154 Winter Holidays
Li Wei stayed with her grandmother in the old house for one night. The next morning, while lying in bed, she looked through the frost-free gaps between the frosty windowpanes and saw that it was snowing outside.
My maternal grandparents are getting old and need less sleep and wake up early, especially my maternal grandfather, who goes to the food factory every day without fail to work as a supervisor and technician. He is very enthusiastic about his work and won't let us rest for even two days.
Li Wei didn't like to get up, so the old lady and old man had to set up a small square table on the side. The old man ate chicken cake, rice, and two light pickled vegetables for breakfast.
The old lady ate little in the morning and wanted to wait for Li Wei to get up so they could eat together. Li Wei saw that her grandfather was eating with great relish, so she put on her cotton pajamas, took a spoon, and started drinking chicken cake with him. These were eggs laid by chickens raised by her grandmother, and they were different from farmed eggs from outside, so they tasted better.
So the three of them started eating breakfast.
The elderly couple had always lived in their old house. Cheng Min and her husband had repeatedly suggested that they move in with them, but the couple stubbornly refused, finding it cramped. They felt it was much better in the village; they had a yard where they could grow vegetables and flowers in the spring, and they'd have something to do. The neighbors were also very easy to get along with, and it was nice to chat with them over the wall from time to time. Even though the old lady had stayed in town for two nights, she felt it wasn't as comfortable as their old house in the village.
The old house in Baima Village was sold a couple of years ago. Their son and daughter have all moved to Yangliu Town, so there's no point in keeping the house. The old couple figured they wouldn't go back anyway. When people are young, they consider their parents their home, and when they get old, they live with their children. Wherever their children are, they live nearby, and everyone feels more at ease.
Fortunately, the elderly couple were in good health, except that the old lady would occasionally catch a cold. But that was usually nothing serious, just a little medicine or even a couple of acupuncture treatments. Grandpa Cheng, on the other hand, always had a ruddy complexion and a booming voice. He walked with a brisk, energetic stride, easily rivaling his son-in-law, Li Zhaoxing.
The children are especially filial, providing the best food, drink, and necessities for the elderly, making the old man constantly rummage through his belongings, taking some things with him when his two sons and grandchildren come over. His daughters are all doing very well, so he doesn't have to worry about them. Even if they were asked to take things, no one would bother to move them.
Li Wei was ordered by her grandmother to put on her cotton pajamas properly, and like a little cotton monkey, she ate breakfast properly. She wanted to stay in bed a little longer, but Wu Feng, dressed in a puffy cotton outfit, came running over.
The two hadn't seen each other for quite some time. While washing her face and brushing her teeth, Li Wei asked Wu Feng to sit down and wait for her. Meanwhile, her grandmother had already brought out various kinds of food and greeted Wu Feng with a smile: "Girl, help yourself to whatever you want to eat, don't be shy. Your mother was saying the other day that you would be back in the next couple of days. Well, you came back yesterday, didn't you?"
Wu Feng picked up a piece of milk candy. While unwrapping the candy, she replied to the old lady, "Yes, Grandma Cheng. I got home yesterday afternoon. I originally wanted to come and see you after dinner, but my younger brother caught a cold, so I accompanied him to get an injection. You know my mother is busy with work and doesn't have much time to take care of us. I was busy and couldn't come over."
The old lady watched Wu Feng speak with the air of a little adult, so articulate and measured. It was quite amusing. But she still asked, "Oh dear. That boy is always so lively and energetic. How did he suddenly catch a cold? I saw him catching birds with a basket with some other boys yesterday morning. How could he get sick so easily? How are you now? Are you feeling better?"
Wu Feng remained calm and composed: "He's fine now. He just caught a chill. He took a pill last night and sweated a bit. He went out to play after breakfast today. Don't worry about him. He's doing well."
"That's good. That little guy is very healthy. Eat some candy. Girl, you've been talking to me a lot. Play with our Xiaoming for a while later. You haven't seen each other for a while, have you?"
Wu Feng ate snacks while looking around.
The old lady went out. Then she went to the willow basket under the window and brought back some frozen pears in a small basin. She noticed that Xiaoming, the little girl, seemed to enjoy them.
Now the old house is equipped with heating, especially the living rooms, which are covered with high-quality composite flooring. The windows and doors have also been renovated, making them sturdy, beautiful, and warm. Especially on the kang (heated brick bed), because the stove was used in winter, the kang was unevenly heated, with the head of the kang getting too hot and the foot of the kang not warm enough. So Li Zhaoxing had a steel wire spring mattress made for them, which is both comfortable and provides even temperature. They get through the winter quite comfortably. Cheng Min saw that her parents were unwilling to live in the apartment building, so she had to put more effort into improving their living conditions to make their place as comfortable as possible.
Especially the bright red floral quilt on the kang (heated brick bed) and the cushions on the purplish-red hardwood chairs on the floor—they were all a set. Wu Feng looked quite wealthy, just like in the movies.
