Chapter 110: Preparations Before the New Year

Er Bao failed to find an ally. He wanted to look for his mother, but she was not around, so he turned to his grandmother instead. “Grandma, did you hear that too?”

“Oh dear, yes, yes, I heard it.” Mother Li responded while agreeing with Er Bao. At the same time, she handed a piece of pig’s head meat to Xiao Bao. Xiao Bao, afraid that his second brother would snatch it away in the next second and not let him eat it, quickly stuffed the meat into his mouth with a loud “ahh” and then covered his mouth.

“…” Er Bao widened his eyes and jumped off the stool.

Xiao Bao immediately bolted.

“Oh my, don’t fight!” Mother Li quickly stepped in to mediate.

Shen Yiyi entered with a bowl of food, almost bumping into them. “Alright, alright, stop making a fuss.”

Xiao Bao clung to his mother’s leg.

Er Bao accused: “Mother, Xiao Bao lied!”

Shen Yiyi set the food down, squatted, and looked at Xiao Bao. “Xiao Bao, children who lie are not good children. Parents don’t like such children. Think again—did you say you wouldn’t eat it?”

Xiao Bao pouted and pointed at the braised pig’s head. “I want to eat it!”

“Mother knows you want to eat it. If you want to, you can just say it directly. Even if you said before that you wouldn’t eat it, it doesn’t matter. Your second brother will understand you. But you mustn’t lie.” Shen Yiyi said.

Xiao Bao lowered his head. “…I did say that.”

“Then did you lie? Do you want to apologize to your second brother?”

Xiao Bao nodded, walked up to Er Bao, and said: “Second Brother, I shouldn’t have lied just now. Can you forgive me?”

Er Bao snorted.

“Second Brother?” Xiao Bao reached out to grab Er Bao’s hand. “Forgive me, okay~? Aren’t I your most, most, most favorite little brother?”

“…” Er Bao’s resistance crumbled. Awkwardly, he muttered: “Hurry up and eat.”

Xiao Bao cheered. Seeing that the two brothers had reconciled, Mother Li happily fed Xiao Bao another piece of pig’s head meat.

Shen Yiyi patted Er Bao’s head. “Our Er Bao is so generous. Go eat your food now.”

Er Bao returned to his seat. Xiao Bao, feeling generous, picked up a piece of pig’s head meat from his own bowl and placed it in his second brother’s bowl. He grinned widely at him, then stuffed his mouth so full that, looking like a little hamster, a few grains of rice fell out. He quickly covered his mouth.

Er Bao couldn’t help but laugh at Xiao Bao’s comical expression. “You little fool!”

Xiao Bao pouted.

Mother Li ate with them, and when she finished and was about to head back, Shen Yiyi handed her a bowl to take home for Father Li.

The rest was saved for when Li Chen returned, and it would last them another two days. They had originally planned to have a beef hotpot that evening, but it was postponed.

As the Spring Festival drew closer, the festive atmosphere became more intense. Especially in the days following the Little New Year, Shen Yiyi could feel the excitement even while staying at home.

Her mood was also lifted by the festive spirit. She made another trip to the county town, where the supply and marketing cooperative had anticipated the holiday demand and brought in a large stock of ready-made garments from the city department store. They were all the latest styles, though quite expensive, and required cloth tickets.

Shen Yiyi had no shortage of money or tickets, nor did she fear others’ speculation. Generously, she bought a set of new clothes for herself, Li Chen, the Three Baos, and Father Li and Mother Li.

After coming out, she retrieved a lot of New Year goods from her personal storage space and unexpectedly ran into Qian Xiaoling.

Qian Xiaoling happily told her that the textile factory had started its holiday break that day. She also mentioned that Yang Pengshan had been dismissed from his position the day before, though his close associates would not be dealt with until after the holiday.

Shen Yiyi acknowledged the news and chatted with her for a while. Before they parted, Qian Xiaoling gave her some candies, saying they were bought from Haishi.

Shen Yiyi accepted the gesture and, in return, gave her two big apples. Qian Xiaoling was so delighted that her eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled.

On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, Mother Li came over holding red paper and asked Shen Yiyi: “Second Daughter-in-law, have you found someone to write the Spring Festival couplets?”

“Not yet.” Shen Yiyi replied. She had only just taken out the red paper from her storage the day before.

