35.035 Ningjin's performance
"What happened? Someone saw you?" Old Man Su followed his grandson, who was in a hurry. He looked back but no one was following.
"Hmm, she's from the village. I don't know her, but she said she's my aunt." Xiao Yuan felt tired after catching her breath. She had just cried and then was startled by someone. Now she felt a tightness in her chest and a bit uncomfortable.
That's alright. At least family members wouldn't do anything despicable. Visiting ancestral graves and paying respects is something everyone understands; no family doesn't do it secretly.
"Come on, I'll take you back." When they arrived at Xinhe Brigade, Su Changguo didn't go into the village. He continued south. He glanced at the sun and figured it was about 11 p.m. He figured he could make it back in time for lunch.
“Grandpa, I can go back by myself. I know the way. Don’t see me off. You go back.” He pointed to the village in the distance and continued, “No one will come out to snatch children during the New Year. It’s not far from the town.” His grandfather had been running with him for a long time. He was tired, and his grandfather was so tired that he stopped smoking his pipe.
"I'll take you back..." Before he could finish speaking, the little brat took off running. "Hey, you little rascal."
"Grandpa, go back home. I'll come to wish you a Happy New Year the day after tomorrow." Xiao Yuan shouted as he ran, his legs never stopping. He only stopped to catch his breath when he looked back and saw that no one was there anymore.
Running like that was actually a good thing; at least he didn't feel like crying anymore. He had never been out alone before. The grass on the road was tall and dense, and the sound of the wind blowing through the grass sounded like people talking. Xiao Yuan rested for a while and then continued running towards the town with his cheeks puffed out, stopping only when he saw someone on the edge of the town.
"Xiao Yuan? What are you doing here? Are you all alone?" Er Ya called out to the person walking in front of her, carrying a bundle of dry branches on her back.
"Sister Er Ya," Xiao Yuan called out, "I went to my grandpa's house to deliver some things to my mom. Are you still gathering firewood today? Can I help you with some?" He didn't dare tell the person he knew that he had gone to visit his father's grave.
“I can carry it.” Er Ya pulled two dark bird eggs from her pants pocket. “Here, they’re cooked. I climbed a tree and found five bird eggs, these two are for you.”
"I'll bring you some meat tonight; my mom's going to stew bones." Xiao Yuan skillfully peeled the eggs, but only ate one; the other was for Ping An.
Er Ya saw that he was holding one in his hand that he hadn't eaten, and she moved her lips, but she still didn't let him eat them all.
Xiao Yuan and Er Ya had just entered the alley one after the other when Ping An jumped up and ran over. "You're back! Mom has asked about you so many times." He had been waiting for a long time too.
"Let's go back." Xiao Yuan handed the bird egg in his hand to Ping An. "This was given to you by Sister Er Ya. This one is yours."
"Thank you, Sister Xie Erya, Happy New Year." The bird egg, the size of a thumb's belly, was swallowed in two gulps.
The three of them didn't speak again, and tacitly walked a few steps apart, one in front of the other. Xiao Yuan and Ping An went in first, and as soon as they entered, Ping An called out, "Mom, Xiao Yuan is back."
"You're finally back. Where's your grandpa?" Su Yu saw that Xiao Yuan seemed quite calm, so she didn't ask any further questions.
"He went home. I didn't let him take me home. I came back by myself." Xiao Yuan went into the main room to get some hot water and wash his face. His grandfather hadn't let him wash his face that morning, saying that little kids aren't dirty and that they smell good even after three days without getting wet.
The family celebrated the New Year together that evening. Su Yu and Ning Jin cooked six dishes: braised crucian carp, minced meat and tofu, winter melon and pork rib soup, fried lotus root slices, stir-fried bok choy, and two fried chicken legs.
"I wish every day could be Chinese New Year." Ping An ate with his mouth full of oil. He liked everything except the bok choy, and even asked Xiao Yuan which dish he liked the most.
"Fried chicken legs? I like them all." He said this without ever touching the bok choy.
