After waiting and waiting, New Year's Eve finally arrives.

The morning in Li'an City is awakened by a string of firecrackers. When the firecrackers go off, the old is said goodbye to and the new is welcomed. The children gather at the gate of the courtyard to watch the adults in the alley set off firecrackers. After a while, regardless of the cold weather and cracked ground, they search all over the alley for firecrackers, chasing each other and making the scene very lively.

This activity was a bit dangerous, so Qiao Lu didn't let her son go with her. However, the child from the Chen family across the street and the boy from the Tian family all joined in.

Qiao Lu watched and warned Qiao An, "When you see your brother setting off fireworks, you need to run away from him. You know what I mean? Be careful of the explosions. It will hurt."

"Yeah! Mommy, I will stay away from you!" He is also afraid of pain.

In Li'an City, there is a custom of bathing on New Year's Eve. No matter if you bathed yesterday or not, you must bathe today. The purpose is to sweep away the bad luck of the year and welcome a beautiful new year.

Around evening, Xu Haizhou and his wife took their son to the bathroom to take a bath. The child had thin skin, and Qiao Lu was afraid that he would catch a cold, so she basically only bathed him twice a week.

The father and son went hand in hand to the men's bathroom, while Qiao Lu went to the women's bathroom alone. They agreed to meet at the door in about twenty minutes.

It was almost five o'clock when I finished washing. The last ray of afterglow between heaven and earth was slowly recalled. At this time, the sky was brightest, the clouds were orange-red to the point of being hot, and everyone's face was reflected in red.

The family of three walked hand in hand in the narrow alley. Qiaoan walked briskly, jumping one step every other green brick grid. The more she jumped, the more she got out of control, running out like a wild horse without reins. The couple's slow pace gradually made it impossible for them to catch up with her.

"An An, slow down. Dad is carrying a bucket. Can't you be considerate of him?"

Hearing this, the young man walked back the same way with brisk steps. The man raised his arm like a hero, grasped the steel rope at the other end of the bucket and shared the burden with Xu Haizhou.

"I understand Dad!"

The two of them couldn't help but look at their son again.

I have to say that Qiaoan's transformation is truly astonishing.

I remember when Qiao Lu first came through, he was just a shy little boy who liked to hide in his mother's arms, and didn't dare to walk around even in an empty alley. But now he is jumping around lively, which is really touching.

This also proves that Qiao Lu's painstaking education is not in vain, and education with love is the best education for children.

On the way home hand in hand, they unexpectedly met Jiamei's grandfather, Chen Fugui.

"Hey Haizhou, the family of three is taking a walk." Chen Fugui usually loves to tease Qiao An, and this time is no exception: "Xiaobao, you look so beautiful in this blue shirt today. Your mother made it for you, right?"

The little baby raised his head proudly: "Yes! Mommy did it!"

Qiao Lu shook the empty bucket in her hand and said with a smile, "We didn't go for a walk in such a cold day. We just finished taking a shower and are ready to go home."

Chen Fugui smiled and narrowed his eyes: "Oh, great, great, the three of us can take a shower together, it will be quite lively hahaha——"

Qiao Lu smiled awkwardly.

What I mean is, the men's and women's bathrooms are separated, so how can they wash together?

…

This was the first time for the family of three to celebrate the Spring Festival. During the day, they put up Spring Festival couplets, posted the word "Fu" and hung New Year pictures. The two adults also had to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, planning to make three sweet and two vegetarian dishes and a pot of egg drop soup, which was quite a sumptuous meal.

Qiao An had finished all the work he could do here, so he couldn't wait to pull Xu Haizhou to run to the yard, holding two boxes of small firecrackers and scratch firecrackers that his father bought for him.

"Brother Kang Kang! I have one too! Brother Kang Kang, look at my dad lighting firecrackers!" Dad said that setting off firecrackers is too dangerous and children are not allowed to play with them. They just need to watch from the side.

So, Xu Haizhou inexplicably became the "king of children", performing firecracker lighting shows for the children in the yard. Every time a firecracker exploded, countless children smiled happily.

Looking at my own son again, he looks so innocent and cute when he smiles.

The curve of Xu Haizhou's lips became bigger and bigger.

Looking up at the sky, it was a rare New Year's Eve without rain.

