Chapter 71.1

On that New Year’s Day, the two families were having a meal together.

Jiang Rou had taken Li Xin to Aunt Wang’s house early in the morning to help with the preparations.

Although there were only five people in total, Aunt Wang had prepared a lot of dishes, and the kitchen was packed with food.

Li Xiao was not at home, as he had left early in the morning with Uncle Wang on his three-wheeled bike. An An insisted on going along, and so Aunt Wang took her along as well.

Later that morning, around 10 o’clock, Li Xiao and Uncle Wang returned with half a pig and a bucket of pig’s blood. An An had completely lost her earlier appearance of being clean and tidy, with her hair tied up in two small braids that were almost falling apart, her clothes dirty and covered in mud, and her two small hands clutching a chunk of white fat.

She was still happy, and as she got off the three-wheeled bike, she ran towards the kitchen, shouting loudly: “Mommy, I’m back!”

Jiang Rou heard the noise and came out of the kitchen to see her—she was almost suffocated from shock.

Aunt Wang also came out, then clapped her hands and said: “Oh dear, your father isn’t even watching you, how did you get into this state?”

As she approached, she saw that An An’s red cotton shirt was stained with pig’s blood, which had dried into small patches. She exclaimed: “How are we going to wash this? Men are just no good at taking care of children!”

Behind them, Li Xiao and Uncle Wang were carrying half a pig into the house. They heard this and looked sheepish, as Li Xiao was also dirty from carrying the pig.

He hadn’t noticed earlier, but after buying the pig he had simply carried it on his shoulder without thinking about getting dirty. He thought about Uncle Wang’s leg not fully recovered yet and didn’t want to hurt him. It was only after he had put down the pig that he realized he might have gotten his clothes dirty.

He quickly said: “I’ll wash it later.”

Jiang Rou and Aunt Wang came forward to help with carrying the pig. “Why did you buy so many?”

Li Xiao replied: “This pig is good, it’s from a family farm and not from a factory farm. It’s better to buy more than we need, so we can finish it off when Aunt Wang comes over again.”

Jiang Rou nodded in agreement.

Aunt Wang smiled and said: “Let’s quickly cut up the pork ribs and make some sugar-glazed pork ribs for An An.”

An An immediately perked up at the mention of sugar-glazed pork ribs. “I want to eat sugar-glazed pork ribs!” she exclaimed.

Aunt Wang laughed and said: “Let your mom take you to wash up first. See what kind of state you’re in.”

Jiang Rou was annoyed and said: “And you’re still complaining about your Daddy’s stinky clothes?”

An An pouted and held up the chunk of fat she was holding. “Grandma, can I use this to make some dishes for you?”

Aunt Wang looked at the chunk of fat An An was holding and couldn’t help but laugh and cry. “Wow, this child knows how to use this to make dishes!”

Jiang Rou also laughed. “She knows everything about food, she’s a genius!”

—o—o—o—

Despite An An’s resistance, Jiang Rou took her back home to wash up, pulling her by her dirty shirt collar. An An didn’t want to go but eventually dragged her feet along the ground.

Everyone in the room laughed at the sight.

Aunt Wang’s mother was from the north, and she had brought some northern customs with her. The bucket of pig’s blood was meant to make pig blood sausage for eating.

After washing An An clean and dressing her in new clothes, Jiang Rou came back to help with the preparations.

Li Xin was sitting at the door, pulling out pig hairs, while Li Xiao and Uncle Wang were in the courtyard cutting up pork. Uncle Wang was guiding Li Xiao, who was expertly cutting up the pork. Uncle Wang praised Li Xiao, saying he was a skilled butcher and it was a pity he wasn’t a full-time butcher.

Jiang Rou laughed so hard she almost cried.

—o—o—o—

In the morning, Jiang Rou and Aunt Wang were busy in the kitchen, making dumplings, steaming egg dumplings, and braising meatballs. They also fried rice cakes. This was a traditional custom during the New Year’s celebration, where people would exchange food with each other.

