Many children arrived one after another, some of whom were children from relatives' homes. Xiao Yunying gave each of them a purse containing six copper coins.
The other children were each given two copper coins, along with a handful of snacks.
Luo Chen and the others have already returned. They didn't visit many houses, but their arms were stuffed full of things.
After placing the items on the table, the children took turns explaining who had given them to them.
The Yang family put twenty coins in each of the children's purses, totaling eighty coins for the four children—a truly generous gesture.
Her family was even more extravagant; her father, mother, and two sisters-in-law each gave her a purse, each one quite heavy.
Upon closer inspection, each of the purses given by her parents contained thirty coins, and her two sisters-in-law each gave her twenty-five coins.
Judging from the number, it must have been discussed beforehand. Xiao Yunying casually picked up a purse and weighed it in her hand, wondering what her parents and sister-in-law would think when they saw the purses she had given to her nephews and nieces.
Luo Chen assumed Xiao Yunying's thoughtfulness meant she disapproved of them accepting the purse, and tried to explain, "Mother, we didn't want it..."
The problem is that the elders are all too enthusiastic, and they really can't refuse.
Xiao Yunying put down the purse: "If you've accepted it, then accept it. This was given to you by your elders. Find a place to put it and don't lose it."
"Mother, you should keep it."
Xiao Yunying ruffled Luo Chen's hair: "Why would I keep the New Year's money given to you? It's not for me. You can keep it yourselves."
At this point, Xiao Yunying paused. If she hadn't been struck by lightning and arrived here, she could have safely gone home for the New Year and received lucky money from her parents.
She shook her head slightly; she shouldn't think about these things, as it would only intensify her homesickness.
Quickly banishing the sad thoughts from her mind, Xiao Yunying stood up and said, "It seems another child has arrived. I'll go take a look."
As noon approached, after seeing off the last group of children who came to pay their respects, Xiao Yunying waited for a while at the entrance of the reception room. After confirming that no one else was coming for the time being, she breathed a sigh of relief, sat down, and drank a sip of the chrysanthemum tea that Luo Yang had brewed for her.
Xiao Yunying muttered to herself, "I never realized there were so many children in the village before, but after today's round, there are quite a few."
Luo Chen poured her some water: "Mother, you don't need to give each person two copper coins. With so many people, it adds up to quite a lot."
Xiao Yunying held the cup to warm her hands and said, "Don't be reluctant. A few copper coins in exchange for some goodwill is not a loss."
"Our family will be planting vegetables in the spring. It's such a large plot of land; there are bound to be areas we can't see, and we can't watch over it all the time. Maintaining good relationships with the villagers will save us a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Only after hearing Xiao Yunying's reminder did Luo Chen understand why she did this.
"I see."
Xiao Yunying finished her water in two gulps, stood up and said, "I'll go cook. We'll have to eat the leftovers from last night. You guys don't mind, right?"
"I'll go and start a fire for Mother."
Xiao Yunying was busy cooking in the kitchen when she heard Duan Yingying's voice coming from the doorway.
"Sister Yunying, I brought my sister to wish you a Happy New Year."
Xiao Yunying wiped the water off her hands: "Why are you so late? I thought you weren't coming."
Duan Yingying said shyly, "I thought there would be a lot of people coming to visit Sister Yunying's house for the New Year, so I thought I would come a little later so that you wouldn't have too many people to take care of."
As she spoke, Duan Yingying squeezed Duan Xiaoxiao's palm. Duan Xiaoxiao immediately understood, clasped her hands together, and said, "Happy New Year, Sister Yunying... um..."
She paused for a moment, then looked up at Duan Yingying with a scrunched-up face: "Sister, I forgot about the rest..."
The little girl patted her head in frustration. She had clearly carried it all the way, but how could she have forgotten it as soon as she entered Sister Yunying's kitchen and smelled the aroma?
Xiao Yunying was amused by her cute appearance and pinched her cheek: "Happy New Year, Xiaoxiao is so cute. Here, here's your lucky money."
As he spoke, he took out two purses from his bosom and put one in each of their hands.
"Sister Yunying, I can't accept this."
"It's Chinese New Year, don't try to pull me along. There are just some dried fruit and candies inside, don't be afraid to take them."
Xiao Yunying shoved the purse she had given Duan Xiaoxiao directly into her arms: "Hold it carefully, don't drop it."
Inside, just like the Yang family twins, were ten copper coins. She didn't give too many, otherwise, given Duan Yingying's personality, she would have returned them when she saw them.
Seeing her older sister nod, Duan Xiaoxiao dared to accept the gift: "Thank you, Sister Yunying."
As the little girl spoke, she involuntarily swallowed.
Suppressing a laugh, Xiao Yunying asked, "Has anyone cooked at home?"
Duan Yingying replied, "Mother said we should do it after we finish paying our New Year's respects to Sister Yunying and go back."
Winter is cold, and food cools down quickly. She didn't know how long she would stay at Sister Yunying's house, so she discussed it with her mother and decided to cook when she got back.
"Perfect timing, my food is almost ready. I made too much last night and didn't finish it. A lot of the dishes are still untouched. Let me serve you some."
"Really, there's no need, Sister Yunying. We're here to pay our respects for the New Year, not to..." freeload.
"What, you're disgusted? There are a few dishes that we haven't touched at all, they're clean. If it weren't for the custom of leaving some food on New Year's Eve, I wouldn't have left so much food."
"I don't mind... I don't mind..."
Besides that sentence, Duan Yingying didn't know what else to say.
The food at Sister Yunying's house is exquisite and delicious, with both vegetables and meat, so how could she possibly complain?
"Wait a moment, it will be ready soon."
Xiao Yunying returned to the stove, reheated the stir-fried dishes that hadn't been touched the night before, and put them into the food box along with a large plate of freshly cooked dumplings.
He shoved the food container into Duan Yingying's hands and urged her to leave: "Hurry up and go home, so the food won't get cold and we'll have to reheat it."
Seeing her younger sister swallow hard, Duan Yingying stopped refusing and secretly made a decision: when she came to Sister Yunying's house in a few days, she would definitely do more work to repay Sister Yunying.
After seeing the two sisters off, Xiao Yunying called the children to have a meal.
With nothing to do in the afternoon, she would gather the children around the stove and chat, telling them various short stories at their insistence.
Not long after, Fang Rou brought her two sons to chat with Xiao Yunying.
She said that the men in the Yang family had drunk too much at noon and were talking nonsense and bragging at home, and that she found it too noisy.
Xiao Yunying understood that Fang Rou was actually worried that she was too lonely at home alone, so she came to keep her company.
As evening approached, Fang Rou took her son home, and Xiao Yunying closed the gate early.
Tomorrow is the second day of the Lunar New Year, which is the day when married daughters bring their husbands and children back to their parents' home to pay New Year's visits.
There's a big meal at noon, commonly known as the "New Year's Eve dinner," which keeps us busy, so we need to go to bed early, get up early, and go help out.
So after dinner, we chatted around the stove for a while to digest, and then we put the children to bed early.
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