After dinner, Xiao Yuan and Ping An each picked up a bone and a lotus root cake and headed out the door. Su Yu and Ning Jin saw them but didn't stop them.
Before going to bed that night, Su Yu took out two red envelopes from her pocket and gave them to her two sons, saying, "New Year's money, may you have peace and safety every year."
"Wow, there's even New Year's money!" Ping An snatched it quickly, almost fainting with joy. "My dad has never given me New Year's money."
“I get one every year.” Xiao Yuan couldn’t hide his pride as he demurely accepted the red envelope. “Mom, may you also have peace and safety every year.”
"Mom, Happy New Year! May you have peace and safety every year," Ping An quickly added.
The two boys happily went inside to sleep, and even after closing the door, Ping An could still be heard shouting loudly, "There's actually a dollar!"
"When did you prepare this? I didn't even know," Ning Jin asked.
"Good morning." Su Yu turned and went back to the bedroom, closed the door, reached out to the man, rubbed her fingers together, and asked for a red envelope.
"Huh? What are you doing?" the man asked, puzzled.
"My red envelope! I'm giving my son a red envelope, and you're giving me one?"
Ning Jin grinned from ear to ear, not taking it seriously, and even joked with a laugh, "How old are you that you still need red envelopes? In a few more years you'll be able to hold your grandson."
That's bullshit; it'll take at least ten years.
"Before I got married, my dad would give me a red envelope every year for Chinese New Year. Now that I'm married to you, my treatment can't be any less." Su Yu was telling the truth. Before each of Su's fathers got married, he would give each of his children a red envelope with money, saying that before they got married, they were still children. What an interesting old man.
She didn't necessarily have to ask him for it, but it's Chinese New Year, and there aren't many celebrations these days. It wouldn't be fun if there wasn't some festivities, so she was also trying to cultivate his sense of ritual.
"New Year's money is for the younger generation. I've prepared a New Year's red envelope for you. You'll receive it when you wake up tomorrow morning," the man stubbornly argued.
Su Yu looked at him and smiled, which made him smile too. "Alright, it's freezing cold, go to sleep." He pretended to be annoyed and stuffed him into the quilt, taking good care of him until he was too tired to keep his eyes open.
"Su Yu? Su Yu? Asleep?" He propped himself up on his elbows and tilted his head to look. When there was no response, he tiptoed out of bed. He seemed to have seen red paper in the box. The person on the bed suddenly turned over, and the man held his breath in surprise. Seeing that she didn't seem to be awake, he continued to search.
After finding the red paper, he got dressed and went to the main room to fetch the hot water bottle to scald the dough. He worked overtime to paste the red envelopes. The two bedrooms were quiet and there was no sound. Only Xiao Hei was lying on his paw watching him work.
Just as he was stretching and heading back to his room, he heard a child whimpering from the right wing. Ning Jin went over and listened closely to the door; it was Xiao Yuan's voice.
"What's wrong?" He pushed open the door and went in. Ping An was still asleep. He walked to the inner room, turned on the light, and asked, "Xiao Yuan, what's wrong? Are you thirsty or having a nightmare?"
There was no sound. Only then did he realize that the child was not awake at all and was still whimpering and twisting in the quilt. Ning Jin thought he was having a nightmare and tried to shake him awake, but he was burned by the burning heat as soon as he touched his face.
He had a fever. Ping An had also had a fever at night when he was a child, so he had experience with this. There happened to be some liquor at home that was prepared for the New Year, so he went out and brought it in. He wrapped the child in a blanket, poured the liquor into his hands, and rubbed it repeatedly on Xiao Yuan's back, chest, soles of his feet, and groin.
"Dad?" Xiao Yuan called out groggily.
"Hmm, you're awake? You have a fever. Let me rub it for you. If you still have a fever by tomorrow morning, I'll take you to the hospital for an injection." It's the Lunar New Year and it's nighttime, so there are no doctors at the hospital.
