Chapter 155 Stealing My Sister Away
Lu Liangjin approached his wife and said with envy, "Wife, how about we have another little girl? I'm so envious of my second brother's little girl, Taozi."
After hearing this, Shi Shulan was both angry and amused. She pinched Lu Liangjin's waist fiercely and scolded him, "What else do you want to do? Give birth to a little girl! Don't you see that our family has given birth to so many children, but we still haven't given birth to a little girl?"
Lu Liangchen didn't need to tell stories to the little ones, so he sat next to Jiang Haitang and chatted with the parents.
He asked in a low voice with concern: "Are you cold?"
Seeing her shaking her head, he still put his coat on her shoulders with some concern, his movements gentle and natural.
The children gathered around Mr. Lu obediently, listening to the story with great interest.
Even the little ones who had heard the story before were listening attentively, as if they were hearing it for the first time.
Little Taozi didn't even know when she was held in Grandpa Lu's arms. She snuggled up to her great-grandfather obediently, staring at Grandpa Lu with her big eyes without blinking, listening to him tell stories about fighting the Japanese.
After listening to the story, Shi Shulan took out the melon seeds, peanuts and fruit candies that he had prepared long ago and placed them on the table.
The children ate candy and played, and the whole house was filled with laughter.
He Wanyi took out the red paper packages that she had prepared long ago and gave everyone a lucky money, even Jiang Haitang got one.
"Auntie, I'm not a child anymore." Jiang Haitang was holding the red paper bag, at a loss.
"Take it. You're not even twenty yet, not married, so how can you not be a child?" He Wanyi said lovingly. "In our family, all unmarried people are children, and they all get lucky money."
Lu Liangchen explained with a smile: "Mom treats you like her own daughter."
Jiang Haitang accepted the red envelope with a blushing face, feeling warm in her heart.
Little Taozi couldn't wait to open her red envelope, her mouth wide open as she exclaimed, "Wow! Fifty cents! I can buy some candied haws!"
Everyone was amused by her again.
Mr. Lu is old, so after ten o'clock, he goes back to his room to rest. Several children wanted to stay up late, but the adults did not allow them, so they were also ordered to go back to their rooms to rest.
The children were reluctant at first, but He Wanyi said that if they didn’t go to bed, they would not be allowed to go out to play tomorrow, so the children had no choice but to go back to bed reluctantly.
The remaining few people sat together and talked. Lu Liangjin adjusted the newly bought radio. Soon, the Spring Festival special program of China National Radio came out.
"...At this wonderful moment of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, we pay tribute to the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country, to the vast majority of workers, peasants, and intellectuals..."
Accompanied by the sound from the radio, everyone chatted while eating melon seeds.
He Wanyi recounted Lu Liangchen's childhood anecdotes, saying how, at five, he burned a hole in his new cotton-padded jacket while trying to watch firecrackers and was beaten for it. Shi Shulan recounted anecdotes from last year's factory performance. Lu Liangjin and Lu Liangchen discussed their work plans for the coming year.
Jiang Haitang listened quietly and was amused from time to time.
At midnight, sporadic firecrackers were heard from the distant village.
Brothers Lu Liangchen and Lu Liangjin also went to the yard to set off a string of small firecrackers. With the crackling sound, the new year arrived.
"Happy New Year!" Family members greeted each other, and everyone's face was filled with sincere smiles.
Jiang Haitang stood under the eaves and looked at the smoke that had not yet dissipated in the yard.
Lu Liangchen came over and gently put his arm around her shoulders: "What's your New Year's wish?"
Jiang Haitang returned her gaze to Lu Liangchen's resolute face.
"I hope our family will always be safe and happy like this." She said softly.
Lu Liangchen smiled knowingly and kissed her on the forehead: "I definitely will."
"Would you like to eat some more dumplings? It's midnight," asked He Wanyi.
Lu Liangchen said: "Yes, I have to stay up all night on the 30th, so I need to eat more."
The dumplings were still ready, so sisters-in-law Jiang Haitang and Shi Shulan went to the kitchen and cooked two plates. They chatted and laughed as the two plates of dumplings were finished.
Not long after having supper, sisters-in-law He Wanyi and Yuan Yinan could not bear it any longer and asked their two daughters-in-law to go back and rest together.
The two old brothers, Father Lu and Second Uncle Lu, accompanied by brothers Lu Liangchen and Lu Liangjin, kept watch as per custom.
The next morning, Jiang Haitang woke up, opened the curtains and looked outside, and was greeted by a dazzling white light.
She looked carefully and saw that the yard was covered with half a foot of snow. The weather was still gloomy and it seemed that it would snow again.
She exhaled a breath of white air, quickly buttoned up her cotton jacket and ran downstairs.
As soon as I walked into the living room, I saw a few little kids huddled together head to head.
"Baoguo, keep your voice down! Don't wake up the adults!" This was the voice of old Dalu Weiguo.
"But my sister hasn't gotten up yet, we can't leave her behind!" Lu Baoguo insisted on this point.
Since she is my own sister, I can never abandon her.
"Should we find a way to sneak our sister out?" Lu Xingguo thought about it and said.
Lu Weiguo looked at Lu Xingguo as if he was asking, "What a fool!"
