Around 8 p.m., someone shouted from their window, "Quick, turn on the TV! The leader has something to say!"
Jiang Shuyin then prepared to go upstairs. She gave the discarded firework boxes on the ground to the old lady in the basement. In the past, if anyone had unwanted cardboard boxes, they would give them to the old lady to sell for money.
The old woman didn't want her to clean; she told her granddaughter to help.
When she got home, the sofa was already full of people. When Zhong An saw her come in, she gave her brother a light elbow, and the two of them stood up to make room for her: "Sister."
Jiang Shuyin waved her hand and smiled, "You all sit down, I'll go get something to eat, it's no fun just looking at it."
The storage room contained snacks she had hoarded from various places before the New Year, which were well hidden and had not been dug out and wasted. She used a grid tray to store some sunflower seeds, peanuts, nuts, and all kinds of candies and cookies.
In the past, these were essential for the Lunar New Year, along with a plate of fruit. But this year, the fruit was ruined by the snow, so we'll just have drinks instead. Eating only dried goods makes us thirsty.
Zheng Meixiang sat on the sofa, her feet on the ground, and felt that something was missing. After thinking carefully, she realized it was the stove.
In the past, every year when I came back, we would always gather around the stove, cover ourselves with blankets, and play cards. Now, I'm not used to not having a blanket over my legs.
"Why isn't it cold in this room? We were freezing to death at the southern base. Even with blankets, we couldn't keep warm. We had to spend an extra 300 mission points on electricity to turn on the air conditioning."
"This money really couldn't be saved. One stingy wife refused to contribute, and the child froze to death. Everyone in the resettlement housing area heard her crying." Zheng Meixiang still feels terribly saddened when she recalls it now.
It's understandable that she has these bad habits from being poor; when the air conditioner is on, her nose and throat get dry, and when the air conditioner is on, she can't breathe properly.
Her sister's house has an air conditioner in the living room, but Zheng Meixiang could tell it wasn't turned on.
Zheng Lanxiang looked bewildered: "It's always been like this. Maybe it's because there are more people in my family that it's not so cold."
Zheng Meixiang believed it.
As soon as Jiang Shuyin brought out the food platters, the children swarmed over and devoured all the candy. Jiang Shuyin glared at each of them and said, "You've taken it all. What are the others going to eat?"
"You are only allowed to eat one at night."
Heimei nodded: "My sister and I will each have one."
Jiang Shuyin went to the storage room to get another handful to add to the pot. As soon as she turned around, Heimei pulled Ace aside and said, "Shall we switch? I want to eat chocolate."
Ace: "The chocolate is bitter." Black Plum insisted on having it, so Ace had no choice but to break off a piece and stuff it into her mouth.
Seeing her face scrunch up, Ace was about to speak when she turned the tables on him: "This isn't candy at all, why are you trying to take it from me?"
Ace was speechless. He was thinking of a phrase his teacher had taught him: "remembering the bitterness of the past to appreciate the sweetness of the present." It meant that if you taste bitterness in your mouth, you feel sweetness in your heart, but it was quite embarrassing to say it out loud.
Adding sugar, Jiang Shuyin frowned when she saw the sunflower seed shells on the ground: "Second Uncle, the trash can is right next to us. It's just a matter of reaching out. Can you please not throw the sunflower seed shells on the ground?"
Zhong Dazhuang blushed. He was a grown man, yet he was being lectured by his niece. He felt a pang of resentment towards the peanuts in his hand.
Zheng Meixiang reached out and pinched the soft flesh on his waist: "That's right, he doesn't use the trash can when there is one. I've told him about this eight hundred times, but he just won't change. I'll clean up later."
Zheng Lanxiang quickly took her daughter's hand, and Jiang Shuyin glanced back at her before turning and going back to her room.
There was a full minute of silence on the sofa, and the sound from the TV was crystal clear to my ears.
"Is my sister angry?"
"No, no." Zheng Lanxiang chuckled dryly and called out to Xie Yin, "Xiao Xie, go keep Xiao Yin company. See what kind of stubbornness this girl is throwing now."
Xie Yin was going anyway, so now he could openly knock on the door and go in.
Inside the room, Jiang Shuyin was lying on the bed playing on her phone. She knew who it was from the knock on the door: "Come in."
After Xie Yin entered, he sat down in the chair next to the desk, his expression calm, but his eyes were deep and captivating.
Jiang Shuyin placed her hands under her chin and tilted her head to look at him: "I feel you've changed a lot, your face is more... in line with people's aesthetic standards."
Xie Yin lowered his eyes and chuckled: "The face reflects the heart? This body probably had long-term psychological problems when it died, which caused the facial muscles to be twisted and ferocious. My simulation completely inherited this. As the cells in the body continue to adjust, it is probably a restoration of what it looked like when it was in good mental health."
His gaze lingered on a certain spot, and the moment Jiang Shu looked over, she seemed to see the Milky Way in the sky flowing backwards, all converging towards the source of the universe.
Jiang Shu shook her head vigorously, as if she had been in a daze.
A soft laugh came from beside him. Xie Yin rested his hand under his ear and looked at her: "Do you see the black mist at the center of the universe? That's my whole picture." What he had just shown her was essentially a photograph of himself.
"......"
That was awkward.
She hadn't noticed the black mist at the center at all; she was too busy watching the movement of the glowing celestial bodies.
......
The atmosphere in the living room eased considerably, and they started chatting again.
The topics that elders talk about during the Lunar New Year are nothing more than their children's achievements, reminiscing about the past, and the changes around them.
Zheng Meixiang subtly mentioned the children in her family, deliberately lowering her voice: "Where did they all come from? I would never believe they are my biological children."
The children twitched their little ears.
Zheng Lanxiang chuckled foolishly: "I don't know either. I just listen to whatever Xiaoyin says. Why take it so seriously? With these kids around, even if Xiaoyin goes out to work, I still have someone to keep me company at home."
How much money would it cost to raise so many children?
In front of the children, Zheng Meixiang felt awkward about saying certain things, so she asked about work: "I heard it's not easy to find a job here. Can Xiao Yin arrange one? If not, the four of us can't live here, can we?"
Zhong Dazhuang stopped eating his melon seeds and waited for Zheng Lanxiang to speak.
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