Chapter 227
After the New Year's Eve dinner, CCTV's Spring Festival Gala began broadcasting exciting programs.
Every year around this time, neighbors would bring their children out to set off firecrackers in their factory compound, and then go to the homes of those who had televisions to watch programs together.
People from Ji Wanmei's family will also come over.
Ji Xingguo's old friends would bring two plates of peanuts and a bottle of good wine to visit him and gather in the courtyard.
At this time, Ji Xingguo would move the television under the eaves so that everyone who came to the yard could see it.
Older people generally enjoy lively atmospheres.
Especially when the TV is showing grand choruses and dances praising national peace and prosperity, everyone feels that the new year will surely be prosperous and the future will be even more promising than last year.
Sometimes, all a person needs is something to look forward to.
With this hope, the difficult days ahead will have a chance to end.
Several four- or five-year-old children, all children of employees in the compound, surrounded Ji Wanmei and came to ask her for candy.
Ji Wanmei brought out the fruit plate with candy from the coffee table and handed it to the children, letting them help themselves.
The children, all dressed in brand-new cotton-padded jackets for the New Year, with rosy cheeks, stretched out their chubby little hands, each grabbing a handful of candy, and happily shouted to Ji Wanmei, "Thank you, sister!"
"Okay, go play." Ji Wanmei smiled and patted their little heads, watching the children run and jump in the yard, innocent and cute.
On Chinese New Year's Day, one must stay up until midnight to welcome the new year; only then is it called "staying up all night to welcome the new year."
Ji Wanmei pulled up a chair and sat in the courtyard. Yesterday, Ji Xingguo was drinking and chatting with some old friends. To her right, several children were playing. Under the eaves, a crosstalk performance by an old artist was playing on TV. The courtyard was filled with laughter and joy.
After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, Luo Chunyan brought her younger siblings to visit Ji Wanmei.
Luo Ermei is already fourteen or fifteen years old and has long been sensible.
This year, Luo Chunyan paid out of her own pocket to buy a new set of clothes for each of her younger siblings, especially for her second sister, whom she bought clothes that she liked.
Upon entering the Ji family courtyard, Luo Ermei saw Ji Wanmei and greeted her sweetly, "Happy New Year, Sister Wanmei!"
Ji Wanmei stood up and waved to them: "Second sister Chunjie is here! Come over here and have some candy with your sister Wanmei."
Luo Chunyan tugged at Luo Chunjie: "Why didn't you greet them?"
Luo Chunjie, however, made a face at Ji Wanmei with a mischievous grin: "Oh well."
Ji Wanmei didn't mind the child's ignorance. She grabbed a handful of candy and gave it to Luo Chunjie: "Go play by yourself. You can also watch TV if you want. There are small stools over there."
Once Luo Chunjie had candy, he stopped bothering them and soon ran off to the group of children, instantly becoming their leader.
Luo Chunyan led her second sister over and sat down next to Ji Wanmei.
Ji Wanmei glanced at her second sister and said with a smile, "Second sister seems to have grown taller. How were your exam results when you graduated from junior high school soon?"
Luo Ermei said shyly, "I got one question wrong, so I didn't do very well on the test."
Luo Chunyan chimed in, "This girl is afraid of being laughed at. Her grades were much better than mine back then. She ranked third in her class, but she still said it wasn't ideal."
"Sister, don't exaggerate my abilities..." Luo Ermei tugged at her sister's clothes and whispered, "Back then, Sister Wanmei was always the top student in the whole grade."
Luo Chunyan laughed heartily: "Who told you to compare yourself to your sister Wanmei? She's been a top student since she was little. Just make progress compared to your own grades last year."
Ji Wanmei smiled and peeled a piece of candy, handing it to her second sister: "That's right, your sister is right. You can never finish comparing yourself to others."
“Look at me, when I was in junior high and high school, I was considered one of the top students in our county. But now I’m in university, and there are geniuses everywhere, and there are also students who are particularly hardworking and serious. They spend all their time reading except for eating and sleeping. They are so excellent and hardworking, I can never catch up with them.”
"But all we need to do is know what kind of person we want to become, what we want to do in the future, set a goal for ourselves, and then work firmly towards that goal. Do you understand?"
Luo Ermei seemed to understand but not quite, but from her eyes, one could see that she admired Ji Wanmei.
"Okay, I understand, Sister Wanmei!"
Luo Chunyan, who was standing nearby, also had some sighs.
After experiencing all of this, she actually understood this principle.
A person living in this world cannot always compare themselves with others based on their inexhaustible desires.
She used to envy Ji Wanmei for her good family background, her doting father, and her own excellence.
It's as if they are God's favorite.
But as Ji Wanmei herself said, she already has all of this. If she is still not satisfied, when she goes to a big city like East China, there will always be students with better family conditions than her, or those who have better grades, work harder, or are luckier than her.
Once a person lives by comparing themselves to others, they are likely to lose sight of their true self.
If people are content with what they have and cherish the happiness they have in the present moment, their sense of happiness in life will be much higher, and they will feel more fulfilled.
Luo Chunyan didn't understand this principle before; she was blinded by the vanity of comparing herself to others.
Looking back now, she realizes that Ji Wanmei was truly insightful and clear-headed.
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