Chapter 47 Spring Festival
On the first day of the new year, Lin Qiu slept until after ten o'clock and was woken up by Wang Shan's stirring in the quilt.
Wang Xiuren pushed the door open and came in. "Oh, you woke up just in time. Get up, brush your teeth and have breakfast!"
"Did you go to the newsstand?" Lin Qiu stretched.
"Go pick up today's newspapers!" Wang Xiuren put clothes on his daughter and carried her out of bed. "I didn't expect someone to come and buy newspapers today."
"I guess I'm used to reading the newspaper every day."
Lin Qiu also quickly changed his clothes. "I have to hurry up. I have to make a phone call later! I think my family is waiting for me."
"Then hurry up!"
After breakfast, the family walked towards the newsstand.
The streets are still quite lively, everyone has a smile on their face, and when they meet someone they know, they will say "Congratulations" to each other. Children ran around the streets with their New Year's money in their pockets, stopped at various snack shops and firecracker stalls to spend money, and the sounds of various firecrackers exploding could be heard from time to time.
I arrived at the newsstand, opened the door, and called the prefabrication factory.
The call was connected, and this time it was Zhou Qing's voice that came through.
"Is that Qiuqiu? I'm your mother."
Lin Qiu hadn't heard his mother's voice for almost a year. When he first heard it, he felt a little dazed and then tears fell uncontrollably.
"Mom!" Lin Qiu cried out in tears.
Zhou Qing on the other end of the phone heard her daughter crying and started crying too.
Wang Xiuren on this end of the phone and Lin Ting on the other end looked at the weeping guest and were equally at a loss as to what to do and could only accompany him silently.
It was Wang Shan, the little cotton-padded jacket, who came up to her mother and wiped her mother's tears with a handkerchief.
"Don't cry, Mom! Shanshan, be obedient."
The clear baby voice on the other end of the phone made Zhou Qing stop crying, "Is that Shanshan? I'm your grandma."
When Lin Qiu heard this, he quickly put the receiver to Wang Shan's ear and said, "Shan Shan, call grandma!"
"grandmother!"
Wang Shan obediently shouted into the phone.
"Why!"
Zhou Qing responded loudly, "Shanshan is so good! Did you eat delicious food during the Chinese New Year? Grandma will send you delicious food in a while, and also leave you some New Year's money."
Wang Shan listened to a lot of words and didn't know how to answer. She looked at her mother with her big, confused eyes.
"Mom, I've given Shanshan delicious food, don't worry, no one can let her down!"
Lin Qiu finally calmed down, but his voice was still a little hoarse, "Mom, how are you and Dad at home? Do the clothes you bought fit you well? Do you have enough money to spend?"
"Everything is fine with your father and I at home. Your father and I wear the clothes you bought, and everyone says they are good!" Zhou Qing paused, "We have enough money to spend. Don't always bring money back. Your father and I have money."
"I feel relieved when you guys are okay!" Lin Qiu felt more at ease after hearing Zhou Qing's answer, "Where's Daddy? Is he with you?"
"He's right next to me, I'll give him the phone."
After that, the phone was transferred to Lin Ting.
"Hey, Qiuqiu, did you hear that?"
"Dad, Happy New Year!" Lin Qiu reminded Wang Shan to call someone again.
"Grandpa, Happy New Year!" Wang Shan imitated her mother and greeted Lin Ting.
Lin Ting laughed out loud, "Shanshan, Happy New Year!"
Lin Qiu chatted with Lin Ting for a few words and then handed the phone to Wang Xiuren. Wang Xiuren exchanged New Year greetings with his father-in-law and mother-in-law, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and finally hung up the phone reluctantly.
The call lasted nearly ten minutes, which was the longest call since arriving in Pengcheng. Although the call fee was quite high, Lin Qiu was willing and satisfied.
"Why don't you give your family a call too!" Lin Qiu poked Wang Xiuren's arm. "After all, it's the first day of the New Year. It's nice to wish them a happy new year over the phone."