…

The daytime on New Year's Eve was extremely lively. After setting off firecrackers, Xu Haizhou returned to the kitchen to help his wife cook. A little later in the afternoon, the children could not wait to run back home after smelling the charming aroma of food and meat.

The yard and the alley became quiet.

Even though there are only three people in Xu Haizhou's house, it is actually not lonely at all.

To create a good atmosphere, Qiao Lu held the "First Family Gala" after dinner. Qiao Lu was the host, Qiao An was the little singer, and Xu Haizhou, the father, was just an audience member, responsible for applauding and praising the little baby.

When Qiao An heard that she could become a little singer, her face turned red with excitement.

Qiao Lu handed him a small microphone rolled up from newspaper and asked him to sing into the microphone.

The little boy's hands were sweating from nervousness, soaking the newspaper microphone, and his long eyelashes were blinking desperately. Finally, with the encouragement of his mother and father's eyes, he opened his voice and sang the first nursery rhyme - "Little Swallow".

Once you do it, you can do it again. After singing the first song, he was praised by his parents, and he sang the songs afterwards to his heart's content. And today, he could not only sing nursery rhymes, but also the love songs he learned from the single player last time. Anyway, there were only his parents here, so he could sing whatever he wanted.

The radio was on, the coals were burning in the brazier, the young man was jumping up and down, dancing and singing along to the music, the couple clapped their hands to accompany him, who said they were lonely here?

This is so lively and interesting!

Because Qiao An is young and can't stay up late, he usually goes to bed between eight and nine o'clock. Today is New Year's Eve, so he was allowed to play for an extra hour. After nine o'clock, Qiao Lu stood up and put her fist to her mouth:

"Ahem - I now declare that the first family Spring Festival Gala is over! Comrade Qiaoan, please take off your coat immediately and prepare to wash up and go to bed!"

Qiaoan threw down the phone and raised her hand: "Okay! It's over! I'm going to sleep! Mommy, help me take off my shoes~"

It’s cold today, and Qiao An has been wrapped up like a little ball by her mother. She can’t even bend down!

Qiao Lu went to the kitchen to boil some hot water for her son to wipe his face and brush his teeth. After a simple wash, she threw him onto the bed. His little butt moved around and soon he burrowed into the quilt.

He patted the pillow and said to Qiao Lu, "Mom, hurry up, it's so cold in here!"

Even the small stove gets cold one day, Qiao Lu chuckled.

"Wait, Mommy is going to brush her teeth."

When Qiao Lu got on the bed, the boy hugged her arms tightly.

"I've got you! Don't run!"

Qiao Lu pinched his little nose and said, "You are so excited today, why don't you lie down quickly?"

As he said this, he shrank into the quilt.

"Mom, lie down too, lie with me."

Qiao Lu turned to pinch his face again: "I noticed that you like to use erhua sounds when speaking recently. Tell me the truth, did you learn this from your father?"

Qiao An covered her mouth and laughed: "Mom, how did you know?"

Qiao Lu teased him, "What's something about you that I don't know?"

The little guy was laughing. Fearing that the conversation would go on endlessly, Qiao Lu ended the topic: "Okay, let's stop talking and go to sleep."

The baby yawned, and in less than five minutes, he fell asleep, breathing shallowly, his rosy face was lightly flushed, and if you got closer, you could see the fine hair on both sides of his cheeks.

It seems to be a lot whiter than when I first came to the city.

With such a little pink ball lying next to me, how could I resist not kissing him?

Qiao Lu placed a kiss on her son's little face, and her heart melted.

At this time, Xu Haizhou came back from the yard after washing the dishes, bringing with him a chill.

He called Joan's name twice, but when there was no response, he quickly went to the closet to change into pajamas. Without any delay, he bent down and picked up his wife horizontally.

Qiao Lu was almost startled and patted his chest unhappily: "What are you doing? Are you not going to sleep today?"

Unexpectedly, the man laughed teasingly and pecked her lips: "I asked you to make the bed a few days ago, wasn't it just for tonight?"

Qiao Lu stared at him and poked him in the chest: "It seems like you are holding back on being mean."

The cot in the outer room had been set up for several days, but no one had slept on it. Qiaoan was young, and letting him sleep alone in a room was more uncomfortable than killing him, so it was impossible to move him in a short period of time.

As the saying goes, if the mountain is not me, I will be the mountain. If my sons don’t want to sleep in the outer room, why don’t they come over?

