This year's Spring Festival atmosphere was a bit better; at least, couplets and such reappeared, adding a touch of vibrant color to the gray, white, and black ones.
Gu Ye cooked a whole table of dishes, and Sanqi's eyes widened in amazement. It really felt like Chinese New Year!
The family of four, but Sanqi ate very little; she would only eat a couple of bites of each dish before feeling full.
Looking at the table full of delicious food, and the other three people who kept eating, Sanqi envied her older sister for the first time for eating so much.
No matter how much I want to eat, there's nothing I can do; my stomach is full, so I can only watch others enjoy their meals.
Although there was a lot of food, the portions weren't very large, and with three big eaters, there was practically nothing left. At this temperature, leftovers wouldn't keep well anyway, so we basically only cooked what we would eat.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, someone outside called Liu Jiu to go play. Bao Ni sent the child away and started clearing the table with Gu Ye.
"Tonight we're making dumplings with three different fillings: one from Beijing, one from the islands, and one from the local area." Bonnie thought that Gu Ye was finally able to have some peace and quiet at home for the New Year, so she wanted to treat him to a good meal.
"Okay, whatever you say." Gu Ye also understood that it was uncertain whether he would be able to spend the Spring Festival at home next year, so he would make the best of it this year.
The two of them, without prior arrangement, came to the same conclusion.
The kitchen was steamy, and the two of them were doing their work. Although they didn't say anything, they would occasionally look up and glance at each other, and everything was understood without words.
Gu Ye felt completely relaxed; he had never felt so at ease before.
After making the dumplings, there was nothing else to do, and there was no television at that time.
The two turned on the radio and listened to the sounds coming from it. At that moment, they didn't care what the content was; as long as they were together, they were happy doing anything.
Following her family's customs, Bonnie welcomed the gods with dumplings and prepared the whole ceremony.
The flour wasn't very white; it was a bit dark yellow, but it had the most authentic flour flavor, and it was incredibly fragrant. With three different fillings and three different shapes of dumplings, the two kids loved it!
Eating dumplings and setting off firecrackers completes the New Year celebrations.
Bonnie knew that good days were coming, but she didn't know if the things she remembered would happen, or if the era she lived in and the world she experienced were the same.
After the New Year, Bonnie will be thirty years old, and she has no plans to take the college entrance examination in 1977. She's gotten used to family life over the past ten years and doesn't want to strive anymore; it's too tiring.
Having been dominated by Lao Jiang in the past, she had shed too much sweat in those years, and all she wanted was a relaxed and happy life. Bonnie didn't have high aspirations for material things, nor did she have the urgent desire for her children to succeed; she left everything to the children themselves.
Having figured all this out, Bonnie stopped worrying about whether to reveal any information to Gu Ye or Brother Gu, or to tell the children to read more books. She wasn't that smart, and it was better to keep her limited knowledge to herself to avoid misleading others.
In March, school started, and Liu Jiu and San Qi, carrying their schoolbags, began traveling between school and home.
Bonnie pulled up the withered vegetables in the garden, re-tilled the land, and planted new vegetables.
Occasionally, I would go up the mountain with a few of my sisters-in-law to pick some local seasonal wild vegetables, eat them fresh, and also dry some vegetables.
Bonnie also checked for job openings, looking for one close to home that she was interested in. Although such opportunities were practically nonexistent, she figured she might as well take a stroll since she had nothing else to do.
Every day after finishing her chores, Bonnie would ride her bicycle out for a stroll, looking around at the entrances of various workplaces to see if any job postings were displayed.
She'd been looking for days but hadn't seen any job postings. She wondered if they weren't short-staffed or if they were hiring internally. Bonnie wasn't in a hurry; she was just using the time to get familiar with the environment. She'd been here for so long and hadn't even had a proper chance to explore.
Bonnie also looked around the neighborhood to see if there was a children's palace where students from grades 69 and 37 could learn something.
We didn't have the conditions to do this on the island before, but now that we're here, it's time to put it on the agenda.
Bonnie inquired and searched all the way, and sure enough, there really was a children's palace not far from the compound, only about a 20-minute bike ride away.
The old two-story building, gray and dusty, has a sense of weight and age.
Bonnie entered through the main gate, but the gatekeeper stopped her. Bonnie explained the reason and went into the reception room, where she was greeted by staff.
"Hello, I'd like to ask what children aged six and nine can learn?"
The older woman with the tuft of hair took out a piece of paper with various courses, fees, and class times listed on it.
Now it's one day off a week, classes are only held on Sundays, and people come on weekdays too, but not many.
Bonnie glanced at it and saw that there weren't the wide variety of extracurricular classes that were common in later generations—musical instruments, dance, handicrafts, model making, swimming, diving… You have to admit, big cities are different; they have quite a comprehensive range of classes.
Bonnie looked at it carefully and decided to bring her two children over for a trial this weekend to see what they liked.
Bonnie understood, thanked the staff, and prepared to leave.
As Bonnie passed by the gatekeeper, the old man wasn't there, and she was about to say hello.
Outside the gate, the old man was posting something on the bulletin board.
"Grandpa, what are you busy with?"
"Oh, it's you. I'm posting a job ad. The Children's Palace is hiring two diving instructors." The old man used to be an educated man, but due to some circumstances, he ended up guarding the gate here.
Bonnie thought this might be a good idea.
The job posting required at least a junior high school education, good diving skills, and the ability to explain concepts clearly. There were two applicants, a man and a woman. Bonnie checked the registration and interview dates, then returned to the Children's Palace.
After inquiring about the registration location, Bonnie went straight there.
"Hello, I would like to register for the recruitment exam for a diving instructor."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
