Chapter 13, the Lunar New Year
I had a restless night amidst the sound of firecrackers.
I don't know who started this year, but there are firecrackers going off every now and then in the middle of the night, especially the string of firecrackers at six in the morning, which are the loudest. Even Luo Hong, who is usually a heavy sleeper, couldn't escape being woken up.
The moment he opened his eyes, he thought he was in his own room, wondering how bright it was that day. After a moment of surprise, he realized that light was coming through the curtains and muttered, "Looks like this room isn't so great after all."
Luo Yan was unaware that her room was being disliked. She was happily eating peanuts in the living room, glancing at the clock out of the corner of her eye, calculating when to wake her brother.
The next second, Luo Hong appeared.
He was still somewhat dazed when his sister, standing in the living room, startled him so much that he almost choked: "Why didn't you turn on the lights?"
As dawn broke, Luo Yan said, "I'm just eating a peanut, what's the big deal?"
Then he asked, "Why are you up so early? Are you having trouble sleeping in your new bed?"
Luo Hong rubbed his neck: "Do I look like the kind of person who would have this kind of problem?"
Luo Yan thought so too. She threw a handful of peanut shells into the coal stove as fuel, clapped her hands, and stood up: "Do you want some glutinous rice balls? I'll go cook some."
Luo Hong: "It's only a few o'clock, how much do you want to eat?"
Luo Yan pointed to her parents' room: "My parents and I have all eaten, but you haven't."
Luo Hong raised his wrist in disbelief: "Is my watch running slower than yours?"
Why is everyone up so early?
Luo Yan blinked and asked only, "Are you going to eat or not?"
Luo Hong nodded: "Did Mom and Dad go out?"
Luo Yan: "Yeah, they said someone in Dongzhuang was selling mutton, so I went to queue up."
The family consists of four people, and there are chickens and fish in the kitchen that they bought and raised a few days ago.
Luo Hong: "No, is it absolutely necessary to eat this mutton?"
Luo Yan: "Mom said the New Year's Eve dinner must be plentiful."
The food was prepared so lavishly that I don't know how many times these dishes will need to be reheated over the next three days.
It wasn't that Luo Hong was a picky eater, but he really felt that repeatedly reheated food had a certain smell. He pinched his nose and said, "It's awful."
Luo Yan: "If Mom hears this, she'll definitely hit you on the head."
This is also considered unlucky by adults.
Luo Hong clenched his fist: "I'll knock your fist first, believe it or not."
Luo Yancai wasn't afraid of him, stuck out her tongue, and went into the kitchen.
Luo Hong carried the basin to the yard to wash up, shivering from the cold wind. When he came back inside, he couldn't help but ask again, "Is it really necessary to eat this mutton?"
Luo Yan: "Can Mom listen to us when she makes a decision?"
He shrugged again: "We're all the same in our family, we're all very opinionated."
Luo Hong suspected she knew something, so he didn't dare to respond and awkwardly scratched his face.
Luo Yan was always good at finding fault with her brother, and she looked at him strangely, as if she sensed something was wrong.
Feeling guilty, Luo Hong rambled on, "Are the dumplings ready yet?"
Luo Yan: "Are you still half asleep? Where did these dumplings come from?"
Luo Hong stubbornly insisted, "I meant glutinous rice balls. You misheard me."
Luo Yancai wouldn't be fooled by him, but she just assumed her brother was still asleep and said, "Eat quickly so we can put up the Spring Festival couplets."
The brother and sister were busy doing chores according to the family's long-standing traditions.
Once the sun had peeked out a little, everyone carried their basins to the public bathhouse.
In broad daylight, Luo Hong finished washing up first and went home with his still-damp hair, without waiting for his sister to come out.
Liu Yinfeng and her husband had already started stewing the mutton. They were sitting in the living room around the stove, listening to the radio and eating sunflower seeds. When they saw that only their son had come back, they asked, "Where's my sister?"
Luo Hong: "I sold him to a remote mountain village."
He was still rambling on during the New Year, and Liu Yinfeng was too lazy to even scold him: "Go away."
Luo Hong: "Alright, I'm going out for a bit."
As soon as he left, Luo Xinmin also stood up: "I'm going to wish the old squad leader a Happy New Year."
There's no need to worry about the son, but I do need to say a few words about the husband.
Liu Yinfeng: "You must come back for lunch, unlike last year."
Luo Xinmin: "If you keep me here this year, I'll crawl back even if I have to."
Liu Yinfeng said irritably, "You're lucky you can even walk back with that leg, let alone crawl."
Luo Xinmin felt no qualms about what she said. The couple chatted and laughed for a while, and neither of them noticed their daughter entering the house.
Luo Yan's cough reminded everyone: "I'm back!"