Li Wei had finished washing up, poured two glasses of hot water and placed them on the coffee table. She sat down opposite Wu Feng and started eating sunflower seeds. Wu Feng couldn't help but sigh to Li Wei, "Your grandma's house is so comfortable. My mom wants to get a heated floor like your grandma's next year. It won't get cold in the morning, and it's so soft. It's wonderful."
Li Wei laughed: "You're so envious? Then come over and stay tonight, I'll keep you company and laugh with you."
Wu Feng thought for a moment and said, "Let's forget about it. Anyway, if my mom makes a mat next year, we'll have one at home."
The two chatted and ate snacks, talking about their respective schools, and time flew by.
Although Wu Feng and Li Lin went to the same school, they were in different classes and had completely different personalities. Wu Feng was never as close to Li Wei as she was to begin with, and their interactions became even less frequent in high school. Wu Feng was also a diligent and sensible student, and if Li Wei didn't come home for holidays, she would never see Wu Feng. So, the two of them had barely seen each other this semester.
Unlike Li Lin, Li Wei really liked Wu Feng. She felt that girls should be like Wu Feng—gentle, quiet, considerate, and ambitious. She believed that when she grew up, she would be someone people could rely on, capable in both public and domestic settings. As for looks, she thought a little bit of beauty was enough; beautiful women weren't so easy to please.
Wu Feng and her classmates had the same exam schedule as Li Wei. After the exams, they also had a three-day break before returning to school to receive their grades. They were supposed to return to school tomorrow as well.
At lunchtime, the old lady and Li Wei tried their best to persuade Wu Feng to stay and eat with them. But Wu Feng was thinking of going back to help her mother cook lunch, so she went back. However, before leaving, the two made a promise that Wu Feng would visit Li Wei and her siblings at their home near the high school during the holidays. After all, Li Wei and her two siblings would be attending a martial arts class frequently, and she also wanted to visit Ding Ding, so it was estimated that she would have to travel back and forth throughout the winter vacation.
Li Wei felt the same way. She found it easier to concentrate on reading and studying outside.
Li Wei stayed at her maternal grandmother's house for half a day. After having lunch and chatting with her grandmother for a while, she noticed it was getting late. She put on her coat, slipped two pieces of candy into her pocket, and said goodbye to her grandmother. She ate candy as she walked, admiring the vast expanse of white snow falling all around, the world a seamless expanse of white. Her feet crunched through the thick snow as she leisurely made her way home.
When she got home, her father had gone out to give a gift and hadn't returned yet. Her mother was frantically checking the accounts with the accountant, but Li Lin and Li Lianhui were nowhere to be found.
Li Wei greeted the accountant.
Turning to her mother, Cheng Min glanced at her daughter before saying, "They all went to a classmate's house to play. They were called away this morning and didn't even come back for lunch. I don't know where they've gone. Are they sleeping at home tonight or at your grandma's?"
Mom seemed a little jealous, so Li Wei quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Of course I'm home. I miss you and Dad. I'm home, I'm home, hehe."
Cheng Min glared at her: "Don't look at me like that. Shake off the snow on your clothes and your hat. It'll all melt in a bit."
Li Wei took off her coat, shook it a couple of times, and hung it up. She sat on the warm, short kang (heated brick bed) in her mother's small office, drinking tea from her mother's large mug, eating candy and melon seeds, and watching her mother and the others busy themselves.
Li Wei roughly knew that there were two accountants in their family's factory. One was in charge of cash handling and general tasks, and the other was supposedly a skilled accountant, who was the woman in front of her, a middle-aged woman around forty years old, who was in charge of bookkeeping, and her surname was Zhao.
Accountant Zhao is from the town. She used to work at a collective enterprise, but the company dissolved, and she lost her job. Through an introduction, she came to work at the Li family's food factory. Because she has always worked outside, she is quite different from the average rural woman. She is neat and capable, and has a certain professional woman's efficiency and temperament.
Accountant Zhao had been staring at Li Wei ever since she came in. She also had a daughter who was about the same age as Li Wei and was attending junior high school in town. Since they didn't usually compare, she always thought that her daughter was one in a hundred, smart and beautiful, and also did well in her studies.
But now, compared to the boss's daughter, I always feel that she is far inferior. I can't help but sigh: "Look at your daughter's demeanor, she really is like a rich young lady on TV. Every move she makes exudes a sense of composure and calmness. Not to mention children, even grown women are rarely like this. You are so busy, I don't know how you raised her!"
Cheng Min smiled smugly, knowing there was an element of flattery in it, but she still appreciated it. Who doesn't like hearing praise for their child? However, modesty was still necessary: "Sister Zhao, please stop. I don't have much to say about this. Besides being good at spending money, they buy things you've never seen or even imagined before. They're full of cunning ideas. You saw those who went out this morning, like monkeys, never steady on their feet. They're always thinking of playing around. And look, you saw them too, one by one, they go out and never come back..."
Two women who should have been busy with work started talking about their children and couldn't stop.
Li Wei ate, drank, and listened... well, she decided to go back to her room. She couldn't stand her mother's feigned modesty, which was actually her way of showing off the three of them. She was too embarrassed to listen any longer.
But then someone, like a double act, started praising them—
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