Chapter 100 New Year's Eve

I heard from old comrades that Xu Jiayuan’s leave was only approved until the third day of the Lunar New Year, and he had to return to the army on the fourth day.

Li Zhan nodded, thought about it, and asked his old comrade to help send an official letter to Tianjin City. He then went to the telegraph station to send a few telegrams before leaving.

It’s better that this bastard is not here during the two days of the New Year, so as not to affect his and his wife’s mood for the New Year!

After returning from the county town, Lizhan continued to build the shed he had built yesterday.

Early in the morning on New Year's Eve, the three little boys got up early and followed Lizhan to paste couplets with paste.

Lizhan lifted up the three kids one by one and asked them to paste the couplets on both sides of the door themselves, which made the three kids giggle.

Xia Juanjuan reminded him with amusement and helplessness: "Be careful, don't fall!"

While reminding me, I couldn't help but think that if Lizhan had his own children in the future, he would definitely be a good father.

Then I immediately thought of Li Zhan’s injury... Alas, what a pity.

In the past two days, she has somewhat given up hope.

At first, she thought that Lizhan's injury might be a rumor. After all, how could someone who was injured in that part of his body remain calm and be as sunny and warm as ever? At least he should be a little gloomy and irritable, right?

But...including last night, this was the fourth time she and Li Zhan had slept in the same bed together. Except for the special situation that night when he helped her warm up her body, Li Zhan never even touched her. He did not look at her or do anything inappropriate.

Either she's not charming enough, or she's just not good at fighting.

It must be the latter!

Wait...what the hell is she thinking?

Didn't she swear in her heart the night before that if Lizhan really hit her, she would kick him off the bed?

Now she blames others for not doing anything to her?

It must be a brain storm!

Xia Juanjuan shook her head, put aside all these unpleasant thoughts, and started making dumplings.

After Lizhan and his three kids put up the couplets and placed a piece of wood at the door as a door bar, they washed their hands and helped make dumplings.

In a short while, two large plates were packed and left outside to freeze in the sub-zero weather.

For lunch, we had mutton noodles. Five pounds of mutton with bones were put into the pot and boiled into thick white mutton soup, and the mutton was sliced.

Then roll the dough into a thin layer, cut it into thin strips with a knife, put it in a pot and cook it. After taking it out, sprinkle it with a handful of boiled baby spinach and directly add hot and thick white lamb soup. Season it with only salt and green onions and coriander, and then put in thick lamb.

In the freezing cold winter, eating this bowl of mutton noodles warms my heart.

In the afternoon, Zhou Qiuhe brought her two daughters and her son Dongbao to visit. Huanhuan, Yingying, and Dongbao were all wearing new clothes, and their little faces were rosy from the cold.

The supply and marketing cooperative in the town has been closed since yesterday and will not reopen until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, so Zhou Qiuhe will also have a holiday.

Director Zheng paid her the salary and work points for the previous month in advance, and also secured for her the benefit of purchasing things at the internal price as a formal employee.

Although it wasn't much cheaper, she was still very flattered.

Zhou Qiuhe wanted to ask if everyone wanted to go to her second brother's house for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Wang Guixiang had seen how powerful Xia Juanjuan was, so she didn't dare to go to her house and be turned away, so she went to find Zhou Qiuhuo.

This is of course what Liu Lan meant. She is afraid that Li Zhan, her most promising son, is becoming more and more distant and cold towards her!

Of course, we should take advantage of the special time of the Chinese New Year to strengthen the relationship between mother and child!

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "I'm not going anyway. I'm used to being alone and I don't like eating with so many people. Besides, she doesn't like me so much, I'm afraid she'll poison me. But I won't stop others from going."

As he said this, he glanced at Li Zhan.

Zhou Qiuhe breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this and said with a smile, "If you don't go, I won't go either! Before we split up, my eldest and I were the ones who prepared the meals for the whole family. We worked so hard, but when the food was served, there was nothing left! It was so infuriating! Let my second sister-in-law do the hard work this time!"