That night, the night was as cool as water. In the quiet night, one could occasionally hear some laughter coming from next door. It seemed that every household went to bed late on New Year's Eve.

"Are you sure he won't wake up? What if he wakes up and finds we're not here..." Qiao Lu asked worriedly as she was laid down on the crib.

"No." Xu Haizhou sucked on her lips soothingly. The sweet taste made him linger and he couldn't wait to get to the point.

He quickly took off her pajamas and unbuttoned her clothes.

"When you woke up, did you find that what we did was awkward, or did you find that we were not awkward anymore?" Xu Haizhou asked when he saw her hesitating.

Every time he drives, he has to pay attention to the little kid sleeping next to him, which makes him feel uncomfortable.

Qiao Lu thought about it and felt that it made sense. After all, the small bed took on everything.

The first time the couple had sex behind their son’s back, they felt… well, guilty.

It was not until two minutes later that the story got to the point. Qiao Lu no longer cared about feeling guilty and was carried by Xu Haizhou to the bottom of the sea, unable to find the shore...

Maybe it was because we were in a new environment, we finished faster the first time, and we hugged each other and rested for a while.

Xu Haizhou leaned on her shoulder. Qiao Lu patted his back and suddenly asked him, "Hey, what do you think of the coat I wore to the wedding banquet last time?"

"Beautiful." After saying these two words, he kissed her cheek: "Very beautiful, like a fairy."

Qiao Lu smiled happily and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Unexpectedly, this kiss made him come alive immediately.

"Wait, why are you here again? Slow down..."

Xu Haizhou exhaled and slowed down his movements slightly.

After a long time——

"Then tell me, if I become a tailor and make clothes for people, is there a market for it?" Qiao Lu asked after taking a breath.

"Making clothes?" Xu Haizhou said slowly, "There's no money in tailoring these days."

Pick any married woman out there, who doesn’t know how to make clothes? Who would hire a tailor? Basically, they were the wives of officials or wealthy people in the old days.

"I know, but I did it differently. You saw it. When I got home from the wedding banquet and was at the photo studio, people said I could be a model. I thought it was the clothes. Nice clothes made me look really pretty."

Xu Haizhou's eyes curved with a smile and he kissed her lips: "No, that's because my wife is beautiful, the clothes are just a small bonus."

Qiao Lu was happy: "I like to hear that, but you can't deny it. Wearing that dress makes me look tall, slim, and elegant! It looks much better than a big cotton blouse."

These days, especially winter clothes, are plain and simple, either grey cotton coats or flowery cotton coats. If the material for such coats could be imported in large quantities and the price was not high, there would definitely be a lot of people buying them.

Although people usually save money, the living standard in the towns in the 1980s was much better than that in the 1970s, and girls tend to spend impulsively for the sake of beauty...

Of course, if they don't sell in large quantities, the price can't be too low. They have to take the high-end route. No matter if no one is willing to buy it, they still have Xu Haizhou as their backer. If no one buys it, they can still support it. They have prepared a way out, so what are they afraid of failure?

With this idea in mind, Qiao Lu felt that the plan was feasible.

"We can give it a try after the new year and if it doesn't work, we can start with something smaller, like gloves and socks."

"Yes, sure." Xu Haizhou paused for a moment, then sped up again.

Qiao Lu pinched his arm and squeezed out the moan that was rising up her throat: "Well... I've read some newspapers recently and I feel that this year won't be peaceful. Be careful when you set up your stall and keep a low profile."

Although the reform has been implemented for a long time, the reality is fraught with dangers. Especially this year, business people must take every step carefully and it is okay to stop and rest when necessary.

"good."

In fact, before he married Qiao Lu, Xu Haizhou was quite low-key. These days, how can you be low-key in business? From time to time, you can see in the newspapers that someone is arrested for speculation or not having a business license...

In short, there are a lot of suckers, it just depends on whether we can catch you.

"So you agree to do business with me?"

"As long as you like it." Once a man is in love, he will agree to anything.

Qiao Lu couldn't tell whether he was awake or confused.

"I think it would be nice if we could open a small shop, sell some clothes and small accessories, and keep it safe and secure without being exposed to the wind and sun."

