Chapter 39 My Daughter is My Own (Part 9) A Guide to Pampering My Wife and Daughter...
Time flies, and on the third day of the Lunar New Year, just as dawn was breaking, the fire in Uncle Song's stove illuminated the entire kitchen.
The sunlight streamed generously through the windows, bathing the houses in the village in a soft, warm glow. This year's New Year's feast was held at Uncle Song's house, so early in the morning, Uncle Song's courtyard was even more lively than during the actual New Year celebrations.
This New Year's Eve dinner, scheduled for the third day of the Lunar New Year, is a major event that the Song family has been eagerly anticipating.
At this moment, Song Ce and Liang Qiulan were having breakfast in their parents' courtyard. Red peppers drying under the eaves swayed in the wind, indicating that although the sun was shining brightly today, the howling north wind was quite strong.
A moment later, Aunt Song's cheerful voice broke the tranquility of the courtyard.
"Sister-in-law! This year, the Song family's annual feast will be prepared at my house. You should pack your things and come with my brother to help prepare! Qiulan doesn't need to come along. It's more important for her to stay home and look after Rourou. She can go with Ce around lunchtime so they can make it in time!"
"Alright! Coming right away!" Song's mother put down the large bowl of porridge she had finished drinking and instructed the couple, "I won't be able to wash the dishes in time, so you two can take care of cleaning up the rice bowls."
"Mom, don't worry, go ahead." Liang Qiulan smiled gently and said, "We'll clean up after we finish eating."
Mother Song went home with Aunt Song. At this time, in the center of Aunt Song's yard, a large iron pot was steadily placed on a makeshift earthen stove. The chopped firewood crackled and popped in the stove, reflecting the red glow on the face of the chef in charge of cooking.
The cook's surname was Feng, and he was a famous "culinary master" in the village. At this moment, Chef Feng was wielding a large iron spatula in his hand, and fragrant meat and vegetables were simmering inside. The aroma of the meat and vegetables in the big pot was so tempting that people swallowed their saliva.
The Song family children laughed and frolicked among the tables and chairs, clutching the candies Song Ce had brought back to the Song family relatives after returning to the village. They popped one into their mouths every now and then, leaving a few candies on their lips. Looking at their mother who was coming over, they asked, "Grandma, when is our Uncle Ce coming over?"
"Don't be impatient, you naughty kids. Your uncle will come over after he finishes tidying up the house," Song's mother replied with a smile.
"Okay, then we'll wait for Uncle Ce at the door!" the children shouted in unison, their laughter clear and loud.
"Children, be careful, don't bump into anything!" A young woman in a red cotton-padded jacket came out of the house, carrying a plate of freshly cooked meatballs. She dodged the children while scolding them with a smile.
"Xiao Jie's family!"
"Oh, isn't this Auntie? Now that my brother is a big boss, Auntie isn't putting on airs and has come to help out. Looks like my third auntie has more influence!" the daughter-in-law joked with a smile.
Song Xiaojie's wife praised both of them with a single sentence, and Song San's aunt smiled as brightly as a flower: "My niece-in-law Meiling really knows how to talk. When is your Xiaojie coming over?"
"He's still busy at home with the tasks assigned by his big boss. The big boss has taken a liking to him, so we can't be arrogant. We have to finish the things we're supposed to do for him, even if it's the New Year!" You Meiling said with a smile.
"Xiao Jie is successful outside, and you manage the household perfectly. You're truly blessed!" Song's mother said a few kind words, and then the three of them happily went into the kitchen to work.
The women working gathered around, helping each other pick vegetables and wash dishes while chatting about everyday life.
"Don't underestimate our young man Ce just because he's a college dropout. He's a real big boss now!"
"That's right! That kid has been so promising since he was little; he's destined for great things!"
"Did you all know? Our Song family's Miaozi missed the college entrance exam this year because of illness, right? If he had taken the exam normally, he would definitely have been the first college student from our Song family!"
"Alas, life is unpredictable! Fifth Uncle did want Miaozi to repeat a year, but that child is sensible and refused to let her family borrow money to support her studies. She's thinking of going to the city to work after the New Year!"
"You don't know yet, do you? Ce went to Uncle Wu's house on the first day of junior high school and left Miaozi the tuition for repeating a year. He said that as long as the children in the family study hard and become successful, he is willing to pay for all their future tuition!" Aunt Song said proudly.
Upon hearing this, the women began to shower Song's mother with compliments. Song's relatives, who had children around the same age as Song Ce, looked at Song's mother with envy.
As noon approached, the Song family's relatives gradually arrived. Uncle Song and Father Song went to the gate of the courtyard and lit three rows of neatly arranged firecrackers while chatting and laughing. The crowd watching at the gate was all beaming with joy.
Song Xiaojie stared intently at the scene before him. In previous years, he was always invited by the host to set off firecrackers at the family's New Year's Eve feast. This year, seeing that Song Ce had become successful, this Third Uncle of Song didn't hesitate to fawn over him, truly knowing how to suck up to Song Ce's family.
After all the Song family relatives arrived, the New Year's feast began. The first dishes served were eight cold dishes: cold pork liver salad, preserved egg and tofu, hand-torn sausage, fried peanuts, cucumber and dried tofu rolls, cold vermicelli salad, celery and dried bean curd, and an indispensable canned yellow peach.
After the cold dishes were served, a series of steaming hot home-style vegetarian dishes were brought to the table, including stir-fried garlic sprouts, stir-fried green beans, stir-fried mushrooms, shredded pork with eggs and vegetables, tofu with green peppers, stir-fried bean sprouts with pork, hot and sour potatoes, and stir-fried cabbage with vinegar.