“Forget it!”
Wang Xiuren thought about it for a while and decided not to call. "I haven't made an appointment with them yet. It will probably take me half a day to get through. Besides, they don't have much to say to me. Let's wait and see later!"
"That's fine!" Lin Qiu didn't force him.
There was not much business at the newsstand, so Lin Qiu simply closed the shutter and strolled along the street with his family.
"How about we go to the movies?" Wang Xiuren felt that it was boring for the family to walk back and forth on the side of the road.
"Okay, okay, let's go to the movies! Let's go to the movies!" Wang Shan was the first to respond positively.
Children are like this, they believe everything they hear. She had never seen a movie and didn't know what a movie was, but she just knew it was a way to go out and have fun.
Lin Qiu is actually a person who loves to be lively, but due to the influence of his past life, he is somewhat restrained in his temperament.
Wang Xiuren's suggestion made Lin Qiu feel the joy of the Chinese New Year. "Let's go out and watch a movie!"
There was a popcorn stall across the street. Wang Xiuren walked over quickly, picked up a bag and walked back.
"Is it delicious?" Wang Xiuren stuffed a piece of popcorn into his daughter's mouth and nudged the guest with his elbow. "Try it? It's said to taste like butter."
Wang Shan chewed popcorn, nodded continuously, and then opened her mouth and asked her father to feed her.
Lin Qiu also picked up one and put it in his mouth. The crispy popcorn had a light creamy aroma and was indeed quite good.
"Don't just focus on feeding Shanshan, eat too!"
Wang Xiuren also stuffed two into his mouth, "It's expensive for a reason!"
There are few people working in the first month of the year, and it is a holiday, so everyone has money in their pockets, so there are a lot of people in places for leisure and entertainment like movie theaters.
The cinemas at that time were not like they were later, when there would be an endless stream of films during the New Year holiday and every time slot was fully booked. Nowadays, when watching movies, you just watch whatever is showing in the cinema, without much choice.
Wang Xiuren handed the popcorn to Lin Qiushou, then squeezed into the crowd and bought two tickets for RMB 1.20.
Then I held Wang Shan and took Lin Qiu and walked into the cinema.
The lighting in the screening room was not very good, so one had to lower one's head when looking for a seat. Lin Qiu was tripped by something and fell forward.
Wang Xiuren was quick to grab her waist and said, "Be careful, hold my arm."
After finding a seat and sitting down, Lin Qiu leaned back in the chair and waited slowly. Wang Xiuren sat next to him, holding Wang Shan in his arms and occasionally putting a piece of popcorn in her mouth.
The cinema was full of noise, including the screams of children, but after the movie started. The sound gradually became smaller, and the children's screams were covered up by the adults. The sound of the movie was quite loud, making people's heads buzz.
The movie was pretty good, it was Stephen Chow's "Fight Back to School 3: Year of the Rooster". There were bursts of laughter in the cinema from time to time, and the laughter of Lin Qiu and Wang Xiuren was also among them.
After coming out of the cinema, the whole family was already starving. I hurried home, heated up last night's leftovers, and had lunch.
In the afternoon, the couple took Wang Shan to pay New Year's greetings to the landlord and then stayed in the rented house without going out again.
The second day of the first lunar month is the day to go back to my parents’ home.
But Lin Qiu's family was spending the New Year in Pengcheng, so they naturally skipped the idea.
In the next few days, Wang Xiuren went to the newsstand to pick up newspapers at 6:30 as usual and did not come back until 9:00. Lin Qiu took Wang Shan to hold the "Children's Story Pictorial" and learn to recognize words while looking at the pictures.
In the afternoon, the family took the bus to visit free attractions.