Xu Haizhou's skin was pretty good, and she would be sad if it was damaged. These days, you can't buy any sunscreen, and too much exposure to ultraviolet rays will make you age. She didn't want Xu Haizhou to become an old man when she was still in her prime...

"Hmm..." The man muttered, as if he was almost at the end: "All good."

Qiao Lu wanted to say something, but Xu Haizhou suddenly leaned over and blocked her lips, forcing her to immerse herself in his world.

Qiao Lu couldn't utter a complete sentence and spoke incoherently.

"Well... you, hurry up... isn't it a bit too long today? I wonder if my son will wake up..."

"No." It was so hard to do something in a world with only the two of them. Xu Haizhou was in high spirits. How could he just hurry up? He wished he could go slower and slower so that he could savor the feeling of wanting to stop but not being able to stop with her.

"He drank two extra glasses of juice at night, and I was afraid he would get up at night..."

"No, didn't I just go to bed? How many times have you woken up in the past few days?"

"But... uh... ah——"

Qiao Lu didn't even finish her words before she was smashed to pieces by Xu Haizhou the next second.

“Don’t, don’t…”

Xu Haizhou laughed softly: "Didn't you make me quick?"

"When did you ever listen to me so much? If you really listened to me, you would have stopped long ago."

Xu Haizhou breathed into her ear: "I can't stop."

Working here was more enjoyable, even Qiao Lu's screams became louder. She herself didn't realize it, but Xu Haizhou did.

Qiao Lu was a little worried about whether the house was soundproof. It would be so embarrassing if the neighbors next door heard it... Oh, no, the bedroom was next to Wu Guifang's house, and the room next to the outer room was empty, so she could shout as much as she wanted without worrying about being heard.

Thinking of this, Qiao Lu unconsciously hummed along with Xu Haizhou's rhythm...

Ten minutes later...

"mother……"

Xu Haizhou: “?!!”

I was so scared that I fainted.

"An An?" Qiao Lu didn't notice that her voice was hoarse.

Xu Haizhou didn't even have time to turn his head. He hurriedly pulled the quilt to cover himself and his wife.

"Mom! Why are you here? I can't find you!" Hearing the voice, the little guy rubbed his eyes and ran over, saying with a wronged tone: "I can't find Dad either, you are all gone!"

"An An, why are you awake? Stand there and don't move. Don't come over!" Qiao Lu quickly called him.

It really worked. Qiao An didn't dare to move forward and looked in her direction with grievance.

The boy had good eyesight. With the help of the moonlight outside the window, he could see two black shadows of his father and mother on the small bed not far in front of him.

"Mom, wu--Mom, Mom, why are you sleeping here, Mom, don't you want me anymore? Mom, don't you want to sleep with An An?" The little guy just woke up from his sleep, his mind was not very clear, and the night deepened his feeling of uneasiness.

Qiao Lu was so embarrassed and angry that she kicked her man: Look what you have done!

Xu Haizhou held his forehead helplessly, took a deep breath, and tried to make his tone sound gentler and calmer: "An An, why did you wake up suddenly? Do you want to go to the bathroom?"

The little guy sniffed, not sure if he was crying, his voice was hoarse: "Yeah, Dad, I want to poop."

Qiao Lu pushed the man on her body and said, "Take him to the toilet!"

Xu Haizhou stretched out his long arm, picked up the clothes scattered at the end of the bed, put them on quickly, got out of bed, took his son's hand and led him out of the house.

Even after everyone walked out of the house, the little guy still asked him pitifully and aggrievedly: "Dad, don't you want to sleep with An An?"

"No, how could that be?"

…

About twenty minutes later, Xu Haizhou returned home carrying Qiao An. His coat was soaked with the night's humidity, making him damp and cold.

"Mom!" The boy slid off Xu Haizhou, ran to the bed in the bedroom and knocked Qiao Lu down.

"Mom, don't you like sleeping with An An?" The child started to have wild thoughts again, "You and Dad go to sleep outside instead of sleeping with me, Mom, do you dislike me?"

Qiao Lu was amused and helpless, pinching his face, "Where did you learn that phrase? How could your parents dislike you?"

"But mommy...mommy and daddy go to sleep outside, and An An sleeps alone. Don't you want An An anymore? An An is a good boy. Why doesn't mommy want to sleep with me? Woo - mommy -"

It’s so unfair, he feels so unfair!

