Chapter 14 Annual Gift
However, Xia Daohua noticed that there were several items in those large and small bags, which were clearly luggage, bedding, etc. And her aunt Liu actually smiled and said loudly to the villagers that those were all brought by them to honor the old couple...
Xia Daohua's impression of Dafang suddenly dropped to freezing point.
It was not known whether the old couple had noticed it or had noticed it but did not mind. They blatantly ignored it and came out cheerfully, shouting for them to come into the house and warm up.
The second aunt, Ms. Sun, and the third aunt, Ms. Wu, both came over enthusiastically, holding the hands of the eldest aunt, Ms. Liu, and asking about her well-being.
Jiang didn't say anything, and Fifth Aunt Cheng also walked forward a few steps and greeted Dalang's wife with a smile.
"Hey, Dalang's wife, come in quickly! Sit down quickly! It's too hard to stand with such a big belly."
"Why……"
Zhu was a little overwhelmed by such enthusiasm, and she looked at her mother-in-law Liu for help.
Liu nodded to her and let go of her hand. She then held onto Cheng's outstretched arm, followed Cheng unsteadily, and slowly moved her somewhat clumsy body into the house.
The men rushed forward and surrounded Xia Dalang:
"Da Lang, you said you haven't come back for such a long time, this time you have to stay for two more days! Come to your uncle's house and have a drink with him! Let your aunt make you meat patties and chive dumplings!"
"Da Lang, your Third Uncle is too stingy. You should come to Second Uncle's house more often. Second Uncle will ask Second Aunt to fry quail for you!"
"Da Lang, your Fifth Aunt brought back two pounds of dried rabbit meat from her parents' home a few days ago. Your Fifth Aunt and I couldn't bear to eat them together, so we saved them all for you!"
Even Xia Youtian cheerfully chimed in, "Da Lang, come and sit with your fourth uncle when you're free. The tofu stewed by your fourth aunt is so delicious!"
Xia Daohua could see that everyone's enthusiasm for Xia Dalang was genuine. Every bright smile on their face was sincere from the bottom of their heart.
Maybe this is the charm of "reading seeds"!
Xia Dalang had a smile on his face and responded to the uncles' enthusiasm gracefully and appropriately, but Xia Daohua keenly noticed his well-concealed arrogance and a bit of impatience.
Everyone gathered around Xia Dalang and talked for a while, then each of them picked up one thing and quickly helped the eldest son move all the things into the house.
The old couple had already arranged to heat the kangs and ventilate the rooms in the main house, and by now both kangs had been heated to a crisp. As soon as I entered the door, I felt a wave of heat rushing towards me, and the frost on the walls, doors and windows melted away.
After the greetings, everyone came in a mighty procession, surrounding the eldest brother's family, to the main landlord's room where the old couple lived.
The old couple sat cross-legged on the kang, and the old man Xia Ping'an kept stroking the boxwood pipe in his hand, but he didn't light a cigarette.
The eldest brother's family knelt down on the ground in a row and kowtowed to the old couple. The whole family said in unison:
"Dad (grandfather), mother (grandmother), you two have worked so hard! Your unfilial son (daughter-in-law/grandson/granddaughter-in-law) kowtows to you!"
Even Dalang's pregnant wife, Zhu, was no exception.
The old couple hurriedly asked them to get up: "Hey, what are you doing? The ground is cold, hurry up, hurry up!"
Amidst the clamor and tears, Xia Daohua heard her second uncle's wife, Sun, whispering in his ear:
"Look at your elder brother, he's really good at making a scene! Why don't you learn from him?"
Xia Daohua used a lot of effort to hold back from bursting out laughing.
After bowing, the eldest brother’s family gave the old couple New Year gifts.
The gifts given to the old man and the old lady were two pieces of silk fabric, two boxes of snacks, and a jar of liquor, and an extra piece of satin fabric was also brought for Xia Yujiao.
The silk fabric was fine, except for the old-fashioned color, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. But the satin fabric given to Xia Yujiao was obviously soaked in water, faded, and then re-dyed, and it was obvious that the dyeing was not very uniform.
Xia Daohua thought Xia Yujiao would be angry, but unexpectedly Xia Yujiao thanked him with a look of joy and took it. That smile didn't seem fake at all.
Xia Youcai smiled and said:
"I bought this material from the silk shop in town. Although it has been soaked in water, it is actually not much worse than the intact new silk, and the price is at least half the price!
We are not a wealthy family, so there is no need to be so particular.
Besides, isn’t this fine material with a few flaws better than the coarse cloth? Aren’t they both the same to wear?”
Zhou laughed, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened. It was obvious that Xia Youcai's words touched her heart:
"The boss is really smart and capable. His work outside is not in vain."
The New Year gifts for the brothers were a bag of fruit and a piece of woolen cloth for each family.
The eldest brother showed deep brotherly love:
"I am usually in town with your sister-in-law, taking care of Dalang's studies and not being able to take care of the family. You have worked hard on weekdays. This little gift is just a token of my appreciation. Don't despise it, my brothers."
"Hey, what are you talking about, brother?"
"We are all family, why should we be so polite? Our parents are not just your parents, we have our share, right? Isn't it our responsibility to take care of our parents?"
"That's right, that's right. Big brother, are you treating us as outsiders when you say that? We are all brothers who came from the same mother!"
It was another noisy and lively occasion.
Xia Daohua felt that she probably had not yet fully adapted to this new identity.
So when others were happily reminiscing about the past and greeting each other enthusiastically, she seemed like an indifferent audience member who was watching a TV series that she was not very interested in, separated by a screen.
Although I was clearly in it, it felt like my soul had flown thousands of miles away.
A lonely expression appeared on Xia Daohua's little face, which was extremely inconsistent with her age.
Jiang saw Xia Daohua raising and lowering her head and thought that she was probably sleepy. She quietly walked over to say something to old lady Zhou and said a few words to Xia Youtian. Then she picked up Xia Daohua and sent her back to the house.
When Lihua, Goro and Linghua saw this, they all tiptoed back.
Seeing that all of the Fourth Brother's family except Xia Youtian had left, Xia Youcai and Liu were somewhat dissatisfied: "Oh, Fourth Brother, it's been a while since we last met. Your temper has improved!"
Xia Youtian rubbed his hands awkwardly and explained a little awkwardly:
"Hey, brother and sister-in-law, didn't Daohua hurt her head a few days ago?
Just now, this child's head was nodding and her face was a little pale, so I asked Jiang to send her back.
The children couldn't help but be concerned, so they all went over to take a look."
After hearing this, Xia Youcai's expression eased a little, but Liu became more uncomfortable.
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(End of this chapter)
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