Chapter 201 New Year's Greetings from the Father-in-Law's Family

In such a large forest farm, there are more than one family with whom we have good relationships. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we should at least visit each and every one of them.

So Wang Jianshe and his group didn't stay at the Sheng family's house for long. They chatted for a short while and then got up to say goodbye and leave.

Zhang Shuzhen grabbed a lot of sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and other snacks and stuffed them into the pockets of Wang Jiansheng, Wang Lili, and others.

"Thank you, Auntie." The children thanked Zhang Shuzhen and then followed Wang Jianshe out of the Sheng family home to visit other people's homes for the New Year.

"Hurry up and eat. After you finish, change into your new clothes and go out for a walk with your older brother. We need to visit all the neighbors and wish them a Happy New Year."

After seeing the Wang family children off, Zhang Shuzhen urged her own family members to eat quickly.

We ate dumplings at 11 p.m. last night. We didn't have much of an appetite this morning, so everyone ate about ten or eight dumplings before putting down their chopsticks and not eating anymore.

Zhang Shuzhen quickly found the new clothes she had made for the children and let them change into them.

After everyone had tidied themselves up neatly, Sheng Xiping led his younger siblings out to pay New Year's visits.

Wang Jiachuan, Zheng Xianyong, and Liu Changde went first, followed by those families who had a good relationship with the Sheng family, as well as their neighbors.

Once you've visited all these homes, you can go your own way and visit your classmates and friends.

Anyway, it's Chinese New Year, a time for eating, drinking, having fun, and being happy. My family doesn't care, as long as I come home for dinner on time.

Normally, if I go out and show off, my family will keep an eye on me, but as long as I don't cause trouble, nobody will care what I do.

You can see that there are teenagers everywhere in the forest farm, or they are dragging sleds down the big ridge on the east side.

Or they would all wear homemade ice skates and go ice skating on the big river.

Some people who don't have ice skates use No. 8 cable or steel bars, bend them into a U-shape, and then stick them up.

The kids call these things "foot skates," and you can wear them directly over your shoes to use them as ice skates.

I saw a group of children speeding across the ice, and if any of them wasn't skilled enough, they would fall flat on their backs.

The people around saw this and burst into laughter.

Even if you fall, don't get angry. Get up, brush the snow off yourself, put your hat back on, and keep skating forward.

The frozen river was filled with the laughter of children.

Of course, with so many children together, it's impossible to avoid conflicts. Occasionally, when two children start arguing, the children instantly split into several groups.

Those who are usually on good terms with each other tend to side with their friends, and their bickering and arguing might eventually escalate into a fight.

There are also some unspoken rules among the children: no matter how much they fight or make a fuss outside, they must resolve it themselves, and no one is allowed to go home and complain or let the adults get involved.

If someone loses a fight and goes home to complain, no one will want to play with them anymore.

So when the children come home with bruises here and there, or torn pants and torn clothes, they all say they fell down by accident, and no one says it's because they were fighting outside.

If you don't say anything, your parents might slap or kick you, or just give you a few words of scolding and that's it.

If it were said out loud, it wouldn't be so simple.

For minor offenses, it's women's singles; for slightly more serious offenses, it's men's singles; and for particularly serious offenses, it could easily become mixed doubles.

Children aren't stupid; they understand which is lighter and which is heavier.

Of course, these are games for teenagers. People as old as Sheng Xiping shouldn't play children's games anymore.

After paying New Year's visits to various places, Wang Jianshe, Chen Weiguo, and others gathered at Sheng Xiping's house to play cards and chess together.

Alternatively, we could take out two bottles of wine, prepare some side dishes, and get together for a few drinks.

After a busy winter, we can finally relax now.

It seems like nothing much was done, and the first day of the Lunar New Year passed quickly. On the second day, there was a small train going to Songjiang River.

Sheng Xiping brought some things from home, took the small train down to Songjiang River to pay New Year's greetings to Zhou Mingyuan and his wife.

Now that he's engaged, he's the son-in-law of the Zhou family, so the proper etiquette must be observed.

"Dad, Mom, Happy New Year. Happy New Year, Big Brother." Sheng Xiping carried a lot of things into the Zhou family's house and quickly greeted them as soon as he entered.

"Oh, Xiping's here? Look, why didn't you call ahead and have Qinglan and your older brother come pick you up?"

When Zhou Mingyuan and his wife saw Sheng Xiping, they were both surprised and delighted.

The forest farm is far from Songjiang River and the transportation is inconvenient, so no one expected Sheng Xiping to come.

"Quick, sit down. Oh dear, it's a good thing we didn't plan to go back to Tonghua this year, otherwise you would have missed out."

Wang Chunxiu warmly invited Sheng Xiping to sit down and brought him melon seeds, candy, and other treats.

"This is our son-in-law, Qinglan's boyfriend. They just got engaged before the new year and will get married soon."

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, many people came and went to pay their respects at the Zhou family's house. Wang Chunxiu quickly introduced the family to everyone to avoid any further suspicion.

"Is this your son-in-law? Oh my, he's quite good-looking. Look at his big frame, he's really a rare find."

It's all thanks to Qinglan's good judgment in finding a good partner.

Most of the people who came were Zhou Mingyuan and Wang Chunxiu's colleagues, and even their neighbors were all from the Forestry Bureau.

Ever since Zhou Mingyuan returned from his overseas inspection trip, he has become a big shot in the Forestry Bureau. The bureau is considering promoting him, and it is said that he will be transferred to the position of deputy chief engineer after the New Year.

Therefore, there were many more people visiting the Zhou family to offer New Year's greetings this year.

Sheng Xiping is the son-in-law of the Zhou family, so these people definitely can't be offended. They took the opportunity to praise Sheng Xiping, leaving him no chance to speak.

"Since there's a miniature train running today, I thought I'd take it down to see my parents and wish them a Happy New Year."

Sheng Xiping quickly placed the things he had brought on the table.

The son-in-law traveled a long way to pay his respects on the second day of the Lunar New Year, bringing gifts with him. Zhou Mingyuan and his wife felt especially warm inside.

"Oh dear, look at you, child! Your arrival makes your parents happier than if they'd eaten honey. What more could we possibly want?"

Looking at the huge pile of things on the table, Wang Chunxiu's face lit up with a smile, and the more she looked at her son-in-law, the more pleasing he seemed to her.

It wasn't that Wang Chunxiu was greedy or coveted the Sheng family's possessions; the key point was that it represented the Sheng family's high regard for her and also gave the Zhou family face.

Everyone in the room is watching; with this pile of stuff on the table, anyone who sees it will surely praise it.

"Oh my, the son-in-law of the Zhou family is quite something. He is polite and well-mannered. The Zhou family made the right choice."

In this world, who doesn't care about saving face? It's the same for everyone.

The Zhou family arranged for their daughter to marry a young man from the ravine, and countless people gossiped about it behind their backs.

Sheng Xiping's visit today is a good opportunity to show these people that the Zhou family's son-in-law is not only presentable but also exceptionally outstanding.

"Qinglan, hurry up and prepare some food. After we eat, the three of you can go with Xiping to see a movie."

"Aren't there ice lanterns in front of our bureau building tonight? Why don't you all go see them together?"

With her son-in-law arriving, Wang Chunxiu couldn't sit still any longer. She quickly went to the kitchen to prepare the meal.