Qiao Lu helplessly helped her son take off his coat and carried him into bed. Xu Haizhou followed closely behind, holding his wife's waist and whispering to his son, "Mom and I are husband and wife, and husband and wife sleep in the same bed. When An'an grows up, he will get married and sleep in the same bed with his wife, but now you can sleep with Mom and Dad for now. When you grow up a little more, you will have to sleep by yourself."

"I don't want to, I want to sleep with my mom, not my wife, wuwuwu——" The little baby pouted in confusion and cried aggrievedly: "Then An'an, can't An'an be your wife?"

puff--

The young man held Qiao Lu's hand and said solemnly, "Mom, let's be husband and wife. I want to sleep with you forever."

Qiao Lu was almost shocked to death by her son's words: "Ahem, ahem - son, do you know what husband and wife mean?"

Baby Qiao An shook his head honestly: "I don't know."

"Husband and wife, husband and wife means - um, I am daddy's wife, am I your wife?"

There was a teardrop hanging from the tip of her nose, shaking as he shook his head, looking cute and pitiful: "You are my mother."

Qiao Lu breathed a sigh of relief and gently stroked the top of his head: "Yes, I am An An's mother. How can a mother be a wife? So mother and An An cannot be husband and wife. We are mother and son, right?"

That seems to make sense.

Qiao An nodded: "Yeah, okay, it seems right."

Then he snuggled into Qiao Lu's arms and said, "Mom, I don't want to be your wife anymore. You are not allowed to run away and leave me behind."

Before Qiao Lu could reply, she saw Qiao An restlessly rubbing against her chest, sniffing her like a puppy, and then yelling indignantly, "Mom! You smell like Dad!"

Qiao Lu: “???”

Xu Haizhou: “…”

"Ahem..." Xu Haizhou reached out and held his son's hand, and quickly changed the subject: "I'm not leaving, and I don't mind you. Dad and Mom are chatting, and I'm afraid to wake An An, so I'm going outside."

The young man's mouth twitched.

"No, you won't wake me up. Don't leave in the future, okay?" The furry head rubbed against Qiao Lu's cheek, and he refused to separate from his mother no matter what.

Qiao Lu's warm palms caressed his back and said, "I didn't abandon you. Did you forget? Today is Chinese New Year. It's a holiday. Mom and Dad are staying outside to celebrate the New Year. Let's chat for a while and then go back."

Qiao An sobbed, "Mom, don't stay up all night. Mom, sleep with me."

Qiao Lu said helplessly: "This is a custom, everyone is celebrating the New Year."

The boy looked up at her. There was no light in the house, so he couldn't see his mother's face at all. "Then why don't I stay up all night to celebrate the New Year? What does it mean to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year?"

"Tonight, adults should go to bed later, and children can sleep if they are tired. They don't need to stay up all night."

After saying that, I opened the curtains and saw that the lights in many rooms in the yard were on.

"Look, many people didn't sleep today."

"Yeah." Qiao An was frightened. "Then mom, are you guys not going to sleep tonight?"

"Yes, I'll go to bed soon."

"Shall we go to bed now?"

Qiao Lu smiled and held her son in her arms: "Okay, let's go to bed now."

"Um."

…

For the whole week, Xu Haizhou didn't dare to have sex with his wife. Several times, the little guy woke up in the middle of the night, his hands flailing around until he felt his mother beside him, and then he fell asleep again.

How should I put it? I feel so tired.

Finally, as a compromise, the small bed was moved to the bedroom next to the big bed, and the son was brainwashed every day.

You can set a small goal for him first. Qiao An is three years old now. You can tell him that in two months, when he is four years old, he must sleep in a small bed and share a room with his parents. When he is five or six years old, he must move to the outer room and sleep alone.

The process of reminding him will lower his psychological defenses. Occasionally, take him to sleep in the crib for a night so that he will have a stronger sense of belonging to the crib and know that there is actually no difference between sleeping here with mom and dad, which will lay the foundation for independent sleep in the future.

The little guy was well-behaved and sensible, and he agreed readily. As long as he didn't have to sleep alone now, anything was fine.

After learning about Qiao Lu's plan, Xu Haizhou had to give a thumbs up again. This method sounded feasible and would not cause the child to resist too quickly.

It's just a pity for him, as he has been holding his wife in his arms and kissing her for several nights in a row but cannot eat.

Alas, life is so miserable.