The twins' second birthday was followed by the New Year, and the Qin family busily began preparing for the New Year.

This year is the first time Qin Xiaoxiao is spending the Spring Festival in the capital. She wants to have a good holiday, so she takes out a lot of meat, eggs, milk and fish from her space and tells others that Su Lu got them.

The cabbages at home were collected by Qin Ye and Su Lu from the countryside outside the capital. There wasn't much pickled cabbage at home. Qin Xiaoxiao planned to make dumplings with pickled cabbage and pork filling for the New Year, and also stew some pickled cabbage and pork ribs. The rest would be saved for when she felt like eating something else.

The Qin family compound also prepared a lot of things. Qin Ye got half a sheep, planning to have hot pot with the whole family during the New Year. For this, Qin Ye specially ordered a copper hot pot that was three times larger than a washbasin.

Qin Ye also sent a lot of mutton to the Su family, along with two bottles of fine wine that Sun Zhirou had gotten for them. The Su family was living comfortably and didn't need these things, but they were still very satisfied with Qin Ye's performance.

Li Changqing wrote to me before the New Year.

Since Qin Xiaoxiao turned eighteen a year and a half ago, the subsidies from the mine have stopped, but Li Changqing still insists on sending her ten yuan every month and writing her a letter every month. However, Qin Xiaoxiao rarely replies. She accepts the money, but she mails it back to him every year during the Spring Festival, or sends him some rare items.

They had kept in touch for the past two years. After arriving in Beijing, Qin Xiaoxiao wrote to Li Changqing, but she never received a reply. She thought Li Changqing would never contact her again.

Qin Xiaoxiao was quite surprised to receive his letter again.

After reading the letter, Qin Xiaoxiao was filled with mixed thoughts, unsure whether she should continue to keep in touch with Li Changqing.

After settling the twins in, Su Lu returned to the room and saw Qin Xiaoxiao sitting blankly on the kang (a heated brick bed). She was taken aback and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Su Lu helped Qin Xiaoxiao take off her coat, then took off her shoes and socks and put them aside before sitting down next to her.

Qin Xiaoxiao sighed, "My Uncle Li wrote a letter. Didn't we lose contact after he came to the capital? I thought he didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. But I only found out today when I received the letter that when he went down the mine to inspect the work last April, a sudden collapse occurred underground. He was buried while trying to save a miner. He was in a coma for more than two months after being rescued before he woke up."

At the time, his legs and arms were broken, and four ribs were broken, almost piercing his lungs. It took him a long time to recover.

He was afraid I would worry, so he didn't dare tell me and didn't contact me again. Now he's recovered, but because of the rescue and his physical condition, he's no longer fit to be the mine manager, and he'll be transferred to Beijing after the New Year.

As Qin Xiaoxiao spoke, she took off her clothes. Su Lu listened without saying anything, then went out to bring Qin Xiaoxiao some water to wash her feet. The two of them sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) together to soak their feet.

Seeing that she had calmed down a bit, Su Lu asked, "How about we invite Grandpa Li to come and visit us after he arrives? After all, he's an elder who has always cared about you; it wouldn't hurt for him to get acquainted with us, would it?"

Qin Xiaoxiao looked up at Su Lu and asked, "Do you think my grandma would be happy about this?"

Old Mrs. Qin has never forgiven Li Changqing, believing that without him, her youngest son would not have died. Therefore, Qin Xiaoxiao never mentions Li Changqing in front of her and always avoids the topic.

"It's been so long, Milk should have come to terms with it by now, right?"

Qin Xiaoxiao shook her head. "No, that's her own son. I only realized how much pain my grandma must have felt when she lost my dad after I became a mother myself. If it were me, I would never want to see him again in this lifetime."

Although the father's death had nothing to do with Li Changqing, it was Li Changqing who took the father to another place. Any mother would think that if the child had been in the local area, with her by her side, her son would not have been in trouble.

Therefore, Qin Xiaoxiao fully understands Qin's grandmother's thoughts, and it is understandable that she does not forgive her.

Su Lu sighed, "Then let's not let Grandma know. Grandpa Li has always been good to you. If we don't invite your family to come and see you, he'll probably feel bad."

Qin Xiaoxiao paused in her foot-rubbing motion, lost in thought.

Losing his best friend and most trusted comrade-in-arms, Li Changqing must have been sad, right?

He probably regretted bringing his father to another place, so he felt very guilty towards her and had been taking care of her in an attempt to make up for his guilt.

Qin Xiaoxiao stopped talking, washed her feet, got onto the kang (a heated brick bed), covered herself with the quilt, and fell asleep.

When Su Lu returned with the foot bath water, he saw that Qin Xiaoxiao had covered her head with the entire blanket, and he knew that she was very annoyed.

Su Lu didn't disturb her. He quietly turned off the light, got on the kang (a heated brick bed), and lay down next to her. When Qin Xiaoxiao was completely asleep in the middle of the night, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Lu spent the New Year with the twins at the Qin family compound. It was a lively day, and the family of four only returned home after having dumplings in the evening.

The next day was the first day of the lunar new year. Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Lu didn't cook breakfast. Instead, they went to the Qin family's place to eat dumplings and stayed there for another day. When their daughter went back to her parents' home on the second day, Qin Xiaoxiao once again stayed at the Qin family's place for another day with her whole family.

On the third and fourth days of the Lunar New Year, Qin Xiaoxiao visited the Su family to offer New Year's greetings. She not only saw Su Yu and Zou Jing, but also got to know several members of the Zou family.

The Zou family was also visiting the Su family for the New Year when they bumped into Qin Xiaoxiao.

After looking at the Zou family members and then at Zou Jing, Qin Xiaoxiao marveled at the strength of the Zou family's genes.

Both men and women are so good-looking, how can anyone live like this?

Qin Xiaoxiao looked at Su Yu with sympathy.

How insecure must she feel, surrounded by people prettier than herself?

However, she would definitely eat a little more, as looking at a beautiful woman made her appetite much better; she knew this all too well.

Su Yu was very excited to see Qin Xiaoxiao and kept talking to her. Zou Jing felt helpless, but he patiently waited by with his son in his arms and never urged her.

Seeing this, Qin Xiaoxiao was finally relieved. With Zou Jing doting on her, Su Yu's life would definitely be good. At the same time, it would complement her carefree personality and prevent her from doing anything wrong in a moment of impulsiveness.

Qin Xiaoxiao's family spent the fifth day of the Lunar New Year at the Qin Family Compound. After the fifth day, Su Lu and Qin Ye went back to work, and Zou Jing and Su Yu were to go to school after the New Year.

It's worth mentioning here that Zou Jing was a true academic star. He actually got into a foreign language institute and even got a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He started working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs right after graduation.

Under his guidance, Su Yu passed the exam for the capital city and became a teacher, which made Qin Xiaoxiao extremely jealous.

Teachers, what a sacred and noble profession! They have summer and winter vacations, and they're paid vacations. They also earn a lot. In another three to five years, she will know exactly how respected teachers are.

There's no use being jealous. Someone like her wouldn't pass the imperial examination in the capital even if she had ten more years. She should just honestly buy more houses and land and prepare to become a landlady.

Qin Xiaoxiao was well aware of her own abilities. If she couldn't win, she'd just give up; it was better than constantly causing trouble by chasing impossible goals. (End of Chapter)