Sheng Xinhua didn't understand any of this. As long as he had something to eat, he was content. Once he had something to eat and felt full, he would run off to play with his uncle.

Around 5:30, they lit a fire to boil water. Once the water boiled, Zhang Shuzhen called Sheng Liancheng to go outside and set off a string of firecrackers while they cooked dumplings.

Sheng Xiping didn't go out with them. Instead, he held his son, leaned against the windowsill, and gently covered Sheng Xinhua's ears with his hands to watch the firecrackers going off outside.

Xiao Xinhua leaned against the windowsill, gazing longingly outside. He saw flashing lights and could vaguely hear crackling sounds.

The little guy was so excited, clapping his hands and jumping for joy.

The string of two hundred firecrackers was gone in a few shots, but Sheng Xinhua hadn't had enough and was pointing outside, shouting "Ah ah!"

"Alright, we'll wait until Chinese New Year. Dad will buy you lots of firecrackers so you can watch as many as you want," Sheng Xiping quickly coaxed.

But Sheng Xinhua was too young to understand, so he felt he hadn't had enough and kept pointing outside.

Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping simply grabbed his son and lifted him high in the air.

He lifted it more than ten times in a row. Sheng Xinhua, who was one year old, weighed more than 20 kilograms. Even though Sheng Xiping was strong, his arms would feel sore after lifting it so many times.

Sheng Xinhua didn't care about any of that; he only knew it was fun. He danced and giggled in mid-air, completely forgetting about the firecrackers.

Before long, the dumplings were cooked and served steaming hot. The whole family gathered around the table and began to eat.

"Oh my, time really flies! This time last year, Xinhua was still lying in bed. Look at him now, he can sit up and eat with us."

Sheng Liancheng looked around and, seeing Chen Feng missing, felt a pang of disappointment and sadness.

But when she looked at her adorable grandson beside her, that little bit of disappointment vanished.

"Of course! Kids grow up so fast! Wait until next year, and by this time next year, our family will have one more person."

By then, Xinhua will be able to kowtow to you and wish you a Happy New Year on New Year's Eve.

Zhang Shuzhen laughed when she heard this. Living a simple life, generation after generation, isn't it all about hoping for a prosperous future for their descendants?

Seeing the next generation of the Sheng family succeed one after another, how could the grandparents not be happy?

"If only I could take my family back to my hometown for a visit sometime in the future."

"Our parents would be so happy to see Xinhua."

On festive occasions, one misses their loved ones even more. Today is the Little New Year, and Sheng Liancheng thought of his parents who are thousands of miles away and couldn't help but think of them.

"With such a large family like ours, with people going to work and school, where would we find the time?"

Besides, with so many people, food and lodging along the way—everything costs money. We finally saved up some money, and it's all gone along the way.

Zhang Shuzhen sighed. In all the years she had been married to a man from Northeast China, before she had given birth to her two daughters, she had taken her three sons back to her hometown in Shandong.

As the number of children increased, going out became too troublesome and expensive, so we became reluctant to return.