"If he's coming back, he's coming back," Liu Yinfeng said, hanging the New Year's gifts on her husband's only remaining hand. "But don't bring back other people's things. Their family has had a hard enough time."
Luo Xinmin understood this basic social etiquette, and as he walked out, he said, "Yanyan, dry your hair a little."
Luo Yan nodded in agreement, went into her room to get a book, and then came out to sit by the coal stove.
As Liu Yinfeng watched her husband slowly walk out of the yard, she turned around and casually turned on the living room light.
Suddenly, her vision brightened, and Luo Yan instinctively covered her eyes. After adjusting for a moment, she said, "Mom, if you want to go out, go ahead. I'll watch the fire."
The mutton needs to be simmered over low heat for three hours. Liu Yinfeng glanced at her watch and said, "Then I'll go for a walk. You can check the pot every now and then to see if it's burned dry."
Luo Yan: "Okay."
She should have done so, but fearing she might forget, she simply checked it every two pages.
On the third time, someone outside shouted, "It's snowing!"
There's a saying that goes, "A timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest."
Luo Yan thought she should go out and take a look, and immediately saw Li Hongyu shouting excitedly.
The little girl came from the south and probably had never seen such a scene before. She was being held by her mother and her legs were kicking back and forth.
Li Jianhong looked at the mother and daughter, her face cold, and took off her scarf, almost wrapping it around half of the child's body, saying, "Let her get down and run around."
Zheng Sanmei always felt inferior when facing her aunt, and could only stammer and be unable to speak. She let go of her daughter and put her on the ground.
Li Hongyu took a few steps and fell down, but she struggled to her feet, making the little girl laugh heartily.
Luo Yan laughed along with her, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw two children from the Wu family in the west wing taking the hands of the new girl. The children, who were about the same age, quickly started playing together.
Overjoyed, she went back inside, took out a handful of candy, and distributed it to everyone.
The children all had sweet words, calling her older sister "Auntie" and everyone wanted to stand close to her.
Luo Yan wasn't very popular among her peers when she was young, but she never expected to have such an honor as she grew up, so she pinched their cheeks to show her affection.
However, she didn't lose herself in this happiness. She made sure to go back to watch the pot and rub her cold hands by the stove.
The aroma of mutton wafted through the air, not jarring amidst the fragrant aroma that filled the yard, and even attracted two stray dogs.
Before the puppy even barked, the children started shouting, "Woof woof, woof woof woof!"
Luo Yan heard everything without even going outside, and thought to herself that it was hard to say who the dog was.
People say that cats bring wealth and dogs bring fortune. However, Old Master Chen, the head of the main house, had been experiencing fluctuating health in the twelfth lunar month. The Chen family felt this was an ominous sign and took pity on the two dogs.
Now, several families live in each courtyard. There used to be a lot of conflicts over keeping cats and dogs. The most serious one even involved knives. Later, the neighborhood committee stipulated that anyone who wanted to keep a cat or dog had to get the consent of everyone in the courtyard.
When the Chen family knocked on the door, Luo Yan looked at the two little yellow puppies, only a few months old and not shy around in the yard, and said, "Aunt Chen, my parents aren't home."
She's a child; she shouldn't be making decisions for herself.
Aunt Chen: "Then let's wait until your mother comes back before we talk about it."
He gave her another handful of candy: "Happy New Year!"
It's not customary to pass things around during Chinese New Year, especially when it comes to gifts from elders.
Luo Yan accepted the gift readily: "Thank you, Auntie, and Happy New Year to you too."
Aunt Chen went to the next house in order, and chatted with Aunt Li for a while in the back room before leaving.
Luo Yan wondered if anyone would disagree, and reached out to catch a snowflake.
The snow quickly melted into water, leaving a wet patch on my palm.
This scene is perfect for composing poems and couplets.
Luo Yan regretted that she had no literary talent and wondered how the ancients understood the rules of rhyme and meter. She was also glad that she was not going to participate in the imperial examination.
Those things unrelated to studying briefly flashed through her mind and then vanished without a trace.
Perhaps it was because of the Chinese New Year, Luo Yan's mind was blank at the moment and she just wanted to stand there, leaning against the door frame.
Luo Hong returned from visiting neighbors and waved his hand in front of his sister, saying, "Are you acting as a door god here?"
Luo Yan punched her brother on the shoulder: "You're blocking my view of the snow."
Snow happens every year, what's so special about it?
Luo Hong didn't see the difference: "Look at your face, it's frozen."
Luo Yan sniffed, thinking she might catch another cold, and retreated back inside.
Luo Hong was surprised to find that only she was home: "Mom and Dad haven't come back yet?"
Not long after the question was asked, Luo Xinmin and his wife arrived one after the other.
The family of four gathered together and spent the last day of the lunar calendar this year.
A note from the author:
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Happy weekend!
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