Once the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month passed, the festive atmosphere fermented like a lump of dough, rapidly expanding inside the Quadrangle Courtyard.
Every household swung into action.
Women with new straw brooms tied to long bamboo poles and headscarves wrapped around their heads climbed onto stools, scrubbing away a year's worth of dust from the ceiling beams and windows.
Chapter 119