The family photo was taken on New Year's Day. Because Zong Shao had to go to the camp during the day, Lin Wei moved the New Year's Eve dinner to the evening and had a quick meal at noon.
I still remember how I spent the New Year last year. At noon, I saw only noodles on the table and asked in horror: "Mom, do we have no money to eat?"
Lin Wei had a good temper and managed to resist the urge to slap her son on the head: "How can you talk like that? You're not allowed to say unlucky words during the Chinese New Year, do you know?"
"I know." Mingming explained with his head down, "I'm just curious. Last year during the Chinese New Year we had so many delicious foods, but this year we only have noodles."
Because rice is the main crop grown in the south, the rice supply is relatively sufficient, and people's staple food is still mainly rice, supplemented by coarse grain flour, so Lin Wei's family usually eats more rice.
Mingming has a typical southern stomach and always eats rice once or twice a day. To him, noodles are breakfast, or something his mother doesn't want to cook for him at noon or in the evening. So in his opinion, eating noodles is equal to eating casually.
Lin Wei said: "We'll have noodles for lunch, and we'll have the New Year's Eve dinner after Dad comes back."
“Isn’t the New Year’s Eve dinner eaten at noon?” Ruirui also asked. He remembered that the meal at noon last year was the New Year’s Eve dinner.
"Who said we have to eat New Year's Eve dinner at noon? Did you hear the sound of firecrackers outside in the morning and at noon? That means they are eating New Year's Eve dinner."
"A lot of people set off firecrackers today." Mingming nodded.
Rui Rui thought for a moment and asked, "If you set off firecrackers in the morning, do you eat New Year's Eve dinner in the morning? If you set off firecrackers at noon, do you eat at noon?"
"Yes, the time for New Year's Eve dinner is different in different places. We have it at noon in my hometown, but the important thing about New Year's Eve dinner is not the time, but the people who eat it, because New Year's Eve dinner is also called reunion dinner. Dad is not at home during the day. If we have New Year's Eve dinner now, there will be one less person and we can't have a reunion."
Ruirui asked again: "So we should wait until Dad comes back before we eat the New Year's Eve dinner?"
"Yes, because we don't have New Year's Eve dinner until tonight, and mom has a lot to prepare, so we can only eat casually at noon."
"So that's how it is." Mingming breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could have food to eat at home, it would be fine.
…
As the sound of firecrackers crackled, Lin Wei, Zong Shao and the children sat down around the round table.
Although Beibei was still breastfeeding and could not have the New Year's Eve dinner, Lin Wei reserved a seat for her daughter at the dinner table and asked Zong Shao to pull her daughter's rocking bed over.
It’s just that the little one wasn’t very interested in the New Year’s Eve dinner and she was still awake when the meal started. She waved her hands with her eyes open, but while Lin Wei and the others were eating, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Mingming was sitting on the other side of the cradle. He inadvertently saw his sister sleeping. He exclaimed, "Why is my sister asleep?" and reached out to wake her up.
When Lin Wei saw this, she quickly grabbed Mingming's hand and said, "Let her sleep."
Mingming said: "But we haven't finished the meal yet." This is a reunion dinner, and no one can be missing.
"We haven't finished our meal yet, but my sister has already done it." Lin Wei said that she had fed her daughter milk before eating.
Mingming thought about this and felt that what his mother said made sense, so he asked hesitantly, "But won't your sister stay up all night with us?" He had stayed up all night during the Chinese New Year last year and went to bed very late.
Lin Wei asked back: "Do you think Beibei can endure it?"
"Yeah." Mingming suddenly realized that his sister slept for a long time every day and definitely couldn't keep watch with them, so he finally gave up the idea of waking his sister up.
After eating the New Year’s Eve dinner, Zong Shao took his two children to set off firecrackers in the yard.
During the Chinese New Year, parents will be more generous with their pocket money. Many children use their pocket money to buy all kinds of firecrackers. These days, Lin Wei can often hear the sound of firecrackers exploding at home.
That's why she has been keeping an extra strict watch on her two children these days, not allowing them to buy firecrackers or go with this man to set off firecrackers.