Finally, meat dishes were served, such as braised fish, stewed ribs, braised pork belly, braised pork hock, braised pork belly, chicken stew with mushrooms, meatballs, and fried shrimp. These are the eight typical meat dishes in the village.
The most successful person in the Song family now is naturally Song Ce. The Song family relatives surrounded him and sat him at the main table, while Song Xiaojie happily sat down beside him. After everyone, young and old, was seated in the room, the host, Uncle Song, raised his glass and said, "I'm not very educated, so I'll just say one thing: everyone, eat and drink well!" The Song family relatives also raised their glasses in response.
After the New Year's Eve dinner party, there was no need for formalities anymore, and everyone picked up their chopsticks and began to eat heartily.
"Chef Feng's cooking skills are absolutely amazing!"
"Mom, give me another bowl of rice!"
"It's a new year again! Everyone, eat your fill! Eat more!"
The house was filled with praise and urging people to eat, creating a lively atmosphere. The rich aroma of wine mingled with the sweet scent of beverages, slowly permeating the air. The men laughed heartily, and the women chatted about the interesting things that had happened throughout the year. Laughter emanated from the house, as if trying to dispel all the troubles of the day with this festive New Year's feast.
In the midst of the banquet, Song Xiaojie stood up, beaming, and said, "Today is a good day, and this is a small token of my appreciation for our Song family!"
He got up and went to the outer room, then came back in with a bright yellow box covered in English lettering.
"Nephew, what is this?" Uncle Song asked loudly, still quite drunk.
"These are cell-activating pills that our big boss brought back from Hong Kong. They're imported from the US, and even the rich in Hong Kong have to pull strings to buy them! You can't buy them in China right now! Our big boss saw that I've been working hard all these years, so he gave me a big box. Apparently, an old lady in Hong Kong had tuberculosis, and after taking a few courses of treatment, she was completely cured! Not only that, but after she recovered, even her black hair grew back!"
"Wow! Jie! This is a miracle drug! It can even cure tuberculosis?" an elder from the Song family exclaimed in amazement.
"Second Uncle, you don't know this, do you?" Song Xiaojie proudly pulled out a "medical report" from the packaging box and said, "This is a report issued by a doctor at a major hospital in the United States. It is said that this doctor used to be the private doctor of a high-ranking official in the United States. He is very capable!"
Upon hearing this, the Song family relatives all exclaimed in surprise. Song Ce saw his second great-uncle take a box of cell activation medicine with trembling hands and carefully stroke the gold-embossed English medicine logo on the box.
"Today is the Song family's annual feast, and I was thinking of simply distributing this medicine to our relatives for free, okay..." At this point, Song Xiaojie suddenly started coughing violently, and the people next to him quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath.
"Don't worry about me, it's just an old ailment from work..." Song Xiaojie said haltingly, then opened a box in front of everyone and swallowed two pills. The blue veins on his neck that had been coughing up subsided at a visible speed, and the coughing stopped.
"Jie! What's wrong with you?" Second Uncle asked hurriedly.
"It's an old problem. I've been having too many social engagements since I started working, and I've been smoking so much that I've ruined my throat. Big hospitals can't cure this, so I listened to my boss and took a course of cell-activating medicine. My cough is much better than usual now."
"Good heavens, this is truly a miracle drug!" a relative murmured in amazement.
“These pills are so valuable, how can we, as elders, take them for free?” said an old woman wearing a headscarf.
“Yes, his sixth great-aunt is right, Jie, this was given to you by your big boss. If we all take it, what will you eat? Listen to your uncle, we can’t let our relatives take it for nothing. How much do you want? We’ll buy it with money!” an uncle shouted.
"Uncle, we're family, why are you talking about money? That's too formal!" Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Song Xiaojie's smile became even more sincere.
After listening to Song Xiaojie's rant, the elderly ladies at the next table started taking out handkerchiefs from their pockets—they contained the retirement money they had saved up for most of their lives.
"Alright then! Dear elders and relatives, I'll open a box now for you all to try. If you like it, then we can talk about buying more. If you don't like it, then we'll save the money, right?" Song Xiaojie said loudly.
Everyone agreed upon hearing this. Song Xiaojie had originally wanted to miss out on Song Ce, but since he was now sitting in the main seat, he had no choice but to open two pills and hand them over.
“Brother, you’re the most promising one in our family right now. Why don’t you set an example for our elders and try this medicine?” Song Xiaojie said with a smile.
Song Ce watched Song Xiaojie's trick with a smile on his face, and then his hands didn't stop, picking up several mouthfuls of celery and putting them in his mouth.
“No problem, Brother Xiao Jie.” Song Ce gave him a caring smile.
Feeling a slight itch on his skin, he knew from the story that the original owner could eat anything except celery. Every time he ate a few extra bites of celery, he would experience shortness of breath, red and itchy skin, and in severe cases, he would convulse and eventually vomit blood. To avoid worrying his parents and wife, the original owner had never mentioned this to his family.
Fortunately, Song Ce's celery allergy also gave him a lot of room to maneuver.
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Author's Note: We've got our hands on this, and we'll expose Song Xiaojie's tricks soon! My daughter story is probably only three or four chapters away from ending. The third story's votes are all tied, so everyone hurry up and vote! Go for the stories you want to see! Thanks again to all my lovely readers for the comments, likes, and favorites. Happy New Year! Sending you all love!
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