Xiao Yuan then realized that this was his stepfather. He let the calloused hands rub his body repeatedly without making a sound. He probably felt less uncomfortable and fell asleep again amidst the strong smell of alcohol. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his mother.
"Is there anything else that hurts?" Su Yu asked.
His throat hurt, so he coughed twice and asked for water. He gulped down a bowl of water, then sat up, clutching his blanket, and asked, "Where's my dad?"
"I took Ping An to wish his grandparents a Happy New Year. You were asleep the whole time, so I didn't wait for you," Su Yu explained, afraid that her son would worry.
"Mmm," he responded, and as he was getting dressed and taking his mother's hand to leave, he said, "I miss my dad."
Su Yu knew who his father was referring to in the last sentence. She stroked his hair and said softly, "You can miss him. He must miss you too. If you miss him again, just shout at Yan a few times."
"So how would he know?"
“No, he’ll know once you say it in your mind. He’s shouting at Yan a few times to make you feel better.” Su Yu served him some white porridge. “After a person dies, his whole life is in the hearts and mouths of the living. You have to live well. If you live well, he will live well too.”
She suspected that Xiao Yuan's fever was due to two reasons: first, he caught a chill while walking, and second, his emotions were too volatile for him to handle. "Tell me if you have anything on your mind in the future. I'm your own mother, after all. If I'm not as important to you as your father, I'll be heartbroken." She squatted down and pretended to be aggrieved in front of his face.
"No, I'll tell you everything if I need anything in the future."
"Xiao Yuan, you're up?" A man's voice came from outside. He still had dark circles under his eyes. He came in and touched Xiao Yuan's forehead first. "The fever is gone. You're all better."
Xiao Yuan was stunned for a moment, still a little unaccustomed to this sudden closeness. Thinking of last night, he put down his bowl and said somewhat hesitantly, "Dad, Happy New Year, um... and thank you for your help last night."
“You’ve already started calling me Dad, so what’s the trouble? Here’s a red envelope.” Ning Jin handed over two red envelopes, “One is from me, and the other is from your grandpa.” He then handed Ping An another one, and finally gave Su Yu a big red envelope, “Even if you don’t wish me a Happy New Year, I’ll still give you one, and this is the biggest one.”
"Thank you, shopkeeper." Su Yu laughed exaggeratedly and didn't bring up the previous topic again.
I don't know if it's because Xiao Yuan is physically strong or because he has no worries, but he was a little listless on the first day of the new year. On the second day, he was full of energy again. He patted his new clothes with his hands and stopped touching Xiao Hei, afraid that he would get dog hair on his body.
"You two wait for us a bit, I'll take Ping An and be right back." Ning Jin had discussed it with Ping An yesterday, or rather, it was a unilateral decision: Ping An would go to the Su family's house on the second day of the Lunar New Year and would go too, instead of staying at his maternal grandparents' house.
When they arrived at the Zhao family's building, Ning Jin stopped before going up and handed the things in his hand to Ping An. "You go up and wish your grandmother a Happy New Year. I won't go. If your uncle asks about me, just say I didn't come. I'll wait for you at the supply and marketing cooperative." Su Yu didn't take Xiao Yuan to pay respects to her deceased husband. He should also have less unnecessary contact with his deceased wife's family.
"Aren't you going up?" Ping An asked, bewildered.
“Yes, I went there and your uncle kept talking to me. It will take us a long time to come downstairs.” Ning Jin didn’t explain to his son, because he wouldn’t understand anyway. He instructed, “Hurry up, or your mother and Xiao Yuan will leave first.” After saying that, he turned and walked out.
Less than half an hour later, Ning Jin met his son at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. Seeing his son looking dejected, Ning Jin handed him two red envelopes and praised him, saying, "You did a good job and didn't keep me waiting long."
Ping An opened the red envelope and looked at it with a disgusted expression. It only contained one cent. He stuffed the other red envelope into his pocket. This one was for Xiao Yuan.
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