It's not that she is too strict, it's just that these things are too dangerous. Rubbing or throwing firecrackers are okay, they will basically explode only when they slip out of your hands, but these two types of firecrackers are often not powerful enough, and brave children are often not satisfied with these, and they have to touch powerful firecrackers like the thunder bomb.
The thunder bomb is different from friction firecrackers or throwing firecrackers. It needs to be lit with a match. It has a short fuse and explodes quickly, and it is very powerful.
There was a boy in the brigade where Lin Wei came from. When he was a child, he played with a thunder bomb with others. The fuse burned but did not explode. He thought it was not lit, so he reached out to touch it, and his entire palm exploded.
The kids had no idea how to play and were obviously quite brave, so Lin Wei didn't dare to let them play recklessly.
Because of this, the two children have been a little frustrated these days. Every time they see other children passing by the yard in groups to blast sand, their eyes are full of envy.
In order to let the children have a happy New Year, Lin Wei bought several kinds of firecrackers when she went to the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday, but she didn't tell the two children. She only took them out after dinner and let Zong Shao play with the two children.
Zong Shao held a few boxes of firecrackers in his hands. He picked out the less risky ones and gave a few to each of the two children. He asked them if they knew how to play with them.
Ruirui just said yes, but he insisted on adding "of course" in front of the word "yes" to express his dissatisfaction with his father looking down on him. He also picked up a firecracker and threw it heavily to the ground.
“Bang!”
The firecracker exploded, and Mingming looked at his father proudly.
But Zong Shao had no intention of showing his support. He just threw a firecracker to the ground as well. Then the father and son started competing with each other. You threw one at my feet, and I threw one next to you.
Ruirui saw this from the side and quickly joined the battle, following her brother to blast her father.
Lin Wei was speechless watching from the side and reminded them, "Don't throw it at others and let it explode."
"I know!" Mingming answered as he threw a firecracker in front of Zongshao, and then he screamed and backed away after his father threw the firecracker at him.
For a moment, the only sounds in the yard were the shouting of the two children.
As for Zong Shao, this noise was not worth him screaming, but it was quite amusing for the children and a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.
After the two boxes of firecrackers were used up, Zong Shao took the children to play with scratch firecrackers. Because scratch firecrackers were a bit dangerous, he told the two children some precautions.
Mingming couldn't help but say, "Dad, you're so long-winded."
Zong Shao choked and said expressionlessly: "If you don't want to play, just say so."
After receiving his father's warning, Mingming immediately shut up and listened carefully.
After explaining the precautions, Zong Shao gave each of the two boxes five cannons and asked them to play with them. He then walked up to Lin Wei and asked, "Do you want to play?"
"I'm an adult already, and I'm still playing this." Lin Wei shook her head.
Zong Shao: “…” He is one year older than her.
Although Lin Wei was reluctant to participate, she could not resist Zong Shao's constant nagging and played for a while.
Although she was several times older than the two children, she was not as brave as them. When playing with firecrackers, she couldn't help but think about all sorts of things. She was afraid that the firecrackers would explode too quickly or that she would throw them too slowly.
Every time she threw it out, she couldn't help but cover her ears with her hands and didn't dare to watch. Obviously, when Zong Shao and the children were playing these games, she was watching and commenting beside them.
When Lin Wei let go of her hand and opened her eyes, she saw Zong Shao looking at her and smiling. He asked unhappily, "Are you laughing at me?"
Zong Shao immediately turned serious and shook his head to deny: "No."
"Then what are you laughing at?" Lin Wei persisted.
Zong Shao pointed at the two children and said, "I'm laughing at them."
Mingming had just thrown the firecracker out, and when he heard the sound, he turned around and said in dissatisfaction: "Dad, I heard it!"
Zong Shao was not ashamed and asked Du Jia guiltily: "Then?"
He who knows the times is a hero. Although Mingming did not know this sentence, he interpreted the meaning of the words through his actions and immediately turned around and acted as if he had not said anything.
The last thing to be set off was the thunder bomb, because it was quite powerful and could blow up the soil. Zong Shao also took the children to play on the beach.
Lin Wei did not go with them. Firstly, she was worried about her daughter being home alone. Secondly, she had no interest in these things and was a little scared of them, so she just told them to be careful.
