Chapter 214 Big Red Envelope

The sound of firecrackers continued to pop in the village, and the Ye family’s sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner was served.

Grandma Ye placed the last dish on the table with a smile on her face, and asked Grandpa Ye to set the three bowls and chopsticks on the table and pour some wine.

Little Brother Ye had already been dazzled by the aroma of the food. He looked at the table and saw braised pig's trotters, roast duck, braised fish, chicken stewed with mushrooms, beef brisket stewed with tomatoes, steamed crabs, fried prawns...all of which were the specialties that Grandma Ye and Mom Ye had been busy making all day!

Grandma Ye chased Little Brother Ye away, "We haven't worshipped the gods and ancestors yet, please move away, your saliva is falling into the bowl!"

Without waiting for Ye's younger brother to refute, he instructed Ye's father: "Haizi, hurry up and burn incense and pray. Meizi, take out the firecrackers and light them after you've worshipped the gods."

After a busy day, firecrackers in the Ye family courtyard rang out, heralding the beginning of the new year.

Little Brother Ye couldn't wait to sit down at the table, and just as he was about to pick up something with chopsticks, he was stopped by Grandma Ye.

"Wait, let me take a picture to show your sister. Even though she can't eat it, she can still satisfy her craving by looking at it!"

Grandma Ye excitedly took out her cell phone and took a photo, but she felt it was not enough, so she took a video around the table.

"Ye Zi, do you want to eat? Look at this chicken, it's so fat, with bright yellow chicken fat floating on it. I've skimmed it off and will make chicken noodle soup tomorrow morning."

When the message was passed on, Grandma Ye was immediately satisfied. She opened the account's fan group again. The group had already been showing off the New Year's Eve dinner. Grandma Ye was busy uploading her own New Year's Eve dinner, which was liked by many fans. Then she invited everyone to eat.

Mother Ye poured drinks for herself and her mother-in-law. In addition to Coke, there was also fruit juice this year, all of which were freshly squeezed fruits from their own mountain.

Orange juice is slightly sour but has a strong fruity aroma, while pomegranate juice is bright red and clear and tastes sweet.

Grandma Ye and Mom Ye liked the taste very much. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law drank it themselves, while Dad Ye and Grandpa Ye naturally drank the medicinal wine.

Ye Zhen put a lot of herbs for replenishing qi and blood in the medicinal wine. After drinking it, the whole body felt warm. It was a pity that one could not drink too much. Now, the father and son each had a small wine glass. They took a sip slowly and ate some food with the wine. The taste was so delicious!

The New Year atmosphere is not as strong as before, but there are elderly people at home, so Dad Ye simply put the TV in the living room. The super-large wall-mounted TV almost takes up half of the wall. Brother Ye doesn't like the Spring Festival Gala on it, but Grandma Ye and the others watch it with gusto.

Brother Ye said that it would be better to project the screen than to put the TV there, as it would be too troublesome to move the TV. Unfortunately, as soon as he opened his mouth, he was given a cold look by Ye's father.

"What do you know? Nothing here is as interesting as watching TV! How clear can you see on such a big screen? Does your projection screen have so many channels?"

Ye Xiaodi was about to say yes, but when he thought about using his mobile phone to cast the screen to watch the Spring Festival Gala, he felt it was not a good idea.

Okay, just help me lift the TV and hang it on the wall.

Ye Zhen had already bought various memberships for the TV, so he could watch almost all the programs. Several people sat in the living room. The small table and chairs were filled with various New Year snacks, cakes, nuts, candies, and fruits of various kinds were laid out in plates.

Little Brother Ye was even more ruthless. He held the sugarcane and ate a whole piece of it. The trash can beside him was filled with sugarcane residue.

I don't know who was setting off fireworks this year, but the sound of bangs never stopped in the sky. Little brother Ye got excited and asked mother Ye where the fireworks they bought were.

"It's in the grocery room, together with the firecrackers. You can find it yourself."

Mother Ye stared at the TV. This year's Spring Festival Gala invited veteran singers to perform songs and dances. They were all familiar faces from the early years. Several people were discussing how the singers were still as good as ever at this age, their voices were still loud and clear, and they sang for a prosperous New Year.

In Shanbei Village, a remote place, fireworks are not prohibited. During the New Year, the dark night outside is lit up. The red, yellow and white fireworks are brilliant, and the joy of the New Year is everywhere.

All the young men in the village came out to set off fireworks, and some card-playing partners even pulled up the headlights and set up table after table in the yard, determined to play all night long.

Children were running around in the brightly lit village roads and yards, chasing each other, playing, or exchanging candies and snacks to eat.

Little brother Ye found the fireworks and set off a few for his family first. The family had plenty of money this year, and mother Ye was not stingy. She bought a lot of fireworks of all kinds and piled them up in boxes in the room.

After setting off the fireworks, Brother Ye found some bundles of small fireworks that he could hold in his hands and went to find his cousin and brothers and sisters.

"Mom, I'm going to look for Brother Dongzi and the others."

"Go ahead." Mother Ye didn't even turn her head, staring at the TV intently.

The next day was New Year's Day. After eating chicken noodle soup in the morning, Grandma Ye set out various candies and snacks for her home, and also filled up the pots of fruit from her room.

Ye's mother came over with a stack of red envelopes, "Mom, our family is well-off this year, should we increase the red envelopes a little?"