After the sixth day of the first lunar month, there were more and more pedestrians on the street and newsstands began to operate as normal.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Yang Guiman and his family returned to Pengcheng. Wang Xiuren took his cousin's daughter to his home to pay New Year's greetings, carrying canned food and fruits. Yang Guiman also gave Wang Shan a big red envelope.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Wang Xiuren officially started working. The owner this time was the one introduced by the landlord’s son Axing. At the end of last year, Wang Xiuren and Yang Guiman met with the leader under the introduction of Axing. The boss was impressed by Wang Xiuren's craftsmanship and asked to start work on the eighth day of the first lunar month. On the eighth night of the New Year, Wang Xiuren treated the mother and daughter to a barbecue with a big red envelope given by the owner.
From that day on, Lin Qiu took Wang Shan to look after the newsstand. In his free time, Lin Qiu taught his daughter to read and count. The newsstand stopped operating only when Wang Xiuren got off work, and the family went home hand in hand to buy groceries and cook.
Such days continued until the fourteenth day of the first lunar month.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. The owner was humanitarian enough to give the holiday, but the newsstand was not allowed to close. So that day, the family of three stayed at the newsstand until seven o'clock in the evening.
The Chinese New Year is complete only after the Lantern Festival.
Wang Xiuren and his family received news early in the morning that a temple fair would be held on the Lantern Festival. Not only would there be various performances during the day, but they would also be able to enjoy the lanterns at night.
So after pulling down the rolling shutter of the newsstand, Wang Xiuren carried his daughter on his shoulders, took Lin Qiu with him, and hurried to the temple fair excitedly.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, the temple fair is brightly lit, with colorful lanterns hanging high, and it is very lively.
Following the bustling crowd into the square, the family of three stared at the various exquisite lanterns. Lifelike goldfish lanterns, realistic lotus lanterns, simple and elegant palace lanterns, adorable rabbit lanterns...all kinds of lanterns are beautifully shaped and finely crafted.
After walking through the long lantern street, you will arrive at the lantern riddle guessing venue. With his flexible movements, Wang Xiuren pulled Lin Qiu to the front of the venue and participated in the lantern riddle guessing activity. He also won an exquisite octagonal palace lantern, which Wang Shan held in her hand to show off.
After leaving the lantern riddle guessing venue, we arrived at the snack street filled with fragrance. Candied haws, fried Yuanxiao, osmanthus glutinous rice balls, dumplings, fish balls, glutinous rice cakes...all kinds of snacks look more tempting under the light of lanterns.
Lin Qiu bought a portion of sweet-scented osmanthus dumplings and shared them among the three of them. Finely ground black sesame seeds are wrapped under the soft and glutinous skin. When you take a bite, the sweet sesame filling flows into your mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance.
After eating the rice dumplings, the family of three ate fried Yuanxiao. The taste of Yuanxiao and Tangyuan is completely different. The fried Yuanxiao has a crispy outer skin and a soft, sweet inside. The three people who are not picky eaters were very satisfied with the meal.
Next came the fermented rice dumplings that Lin Qiu liked, the roujiamo that Wang Xiuren liked, and the candied haws and grilled sausages that Wang Shan had her eyes on. They ordered one portion of each and finished them all off by the three of them.
After eating and drinking, the family continued to follow the crowd and came to the dancing Qilin. The two Qilins performed a lively performance, rolling, jumping, and dropping red couplets from their mouths, winning rounds of applause.
Suddenly, several fireworks shot up into the sky, colorful and gorgeous, blooming in the air. The temple fair created a spectacular scene of "fire trees and silver flowers in a night-time sky". In an instant, people cheered, jumped for joy, and sang happily.
The moon gradually set in the west, Wang Shan quietly dozed off, and Wang Xiuren and Lin Qiu reluctantly left the temple fair. But there is still an endless stream of people coming to watch the lights, and the various colored lights shine brightly like the stars in the sky. It is true that "the lights are intoxicating all night, just because spring is in the air."
"It's still more festive in big cities!" Wang Xiuren held his daughter in his arms and sighed softly, "The New Year is officially over!"
"Yes, it's after the New Year!" Lin Qiu looked back at the temple fair.
The lights are as bright as day, and the family is reunited.
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