Zong Shao heard her instructions and waved his hand to reassure her.
They didn't go too far, just to the beach in front of the door, so Lin Wei sat at home and could hear "bang bang" sounds from time to time.
Because they were making so much noise, they hadn't been playing for a while when Captain Sun from next door came over with his children.
Captain Sun and his family moved in next door before New Year's Day. Because his wife came with the army in a hurry, the house had not been repaired much when they moved in, many of the doors and windows were broken, and there were broken tiles on the roof.
Fortunately, the bed in the master bedroom was still slept in, so Captain Sun bought another bed before the end of the vacation, and the family was finally settled down.
After moving in, Captain Sun and his wife repaired the roof, doors and windows one after another, and cleaned up the yard that was originally overgrown with weeds. Now it looks quite presentable.
Because the Zong family's house was well-repaired and was recognized in the family quarters, and Zong Shao had experience in this area, during the renovation of the house, Captain Sun did not ask Zong Shao about it. After a few visits, the two became familiar with each other.
Lin Wei and Captain Sun's wife also get along well. Although she is a bit introverted and doesn't like to talk much, she is good in other aspects and the two can talk to each other.
The two families had a good relationship, so after Captain Sun brought the children over, they started playing together.
Captain Sun's wife came to Lin Wei's house. She didn't like playing with firecrackers either, as she thought they were noisy. In her opinion, instead of joining in the fun, it would be better to come and talk to Lin Wei.
Not long after Captain Sun's wife arrived, Deng Xiangyun and her family also came. When they heard that Zong Shao and the others were setting off firecrackers outside, Zhou Jianhai hurried over with Xiao Shitou, leaving Deng Xiangyun and Chen Bamei to talk in the house.
I don’t know what happened, but last year, Lin Wei and her family were the only ones spending the New Year together, and not many people came to visit on New Year’s Eve. This year, Lin Wei's house was very lively. Not long after Deng Xiangyun and her family came, Zhao Li also came. Not only did she come, she also brought a set of mahjong.
Zhao Li said as soon as she entered the room: "I knew you had a large family, that's perfect, come on, let's play a few rounds."
Lin Wei: "...You came to my house just to play mahjong?"
"It's New Year's Day, let's have some fun together." Zhao Li said, seeing that Lin Wei was still staring at her, and she said, "Yes, I'm here to find a partner to play cards with."
The main reason was that everyone had their own things to do during the New Year, and she couldn't find anyone to play mahjong with. Thinking that Lin Wei and Deng Xiangyun lived in the same house, so they didn't need to get together, she came over with her mahjong.
After he confessed the truth, Zhao Li asked, "Are you going to beat me or not? If not, I will go back."
"I can play, but the mahjong we play is different." Although Lin Wei knows how to play mahjong, she has never played it since coming to Yazhou Island.
Zhao Li didn't care much: "It's okay, just follow the local rules. It's Mahjong, the rules are clear and everyone understands them."
"So...how many games shall we play?"
…
So when Zong Shao brought his two children back home, he saw a card table set up at home.
Seeing them coming back, Lin Wei shuffled the cards and said, "You're back just in time. There's no tea in the teapot. Can you help add some water?"
Watching Lin Wei shuffling the cards with such familiarity, Zong Shao thought of a saying: Don't judge a book by its cover. He then picked up the kettle to refill their tea and washed some fruit.
While Zong Shao was busy, Zhou Jianhai and Captain Sun came over with their children. When they went back, they found that their wives were not at home.
When they came over and saw them setting up the card table, they were not willing to be outdone. Zhou Jianhai went home to find a deck of cards, and pulled the other two around the round table to play.
The time playing mahjong passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to go home. As the New Year's firecrackers rang out, everyone went home one after another.
Lin Wei came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. She heard the crackling sound of firecrackers outside. She looked up at Zong Shao standing at the door, walked over, hugged him from behind and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Another year has passed."
Zong Shao turned his head and kissed the tip of Lin Wei's nose:
"Happy New Year."
The author has something to say:
Second update.
Because some readers asked about the follow-up to the newspaper advertisement, I modified the content at the end of Chapter 117. If you are interested, you can go back and take a look. The specific words are also explained, so I will not repeat them in this chapter.
Good night~
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