"My sister and my aunt sleep together, how could she sneak out?"
"How about we find a way to lure our aunt away first, and then sneak our sister out to play?" Lu Xingguo said again.
Jiang Haitang couldn't help laughing because of the little guys. She thought about it, made a little noise, and turned to go to the kitchen.
The little ones were startled when they heard the noise, and became even more frightened when they saw it was Jiang Haitang.
"Brother, did my aunt hear what we said?"
Lu Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "Probably not."
"So, let's go steal my sister now? I don't know if she's awake yet."
A few little kids tiptoed up the stairs, afraid that someone would hear the noise.
Jiang Haitang has been observing carefully.
Not long after, a few little kids were seen coming down from upstairs, leading little Taozi, who was wearing a flowery cotton-padded jacket.
"What are you going to do?" Jiang Haitang asked while trying to hold back her laughter.
The children were frightened.
Lu Baoguo scratched his head and laughed, "Aunt, we, we want to build a snowman..."
"Right, right, right!" Lu Weiguo quickly replied, "Aunt, we'll just pile up at the gate and won't go far!"
Little Taozi blinked her big eyes and tugged at the corner of Jiang Haitang's clothes, shaking them gently: "Mom, Little Taozi wants to build a snowman. Little Taozi has never built a snowman before."
Jiang Haitang's heart softened when she saw the expectant eyes of the children.
She squatted down and tied Xiao Taozi's scarf tightly. "You can make a snowman, but you have to eat first. Then put on your hat and gloves before going out. It's so cold, you can't freeze."
Several children could not hide their disappointment, and the youngest, Lu Xingguo, pouted.
At this time, He Wanyi also came over and looked at the children. She didn't understand anything.
"Go change your cotton shoes and clothes into old ones before going out to play in the snow, otherwise they will get dirty in no time."
Lu Weiguo was the first to understand that grandma agreed. He shouted "Long live grandma" and called on his younger brothers to rush up and change their clothes and shoes.
After a while, the small courtyard became lively.
Lu Weiguo was in charge of shoveling snow, Lu Baoguo was rolling snowballs, and the two little ones, Xiao Taozi and Lu Xingguo, were squatting on the ground decorating the snowman...
Anyway, the kids are all working very hard.
Suddenly, Little Peach accidentally slipped and fell in the snow, rolling around.
Lu Weiguo rushed over, picked her up, and brushed the snow off her body.
"Sister, are you hurt?"
Little Peach giggled and grabbed a handful of snow, and when he wasn't paying attention, she slapped it on his face: "It doesn't hurt! Brother is a snowman!"
"You little rascal!" Lu Weiguo wiped his face and glared at him fiercely, "Just wait and see how I deal with you!"
Lu Weiguo was about to grab her, but Lu Baoguo quickly stopped him: "Sister, run!"
"Build a snowman, build a snowman!" Lu Aiguo shouted anxiously, fearing that his brothers would not do their job and delay building the snowman.
The noisy people finally calmed down and continued to build a snowman.
Lu Weiguo shouted, "Xingguo, go to the kitchen and steal a carrot to use as your nose."
When Xiao Taozi heard that she had to "steal" something, her eyes widened: "Steal, you will be scolded if you steal things..."
"It's okay!" Lu Xingguo patted his chest. "Grandma Wang loves me the most, so she said she wanted to use it to build a snowman for my sister."
After saying that, he disappeared in a flash.
I have to say that although the children are young, they have strong hands-on skills. In a short time, they really made a snowman in a realistic way.
Little Taozi squatted beside it, carefully patting the snow down with her red, frozen hands.
Lu Weiguo took out two coal balls from somewhere and pressed them on the snowman's face: "Look, eyes!"
"It's still missing a mouth..."
Little Taozi tilted her head and thought for a while, then her eyes suddenly lit up and she took out a piece of fruit candy from her pocket and said, "Use this!"
"Oh, my dear sister!" Lu Aiguo quickly stopped her, "Candy is so precious, you keep it for yourself."
Then he broke off a thin branch, bent it into a curved shape and inserted it, "That's it!"
As he was speaking, Lu Xingguo came back stealthily, not only holding carrots but also two red dates in his arms. "Aunt Wang gave them to me. She said they were buttons for the snowman."
Several brothers were busy dressing up the snowman, while little Taozi stood beside them and ran around happily.
"Hey, it looks pretty good." Lu Weiguo was obviously very satisfied with his team's masterpiece. "But is there something missing?"
Little Peach thought about it and said, "Hat, Little Peach has a hat, but the snowman doesn't."
As the little guy said this, he was about to take off his hat and scarf and put them on the snowman.
This scared the brothers: "Little Taozi, be good and wear your hat. If you get cold, your uncle will spank us."
"Not only my second uncle would beat me, but my grandfather and second uncle would beat me too."
When Lu Xingguo heard what his brothers said, he quickly covered his butt, fearing that he would be beaten.
"What should we do then?" Xiao Taozi was very disappointed.
Although Jiang Haitang did not follow the children out, she was watching them through the window. Seeing them struggling over hats and scarves, she thought of giving her scarf and hat to the children.
"I have some used ones here, just give them to them." He Wanyi hurriedly stopped Jiang Haitang.
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