Chapter 18: The Junior High Students Don’t Work on New Year’s Day

The evening of New Year’s Eve, the crackling sound of firecrackers ushered in the New Year.

After setting off firecrackers, it was time for dumplings. Before the sky had completely darkened, a family of three sat on the kang in the east room, enjoying a fragrant New Year’s dinner.

The Hua family’s New Year’s Eve dinner consisted only of dumplings, dipped in a sauce of mustard and vinegar.

Of course, it was nothing compared to the New Year’s Eve dinners she had before she time-traveled. There was no abundance of meat and fish, fine wine and dishes, or expensive fruits.

Only the most simple and unadorned dumplings filled with cabbage and pork.

The dumpling wrappers weren’t the bright white of later times, but had a slightly darker hue.

The flour was ground at the village mill, giving it a faint wheat aroma.

The fried pork, minced and mixed with the cabbage, was truly delicious.

Hua Youwei and his son ate dumpling after dumpling, their cheeks puffed out.

Their daughter finished each dumpling in two bites.

This was Hua Yuanyuan’s first New Year’s Eve dinner with her father and brother since her marriage. The dumplings this year tasted particularly delicious.

Since time-traveling, the connection between her soul and body was incredibly strange.

She could clearly feel the joys and sorrows of the original owner.

It was complicated; her own original thoughts and personality had intricately merged with the original owner’s, forming a new system.

For example, the original owner was somewhat taciturn, while she was outgoing and cheerful.

Now, Hua Yuanyuan was sometimes taciturn, sometimes cheerful…

She couldn’t quite explain it herself; it was simply extraordinary.

Often, this body seemed to have its own ideas, and very firm ones at that.

Following her heart’s truest desires, living in the present, and making the most of each day was enough.

That New Year’s Eve, the family of three played cards on the warm kang, snacking on melon seeds, peanuts, candies, and sipping tea.

Hua Youcai was genuinely happy; having his daughter home made all the difference.

It wasn’t right for a father to think this way, but he couldn’t help but feel that his life with his son was wonderful with his daughter at home.

The food his daughter cooked was simply delicious.

Even if she didn’t lift a finger, just directing the cooking, the food was still delicious.

It wasn’t the same at all when he cooked; he could never replicate it, no matter how hard he tried.

“Daughter, what do you think about finding a son-in-law who lives with us?”

“Hahaha—”

Hua Yuanyuan and Hua Fangfang were both amused by their father’s joke, laughing until they were in stitches.

“Okay, Dad. Didn’t we already agree? You can find the son-in-law yourself.”

Her daughter’s ready agreement made her father’s heart swell with happiness.

“Daughter, the difference between you being home for the New Year and not being home is huge. Son, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, yeah, Sister, the difference is huge. Without you, it’s boring for two grown men.”

In just a few days, Hua Fangfang had visibly gained weight.

“Why is it boring?”

“The dumplings aren’t as tasty, no one talks, no one plays cards, and Dad doesn’t laugh…”

“You little rascal, you’re making fun of me! Why aren’t you laughing?”

…

“Sister, you’re laughing more now. You didn’t laugh much when you came home before.”

“Well, I was living a widow’s life at Wang’s, doing tons of work. I was exhausted every day, so how could I laugh?”

“Now, I’m happy! I kicked that loser, and the future will be good. I laugh when I’m happy!”

With her increased talkativeness and cheerful demeanor, Hua Youcai and Hua Fangfang also started to laugh and talk more.

Who would have thought that after her divorce, their lives would be so blissful once their daughter had let go?

Hua Youcai was so happy he would wake up laughing in his sleep.

The Wang family thought his daughter would be heartbroken, always with a long face, silent and sullen, ruining the Hua family’s life.

Haha, they were dreaming.

The Hua family of three enjoyed a sweet life, full of laughter, discussions, and hope for the future.

As long as his daughter was happy, even if she wanted the moon from the sky, he would jump three times to help her reach it.

On the first day of the New Year, after eating dumplings, Hua Youcai went out alone to pay New Year’s calls, leaving his daughter and son at home.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t know people; he’d get to know them after paying his respects!

He was responsible for the Hua family’s diplomatic efforts; his daughter was too beautiful, he didn’t feel safe leaving her alone. His son was a quiet one, only comfortable talking to family; besides, he was still young, a little kid, not even fully grown.

The Hua family’s new clothes were several years old. They didn’t wear them often, only for a few days every New Year, so they were practically new.

That’s how everyone used to live; cloth coupons were limited, and there was no money.

After the reform and opening up, there were ten-thousand-yuan households, and some families’ lives improved.

Old Man Wang’s family was a typical example in the village; otherwise, his son wouldn’t have built a new tiled house and then moved to the city.

Red lanterns hung on every household’s door, couplets were pasted, and the atmosphere was festive.

On the first day of the New Year, some people got up early, at three or four o’clock, to make dumplings, and groups of people went out to pay New Year’s calls.

Within a family, men and women usually went separately, men with the children in one group, and women in another.

Hua Youcai didn’t need to choose; he simply visited every house. If he met someone he didn’t know, he introduced himself, chatted for a few words, and then moved on.

The children were the happiest, their pockets full of candy.

…

By the time Hua Youcai finished his rounds, walking from the southwest corner to the northeast corner of the village, it was already dawn.

On his way back, when he met people, they invited him to sit down.

“Uncle, please come to our house whenever you have time.”

“Brother Hua, come to our house for tea after paying your respects…”

Far from home, without the help of his three brothers, he felt a little uneasy asking for help in this unfamiliar village.

There’s an old saying: “Close neighbors are better than distant relatives.”

While they lived their own lives behind closed doors, it didn’t mean they shouldn’t maintain good relationships with their neighbors.

If they didn’t interact regularly, it would be difficult to ask for help when needed.

Hua Youcai took advantage of the New Year’s opportunity to make a good impression on the village.

The whole village now knew that the new house in the southwest corner of the village, belonging to the Wang family, was rented by a family surnamed Hua.

After paying New Year’s calls, it was time for leisure activities—chatting and playing cards—and inevitably, conversations turned to the Hua family.

Hua Yuanyuan had looked at three houses, with Wang Changjiang present.

There were a few families renting houses in the village, but none as large as theirs.

They were all wives with children renting houses in the village.

Those renting houses in the village didn’t meet the conditions for accompanying the military.

Those who met the conditions lived in the military family compound!

Soldiers didn’t go home every day; once a week was good.

The villagers didn’t know Hua Yuanyuan’s situation and simply assumed she was accompanying the military.

When Hua Youcai entered the house, he saw his daughter and son sitting back-to-back on the kang, reading…

His daughter and son had never been good students. He had always supported their education.

They both dropped out of junior high school, saying they got headaches from studying and couldn’t learn.

So why were they reading now?

Hua Fangfang was reading comic books, clearly enjoying them. He would frown one moment and laugh the next…

Hua Yuanyuan was holding a practical handbook for rural areas, engrossed in it. This book, priced at 1.04 yuan, was a steal.

It was practically an encyclopedia, with incredibly comprehensive content.

The production section included grain crops, cash crops, vegetables, fruits, livestock, fish, and shrimp…

From now on, if her father asked about her work, she could simply refer to the book, no need to make up stories about being a salesperson.

Also, on the first day of the New Year, she wouldn’t work in the space. There’s a saying that if you work on the first day of the New Year, you’ll have to work the whole year, right?

She thought there was such a saying…?!