A profound self-reflection! It was truly profound, unforgettable. The two brothers read it aloud to each other, but felt it wasn't profound enough, so they revised it. It was 800 words! It was longer and more difficult than writing an essay.

Zhu Hang took away the two self-criticisms and said, "Okay, go to bed!"

I rubbed my eyelids that were stuck together, decided not to wash them because I had just washed them last night, and went straight to bed.

Zhou Xiang received two self-criticisms, glanced at them and put them away. This will be an unforgettable memory in the lives of the two children.

It was still dark when Jiankang, woken up by the sound of firecrackers, went downstairs yawning.

"Happy New Year, Grandpa!"

"Happy New Year, Grandma!"

"Hey! Great! Happy New Year! Here, this is the lucky money you should have gotten yesterday."

The healthy sleepyhead disappeared immediately. They looked at their aunt and only took the red envelope after she nodded.

“Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma!”

“Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma!”

Then, without even opening the red envelopes, they handed them to their father and asked him to help take care of them.

The two children paid New Year's greetings to the elders in the family and gave all the red envelopes they received to their father.

The red envelopes for Xiao Yuanyuan and Xiao Jingjing (the names of Wu Haotian's daughters, Zhou Xiang smiled secretly after hearing them, believing that his daughters would definitely "thank" their father in the future) were given to their father to collect.

The dumplings were served and firecrackers were set off. Jiankang and Zhou ate the dumplings with their eyes squinted. Zhou's mother couldn't bear it and urged them to eat quickly. After they finished eating, they went upstairs to continue sleeping.

Zhu Hang shook his head, "Mom, I still have to take them to Beitou to pay New Year's greetings to my mother, and then go back to sleep."

The two children, who had been squinting, immediately opened their eyes wide. Greeting that grandmother? How could they refuse? Seeing their father's look, they could only lower their heads and continue to struggle with the slippery dumplings.

When people from Xiaoxie Village arrived, Zhu Hang took his two sons out to pay New Year's greetings.

There were relatively few people from Xiaoxiezhuang this time. Only those with children and those who were younger came, while those aged 15 to 18 did not come.

Ling Ran was cooking dumplings in the kitchen, and he even brought his wife along. "Wife, this is the first time I can help greet the guests who come to visit the Zhou family during the New Year."

"Yes, yes, it will be fine in the future. Hurry up and open the lid. It's overflowing."

Before the people from Xiaoxie Village left, Zhong Xiong and his group arrived, followed by the ten young men from the front yard.

Fortunately, the adults’ vigil activity yesterday was making dumplings, otherwise, with only these two waves of 23 people, big and small, I wouldn’t know how to deal with them.

Ling Ran held down Zhong Xiong's claws and said, "No eggs today."

"Why?"

"Eating eggs means getting out of here and being done with it."

"Nonsense! Only southerners care about this. We are from the north, and eggs are round. Why can't we have a round and round one?"

Zhou Xiang pulled Ling Ran away, "Okay, you can eat anything, as long as you are happy!"

"That's right!" Zhong Xiong challenged Ling Ran, "I want to eat ten today, perfect."

Ling Ran turned his head away from him, thinking that it was a good thing for everyone to have one.

Zhong Xiong opened the lid of the jar and looked at the salted eggs left at the bottom. "Why are there only so few?"

Ling Ran suppressed the corner of his mouth that was curled up, "You ate them all. Every time you came, you ate dozens of them. There are only 200 in a jar. How many dozens can there be?"

Zhong Xiong fished out all the eggs and counted them. There were 23 of them. His eyes widened. "Ling Ran, did you do this on purpose? Just one for each person?"

Ling Ran raised the corner of his mouth, "Oh! Congratulations! You're so lucky, one for each of us, and we're both devoted to each other!"

Zhou Xiang just felt a headache, "Zhong Xiong, quickly wash and cook them, one for each of us is perfect."

"All right!"

After the people from Xiaoxie Village left, Zhong Ying dared to serve the salted eggs. She looked at her father suspiciously, "Dad, did you eat them secretly?"

Zhong Xiongyi raised his hand, "You want a beating, don't you? You're talking about your dad like that on New Year's Day? Ask your uncle."

When Zhong Ying heard what her father said, she took one without even looking up. "I didn't ask, you must have eaten it all. Even the ones that Grandma Jiang pickled couldn't keep up with what you ate."

Ling Ran smiled, "Oh! Zhong Ying really understands your dad! Okay! Your uncle will give you a big red envelope later."

"Thank you, uncle."

Zhong Xiong touched his chest and asked, "Girl, who are you with?"

"I'm in the same group as Li."

"Who is Li? Call him out, I want to duel with him."

Fisher pulled her husband and said, "Eat quickly. We need to clear the table."

When Zhong Xiong left, he ran to Zhou's mother and said, "Aunt Jiang, you didn't pickle enough eggs. Pickle more next time. Or, should I buy some eggs?"

Mother Zhou waved her hands, "Oh! I only pickled this much at a time. If I pickled too much, the taste wouldn't be right. Eating less and more will make it more delicious! What can you eat too much at once without getting sick of it?"

“Only salted eggs are not greasy!”

"Okay, okay, I'll pickle it when I'm free in a couple of days."

After Zhong Xiong left, Zhou's mother breathed a sigh of relief. The problem with the salty eggs was not the way she pickled them, but the problem with the eggs themselves. She couldn't say it directly, so she could only fool Zhong Xiong, but he was a glutton.

When people from the town came to pay New Year's greetings, Ling Ran served them tea and water. Zhou's mother praised Ling Ran for his good eyesight.

Zhou wanted to roll his eyes. Was he being discerning? Was he trying to make a name for himself? He wanted everyone in town to know he was part of the Zhou family.

Almost all the people paying New Year's greetings had arrived, and there was nothing to do on the first day of the new year, so they started gambling. Lu Jin and his friends often played cards, and Zhou's father was also an expert, so they hit it off.

A mahjong table and a poker table attracted a few people to watch, and the living room became much quieter.

They came back healthy with their father and told grandma happily, "Grandma, that grandma has changed. She has become kinder and even gave us New Year's money."

Mother Zhou nodded. "Yes! She is trying to change. It's good to admit her mistakes and correct them."

Jiankang nodded and said, "We will change it too."

"Yeah! Okay! Let's go play!"

The two of them ran to their uncle to set off fireworks. Zhou Niao put down the paintbrush in his hand and played with his two nephews.

Throughout the year, I can only relax on the first day of the new year. I make steamed buns and heat up leftovers at noon, and continue playing cards in the afternoon.

On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Zhou Xiang and Ling Ran went to the Ling family with gifts.

Dong Yunrong saw the two people carrying a bucket of peanut oil and a bag of rice, and said with a smile: "Oh! Come back more often, I don't need to buy anything."

Ling Ran nodded, "Yes! Next time, I'll bring back soy sauce and salt, and you really don't have to buy anything."

"loquacious!"

This year, the daughter-in-law came home to pay New Year's greetings for the first time, and Dong Yunrong prepared a table full of dishes.

Zhou wanted to persuade Ling Ran to eat more. If there were any leftovers, how many days would the two old people have to eat them at home? But he was reluctant to throw them away.

She didn't put down her chopsticks until she was full, "Mom, I really can't eat anymore."

"Okay, okay! If you can't eat anymore, don't eat anymore. Don't overeat."

After dinner, I stayed with the two old people until four o'clock before leaving the Ling family.

The coldness of the Ling family's New Year celebrations made her feel uncomfortable, but she was unwilling to give birth to a child now to help the two elderly people get rid of their loneliness.