novelraw Chapter 322 - 319: New Year’s Visits
Chapter 322 - 319: New Year’s Visits
Old Li happily placed a piece on Little Douzi’s plate. "If you like it, I’ll make it for you all again."
"Mhm! Thanks, Grandpa." Little Douzi nodded repeatedly, his cheeks puffed out with food.
The meal lasted from noon until dusk. Once the table was cleared, it was laden with peanuts, melon seeds, puffed rice candy, fruit, and fried sweet potato strips.
Li Xiangyang and Lin Lan rode their bikes back to Lexing to feed their piglets. Then, they took some hunting traps out of a satchel and placed them at the base of the courtyard wall.
Ever since Xu Xiaobo had brought his men over, Li Xiangyang had asked a blacksmith to forge some hunting traps. He would set a few at the base of the front and back courtyard walls whenever no one was home, just in case.
The two of them went back inside to get some firecrackers, then came out to play with snappers in the courtyard with Little Douzi and Yang Zhigang.
Lin Lan and Qiaohui watched TV in the main hall, listening to the four of them laughing and giggling in the courtyard amidst the lively CRACKLE and POP of the fireworks.
A little while later, He Li and her brother arrived. Yang Zhigang brought out a deck of cards, and a few of them started a game of "Steal Ten-and-a-Half" in the main hall, with the loser of each round getting a paper mustache stuck to their face.
Little Douzi grew drowsy after playing for a bit. Old Li carried him to a room to sleep, tucked two red envelopes under his pillow, and gently stroked his small, rosy cheeks before closing the door and returning to the main hall.
Before it was even midnight, the sound of firecrackers began to erupt. Li Xiangyang and Yang Zhigang were in the courtyard, setting off their own "Welcoming Spring" firecrackers in response.
The sound of firecrackers, rising and falling, echoed across the city from thousands of households.
Li Xiangyang led the way in giving New Year’s greetings to Old Li. Beaming, Old Li gave each of them two red envelopes. "New Year’s money, for a prosperous year."
Each envelope contained a crisp two-yuan bill. It was a gesture for good things to come in pairs, a wish for good fortune.
"Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Uncle Li!" they all said in unison.
After the greetings, Old Li boiled some sweet rice balls, and everyone ate two.
Li Xiangyang and Yang Zhigang escorted Lin Lan and the other two home. After collecting the hunting traps, they finally went to bed.
Lin Lan took out the New Year’s money and placed it under Little Douzi’s pillow. She gave him a kiss and said softly, "Happy New Year, sweetie."
Little Douzi mumbled a sleepy reply before drifting off again.
「On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year」
Just as they had finished breakfast, Little Kai, Little Ming, and a few other children came to Lin Lan’s house to offer New Year’s greetings.
Lin Lan grabbed a handful of candy for the children and gave each of them a red envelope. Then they ran off, taking Little Douzi with them.
Lin Yuezhen and her husband, along with Shuiqing’s family of four, also came to Lin Lan’s house to pay a New Year’s visit.
Neither family had relatives in East Market, so they all gathered at Lin Lan’s house for the New Year.
Little Xue and her sister clasped their hands together and bowed. "Auntie Lin, may you have a prosperous New Year!"
Lin Lan gave each of them a red envelope. "Happy New Year to you too, Little Xue, Little Mei. May you grow more beautiful with each passing year."
Little Xue shyly accepted the red envelope. "Thank you, Auntie Lin."
Little Mei clutched her red envelope and looked at Lin Lan with admiration. "I’d be happy if I could be even half as beautiful as Auntie Lin."
Lin Lan smiled, pressing her lips together. "Now that’s what I like to hear!"
Li Xiangyang laughed. "Your Auntie Lin is in a good mood now. Ask her to stew some mutton so we can have hot pot for lunch."
Little Mei clapped her hands with a grin. "Yay! Let’s have hot pot!"
Lin Lan smiled. "Have Qiaohui take you to the vegetable patch to pull up some radishes and get some leafy greens."
Qiaohui took Little Mei to the vegetable patch, where they pulled up radishes, pinched off pea shoots, and cut some celtuce and napa cabbage.
The two carried the bamboo basket to the ditch to wash the vegetables. Qiaohui pointed at the tuber mustard. "The tuber mustard is best this time of year. Just cut it into chunks and put it in the pot. It gets tender as soon as the water boils."