Jiang Rou made sweet bean paste and red sugar cakes for their neighbors. Li Xin and An An carried the baskets out to deliver them. Li Xin had only lived in this neighborhood for a year or two, but she knew some of the neighbors. She carried a basket on her back and took An An with her.

When they returned, the basket was full of gifts from their neighbors— steamed buns shaped like animals and fried glutinous rice cakes.

An An’s mouth was watering, and she didn’t know how much delicious food she had eaten.

In the afternoon, Li Xiao took An An back home to clean up and hang up couplets. They didn’t have enough couplets, so Aunt Wang went back inside to find some ink and inkstones that were bought by their son-in-law earlier. The red paper was bought by Aunt Wang a few days ago, intending to use it to wrap red envelopes for their children.

Li Xiao’s handwriting was average, but he could still write decently. He used to take calligraphy classes in elementary school, where his teacher taught them how to write characters. Unlike Jiang Rou, who didn’t have such classes in school, so few people in their class had good handwriting.

An An saw her father writing with a brush and started making a fuss about writing too. She drew some lucky characters with her eyes closed, which were then stuck on the toilet door by her father.

That night, Aunt Wang made ten dishes for dinner, symbolizing completeness and perfection.

Having family members together during the New Year’s celebration made all the difference. Aunt Wang smiled contentedly. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a lively New Year’s celebration. Since our daughter got married, we’ve only been celebrating with just the two of us. It was so boring and lonely.”

Jiang Rou consoled her with a smile. “Don’t worry, your daughter will be back in two days.”

“Why would she come back?”

Aunt Wang let out a sigh. “I just don’t like it when she doesn’t come back.”

Uncle Wang spoke up with a scolding tone. “You’re really something. You’re complaining about your daughter not coming back during the New Year’s celebration, but when she does come back, you’ll just complain about it again. I think you’re already experiencing menopause!”

Aunt Wang heard it and was furious, rushing towards him, “I didn’t say anything about you. Why are you so anxious? You only know to side with the people in your Wang family…”

Looking like they were about to get into a fight, An An anxiously said, “Don’t fight, it’s New Year’s today, let’s smile.”

Hearing this, Aunt Wang and Uncle Wang both laughed.

Aunt Wang reacted, “Oh, right, right, let’s smile, no fighting.”

After that, she put a piece of meat into An An’s bowl, “Come on, An An eat some meat.”

An An looked serious and said, “Everyone needs to be good(obedient).”

Uncle Wang nodded in agreement, “Good, all good.”

An An was finally satisfied.

Li Xiao smiled and raised his cup, “Come on, everyone drink a cup to celebrate the coming days being better and better, with healthy bodies, successful careers, and a smooth life. Also, to wish my wife and Li Xin’s future studies go further.”

Everyone stood up and raised their cups to toast.

“To health!”

“Wishing everyone a year of today and every day of this year.”

—o—o—o—

This meal was extremely lively because they ate relatively early. After finishing dinner, it was only 8:30 pm. Li Xiao and Jiang Rou didn’t stay to watch the Spring Festival Gala but instead brought An An and Li Xin away.

Aunt Wang knew they were going to the county temple to burn incense sticks outside the city, she thought for a moment and said, “There have been too many bad things in the past two years. It’s good to worship, but you have to wear more. It’s very cold outside. Don’t catch a cold.”

Jiang Rou nodded, “I’ll wear two woolen sweaters.”

“That’s good.”

Li Xiao led them out of the house and went to a car repair shop on South Street at the intersection.

The shop owner was outside with many cars. Li Xiao called out when he saw him, but the owner was eating dinner at home and came out with a key when he heard the noise. He handed the key to Li Xiao and pointed to a red van parked outside.

Jiang Rou and Li Xin stood far away and only saw the shop owner pat Li Xiao on the shoulder before turning back inside.

