Hongyu went to Aunt Hao's house for New Year's Eve. He was hanging his head and limping.
When Aunt Hao saw this, she asked worriedly, "Little Feather, what happened? Did you hurt your leg?"
Hearing Aunt Hao's concerned words, Hongyu raised her head, looking at her with a pitiful expression, seeking comfort: "Grandma Hao..."
Xing Zhaozhao glared at her: "You caused this mess yourself, what are you complaining about?"
Hongyu lowered his head again.
Aunt Hao felt sorry for him when she saw his pitiful little face. She hugged him tightly and looked at Xing Zhaozhao disapprovingly, saying, "It's the New Year, there's no need to do this."
Xing Zhaozhao sighed helplessly: "It's the New Year, and I didn't want to hit him, but who knew he would cause so much trouble."
"You didn't have to beat him like that, did you? I hope you didn't break his leg?" Aunt Hao said worriedly, touching Hongyu's leg.
"I didn't hit his legs, only his buttocks. His buttocks hurt, but he wasn't seriously injured," Xing Zhaozhao said. She was strong, but she knew her limits.
Aunt Hao was worried, so she carried him into the house and checked him over. Only after confirming that he was alright did she feel relieved.
After being beaten, Hongyu remained listless and in low spirits until it got dark and fireworks began to be set off. His spirits lifted again, but unfortunately, his bottom hurt, so he couldn't go out to play with the other children in the village. Luckily, his older brother was there to keep him company.
They stayed up all night to welcome the New Year. The children couldn't stay awake and soon all fell asleep, slumped over. Hongyu's bottom hurt, so he couldn't sit up and snuggled up in his brother's arms. The heavy weight of his brother made Hongyu's little brows furrow even though he was asleep.
Xing Zhaozhao reached out and picked up the little one.
Perhaps it was the scent of his mother that made Hongyu shudder slightly, still feeling a bit scared. He snuggled into Xing Zhaozhao's arms, frowned, and muttered, "Mom, I'm sorry."
Xing Zhaozhao's heart tightened, and she lowered her head to gently kiss him: "It's alright."
The little guy's furrowed brows finally relaxed.
After staying up late into the night, Xing Zhaozhao couldn't stay awake any longer and drifted off to sleep next to her three little ones.
She had only been asleep for a short while when it got light. The continuous sounds of firecrackers and firecrackers quickly woke Xing Zhaozhao up.
After paying New Year's respects to everyone in the village with Aunt Hao and the others, Xing Zhaozhao took her three children home to go back to sleep.
"Knock knock knock".
I had just fallen asleep when I was woken up by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
"Who is it again?" Xing Zhaozhao reluctantly got up from the kang (a heated brick bed).
Hearing the noise, Hongfei rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up: "Mom?"
"It's okay, you can go back to sleep." Xing Zhaozhao reassured him, watched him lie down and continue sleeping, and then turned and left.
She opened the door and saw a woman standing outside, smiling at her. Xing Zhaozhao was stunned for a moment.
She was a stranger, as she had a face that resembled hers by seven or eight points; yet, she seemed to have never seen her before.
"Sister Zhao Zhao?" the woman called out as soon as she saw her.
"Who are you?" Xing Zhaozhao frowned and asked.
"I'm Lin Wan, your cousin from your eldest uncle's family. Your mother is my aunt." Lin Wan looked at her and said with a smile, "My family has always said that I look like my aunt since I was little. I didn't believe it before, but after meeting you today, I know that it's true. If the two of us walked out together, people would probably think we were sisters."
Xing Zhaozhao then realized that it was someone from the Lin family.
Her mother wasn't close to her maternal family. After marrying her father, she almost completely severed ties with them. Consequently, she and her brother weren't familiar with the Lin family either; they had almost never met them. Although they were related by blood, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were strangers.
Thinking back to the resentment Hao Xiuning showed when she mentioned the Lin family, Xing Zhaozhao felt inexplicably resistant to the Lin family members who had suddenly come to her door.
"Oh, is there something you need?" Xing Zhaozhao asked Lin Wan with a calm expression.
Lin Wan seemed surprised by Xing Zhaozhao's cold attitude. She paused for a moment, then quickly smiled and said, "Oh, our family recently moved to town. We heard you married into Xiaogaozhuang a long time ago. Since we're so close this year, we brought the kids to wish you a Happy New Year."
As she spoke, Lin Wan tugged at the two little girls beside her, one big and one small, who both looked like her: "These are my two daughters, the older one is called Xia Xia and the younger one is called Qiu Xia. Come on, Xia Xia, Qiu Xia, call your auntie."
The two little girls looked up at Xing Zhaozhao and obediently called out, "Auntie."
Faced with the innocent eyes of the two little girls, Xing Zhaozhao was unsure whether to respond or not.
She wanted to agree, but she didn't want to have anything to do with the Lin family at all. If she didn't agree, she felt a little embarrassed in front of the two young girls.
"Mmm." After struggling for a moment, Xing Zhaozhao finally agreed and casually gave each of the two girls a small red envelope containing one cent.
The two little girls' eyes lit up instantly.
Lin Wan casually tossed the two red envelopes aside and took them away: "Hurry up and thank your aunt."
"Thank you, Auntie," the two little girls said in unison.
"Since we're already here, won't you invite us in for a seat?" Lin Wan asked Xing Zhaozhao with a smile.
After saying that, without waiting for Xing Zhaozhao to say anything, she pulled the two girls inside and went into the room on her own, talking to herself.
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