After making the dumplings, we cooked another pot. We each ate a few, and after cleaning up, the clock struck twelve.
Mr. and Mrs. Ding, along with Li Qin and Wang Ziwen, were too old to stay up any longer, so they each took their grandsons home to sleep.
Li Wenxuan, Wang Jiadong, and Ding Jianguo, along with their respective families, went to play cards in the pavilion in the back garden.
The six of them planned to fight until dawn tonight.
They weren't happy about being allowed to play in any room they wanted, so Li Chu, worried they'd get cold, specially lit a honeycomb briquette stove and brought it over, with a kettle of water on top, so they could have water to drink.
When he arrived at the back garden the next morning just as dawn was breaking, the three family members had already fallen asleep on their husbands' laps.
The three men started playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game), and they all started bringing money with them.
The stakes didn't seem to be very high; when Li Chu went in, he saw that the table was covered with coins.
However, this still gave the three of them quite a fright. They were having so much fun that they didn't hear a thing about the commotion outside.
I had specifically told them beforehand that playing cards was fine, but bringing money was absolutely not allowed.
Seeing this, Li Chu raised an eyebrow, walked over, picked up the distribution tickets on the table, and looked at them.
"Sure, Jianguo, you're the elder here, are you leading them around?"
"Sister...Brother-in-law, we're just playing around. We've never played with money before, this is our first time, it's only one cent per round. And it's almost four o'clock, we've only been playing for a short while."
"Dad, it was my suggestion. We were wrong, and we will never do it again."
As the three of them stood up, the three family members who had been lying on their laps also came to their senses. They saw the money on the table and knew what was going on. They stood there without daring to say a word.
"I'm not saying you can't play, but the three of you—one a government official, one a soldier, and one a policeman—you all understand your roles, right?"
“Brother-in-law, we promise that we only played this game with our own family. We have never played it outside. I have never even played cards with outsiders.”
"Uncle, me too, this is really my first time."
"Alright, I believe you. But I'll say it again: remember your place. Know what you can and cannot do. Don't give anyone any reason to criticize you."
It's fine to spend time at home during the holidays and hang out with relatives, but there needs to be a limit, you know?
"I understand, brother-in-law (uncle) (dad)."
"Who won after playing for so long?"
"Huh?" The sudden turn caught everyone off guard.
"Dad, I won five cents," Li Wenxuan said cautiously.
"Okay, we won't talk about it since we have a holiday these two days. After we go back to work, you buy us a pound of mutton, and the same goes for you two. You can play cards if you want during the holiday, but whoever wins has to buy us meat after the holiday so we can all have barbecue together."
Li Wenxuan's mouth was so wide open it could fit an egg.
I only won five cents. How much does a pound of mutton cost?
Li Chu probably realized he had gone a bit too far, and continued, "At five cents a pound of meat, Wenxuan just now had an ounce of meat."
Upon hearing this, the group felt relieved. It made sense that way, since they would eat the meat anyway.
"Alright, let's tidy up. Stop playing for now and get ready to make dumplings for dinner. Wenxuan and Yueyue, come with me to visit relatives for the New Year later. You can play again tonight if you want."
This is an annual tradition, and Wenxuan and Yueyue are already used to it, so they both nodded in agreement.
"Daddy, did the baby not drink milk last night?"
"Didn't you feed him before bed? It's only five o'clock, it's not time yet."
"Oh, oh, oh, I've already crossed the lake." Wang Yueyue slapped her head, looking a little dazed.
After finishing their dumplings, Li Chu and his family of five got into their car and headed straight for the sanatorium.
"Oh my, come here quickly, let great-grandmother hold you. Look at your little face, it's so adorable." As soon as they entered Uncle Wu's room, Aunt Wu took the child from Ding Qiunan's arms.
The room was heated, so she first took off the small cotton blanket wrapped around the child.
"Your uncle is really something. In this cold weather, he insisted that you bring the child along. Look how cold the child is, his little face is all red."
"It's alright, Auntie. This kid is just like his dad when he was a kid, tough and resilient."
"Even if he's tough, he's only five months old. Hurry up and get ready, there's food on the coffee table, help yourselves. This little guy isn't shy at all, Old Wu, look, he's even smiling at me."
Uncle Wu was all smiles as he looked at the child, and the old couple simply left the adults aside.
"Hey, can my child eat candy now?"
"Go away, how can a little kid like him eat candy? How could you even think of that?" Aunt Wu rolled her eyes at the old man.
Li Chu watched the two elderly people awkwardly trying to amuse the child, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
The elderly couple never had any children of their own. Although they were well taken care of by their staff in their later years, this emotional void could never be made up for.
Ever since Choubao was born, Uncle Wu has been calling him frequently to ask him to bring the child along when he comes over. Once, during a routine check-up, he went alone, and because of this, the old man gave him a hard time for half a day.
After playing with the child for a while, Uncle Wu then instructed the staff to tell the canteen staff to steam a bowl of egg custard and bring it over.
The two elders wanted to give the child something good to eat, so to satisfy their wishes, Ding Qiunan let them feed the child egg custard, since the child was almost due for milk anyway.
The child, having finished eating, started to yawn, and Aunt Wu patted the old man's arm.
"Have someone bring out the prepared cot."
"Huh? Oh, I forgot."
The conversation between the elderly couple stunned Li Chu and the others. What was going on?
Seeing this, Secretary Zhang explained, "Director Li, the leader specially found one of those small, pull-out beds, saying that the child will definitely need to sleep here today, and it will be easier to take care of him if he sleeps there."
Looking at the small bed that the staff pushed out of the house, Li Chu didn't know what to say.
The child was especially cooperative today. Instead of falling asleep in his crib, he sat up and played with his grandparents for a while before finally falling asleep.
"This little guy is obedient and doesn't make a fuss when he sleeps. He just falls asleep on his own when he's tired. This is good, this is good."
Aunt Wu sat on the sofa, looking at the sleeping child, and reached out to carefully touch the chubby face.
"Xiao Chu, come to the study with me and tell me about that medicine."
"Okay, Uncle."
"It's the Lunar New Year, and your child is here to wish you a happy new year, yet you still want to talk about work," Aunt Wu said with some dissatisfaction.
"Hey, it'll only be a few minutes. Qiu Nan, you guys have a seat first." Uncle Wu looked at Li Wenxuan, thought for a moment, and then said, "Wenxuan, you come too."
Point Guard Here
"Ah? Oh, Grandpa's here."
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