On New Year's Eve, except for Ya Tou who couldn't stay up and went to bed early, Zhao Qinglan and the others basically stayed up past midnight.
This was the first time so many people had gathered together to celebrate the Lunar New Year. It was not only full of festive spirit, but everyone was also very happy.
Although everyone goes to bed late, they all get up quite early in the morning.
The kids, including Da Wa, are really looking forward to the Chinese New Year. There's lots of delicious food and fun activities, new clothes to wear, and lucky money to receive.
The children had a very rewarding first day of the Lunar New Year this year.
The elders, such as Sun Guangming and his two siblings, as well as Zhao Qinglan and others, all gave the children lucky money.
Among them, Madam Sun gave the most. They stayed together for a few days. Everyone now knows that her family is very wealthy and powerful, so she gave much more than others, and no one was surprised.
In Madam Sun's own words, it was a joking way of making up for what she hadn't given to her children in previous years.
Zhao Qinglan did not confiscate the children's New Year's money, but she also instructed them not to spend it recklessly. Even if she gave them the money, she suggested that they spend it on something useful.
Only Nannan and Yatou, being the youngest, had their New Year's money kept by their mother, Zhao Qingzhu.
In the morning, they all kowtowed to their elders to wish them a Happy New Year. Afterwards, the eldest child took his younger siblings out to play.
Although it was the first day of the Lunar New Year and all the shops on the street were closed, there were quite a few more small vendors in the past two years. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, there were quite a few stalls selling all sorts of snacks and toys on the street.
The children all received lucky money, so naturally they wanted to go out and have some fun.
The adults in the family didn't restrict the children from playing, but just reminded them to be careful and to keep an eye on each other.
Because he was still worried, Sun Guangming even sent his own assistant out to accompany the children.
Zhao Qinglan originally had Ding Yu and the others with her, but she still gave the two girls a holiday during the Spring Festival so they could relax.
The children went out to play, but the adults at home weren't idle either; they sat together eating sunflower seeds and peanuts, chatting, and watching TV.
People would come to Zhao Qinglan and Li Huai's door from time to time to wish them a Happy New Year.
There were employees of Zhao Qinglan's company, such as Zhang Wenjing and Qin Zhaocai, as well as Li Huai's colleagues and subordinates.
Previously, Li Huai was just a regimental commander and didn't live in the family housing, so almost no one from the military region came to wish him a Happy New Year.
But now that he's at the deputy division level, and even holds a relatively important position as deputy political commissar, many more people are coming to his home to pay New Year's visits.
No matter what their purpose was in coming to visit, they were treated with hospitality. If anyone brought a child, Zhao Qinglan would give them a red envelope of varying amounts depending on the situation.
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is also customary to pay respects to the elders in the family.
Li Huai burned incense and kowtowed to his mother, while Sun Guangming and the others also paid their respects to their deceased parents.
Although she knew that her parents were no longer alive, Madam Sun, like Sun Guangming before her, wanted to visit their graves to pay her respects.
This is only natural. Both Sun Guangming and his wife were very supportive, and the three siblings even made a promise to go back together.
Madam Sun and Madam Sun were fine, but Sun Guangming couldn't stay away for too long, so the three siblings decided to leave on the second day of the new year.
Since Zhao Qinglan and the others couldn't easily organize their elders to go back, they could only ask Li Huai and Zhou Jingsheng to hurry up and buy tickets at the train station.
Fortunately, there were few people taking the train before the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and they were able to buy their train tickets smoothly.
Seeing that her mother and uncle were about to leave, Zhao Qingju decided not to stay any longer.
She insisted on coming back because the family had finally reunited. Although her parents-in-law did not strongly stop them, she knew that the two elders must be uncomfortable.
Now that the family had had their fun, she decided not to stay any longer and hurried back while the train was still relatively empty, so as not to be jostled by the crowds on the train later.
She was going back to the capital. Although Zhao Qinglan and Zhao Qingzhu were reluctant to let her go, they knew that once someone got married, they were no longer in control of their own lives. Their younger sister's parents-in-law were still alive, so it was different for her than for the two of them.
On the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the family had a final reunion dinner together, and the next morning, they all went to the train station.
Although Sun Guangming and his two siblings are all nearly sixty years old, they are fortunate to have two young assistants, which makes Zhao Qinglan and her sisters feel a little more at ease.
As for Zhao Qingju, it's unknown when she'll return next. Zhao Qinglan has also packed and brought things for her younger sister quite a bit.
She now runs a supermarket and has a lot of everything at home. If it weren't for the fact that her brother-in-law also has to take care of her pregnant sister and can't carry too much, she would want to pack some of everything for her sister.
After seeing off Madam Sun and Zhao Qingju, Zhao Qingzhu quickly took the children back to her own home.
The house, which was bustling and lively just a few days ago, is now only occupied by Zhao Qinglan and her family of six.
It was truly lively when things were bustling, and Zhao Qinglan was happy, but worrying about the food and lodging of so many people every day was indeed mentally exhausting.
Since her mother and uncle had both left, and she didn't have any relatives to visit, she stayed home and rested for two days.
Li Huai was also a good husband. Seeing that his wife was tired, he would give her all kinds of massages and kneading whenever he was at home. He was strong, and because he did it so often, the massages were very comfortable.
Zhao Qinglan even jokingly told her husband that even if he retired, he could open a massage parlor to make a living.
With her children all grown up, Zhao Qinglan didn't have to worry about them every day. Apart from feeding the children, she had a very leisurely life.
After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the supermarket and several stores jointly operated by the military and civilians also gradually reopened.
After reopening, the military and civilians worked together again, and the supermarket surprisingly welcomed a large number of customers. It was unclear whether it was because everyone had a lot of things to buy after being closed for several days. In any case, Zhao Qinglan was happy to make more money.
With his own business no longer a concern, another matter also kept him busy.
Government staff returned to work after their annual leave, and Mr. Cheng began to worry about the Hong Kong businessmen coming to visit and invest.
Since Zhao Qinglan helped to contact and introduce the person, it was inevitable that her opinion would be sought.
To ensure they wouldn't be stood up, Zhao Qinglan contacted several Hong Kong businessmen one by one. After receiving confirmation, the provincial authorities also began preparations in earnest.
Zhang Yu also told Zhao Qinglan that he would bring his wife and two children over and they would definitely come to their house for a few days of meals.
Zhao Qinglan was naturally very welcoming; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their two families were now very close.
Knowing that Zhang Yu's family was coming, even Li Huai became excited.
Because of his work, he rarely returns to Beijing and finds it difficult to meet with his friends, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care about them.
It is precisely because he has few true friends that he values Zhang Yu even more.
With guests coming to the house again, Zhao Qinglan couldn't help but give the children a few words of advice.
At Hong Kong Airport, a Hong Kong businessman departs together with the Wang family father and daughter.
When asked why he kept such a good thing as investing in mainland China a secret, Wang Dazhi laughed and said, "There's an old acquaintance there, and I wanted to give her a surprise."
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