◎ Third update ◎ 

Nowadays, it is not customary to worship at graves. Instead, Xu Shengjie asked everyone to pour a glass of wine into small cups, hold them up, and then pour the wine onto the ground. This is his way of offering a drink to his deceased parents and celebrating the New Year together. 

Zhou Yun’s face was filled with sadness as she looked at the wine cups. So many years had passed in a flash. Her second son and his wife had been gone for so long. In the blink of an eye, even his grandson had started a family. This year, the Xu family was finally lively for the New Year. 

“Grandma, don’t cry.” Xu Shengya sat next to Zhou Yun and stretched out her hand to wipe her grandmother’s tears. The little girl was closest to her grandmother. Her parents passed away when she was one year old. Her grandmother was the most precious thing to her. Seeing her grandmother’s red eyes, she also wanted to cry. 

“Grandma, don’t be sad. Today is a good day. It’s so lively during the New Year.” Liang Baozhen coaxed the old lady and winked at Xu Shengwei to come over. 

Xu Shengwei is the happy pill in the family. He jumped off the stool and rushed to his grandmother. “Grandma, why are you crying? Don’t you want to give me New Year’s money? You can’t back out now!”

 

“You little rascal!” Zhou Yun’s worried expression instantly faded as she broke into a smile. Her grandson’s words were so charming that she couldn’t stay upset. “You’re thinking about New Year’s money everywhere, right? Sit back quickly, yours will be indispensable.” 

“Yes!” 

Xu Shengjie served a piece of braised pork to his grandmother. The meat was tender and perfect for someone with poor teeth like her. “Grandma don’t be upset. Our lives are getting better and better now, and Mother and Father would be happy to see it.” 

“Yes, yes, your parents would definitely be pleased!” Zhou Yun picked up her chopsticks and signaled for everyone to start eating. 

The New Year’s Eve dinner took more than an hour. It was the most sumptuous meal of the year. No matter how hard or frugal people worked on ordinary days, they had to have a good meal during the New Year.  This meal was a time for family reunion and joy and it’s filled with laughter and conversation.

At midnight, the air was filled with the crackling of firecrackers. The loud, festive noise chased away the troubles of the past year and welcomed the arrival of the new year. 

*** 

Early on New Year’s Day, Liang Baozhen got up and dressed in her new clothes. Her grandmother had prepared everything meticulously; everyone was to wear new clothes, and they had to be splendid. 

Liang Baozhen was wearing a red floral jacket with new cotton inside, which was very warm. Zhou Yun was skilled in sewing and even sewed plum blossom buttons for her. Young girls love to look charming, unlike someone her age who doesn’t care as much. 

Xu Shengjie changed into a blue coat, which was made of a slightly stiff fabric. It did not make him look bulky at all, and he looked quite handsome. 

“Brother, sister-in-law, Happy New Year!” 

Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya rushed over. It was a rare occasion that they were not sleepy this early in the morning. After all, they couldn’t sleep last night because they were thinking about collecting the New Year’s money. 

Both of them were wearing a blue and a red coat respectively, which were exactly the same colors as their eldest brother and sister-in-law. They were very eye-catching standing together. 

In the past, it was customary to kowtow when paying New Year’s greetings. However, in recent years, old customs had fallen out, and kowtowing had been abolished. Instead, they said auspicious words and received red envelopes.  

The two little ones each received a red envelope from their grandmother, one from their older brother, and one from their sister-in-law. 

“Xiaoya, let me see yours.” Xu Shengwei tilted his head to take a look at his sister’s red envelope. He always felt that his sister’s red envelope looked thicker. 

“You have your own.” Xu Shengya hid the red envelope behind her and looked at Xu Shengwei with a pout. 

The brother and sister are twins and look somewhat alike. Xu Shengwei is also handsome at a young age. He inherited more of his mother Wu Huacui’s looks than his older brother Xu Shengjie. His facial features are less heroic than his older brother’s, but more charming. 

Xu Shengya inherited everything from her mother, with a delicate face and exquisite looks, especially her grape-like eyes which looked very lively. Seeing her second brother using two fingers to open the red envelope and looking inside, she remembered something. 

“Second brother, Happy New Year and wishing you for more prosperity.” After saying that, she bowed to Xu Shengwei, turned around, and looked at him with her hands spread out. 

“What are you doing? Are you asking for a red envelope from me?” This time, Xu Shengwei hid the envelope behind him. No way! This was the New Year’s money he had been looking forward to all year; no one was getting it! 

“I’ve already wished you a Happy New Year, why don’t you give me a red envelope?” Xu Shengya’s eyes were bright, and she spoke seriously, as if she was saying some wise words that no one could refute. 

Xu Shengjie nodded, patted his brother’s shoulder, and urged him, “Xiaoya is your sister. As a brother, why don’t you show some appreciation?” 

Zhou Yun also joined in while smiling, “Xiaowei, Xiaoya has already wished you a Happy New Year, you can’t be stingy.” 

Good grief, why was everyone helping Xiaoya get his few dimes? Zhou Yun and Xu Shengjie each gave her one dime as New Year’s money, which was more than before. 

As a result, before the money was even warm in his pocket someone is already eyeing it, Xu Shengwei shook his head and came up with a good idea. “Since we came out together, why don’t I just call you ‘sister’?” 

“You little rascal, you don’t even want to be the older brother just to avoid giving her New Year’s money?” Xu Shengjie rubbed his brother’s short hair. 

“No, no, what’s the good of being a brother? It means giving out money.” 