After getting the answer, Zhou Qiuhe chatted for a few more words and then went back.

Li Zhan crossed his shoulders and looked at Xia Juanjuan with a half-smile, and said aggrievedly: "What did you mean just now? It's as if I can catch up with you if you don't go."

Xia Juanjuan blinked innocently and said, "I didn't say your name, why do you take it for granted?"

Lizhan was helpless. She was the one who started the conversation, and now she was ignoring it and saying that he was "taking it for granted"...

Alas... Who says she is your wife? You have to coax her even if you suffer a loss.

"I won't go either. I'll be wherever you are. How can I leave my own home and go somewhere else to celebrate the New Year?"

Xiaowen came up and asked, "Mom, then Xiaowu, Beibei, can we not go to pay New Year's greetings to grandma tomorrow?"

The three little brats hated Liu Lan and Wang Guixiang to the extreme. Normally, they would not even call them when they saw them, let alone kowtow to them and wish them a happy new year.

Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Li Zhan again and said with a smile: "Ask your fourth uncle."

Li Zhan was a little depressed. Why did Xia Juanjuan call her mother but still call him fourth uncle?

But he didn't force them. He raised his hand and rubbed Li Wen's head, saying, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. I won't force you."

Xia Juanjuan looked at Li Zhan and had some doubts in her heart.

In the past, Li Zhan sent almost all of his allowance back home to Liu Lan every year. Logically, he should be very close to his mother, Liu Lan, and be very filial to her.

But looking at his fierce attitude in the past two days, he seemed to be very distant from Liu Lan, which confused her.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just cut Liu Lan’s allowance in half to five yuan.

Although we are going to build a house next year and our three kids are going to school one after another, the expenses will indeed increase a lot.

But if Lizhan was really filial, he would rather let his wife and children suffer than deprive his own mother, right?

Moreover, before the battle, Li Zhan said that his allowance would increase significantly next year...

Xia Juanjuan frowned slightly. She suddenly realized that the man in front of her seemed to be much more complicated than she thought.

The days are short in winter, and the New Year’s Eve dinner is the most sumptuous meal of the year, so preparations begin early.

When dusk falls, it's time to eat.

Fried eggs with baby spinach, fried pork with bamboo shoots, cold mixed black fungus, stir-fried large intestine, steamed sea bass, pickled cabbage, stewed chicken with mushrooms, fried meatballs, two plates of dumplings with various meat fillings, and a meatball and spinach soup.

There were about eight or nine dishes or soups in the meal. Lie Zhan, like the three kids, admired Xia Juanjuan's cooking skills to the extreme.

Before eating, we have to set off firecrackers.

Xia Juanjuan was still afraid, so she stood far away and asked Lizhan to take Xiaowen and Xiaowu to release them.

"Mom, Beibei is scared!" Beibei was young and a little afraid of the crackling sound of firecrackers, so he hid beside Xia Juanjuan and raised his little hands early, trying to cover his ears.

But Beibei looked chubby in the cotton coat, and his short arms couldn't reach his ears when he raised them, so he just couldn't cover them.

Xia Juanjuan couldn't help laughing, and didn't care to cover her own ears, so she covered the little guy's ears with her hands: "Don't be afraid, mommy will cover your ears for you."

The firecrackers popped. Xiaowen and Xiaowu were boys after all, and they were extremely happy surrounding the firecrackers.

Lizhan noticed that his wife was covering Beibei's ears and tilting her head in fear to block the sound with her shoulders. He couldn't help but feel pity and wanted to laugh.

He walked over quickly and covered Xia Juanjuan's ears with his warm hands. He couldn't help but teasing her, "You're already so grown up, but you're still afraid of the sound of firecrackers? So... cute..."

Even though she covered her ears, the sound of firecrackers was still loud. Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, then her face felt a little hot. Then she noticed what Li Zhan said and asked loudly, "Ah? What did you just say?"

Li Zhan smiled, leaned close to her ear, and said through his hand, "Nothing was said."

Xia Juanjuan: “…”

Nothing? How could she lie to a three-year-old child? This man must have said something bad about her!