“Perfect timing! Give me the red paper, and I’ll take it to have Lin Zhiqing write them for you.” Mother Li said. The “Lin Zhiqing” she referred to was Lin Jiadong.

Only then did Shen Yiyi remember—Lin Jiadong had excellent calligraphy, and many villagers sought him out to write their Spring Festival couplets.

“Mother, no need. I can write them myself.” Shen Yiyi said.

“You can write?” Mother Li was surprised.

Of course, Shen Yiyi wrote the couplets herself, and they turned out quite well. However, since she hadn’t practiced for a long time, she felt an itch to give it a try. With excitement, she said: “Mother, if you don’t mind, I can also write yours!”

Mother Li remained skeptical, worried that Shen Yiyi might ruin her red paper.

Shen Yiyi didn’t mind her doubt. She quickly ran back to get some red paper, placed it on the table, and picked up a calligraphy brush. Her strokes were powerful—horizontal lines thin, vertical lines thick—fluid and graceful, like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing across the paper.

Upper Couplet: “Peace and good fortune come from all directions.”

Lower Couplet: “The whole family rejoices as wealth flows in.”

Horizontal Inscription: “Blessings from the stars above.”

Mother Li’s eyes lit up. She couldn’t read, but she could still tell good calligraphy from bad.

Wasn’t this much better than Lin Jiadong’s? Without hesitation, she asked Shen Yiyi to write hers as well.

As a result, Shen Yiyi’s house was anything but quiet that day. A flood of villagers arrived, all wanting her to write Spring Festival couplets for them.

Meanwhile, Li Chen had been leaving early and returning late for several days, busy with work. When he finally finished and came home, he almost thought he had walked into the wrong house.

After learning what had happened, he looked at his wife with immense pride. Da Bao’s eyes sparkled with admiration as he bustled around like a little spinning top, organizing red paper and handing brushes to his mother.

It wasn’t until evening that the crowd finally dispersed. In return for her calligraphy, their home was now stocked with plenty of candies and eggs.

Li Chen handed Shen Yiyi the money he had earned in the past few days—1,500 yuan—and brought her some fantastic news: Liang Jun had offered him a job in the transportation team after the Lantern Festival!

Shen Yiyi was overjoyed and eagerly pulled Li Chen to the neighboring room for a “small meeting.”

This was the first time Shen Yiyi had taken the initiative like this. Li Chen was so thrilled that he couldn’t contain himself and kept her up for most of the night. As a result, on New Year’s Eve, when she had originally planned to wake up early, she ended up sleeping in until almost noon.

Shen Yiyi almost cursed out loud but quickly got up. The moment she stepped out of the room, she saw Li Chen leading the Three Baos in cleaning the house, moving up and down busily.

Er Bao was holding a small rag, wiping down the cabinets. When he saw his mother, he immediately said: “Mother is such a lazy bug!”

Shen Yiyi: “…” She glanced at Li Chen.

Li Chen put down the bowl in his hands and said: “You sure talk a lot. Hurry up and wipe properly. These bowls here are your responsibility too.”

“…” Er Bao looked aggrieved.

“Wife.” Li Chen said guiltily: “there’s hot water in the pot. I’ll fetch some for you to wash up, okay?”

Shen Yiyi pursed her lips slightly. Fine, she would let him redeem himself this time.

After breakfast, Shen Yiyi joined the cleaning efforts. The family of five spent the entire morning tidying up the house. After lunch, Li Chen took Er Bao with him to paste the Spring Festival couplets.

Originally, they were supposed to have New Year’s Eve dinner at the old house. However, since Mother Li now disliked Jiang Ailing even more than Shen Yiyi did, she felt that, given Jiang Ailing’s nature, if they dined together, there wouldn’t be a single meat dish on the table. She wasn’t willing to let Jiang Ailing take advantage of them.

Moreover, during Mother Shen’s last visit, the family had already gathered for a meal. At that time, Jiang Ailing had devoured food like a storm at the table, making Mother Li feel utterly embarrassed in front of Mother Shen and Shen Yiyi.

So, with a wave of her hand, Mother Li decided that since they had only just separated households this year, there was no need to eat together.

This arrangement suited Shen Yiyi perfectly. While Li Chen was busy putting up the couplets, she took Da Bao along to start preparing the New Year’s Eve feast.