Grandma Ye is of an older generation, so she has to give out a lot of red envelopes every year. This is more or less a convention. In previous years, the family didn't have much money, so they just gave out red envelopes for their own good intentions. But the attitude is different if you have money or not.

The whole village is much wealthier this year, and Mother Ye is thinking that other families’ red envelopes for Brother Ye should also add a little.

Grandma Ye had no objection. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law wrapped the red envelopes, made some tea, and waited for others to come and wish them a happy new year.

This year, Ye Zhen's family's fruit plate has attracted the favor of many relatives and friends. Anyone who comes to pay New Year's greetings will take some fruit to eat after drinking tea.

There is no other reason, there are too many varieties. Grandma Ye is not stingy. There are all kinds of fruits on the table at home, in all kinds of colors. Most of the people who come to pay New Year's greetings are younger generations. Since they are all family members, there is no need to be shy. They give handfuls of fruits here and there, and the fruits are consumed quickly.

"Uncle Haizi, the fruit in your house is so sweet!"

Father Ye smiled happily, handing out red envelopes to the children, and said enthusiastically, "Eat it if it's delicious!"

As he said this, he took his playful little brother Ye and followed the main group of relatives to visit each family to wish them a happy new year.

Everyone who came would ask where Ye Zhen was going, so Ye's mother and the others had to repeat the excuse of being on a business trip over and over again.

"Your Ye Zi is so hardworking and capable! This company is so inhumane that they won't even let me go home during the Chinese New Year."

"You too, if you don't want to earn this little money, you can't even be reunited during the New Year!" This is an elder who is dissatisfied with the company's exploitation and speaks up for Ye Zhen.

What else could Grandma Ye say? She just smiled and didn't respond. She just gave them plenty of melon seeds and peanuts and told them to just drink tea.

The New Year passed quickly. People visited relatives frequently and hosted relatives for dinner.

All the relatives who entered the Ye family’s new home were full of envy, especially Aunt Ye and Uncle Ye.

"Mom, when did you build such a big house? It's so huge and beautiful." Aunt Ye and her family came back to pay New Year's greetings. If they hadn't told them on the phone that they had moved to a new house, they wouldn't have known how they would come this year.

Following Ye's father into the valley, they drove and saw a big house in the valley at the foot of the mountain from afar. Even though Ye Ying had seen many big houses, he was so shocked that he didn't dare to miss it and just stared at it.

If she hadn't seen Grandma Ye standing at the gate, Aunt Ye couldn't believe it. How long has it been? From the Dragon Boat Festival to now, her mother's family has such a big house!

"Mom, why don't you hold a house-warming party now that you've built the house? If my second brother hadn't come to pick us up, we wouldn't know where our new home is." Ye Ying murmured resentfully.

Grandma Ye: "Didn't I tell you last time that we were moving? The house-warming party will be held in March or April, and we'll hold it together with the company when it's built!"

Grandma Ye did say that, but at that time Ye Ying just thought it was the same as building a house in the countryside as usual. How could she know that this house was specially built by Ye Zhen?

In addition, she was busy at work and could not spare time to go home. She also wanted to go back to her parents' home to help when she had time, but unfortunately she never had the time.

I didn't know that this house was so luxurious, it was almost no different from the mansions advertised on TV.

The necessary furniture and furnishings were all specially designed and purchased. Ye Zhen spent a lot of money on it. Apart from the remote location, there are no other shortcomings.

Uncle Ye also came back. He said that he had been staying outside for a long time and rarely came back. This was his first time to go home.

He and his family followed Grandma Ye up and down several floors and walked around the house.

Then he looked relieved and said, "Mom, this house cost a lot of money, right? I see it takes up a lot of space, it will be very comfortable to live in."

Grandma Ye was proud and said, "Haha, I don't understand either. Ye paid someone to do this, and she didn't tell me how much it cost."

"Come, have some fruit snacks." Mother Ye poured tea and snacks for the relatives.

Uncle Ye saw so many fruits and couldn't help but exclaim: "Wow, these fruits are fresh!"

He took an orange and peeled it, nodding, "The skin is thin enough, it has a lot of moisture, and it has a strong fragrance. Where did you buy this orange?"

Father Ye sat on the side and was very proud when he heard this. "They are all ours. Ye is a child with a talent for farming. Whatever he plants grows. Now he can buy a car and a house by growing fruits. He is much more capable than me as a father."

"Not only that, when Ye Zi comes back, she will have a stable job working for the country." Grandpa Ye added with a calm and proud look on his face, cigarette in hand.

Now Uncle Ye couldn't sit still anymore, even Aunt Ye was shocked.

"Oh my! There is such a good thing? What's going on? Tell me quickly."

Uncle Ye was so surprised that he didn't know what to say. He fumbled in his pockets, took out a red envelope, and stuffed a stack of red banknotes into it.

"Where's Ye Zi? You've brought honor to the old Ye family. This is a great thing. You deserve a big red envelope!"

Aunt Ye was also very surprised and stood up to call for help.

Dad Ye grabbed Uncle Ye and Aunt Ye and repeated the excuse that Ye Zhen was not here.

"Give me the red envelope, and I'll give it to Ye Zi next time." Ye's father said with a smile.

"Here, here, but give it to my eldest niece!" Uncle Ye smiled and put the red envelope into Ye's father's arms.

Aunt Ye did the same. She turned around and started chatting with Aunt Ye and Mother Ye.

There were a bunch of men and a bunch of women, all chatting about their own things. Soon, Uncle Ye came over and simply opened two tables. Some played cards, some boasted.