Chapter 74 Chapter 74 On New Year's Eve,...
On New Year's Eve, Xu Wen and his family traveled thousands of miles to the countryside.
As the welcoming firecrackers exploded one after another, he parked a luxurious car at the door, carrying cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Jin Man, come out quickly! Help me with my things."
Jin Man was squatting in the yard killing fish, not even having time to take off his apron: "Brother Wen? Why are you here?"
Xu Wen closed the car door, patted the fresh seafood worth thousands of dollars in his hands, and smiled from ear to ear: "It must be so lonely for you to celebrate the holidays alone. Why don't you come and have a free meal? I won't eat your food for free. I brought my own ingredients."
Jin Man felt a headache when he saw those things with shells. He had been cooking farm dishes for more than 20 years. He was good at making shredded potatoes and fried steamed buns, but he should be spared from dealing with seafood.
"I have plenty of it, I'm not alone. Besides, why did you buy all this? How can you come to my house and go hungry?"
"Eating can't stop you from talking, you little brat. You're laughing so hard you can't even see your eyes, and you're still pretending? Get out of here! How can I, the owner of a restaurant, let you cook for me?"
Xu Wen's wife took Niuniu out of the car. The little girl was wearing a red cotton-padded jacket and a princess dress. She looked like a fairy who had come down to earth. She spoke auspicious words as soon as she opened her mouth.
"Susu, Happy New Year! May you be prosperous!"
Jin Man was very happy and gave several red envelopes. Little Duoduo was originally helping his father peel potatoes, but now he was relieved of his responsibility and was responsible for taking Niuniu out to play.
With so many people coming, the room is too small to accommodate them all.
Jin Man called Zhou Yu, and after discussing it, he led his whole family to his house, planning to cook together and celebrate the New Year together this year.
The old man was the happiest. He ignored his son's objections and cooked a dish of pork belly that was famous for miles around. Zhou Yu, smoking a cigarette, chopped bones lazily: "Dad, isn't that still not leaving the village?"
The old man retorted to him: "If you don't like Jin Man, eat it. If you don't eat it, then sit at the table with the dog."
Zhou Yu: “…”
The cold wind howled on the winter night.
Small colorful lights lit up in the yard, and the sky was gray, like a piece of frosted glass that could not be wiped clean. At some point, snowflakes began to fall.
Jin Man glanced at his mobile phone from time to time. Today was New Year's Eve, the most reunion festival of the year.
This time last year, he was still at the Lu Mansion, having thought he'd miss it once he left. After all, he'd lived there for five solid years, and only he knew how much sadness that had gone into it.
But when he thinks about it now, Jin Man doesn't feel sad. Sometimes he feels that people are like trees, and it seems that they can never leave the soil where they grow.
But if one day you encounter force majeure and have to move, you will find that it is not that bad and you can still live a good life.
Lu Yanlin didn't call or send any text messages. He was very attentive in the past few weeks, refreshing his messages as frequently as the ghost behind him, but he has been unusually quiet these past few days.
However, some people think that Lu Yanlin has had enough fun and plans to return to Bincheng to become a superior person.
Jin Man was even more worried that he might have died suddenly.
When he was a child, he watched TV dramas where the protagonist's hair turned white overnight and he ran out of energy. He just treated them as fun and never believed them because he felt that the body could not be controlled just by wanting to. But when he saw it with his own eyes, he felt that it was a different matter and he was inevitably touched.
The snow is falling heavier and heavier, and the New Year's Eve dinner is almost ready.
The colorful lights reflected on the thin snow on the ground. The puppy ran around, holding a bone in its mouth, leaving a series of small footprints.
When Lu Yanlin's phone rang, Jin Man had a feeling that it was as expected. He greeted Zhou Yu, picked up the phone and walked out slowly.
Outside the house, snowflakes were falling in large flakes, and the sky and the earth were covered in silver white.
At the end of the path stood two silhouettes.
The tall man held a black umbrella, and the fallen snow accumulated into a thin layer on his shoulders.
He was holding a phone in one hand and a vermilion gift box in the other. Her eyes pierced through the falling snowflakes, and when she saw him, she was suddenly stunned, then softened in an instant.
Jin Man brushed the snowflakes off his clothes and trotted over: "How long have you been here?"
Lu Yanlin pursed his lips and whispered, "Not long."
He raised his hand and tilted the umbrella towards Jin Man. The snow accumulated on the umbrella fell down and a few grains of snow flew onto his hair.
Lu Zhi held a tiger-headed zodiac doll, tugged at Jin Man's sleeve, and held it high up: "Dad, Happy New Year, and all the best to you."
Jin Man rubbed his hair, took the doll, and picked him up: "Have you eaten?"
Lu Zhi's icy little face slowly turned red. He stretched out his little hands to hug Jin Man, then let go awkwardly and said seriously, "Father said we've already eaten."
"What do you mean he said you've eaten?"
Lu Zhi didn't learn anything else, but he learned to be honest with his father: "Father said that you might not feel comfortable spending the New Year with me, but I miss you so much that we came to give you gifts."
Jin Man looked at Lu Yanlin, and Lu Yanlin gave him a faint smile: "I miss you too."
Jin Man was shocked and felt that he could not stand such blunt words. After a serious illness, Lu Yanlin suddenly had a powerful mouth, and he could speak like a seven-inch cannon.
