Sheng Xikang took out his camera and snapped several pictures for everyone.
After that, Zhou Qingyang's family and Sheng Xiping's family each took two photos with Zhou Mingyuan. Then, a few more photos were taken casually before the meeting ended.
Just then, the chicken and fish stewing in the pot were almost done, so Wang Chunxiu quickly went out, ladled out all the dishes, and told the people inside to put them on the table and get ready to eat.
There are too many people at home today, and we can't fit everyone at one table.
A table was placed on the kang (a heated brick bed), where Wang Chunxiu, Chen Jie, and Zhou Qinglan led several children to eat. Zhou Mingyuan, along with Zhou Qingyang, Zhou Qingyue, and the Sheng siblings, stood at the table on the ground to the side.
This year, Zhou Mingyuan and his wife prepared a lot of New Year's goods for their son and daughter-in-law to come home for the Spring Festival. They had chicken, duck, fish and meat, and they cooked and served them on the table today. It was a very sumptuous feast.
Zhou Mingyuan also took out two bottles of good wine from the cabinet. "These are the wines your older brother and his family brought back. They said they're good, so let's all try them today."
Zhou Qingyang was transferred to a place near the ancient city of Chang'an. This time when he came back, he specially brought back a few bottles of Xifeng liquor for his family.
On New Year's Eve, Zhou Mingyuan didn't even take out a drink, waiting for Sheng Xiping and the others to come back.
Good wine with good food, and it's a joyous occasion for family reunion, so what else is there to say? Just pour the wine and start drinking!
Zhou Mingyuan, along with his son, son-in-law, and several young men from the Sheng family, were drinking and having a good time.
On the kang (heated brick bed), Wang Chunxiu held Zhou Chenming and fed him a lot of fish and chicken, while Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu sat and ate by themselves.
Sheng Xinyue and Sheng Xinqi had both eaten and fallen asleep. Zhou Qinglan sat next to Chen Jie, and the two sisters-in-law chatted while eating, occasionally putting some food on the three boys' plates.
The meal lasted until after 3 p.m. Sheng Xi'an and the others, who have low alcohol tolerance, were already flushed and their faces were red. Only Zhou Qingyang and Sheng Xiping were still okay and didn't change much.
After dinner, Sheng Xiping left Zhou Qinglan to rest while he led his younger siblings to their house at the east end of the No. 1 Middle School.
"Well, this is the house I bought. What do you think?" Sheng Xiping said as he walked into the new house, taking out his key to open the front door.
The person sold the house because of a job transfer, leaving behind things they couldn't take with them, such as the storage room, toilet, and firewood.
So the yard is quite tidy, and it wasn't messed up because the original owner moved out.
The house is new, and the yard is quite spacious; it looks pretty good.
Upon opening the door, one sees a cement floor, a cement stove, and cement windowsills, all arranged neatly and orderly.
To be honest, the only downside is that the furniture is a bit cheap; it's all old.
There is plenty of space at both ends of the house. Sheng Xiping is thinking that in a couple of years, he will add two more rooms to the east end and install heating.
In that case, the layout of the house would have to be changed. If we make new furniture now, we might have to replace it later if it doesn't fit.
So Sheng Xiping asked someone to find some old furniture to make do, and planned to get new furniture in two years.
The neighbors come over every day to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed) and the stove, so the water pipes in the house haven't frozen.
But this uninhabited house is devoid of life; even if you light a fire, it's not warm and it's chilly.
So the brothers quickly lit both stoves in the east and west rooms, and also lit the stove in the room. After a while, they felt the temperature in the room rise.
Once the room warmed up a bit, the Sheng sisters quickly found a basin, added some warm water, soaked a rag, and carefully wiped away the dust that had settled on the kang (heated brick bed), windowsill, and furniture.
The dust on the ground was from snow that had been brought in from outside and scattered on the floor, which was then swept away bit by bit with a broom.
Finally, I put the mop on again and mopped the floor twice, cleaning it completely.
After tidying up, the kang (a heated brick bed) was warm, so the two sisters took out all the bedding from the kang and spread it on the kang to dry.
The bedding had been sitting in the kang (heated brick bed) for a long time without being used, and it was a bit damp. Since it wasn't dried properly, it was unusable to use at night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
