Chapter 50 Spring Festival 1974
At twelve o'clock sharp, firecrackers rang out in the family compound, and 1974 arrived.
Lin Momo and Cheng Jinghao lit firecrackers together. This was their first New Year here and also their first New Year after getting married.
The crackling sound of firecrackers resounded through the sky, and the two smiled at each other.
The soldiers and their families in the family compound come from all over the country, and there are no specific rules for celebrating the New Year. They just visit each other's houses, you bring two candies, I grab a handful of melon seeds, and have some fun.
Early in the morning, Lin Momo placed melon seeds, fruit candies and small twisted dough sticks on the table in the main hall. These were already very good things to entertain guests during the Chinese New Year in this era.
"You stay at home, it's cold outside." Cheng Jinghao added more coal to the coal stove in the main room.
He then filled the thermos with boiling water. There would be guests coming to his house today, so he had to prepare more boiling water.
"Shengli and I will go to the old man's place first, then take a look around and come back."
"Don't I have to go?" Lin Momo held him back. She had called Commander Chen "dad" yesterday.
"Do you want to go?" Cheng Jinghao looked at her.
She blinked, her eyes revealing longing. Such a kind old man, she wanted to go and wish him a happy New Year.
As for the greenhouse and farming, it would be fine for Lin Momo to go there.
"Then let's go to Political Commissar Cao's house." Cheng Jinghao said, and then he sent her back. It didn't matter whether she went to other people's houses or not.
"Okay." Lin Momo nodded.
She followed Cheng Jinghao, Sheng Li and Xu Gang to visit Commander Chen's home to wish him a happy new year, and she also followed them in calling him Commander.
However, when leaving, Commander Chen put a lot of candies into Cheng Jinghao's pocket. Sheng Li and the others thought it was because she was a female comrade and not very old, so they didn't think much about it.
They went to Political Commissar Cao's house again, and Zhou Weihong also packed a lot of candy for Lin Momo.
When they came back from Political Commissar Cao, Lin Momo and Cheng Jinghao's pockets were full of candy.
Cheng Jinghao took out the candy from his pocket and said, "I'm going to visit some of my comrades' homes and will be back soon."
"Okay." Lin Momo nodded with candy in her mouth.
"Eat less, or you'll have bad teeth." Cheng Jinghao touched her head and said lovingly.
"If I have bad teeth, it's all thanks to you." She said with a smile, squinting her eyes.
"Then I won't give you candy from now on?"
"It's New Year's Day yet." Lin Momo put away her candy, fearing that he would take it away.
"Haha, I'll go then."
"Uh-huh."
Because their house is at the end of the family compound, people don't come so early.
When Cheng Jinghao came back, her pockets were full of candies again, including her favorite White Rabbit and cinnamon oil candies.
"Where did all the candies come from?" She knew that Cheng Jinghao would not take the initiative to go to other people's homes to get candies.
"You two good sisters asked me to bring it to you."
After he said this, Lin Momo knew that it was Liu Qian and Luo Yumei who gave it to him.
"Did I ask you to secretly give the red envelopes to the children?"
Because I know Liu Qian and Luo Yumei will stay at home to take care of the children and will not come out to visit.
Lin Momo prepared a red envelope of one dollar for their children, which was also a good omen.
She asked Cheng Jinghao to give it without others' knowledge. After all, it would not look good if she only gave it to their family and not to others.
"It's for you, let it go."
Not long after, visitors began to arrive one after another. Most of them were soldiers, and very few were military dependents. One reason was that the family wanted to keep someone, and another was to maintain normal relationships.
What was unexpected was that He Shuangjiang and his son-in-law Zeng Wei did not come, but his wife Liu Cuihua and daughter He Huilan did.
When the mother and daughter arrived, Xu Gang and Sheng Li filled the room with members of their combat team.
It would be a lie to say that everyone was not surprised by the arrival of the mother and daughter. After all, they had lost money again and again, so it stands to reason that they would not come.
Besides, shouldn't Zeng Wei be the one who comes to maintain the relationship during the New Year?
After all, it was the New Year and people came to pay New Year's greetings. Lin Momo still brought two cups of tea. Although it was not a good tea, the tea leaves were taken out from the space, and it was better than the worst tea in this era.
"It's not brown sugar water, I don't want to drink it." Unexpectedly, the person didn't even answer it.
"..." The members of the combat team looked at each other in bewilderment. Are they here to cause trouble?
"I have a bad temper." Xu Zhengqing couldn't stand it anymore.
We can all drink, but you can't? Are you here to cause trouble at my captain's house?
"New Year's Day, wait a minute." Xu Zhaoyang held him back.
One reason was that it was Chinese New Year, and it would be bad if something happened in Cheng Jinghao's family. Another reason was that there were a lot of men in their family, and it would not be good if the news got out that they were just mother and daughter.
Liu Cuihua walked to the table in the main room, looked at the fruit candies on the table, and said, "Use some cheap stuff to get rid of people." But her hand was ready to grab them.
“If you think it’s cheap, don’t eat it.” Lin Momo took the fruit candy away.
"Why are you so stingy?" Liu Cuihua was about to grab some melon seeds again.
Cheng Jinghao took away the melon seeds and fried dough twists and said, "You are not welcome in our home. Please leave."
"Hey, you guys."
"Our captain said, please leave." Xu Gang stood up from his chair.
"Yes, please leave." The combat team members all looked at the mother and daughter.
"Just go, I don't care." Liu Cuihua pulled He Huilan away.
"Who are you?" Xu Zhengqing glared at the mother and daughter.
"Don't mind, everyone." Lin Momo smiled, poured tea for everyone, and went into the room.
They mostly talked about training topics, and they seemed reserved in front of her. She couldn't understand them and felt embarrassed.
Later, Lin Momo heard that Liu Cuihua and her daughter were asked to leave by many military families on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The purpose of visiting someone on the first day of the new year is to enjoy the fun, and you eat whatever the host prepares.
Besides, they wouldn't take more than they deserve, so there's no reason for them to despise other people's things.
On the first day of the new year, Lin Momo's family had a rich dinner.
She made eight-treasure chicken, meat soup, beef brisket stewed with mushrooms, sweet and sour fish (the fish was from the supermarket), and Chinese cabbage...
Today's staple food is steamed white rice, and the couple eats it comfortably.
Commander Chen's family also cooked chicken and meat today. He sat at the table and watched the guards cook.
He picked up a piece of braised pork that he usually liked to eat with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, but he remembered the simple meal he had eaten at Lin Momo's house that day.
"Xiao Zhao, this meat is not very tasty."
"No, I usually do it this way." Xiao Zhao took a bite. He learned how to make the braised pork from someone in the cafeteria.
Commander Chen picked up another piece of chicken with his chopsticks. “This chicken is almost cooked.”
"......" He tasted another bite of chicken. Could it be that the commander was old? Loss of taste?
Commander Chen was thinking secretly, he had to find an excuse to go to his daughter-in-law's house for a meal, or ask his daughter-in-law to cook a meal.
"Xiao Zhao, how many years have you not been home?"
"Commander, I brought it back last year. Have you forgotten?"
"Homesick?"
"No, I think the 놇 Army is pretty good."
Commander Chen glared at Xiao Zhao. How could this guy be so ignorant?
Xiao Zhao was puzzled. Could it be that the commander had a bad sense of taste and was angry when he saw that he was eating so happily?
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