Xiaoya wrinkled her nose and tapped her cheek with her right hand. “Second Brother, you’re so embarrassing~” 

“It doesn’t matter, money is more important~” 

Liang Baozhen watched the two and couldn’t help but laugh. Xiaowei and Xiaoya had a good relationship. She thought of her own siblings and looked forward to the third day of the New Year. 

Originally, she was thinking of going back to Damei Village with Xu Shengjie on the third day of the New Year. The New Year’s goods had already been prepared, and they could just carry them. However, Zhou Yun kept mentioning not having seen her in-laws and suggested that the Liang family come into the city to visit and have a meal. 

This made Liang Baozhen very happy. She hurried to the post office and spent money to make a phone call to the commune. She asked someone to tell Song Chunhua to call back at three in the afternoon on the first day of the new year. 

Song Chunhua had previously been worried about the influence of bringing her whole family into the city, fearing it might seem like they were taking advantage of them. However, after Zhou Yun talked to her on the phone, Song Chunhua finally changed her mind. 

On the third day of the New Year, the family went to the city and had dinner with the Xu family. 

Because of this happy event, Liang Baozhen walked like the wind in the first and second day of the New Year and smiled at everyone she met. When Liu Nianhua saw her, she thought she had some good news. 

When Liang Baozhen shared the news, Liu Nianhua felt the same way, as she also cherished being close to her parents, especially after her divorce from Zhou Guoping. No matter what happened, her family was always there to support her. 

This year, on New Year’s Eve, she took Xiaolong and Xiaohu back to the tube-shaped building where her parents lived. This was the first time she went back to her parents home to celebrate the New Year after getting married. In the past, the family of four always spent the New Year in the courtyard, which was fine in the first few years. Later, Zhou Guoping always liked to run outside, and she didn’t take it seriously, thinking that he was busy with his own things. 

News of Liu Nianhua’s divorce spread throughout the building where her parents lived. These days, no news could be kept secret, and she had heard some gossip, but she had gotten used to it. Her life was her own, so she didn’t care what others said. 

On the second day of the New Year, she brought her sons back to their house. The courtyard was bustling with activity, and the atmosphere of the New Year was much stronger than in previous years.

“Your parents and their family are coming to the city? That’s great; you can show them around.” 

“Yes, my sister has been talking about this a lot. She really wants to come to the city to take a look.” Liang Baozhen saw Liu Nianhua’s family coming back with large and small bags and immediately understood. “How much stuff did your parents give you? You can’t even carry it with your hands.” 

Her parents are the same. Whenever they go home, they always think of packing some food and bringing it back to the city to eat. 

There were still some peanuts and melon seeds left from the candies bought before the New Year. Liang Baozhen grabbed a handful and gave them to Xiaolong and Xiaohu, who responded with a sweet “Happy New Year.” 

In the afternoon, the Wei family came again with gifts. Because they had become godparents, the two families visited each other. Wei Haiping and Dong Xiufen bought a can of malted milk and two cans of canned fruit. They remembered the kindness of saving their son’s life and took the opportunity to send a gift during the New Year. 

Liang Baozhen’s family wanted to refuse the gift because it was too expensive, but Biaozi called them godfather and godmother, which made it difficult for them to refuse during the New Year. They could only give the child a big red envelope with one yuan in it. 

“Wow, canned fruits!” After the guests left, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya looked at the tin cans with stars in their eyes. They had only eaten canned food when they were sick before. 

Back in the day, only sick people got to eat canned fruit because people believed that a sip of sweet water could help with the illness. Three years ago, Biaozi did something stupid, he deliberately got sick so he could eat some canned fruit. He secretly took a cold shower in the winter, and finally admitted his mistake after being severely punished by Wei Haiping. 

“Ugh. When will we get sick?” Since they can only eat canned food when they are sick. Xu Shengwei was a little distressed.  

Xu Shengya stretched her head to touch her second brother’s forehead. Sigh, they were both too healthy! 

Zhou Yun was wiping the table. Seeing her grandchildren staring at the canned fruits without moving their eyes, she smiled gently, “Want to eat? Go ahead and open the cans.” 

“Ah?” Both children jumped up in disbelief. “We can eat it now?” 

“Grandma, we don’t have a cold.” 

“You can eat it even if you are not sick.” 

Back then, their family wasn’t well-off, and their conditions were pretty poor. The canned fruit they had was a special gift, so they were hesitant to eat it. But now that they were a double-income household with decent conditions, it was unnecessary to make the children suffer. 

Xu Shengjie happened to hear what his grandmother said from outside, and his heart ached. It would be better if his younger siblings could eat canned fruit whenever they wanted. 

“Xiaowei pried open the lid, and Xiaoya shared it among four bowls.” 

“Brother, don’t you want to eat?” Xu Shengya knew that with four bowls, her eldest brother wasn’t included. 

Xu Shengjie waved his hand and went to find Liang Baozhen next door. “You guys eat.” 

Xu Shengya swung her thin legs and muttered, “I’m going to get five bowls.” 

The little girl was very particular about fairness in doing things. She lined up five porcelain bowls in a row and scooped food into the can with a spoon. She scooped an orange slice into each bowl, then held the can with both hands and poured sugar water into each bowl one by one. She had to check with her head tilted to make sure the sugar water line remained on the same level so that everyone got the same amount! 

The Wei family sent canned oranges. The orange flesh was bright yellow, and the syrup was also light yellow, and it gave off a sweet smell. 

Taking a gentle bite of the orange flesh, the sweetness will fill their mouth and the fruit was so soft it melted instantly. 

When Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen returned to the room, they smelled a sweet fragrance. On the table was two bowls of canned fruit left for them. Xu Shengya pushed the bowl and said, “Brother, sister-in-law, come and eat some canned fruit.”