Li Xiao walked towards them and said to them, “This car.”

Then the whole family of four got into the red van.

An An was still experiencing her first night out on New Year’s Eve and felt very curious. She couldn’t help but ask, “Mommy, what are we going to do?”

Jiang Rou sat her down on her lap and said, “We’re going to burn incense on the mountain to ask Buddha to bless our family with peace and prosperity.”

“Oh…”

She seemed to not understand very well and just snuggled up against her mother’s side.

Li Xiao drove the car, bringing them to the scenic area outside the county, where the temple was located on top of the mountain. The entrance fee was paid by outsiders, but locals didn’t need to pay as long as they said a few local phrases.

As it was a big New Year’s Eve, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao thought there would be no one, but when they arrived, they found that there were still quite a lot of people. There was even a queue at the entrance, all looking to burn incense.

An An curiously looked around with her head tilted.

After entering the scenic area, Li Xiao squatted down to let An An climb up onto his back. An An was still reluctant, but Jiang Rou ignored her resistance and lifted her up onto Li Xiao’s back.

Li Xiao stood up, carrying An An on his back and running forward.

Jiang Rou pulled Li Xin along behind them, while An An thought it was just a game and laughed loudly, hugging her father’s neck and saying, “Dad, go! Go!”

Li Xiao flipped her up and continued running.

Jiang Rou and Li Xin followed closely behind, while Li Xin was getting tired and slightly panting. “Do we have to do this?”

Jiang Rou looked at her. “What’s wrong with your physical condition? You’re not as strong as me. Remember to exercise more when you get back to school.”

Li Xin looked unhappy. “I don’t have time.”

Jiang Rou didn’t believe it. “How can you not have time? You can squeeze it out. You’re just lazy.”

The people who had been walking ahead suddenly saw this family of four running and panicked, then started running too.

Luckily, there was more than one temple on the mountain. Li Xiao carried An An to the back of the mountain and stopped in front of a temple door. Then, the whole family took over the position in front of the temple door.

Li Xiao was exhausted and sat down heavily on the ground. An An played on the side walkway.

When Jiang Rou arrived, Li Xiao spoke weakly. “It seems our little girl hasn’t been eating for nothing. My old legs are all soft.”

Jiang Rou laughed and sat down beside him, carefully placing the bag she was carrying on the side. The bag contained incense sticks and matches.

Li Xin leaned against Zhuzi, looking at his watch. “It’s already 10:45 pm.”

Jiang Rou nodded. “Wait a bit longer.”

After a while, someone came over from that direction and saw people in front of the temple door. They turned back.

By 11:55 pm, a monk came to open the door, with his hands together in prayer. “Amitabha Buddha, you three are honest people who come to worship. Buddha will bless you.”

Jiang Rou and Li Xin responded with their hands together in prayer. “Thank you, Master.”

At exactly 12:00 am, this family of four went into the temple to burn incense for the year 2004. Jiang Rou also added 400 yuan to the charity box.

As they left the temple, An An looked innocent and asked, “Mommy, will the Buddha grandparents bless me with candy every day?”

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but laugh and said, “You’re always thinking about candy, and you’re not worried about your teeth getting cavities.”

“No cavities, I brush my teeth every day,” An An said.

An An looked up at the sky, suddenly pointing her finger and saying, “Mommy, there are many stars in the sky. Do the Buddha grandparents and those Bodhisattvas live on the stars?”

Jiang Rou smiled at her innocent words. “Maybe, Mommy doesn’t know.”

An An thought for a moment and said, “Definitely, TV shows also show the Buddha grandparents and Guanyin Bodhisattva shining, and stars are also shining. It’s so enviable.”

But she turned her head and said, “However, our family is also very beautiful.”

Jiang Rou smiled and stroked her head.

Since they had already burned incense sticks, the family of four didn’t hurry anymore. When they were leaving, they would stop at each temple to pay their respects.