the young couple are living. Herself and her husband are meanwhile living in the apartment of the young family， and this year they do so together with their grandson.
During the day they will meet in either apartment， beginning on New Year’s eve. Now， there are still six more days to come until then， so it’s time to pray for success. The gathering of the two families is not as smooth as last year when everything was new， because the maternal grandmother likes to rule the roost though she is only the mother of the mother！ Unfortunately， it is so that the family of the son – and this is supported by millennia of tradition – claims the proper rights. For that reason， the Chinese language distinguishes between the two grandmothers. In English we may describe them as paternal resp. maternal grandmothers， but both are equal “grandmothers”， the Chinese write different words： 祖母 z.m. – literally “ancestor-mother”， is referring to the mother of the father， 外祖母 waiz.m. – literally “(from) outside ancestor-mother”， is a reference to the mother of the mother， she is “from outside”， not belonging to the actual family. Colloquial Chinese also treats the respective grandfathers and grandmothers differently： Yeye and apo are the parents of the child’s father， while waigong and waipo are those of the
In the evening， the market is completely immersed in deep red light.
While the markets are buzzing with life， people rest on the public road， or have an extended tea break outside the shop， the tangerine tree belongs with the New Year season.
child’s mother， here again the “外 wai” = foreign， from outside， shows up.
Therefore Wang QingFang’s mother takes the right this time not only to offer and to pray for the welfare of her grandson and her daughter (and the rest of the family)， but also in particular that this time there would be no tension.
She kneels on the place of prayer before the great temple， regularly swinging back and forth with the incense in the folded hands， murmuring her prayers. Now next to her somebody is kneeling down， an elderly， somewhat pot-bellied man in shabby clothes， wearing an old leather jacket and just a vest underneath， he is agitated and noisy. He is “mayor” Song but QingFang’s mother does not know that. He prays aloud for his son and his family， asking for enlightenment because of the investment he is up to make. “What kind of investments is this rude guy up to？” thinks the mother of QingFang. It is her impression that this man came just from somewhere in the hinterland and is actually a peasant， or at least he is behaving that way.
Already he has stood up again. “He has already finished praying？ How shall this work out？” the mother is asking herself. He advances to the offering table where he lays flowers and fruit and bows another time before he goes to one of the censer huts. There， he burns some paper money imitation which the ancestors can use in the afterlife. And now he is gone.
Mother Wang thinks that either these investments cannot be very serious or instead， cannot turn out well. You must not pray like that. She performs better， in recent years she has learned that by reading， internet and meditation. She promises to the responsible gods that she will restrain herself a little more in the future when criticising her husband， just that there will be no quarrels with the other family during the New Year week this time， and that the little grandson will get rid of of his feverish cold. (“I will not yell at my husband that often any more then.”)
A trade like that has almost always worked so far. Her daughter has made a good degree， married a good man， found a good job， bought a good apartment and conceived a healthy， strong， young son. Ample proof that praying helps！ And her offerings and return services had always been just right， it seems. So， offer harmony to receive harmony， that may do the trick this time.
Today she has also brought a tidy sum of real money that she will donate to the monks. “This is what that would-be investor should have done， then his investment might prosper！” She remains for at least one hour on the temple grounds and performs her various exercises.
Then she meets her daughter again who is already nervously bouncing up and down at the car， waiting to go home， the grandchild， too， is somewhat ill-tempered. “They’re both so impatient！” The two ladies have to prepare the New Year celebrations. In a few days， the other half of the family will arrive.
Everywhere in China the travelling is prepared. Trains， aeroplanes and coaches are fully booked up to the last seat， trains even beyond， many people will not have a seat and are forced to stand or sit on the floor for 12， 24， 36 or 48 hours. On New Year almost all families are getting together. In 2010， about 210 million Chinese were travelling this way or that. Previously， the rule was almost without exception that the children went to their respective parents. Young couples separated for at least a few days unless they did by chance originate from the same town， like the engineering couple Chu/Sun did. Nowadays， this is treated more flexibly. Mainly in the case of ShenZhen it has become customary for the parents to visit their sons and daughters who are living and working there.
Meanwhile， there’s haggling going on in the market， and shoving.
Even beggars are hoping to be a part of the business. Florists recommending their products.
