Chapter 119.2

When Han Cheng carried Xiao Doubao home, the latter had already dozed off on his father’s shoulder.

The four boys still preferred to sleep side by side. Whether it was counting the Chinese New Year or watching the children grow slowly, time indeed passed quickly. Han Cheng thought that, in another year or two, this bed might not accommodate all these children anymore.

Returning to the room, Su Xiaoxiao had already fallen asleep. Han Cheng leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. He reached under his own pillow and found the red envelope he had prepared.

Han Cheng curled his lips and placed a red envelope prepared early with the words “Wishing my wife a happy New Year” under Su Xiaoxiao’s pillow. He gently embraced her as she slept, welcoming the arrival of the New Year.

The next morning, the four cubs woke up early, and as a habit, they checked under their pillows and indeed found red envelopes.

Xiao Fantuan exclaimed, “There are two red envelopes!”

Upon examining them, one had Su Xiaoxiao’s handwriting, imitating the fonts from textbooks, saying, “Congratulations to dear Xiao Fantuan for being one year older. Happy New Year, don’t stop making progress every day!” Signed by Mom.

The other one was: “Be confident, have self-respect, and strive constantly.” Signed by Han Cheng.

Fantuan was momentarily unsure if this was actually a New Year’s red envelope.

“Let me see yours,” Fantuan said.

The four kids placed their red envelopes in a row on the quilt. The name and signatures in Su Xiaoxiao’s envelope were different, but the contents were the same. Han Cheng’s envelopes were all identical.

Xiao Fantuan felt relieved. “I thought Dad was scolding me when I saw his handwriting, but it’s fine. Mom is the gentlest. Let’s get up quickly, finish breakfast, and go to Xiao Yu’s house to visit Uncle Zhao. He said last night that he had prepared a big red envelope for us!”

The kids quickly got up. Su Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng prepared breakfast in the kitchen. They first went to check on their younger siblings in the room before getting ready themselves.

After the four kids finished preparing, they went to the kitchen to wish Han Cheng and Su Xiaoxiao a happy New Year. Each of them received two big red envelopes.

Su Xiaoxiao was worried that the twins, experiencing firecrackers for the first time, might get scared. As it turned out, they woke up because of the noise but only listened attentively for a while. After getting familiar with the sound, they closed their eyes again and went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. They slept during the New Year celebration just like they did on any other day. They were indeed angelic babies.

The tradition in Qingfeng Town is to drink morning tea on the first day of the Lunar New Year. This “morning tea” involved the whole family sitting together, having tea, and eating some oil-drenched rice cakes, pastries, and similar foods for breakfast.

Su Xiaoxiao woke up early in the morning to steam the sponge cake. She had ground the rice into powder a few days ago and let it ferment. Today, she rinsed it twice, added chopped dried mushrooms, black fungus, dried shrimp, preserved meat, and minced garlic, then steamed it until cooked.

The loose rice cakes, as the name suggests, symbolized progressing step by step. The soft rice cake blended with the preserved meats and delicacies, melting in the mouth with a fragrant aroma. This was complemented by a bite of oil-drenched rice cakes and oil-drenched dumplings, followed by a sip of refreshing tea to balance the richness. Over time, “having tea” gradually evolved into one of the most unique eating traditions in the province.

After the older kids were full and satisfied, they got ready to go to Zhao Xianfeng’s house to pay New Year’s greetings and collect red envelopes.

Su Xiaoxiao cut a large piece of sponge cake and asked them to take it with them, and Xiao Doubao specifically packed his chicken-themed backpack with red envelopes.

The kids were glowing with excitement as they left the house. At the doorstep, two uncles who were admiring their couplets were standing.

The four cubs greeted them neatly, “Happy New Year, uncles!”

The two of them looked at the four spirited and good-looking children, feeling that their mood and luck would improve throughout the year.

“Happy New Year, Happy New Year,” one of the older uncles with glasses asked. “Did you write these couplets yourselves?”

Fantuan replied crisply, “Yes, the characters were written by us, and the paintings were also drawn by us. They look good, right?”

The two uncles nodded and said, “It looks good. it looks good. We’ve never seen such a unique Spring Festival couplet since we’ve walked so many places. You all are wonderful.”

They wanted to see what kind of family could raise such amazing children—clean, confident, and polite.

The four kids glanced at each other and graciously said, “Thank you.”

Fantuan waved his hands and said, “We’re off to visit our uncle’s house to say our New Year’s greeting. see you later, uncles!”

The two uncles also waved to them and said, “Goodbye, goodbye.”

Watching the children’s departing figures, the man with glasses said, “Don’t judge by the size of the town; these kids are no less than those in the capital.”

The other person agreed, “You’re right. This visit was worth it.”

The man with glasses nodded. “Indeed, it was worth it.”