Even Jin Man, who had been prepared for a long time and prided himself on being as firm as a rock, was stunned.
He was silent for a long time, his body stiff and motionless, scratching his head and saying:
"Well, today is not very convenient..."
Lu Yanlin lowered his eyelashes and said softly, "Hmm," with a hint of imperceptible loss in his voice: "It's okay, I understand."
Lu Zhi refused to give up. He raised his little face with a sincere look in his eyes: "Dad, we won't disturb you for long. Dad even brought you a gift, which he learned to make himself..."
Jin Man's fingers unconsciously clenched the corner of his clothes, and his Adam's apple rolled. He secretly glanced at the exquisitely packaged box in Lu Yanlin's hand, then quickly looked away.
"Why don't you come again on the sixth day of the New Year? I'll treat you to a meal to express my gratitude." He finally managed to say this.
Lu Yanlin listened quietly, his expression growing even darker. After a moment of silence, he pulled out a small blue velvet box from his pocket and handed it to him. "Then we'll give you the gift at the door." He paused, his voice becoming softer. "Happy New Year, and may you be rich."
This simple blessing is like a feather, gently falling on Jin Manxin's heart.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Lu Yanlin's wrist: "Wait!"
Both of them were stunned. Jin Man seemed to be frightened by his own actions, but he still did not let go. He took a deep breath and finally looked directly into Lu Yanlin's eyes:
"...Or, let Lu Zhi stay."
Lu Yanlin: "..."
*
Little Lu Zhi followed Jin Man back to Zhou Yu's house. Duoduo jumped for joy, gave Lu Zhi a big hug, and heartlessly dragged him to set off firecrackers.
Lu Zhi was reluctant to leave Jin Man, but also wanted to go. He raised his head and whispered, "Dad, Dad."
Jin Man didn't restrain him at all. Boys and girls should be energetic: "Go and have fun."
Zhou Yu took a look and asked: "Did this little carrot come alone?"
Jin Man put on an apron and deftly slid the meat slices into the pot, mumbling, "Big Radish sent it."
Zhou Yu gave a thumbs up, not knowing what he wanted to express.
After all the dishes were prepared, the Spring Festival Gala was halfway through.
The children were now completely fighting with each other, playing hide-and-seek and chasing each other, and had no time to eat.
The song "Let Happiness Fly" sounded on TV, and the snow outside was getting heavier.
The adults were drinking and playing cards. Jin Man felt very warm and the smile on his face never disappeared.
He wanted to go outside and build a snowman, and the children raised their hands and followed him.
Jin Man found an iron bucket and a shovel and cleaned up the snow everywhere. The children excitedly reached out to catch the snowflakes. Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky and millions of silver-white meteors fell.
Jin Man's breath condensed into white mist in the cold wind. He covered his ears and looked up a few times. There was white snow everywhere. He found a place with thick snow, bent down and shoveled a few times. Suddenly, his eyes froze at a certain point.
There was a layer of snow on the umbrella, and there was also a lot of snow on the shoulders.
He had his back to Jin Man and was watching the fireworks in the sky.
The slightly tilted umbrella cast a long and lonely shadow on the ground.
Jin Man couldn't tell what he felt. He walked over with the bucket and patted him lightly from behind.
Lu Yanlin looked back, the light of the fireworks flickering in his eyes, reflecting the sudden shock clearly.
Jin Man said stiffly: "Why don't you go home?"
It's been several hours now, in the middle of winter. Don't you want to be as shameless as you are and not care about your life?
Lu Yanlin was stunned for a moment: "I'll leave right away."
Jin Man was silent for a moment, untied his scarf and threw it to him.
"Well, Manman, I'm going back."
Jin Man put his hands in his pockets, stamped his feet, and looked up at the sky and the ground, but not at him: "Go home and cook some dumplings yourself. Aunt Yu makes them every year."
"Okay, I know."
Jin Man glanced at the sky. The highway should still be open. If there was no traffic jam, it wouldn't take too long to get back to Bincheng. He couldn't help but ask, "Can we get home before the Spring Festival Gala?"
“You can watch it in the car.”
"Then go ahead."
Lu Yanlin said: "There is a piece of jade in that box. It's not a very valuable thing. Remember to wear it."
Jin Man had a small velvet box in his pocket. He had just opened it and taken a look. Inside was a small ring made of jade and gold. It was very beautiful, but the originally perfect jade was missing a corner, which made him feel a little regretful.
He didn't understand what it meant, but the old man who lost at the card game saw it and said it looked good on him.
Jin Man: “Why?”
The old man said: "Think about it, when you eat or drink, you are afraid of overloading. If something is too full, it will go downhill. If there is a missing corner, it will be a blessing, good luck, and smooth sailing."
Jin Man said frivolously, "Old man, isn't this just taking advantage of God's loophole?"
The old man said angrily: "Nonsense, these are based on facts and have their own reasons."
Jin Man thought about his own experience and didn't know what to say for a moment. He thought back to the present, touched his nose, nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I understand. I'll see to it."
Lu Yanlin looked at him quietly. He walked a few steps with an umbrella, then suddenly turned back. There was no moon in the sky, and the mountains were covered with snow. He said, "Manman, I really love you."
Jin Man was stunned and stood there blankly.
"I want to start over and pursue you once."
No matter it's one year, two years, five years, or ten years, I will never give up.
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