Chapter 193: Prosperity 193: Things will get better and better in the future

The man grabbed the pillow with one hand and placed it on his legs.

"Dad and the others are all celebrating the New Year, why don't we go?" he asked.

"It's too cold, let's go to bed early," Gu Qingqing slid into the quilt again and held her son in her arms. The little guy warmed the quilt very comfortably: "You should also go wash up and go to bed quickly. Dad and the others won't say anything."

Chu Dai glanced at the snow falling outside the window and nodded: "Okay."

Gu Qingqing fell asleep quickly. Chu Dai sat by the fire for a while and then went to the bathroom next door to wash his face. He heard footsteps on the stairs. He glanced casually and saw that it was the elder of the Gu family.

Shi Rushuang and Han Lianxin walked into the house lightly and placed a red envelope under the pillow, which was New Year's money for the two little boys.

Chu Dai waited until they left before returning to the room. He lifted up the pillow and saw a lot of red envelopes. Everyone in the Gu family had given these two little guys New Year's gifts.

After thinking for a while, he took out three red envelopes from his pocket, sorted them out, and stuffed a thick stack under the woman's pillow.

The next day, Shi Rushuang specifically reminded her to get up early on the first day of the new year so that her family wouldn't call her for dinner.

She opened her eyes as soon as the man moved. There was only a glimmer of light outside. She rubbed her eyes and asked Chu Dai, "What time is it?"

"Five-thirty." Chu Dai looked at the watch and leaned over to kiss her: "Go to sleep. I'll wake you at six-thirty."

"I don't want to sleep anymore." Gu Qingqing glanced sideways at the two sleeping guys. Seeing that they showed no signs of waking up, she turned over and lay in the man's arms, enjoying a moment of peace in the morning.

He smells like sweet toffee. I wonder how much this man has eaten to have this smell. No wonder the two little guys like to stick to him.

Chu Dai stroked her back with his big hands, patting it gently, as if he was coaxing a child.

Neither the couple spoke a word, but Gu Qingqing felt very comfortable.

When he returns to the military area, he won't have the time to accompany her like this, so he should enjoy it as long as he can now.

At half past six, the couple got up at the same time. Chu Dai went to wash up first, while Gu Qingqing prepared milk powder for the two little ones.

I don’t know if it was because they smelled something, but they started crying as soon as the water was soaked.

Chu Dai came in after washing up, holding a warm towel in his hand, and wiped the faces of the two kids respectively.

Gu Qingqing stuffed the bottle into their hands, and only then did they stop crying.

After helping the two kids get dressed, the family of four went downstairs together.

"Happy New Year, Auntie."

"Happy New Year!" The red envelopes for New Year's greetings were a separate number. Han Lianxin had already prepared them and stuffed them directly into the pockets of her two nephews' coats.

Looking at the two fair and tender little guys with lively eyes and eyebrows, she was also envious. She wished that Yuanyuan could give her a grandson as soon as possible.

Gu Qingqing carried the child to visit other elders to wish them a happy new year. After going around in circles, she felt warm all over.

After breakfast, the two kids stayed at home with their grandfather, while the four brothers of the Gu family and their nephews all went to their uncle’s and grandfather’s houses.

Shen Sui was still a little listless, so Gu Qingqing asked him to have a good rest at home and take medicine on time.

The village is really lively today, with firecrackers going off non-stop. The snow in front of every house has long been shoveled away, and now there is only a thin layer of snow on the road.

Gu Qingqing and Chu Dai followed Gu Jin and Gu Yin in front, and greeted the villagers who visited their houses from time to time.

"Are you cold?" the man asked when he saw her hunching her neck.

"Yeah." Gu Qingqing stuffed her hand directly into his pocket. Her cold hand touched the back of his hand and was about to be retracted, but the man held it tightly in his palm.

"There are so many people here." Her eyes widened.

"It's okay, no one will say anything." Chu Dai has been to Datunzi Village several times and knows what kind of people the villagers here are. Moreover, due to the prestige of the Gu family here, they will not say anything.

Sure enough, the villagers who were wishing Gu Cai and his friends a happy new year just gave them a kind smile.

Facing this group of uncles and aunts who had watched her grow up, Gu Qingqing now felt a little embarrassed.

"Are you here? Hurry up and bring the firecrackers." Gu Tiechu called his son and asked Gu Jin, "Why didn't your father come? Now that his children and grandchildren are all successful, why doesn't he come to wish his brother a happy new year?"

"He and my mother are staying at home to entertain the guests. Neighbors also want to come and visit. Who dares to ignore you? You are the mainstay of our Gu family." Gu Bao was a good talker and he made Gu Tiechu smile with just a few words.

"Come in, come in, don't stand at the door."

Gu Jin and his friends sat at Gu Tiezhu's house for a while, and then went to several other houses to pay New Year's greetings.

Gu Qingqing just ate snacks the whole time. Her cheeks were bulging and she never stopped talking. Gu Bao also kept laughing at her.

The youngest cousin invited them to have lunch, but Gu Jin declined with a smile, "I'm cooking at home."

"Okay, let's have a good family get together next time."

"Okay, please go in quickly, it's windy outside."

Gu Qingqing followed her father around relatives' homes and had a full stomach. She returned home and sat comfortably in front of the stove. Tuantuan played with Chu Yuan and Xiao Xu in the main hall and she didn't have to worry about him.

The man sat next to her and picked up the tongs to light the fire.

