On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Song Lili got up early to make breakfast. Since Xia Niu was unable to make it, she did everything herself.
When she saw Zhou Lei inside the house, she was stunned for a moment before belatedly realizing that there would be two more people in the house these past few days.
"Uncle, you're up?" Song Lili quickly greeted him.
"Yes, you've already made breakfast?" Zhou Lei said with a smile.
"Yes, Uncle, wash your face and eat. I'll go call them."
After the whole family sat down together, some time passed before they finally ate in peace.
"Lanlan, make yourself at home. Don't feel uncomfortable," Song Lili said to Zhou Lanlan.
She noticed Zhou Lanlan's unease, and Zhou Lei seemed to feel the same way.
"Okay," Zhou Lanlan smiled, still a little nervous, but she understood that her cousin wasn't unhappy, so she relaxed a bit.
“Uncle, you too,” Song Lili said to Zhou Lei.
"Okay, okay," Zhou Lei said timidly.
Looking at Zhou Lei's expression, Song Lili felt helpless and could only shut up and eat.
Zhou Lei is timid, and she was afraid that the more she talked, the more uncomfortable Zhou Lei would become, so she decided to let it go.
After dinner, the family had nothing to do. On the first day, they didn't have to visit relatives and friends for the New Year, so they could only stay at home and couldn't visit each other's homes.
"Lanlan, how did you manage to light the kang (heated brick bed)? Are you all gone?" Song Lili asked, puzzled.
Logically speaking, most people don't go out on New Year's Eve and stay home to welcome the new year. So, it's unlikely that no one would have missed the fact that the kang (heated brick bed) was on fire and that the house was also affected.
But this actually happened, which is incredible.
"Sigh..." Zhou Lanlan sighed, "It's all because of my aunt. She said there wasn't enough help at home, so she asked me to go over and help make dumplings."
"I had no choice but to go help, but I didn't expect my uncle to be called over too, so there was no one at home."
"It's my fault. I was thinking of staying up all night to welcome the New Year, so I added more wheat stalks, and I didn't expect it to catch fire."
What could Song Lili say after hearing this? She could only remain silent and say that Zhou Lanlan was really unlucky.
Every family has its own troubles, and from Zhou Lanlan's tone, she could tell that this aunt was not someone to be trifled with.
So, it's best not to say anything more. It's someone else's business, and she has no right to comment.
So, we had to change the subject: "Then you can stay here for the next few days. If it's your uncle, he'll probably have to go back and oversee the house repairs."
We can't both live here and leave the house unattended. When will we ever be able to go home?
"I understand, thank you, cousin," Zhou Lanlan said gratefully.
She was already feeling uneasy when her grandmother picked her up, because her grandmother's family wasn't very kind.
Especially her maternal grandmother, maternal uncle, and cousin, they definitely wouldn't want to take them in. At that time, she wasn't even sure if her maternal grandmother would agree.
Sure enough, the result did not disappoint them. When my grandmother's family heard that they were going to stay for a few days, their expressions changed.
They're saying, openly and subtly, that they have nowhere to stay at home, which just means they don't want to take them in.
Later, just as she was about to leave, her grandmother suddenly said with a twisted expression, "Since you have nowhere to stay, go to your third uncle's house. They have room."
As he spoke, he very kindly brought them over.
Zhou Lanlan wanted to refuse, but the two of them had nowhere else to go, so they had no choice but to shamelessly give it a try, just in case it worked out.
So, that's what happened when Song Lili woke up.
That day, Song Lili had the most leisurely time. After finishing her meal, she sat in a place where the wind wouldn't blow on her, grabbed a handful of wheat stalks, spread them on the ground, and sat down.
Looking up at the sun, feeling its warmth, I felt much more at ease.
"Hmm... the feeling of sunshine is so nice, I love this lazy feeling."
No wonder so many people want to bask in the afternoon sun and read a book, finding it a very comfortable way to spend their time. It's true.
Seeing how much Song Lili was enjoying herself, Song Fang and Zhou Lanlan couldn't help but join in, and to their surprise, it was actually quite comfortable.
"Cousin, I never knew sunbathing could be so comfortable!" Zhou Lanlan said with some surprise.
In the past, when Zhou Lanlan talked about the sun, all she could think of was being drenched in sweat and being exposed to the scorching sun, which she found uncomfortable.
This is the first time I've had such a different feeling.
"Yes, isn't this very comfortable? Doesn't it make you feel better? Do you feel like your heart has become much broader?" Song Lili said slowly, squinting her eyes.
"Hmm, it really is." Zhou Lanlan carefully examined it and confirmed that it was indeed like that.
"So, everything in this world has a beautiful side; it just depends on whether you can discover it," Song Lili couldn't help but say.
This is also her realization after so many years. Perhaps the current atmosphere is too confusing, which made her unable to help but speak out.
"Really?" Zhou Lanlan was confused and didn't quite understand what Song Lili meant.
"..." Song Fang didn't speak, but a smile appeared on her lips. Clearly, she understood what her sister said and got it.
The three of them spent a leisurely afternoon. In the evening, Song Lili went to the kitchen in a good mood and, feeling itchy, made egg pancakes as a reward for her good mood that day.
The family ate happily and contentedly, patting their bellies with satisfied expressions.
That night, Zhou Lanlan stayed with the Song Lili sisters, but Zhou Lei had gone home in the morning and hadn't come back yet.
"It seems your boss won't be coming today. He's probably just staying at the neighbor's house," Song Lili said, worried that Zhou Lanlan might be concerned.
"That should be the case." Zhou Lanlan didn't know either, but she wasn't worried.
Although Zhou Lei was a bit timid, he was still reliable in his work, and Zhou Lanlan knew that.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the first person Song Lili met was not someone who came to pay New Year's visits, but rather Qian Liulin, who should have been in town.
Song Lili was quite surprised when she heard that Qian Liulin had arrived.
"Why is Brother Qian here at this hour? What brings him here? Or is it another inspection by the Red Guards?" But we haven't heard anything about it today.
"I don't know either. He just said he wanted to invite you over because he had something to say." Yang Weimin was also completely confused at this point.
However, seeing Qian Liulin's serious expression, he didn't ask any more questions and ran out to call for help. When Song Lili asked him now, he knew nothing at all.
"Let's hurry up and go. I don't know what happened, but if it were something minor, Brother Qian wouldn't have come all the way here on the second day of the Lunar New Year," Song Lili said, her heart filled with worry.
This is a turbulent time; anything could happen at any moment, so we can't let our guard down.
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