"Wow, there’s so much of it!" Little Mei cheered. "Let’s cut two more to put in the hot pot."
Hearing Little Mei’s happy cries, Yongmei smiled at Shuiqing. "It’s so comfortable here at Little Lin’s place. The house is close to the city, it has a big courtyard... it’s convenient for growing vegetables and raising chickens."
Shuiqing nodded. "Little Xue and Little Mei are both earning money now. I was thinking of asking Xiangyang to help us look around Lexing Commune to see if there are any houses for sale. If we find a suitable one, we’ll buy it."
Yongmei looked at her husband and daughters guiltily. "This is all my fault. I’ve been a burden to you all."
Back when Brother Yong was buying that small courtyard house, if it hadn’t been for her illness, they would have bought their own house long ago.
Little Xue took her hand. "Mom, as long as we’re with you and Dad, any place we live is comfortable."
Yongmei squeezed her daughter’s hand. "I know. You are all good children."
In the kitchen, Lin Yuezhen took out a lab report and handed it to Lin Lan. She gestured, "I threw up after eating yesterday, so Brother Yong took me to the hospital for a check-up. I’m pregnant."
Ever since she got the report yesterday, she’d been fraught with anxiety, feeling like she was in a dream she was afraid to wake up from, only to be told it was all her imagination.
Lin Lan looked at the lab report, then looked up at Lin Yuezhen, her eyes wide with pleasant surprise. "This is wonderful! Congratulations, Yuezhen!"
A blissful expression on her face, Lin Yuezhen squeezed Lin Lan’s hand and mouthed, "Thank you, Little Lan!"
Lin Lan smiled. "The person you should be thanking most is yourself."
Lin Yuezhen looked at her earnestly and signed, "I just want to thank you, and Uncle and Aunt."
Lin Lan nodded with a smile. "I’ll tell them tomorrow when I go back."
Once the mutton was stewed, Li Xiangyang went to fetch Old Li, then called Little Douzi back from the bamboo forest across the street. Everyone gathered in the courtyard, enjoying the lively hot pot meal.
「On the morning of the second day of the New Year」
Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang packed some New Year’s gifts, gave the house key to Zhigang, and took a bus with Qiaohui and Little Douzi back to Shilian to visit her parents.
When they arrived at the station, they discovered the 7:00 AM bus had been rescheduled to 8:00 AM.
Li Hongmei told Lin Lan that from the second to the sixth day of the New Year, there was only one bus per day—it left at 8:00 AM and returned at 10:00 AM.
After getting off the bus, they reached the ferry crossing. The bone-chilling wind blowing off the river made their ears ache.
They waited for over half an hour before the ferry arrived. After crossing the river, they rode their bikes off the embankment and began pushing them up the slope.
"Chaaarge!" Little Jun and the other kids came whooshing down the slope. Lin Hong smiled sweetly at the adults. "Happy New Year, Auntie, Uncle, Aunt Qiaohui."
Lin Jun, Lin Qing, and Lin Gang grinned, clasping their hands in greeting. "Auntie, Uncle, may you get rich in the New Year! Now, where are our red envelopes?"
"We’ve had them ready for you for a while." Li Xiangyang chuckled, pulling red envelopes from his satchel and handing two to each of them.
The kids glanced inside their red envelopes and leaped for joy. "Whoa! A ten-yuan bill! We’re rich!"
Qiaohui watched them with a grin. "Quick, give your auntie your New Year’s greetings, and I’ll give you some money, too."
"Auntie Qiaohui, may you have a prosperous New Year!" the children chorused, quickly turning to give her their greetings.
Little Douzi grabbed Little Jun’s hand and started running up the hill. The children waved their arms and shouted, "Chaaarge! Time to get more New Year’s money!"
Lin Lan watched them with concern. "Running into the wind like that... they’ll get stomachaches."
Qiaohui laughed. "Don’t worry, Cousin. We can just make them some aged mugwort tea to drink."
Li Xiangyang watched the children. "Don’t worry. They’re not that delicate!"
Lin Lan nodded and continued pushing her bicycle up the path.
As the three of them reached a bend in the path, a woman with delicate features and shoulder-length hair, who was standing by a vegetable patch, smiled and called out to Lin Lan. "Little Lan! It’s been so long, I almost didn’t recognize you."