Gu Qingqing couldn't help laughing. She warmed her hands and looked at him with her face in her hands: "Have you been burning more fires since you married me?"

“And chopping wood,” the man added with a smile.

Zhang Cuifen and Han Lianxin were kneading dough, while Gu Cai tied on his apron and prepared to cook. Hearing this, he couldn't help but ask, "Adai, do you all use gas stoves at home?"

"Yes, we are near the sea, so it is convenient to use natural gas." Chu Dai put some firewood into the stove: "But before I got married, my family never cooked, we always ate in the canteen."

Before he went to the Construction Corps, Chu Yuan only came back once every half a month. He didn't know where he went or what happened, and he didn't want to ask. When he was young, he would go to the Chu family for meals, and when he grew up, he would go to the cafeteria to eat by himself.

It was only after Gu Qingqing married into the family that I felt at home.

"It's so lonely," Gu Cai lifted the lid of the pot and waited for the pot to heat up before adding some oil. "Qingqing is a pretty good cook now. I'll teach her a few days later. Eating in a cafeteria is not as comfortable as eating at home."

"You're right." Chu Dai nodded: "I'll go home for dinner from now on."

"That's right." Gu Cai put garlic in the pot, "Qingqing, go to the vegetable garden in the backyard and pick some basil leaves. I forgot to fry the snails last night, so today I'll secretly use some of your grandfather's melon wine to stew the snails for dinner."

"Okay!" Gu Qingqing was full and couldn't even eat rice. It was just right for her to have some snails for lunch. She was about to stand up when the man grabbed her wrist.

The tall, thin figure stood up and handed her the clamps: "I'll go, you light the fire."

Knowing that he was afraid that she would be cold, Gu Qingqing sat back down obediently: "Okay."

After Chu Dai left, Zhang Cuifen said to her daughter-in-law, "The relationship between this young couple is really good. Our A-Dai is a caring person."

Han Lian believed it deeply: "That's right, but the men in our Lao Gu family are also considerate. Look at how Abao treats A Li, and Xiongwa treats Yuanyuan, they are both the best."

"Yes, yes, yes," Zhang Cuifen curled her lips and said, "Except for your father, every day he does nothing but smoke dry cigarettes and go to Old Wang's house to play chess. His old bones are almost falling apart from laziness."

"..." Han Lianxin didn't dare to say anything to defend her father-in-law. After all, it was a fact.

But her father-in-law was also good at working in the fields, and he just had some free time now.

"Grandma," Gu Qingqing suddenly asked, "Aren't we going to Uncle's house this afternoon? Have you thought about what to bring?"

"Just bring a bag of sugar. We have some dried kumquats at home. Your uncle's cousin's wife just gave birth to a big fat boy last month. Bring her a bottle of maltose. Your aunt bought me two cans, and I'm keeping one for myself."

"Two more canned fruit bottles?"

"That's fine." Zhang Cuifen naturally wanted to look presentable when she returned to her parents' home. Now, when she returned to her parents' home, she was not only doing so for her family members to see, but also for the neighbors to watch.

"A-Dai and I brought back two boxes of biscuits. Ah Sui hasn't finished them yet, so we can give another box to our eldest cousin's younger son." Gu Qingqing thought for a moment and decided to save face for her grandmother.

Since her family had a child, Chu Yuan's old comrades from all over the country often brought things over, imported chocolate high-end biscuits, everything. They were all thinking about Tuantuan every year, and they were really happy from the bottom of their hearts that the old Chu family had a successor.

But most of them were eaten by her and Ah Sui.

"That's not good. Let's leave it for Ah Sui." Zhang Cuifen was somewhat tempted.

Her family members are also very nice. They came to help with building the house and are always there when needed. The current happy atmosphere in the Gu family is related to the family environment of Gu Tiezhu and Zhang Cuifen.

Gu Tiezhu's eldest brother Gu Tiezhuan has loved his younger brothers since they were young and never kept anything from them. His younger brothers are also friendly and respectful to him. Now his cousins ​​are as close to him as real brothers. When Gu Jin is the team leader, he goes up the mountain to quarry stones to build river embankments and level the back hill for planting. The Gu family members are always the first to take the lead in doing these things.

It was similar in Zhang Cuifen's family, because she was the youngest girl in the family. Before she got married, her parents and brothers loved her the most. After her parents passed away, her brothers and sisters-in-law treated her even better.

Gu Qingqing also knew all this. When she was a child, she often went to her uncle's house to play, and there were often delicious fruits and candies.

"A Sui hasn't finished the box yet. We will be back to the military area in a few days, so there will be plenty at home." Gu Qingqing said with a smile.

"That's fine. After dinner we'll count the things and then go over. This year... is really a good year." Zhang Cuifen's wrinkled face relaxed.

"Yes, things will get better and better in the future." Han Lianxin echoed.

Gu Cai cooked very quickly and twelve dishes, one soup and two cold dishes were soon served on the table. Gu Qingqing really couldn't eat much, so she ate some snails and cold dishes, and then fed her two sons.

Now the two brothers have to eat from the same bowl, taking turns to eat, with their little mouths covered with egg custard residue.

"Wow, we are so great, he will definitely grow tall in the future," Gu Qingqing fed her little son a mouthful of milk, then glanced at Tuantuan who seemed to be indifferent but actually tilted his ears to listen, and said, "Taller than his brother."

This time, Tuantuan couldn't hold it anymore, so he lay on his father's lap, facing his mother and opening his mouth: "Ah~"