Chapter 40
The Mu family held their New Year's Eve dinner at their own hotel.
Mu Zhengxi only ate a few bites as a symbolic gesture before having the driver take him back to his family compound.
Everywhere was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, with Spring Festival couplets and paper-cut window decorations. The family compound was no exception, but compared to the outside, it was mostly inhabited by professors of a certain age, so it was not as noisy.
Mu Zhengxi had forgotten his keys and could only ring the doorbell and wait.
Minxia opened the door and tapped his nose with her finger from a distance.
"I knew you'd come back."
Mu Zhengxi showed his most genuine smile of the day.
The small living room was filled with fresh flowers and gifts.
Minxia hadn't had time to clean up yet. The kitchen was steaming, and Mu Zhengxi smelled the aroma of dumplings. A table full of food was laid out on the table, looking and smelling delicious.
Minxia said, "The dumplings just went into the pot. They're corn and pork filling, your favorite. There's also a bunch of hot dishes that Professor Chen and his wife brought for Professor Jiang."
Jiang Wenqing sat in a wheelchair at the dining table. Minxia changed her into a burgundy knitted cardigan, which made her complexion look rosy and she looked much more energetic. She also had the velvet flower clip that Mu Zhengxi had bought for her last time pinned in her hair.
"Hello beautiful, Happy New Year!"
Mu Zhengxi walked over and, feigning flippancy, hooked her chin with his finger.
The light fell on Jiang Wenqing's eyes, and a faint smile seemed to appear on her lips. Sure enough, as she got older, her temper became more gentle. If it were before, she would definitely have gotten up and given Mu Zhengxi a good beating.
Mu Zhengxi took off his coat, draped it over Jiang Wenqing's arm, and walked into the kitchen.
"When did Wenqing buy that dress? I've never seen it before."
“Your mom bought it; she came by a couple of days ago.”
Mu Zhengxi's facial muscles stiffened, his expression a half-smile, and finally he pulled down the corners of his mouth and gave a faint "Oh," "I'll take it, Sister Xia."
"Be careful, it's hot."
"Um."
"What should we drink later? Coke or Sprite?"
"I'll drink Coke."
"Okay."
Actually, it doesn't matter how many people are there during the Lunar New Year. As long as those who want to be together are together, even a year with three people is still a year.
Minxia and her husband divorced years ago. They have two children. One of them has settled in the United States, and their daughter is also married and moved to the south. She only comes back once in a long while.
She came to Mu Zhengxi's side when he took Jiang Wenqing to live with him. Because Jiang Wenqing was too busy to take care of his daily life, he found an aunt who would pick him up and cook for him during the day. As a result, she has been doing this job ever since.
Minxia looked at Mu Zhengxi as if he were her own grandson. During holidays, people tend to reminisce and look back on the past. "You've grown up so much in no time."
She often said this after Mu Zhengxi entered high school, a mix of happiness and sadness.
Mu Zhengxi picked up a peanut and threw it into his mouth, saying childishly, "How can you say you're all grown up? You're not an adult yet."
Although elders always say they hope their children will grow up, they are actually reluctant to let them go.
"Yeah, he's still just a kid." Seeing him like this, Minxia felt he was still that kid who would whine after school to play soccer a little longer. She put some food on his plate. "Eat more, is it good?"
Mu Zhengxi licked his lips and replied, "Delicious~"
"Would you like more dumplings? I'll cook you a few more."
"Okay, cook five more."
"Six, six is auspicious."
Okay~
Mu Zhengxi stayed in the family compound for two nights. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Mu Shaoqing sent him to the other side of the ocean with a plane ticket. He didn't tell Jiang Jiawei about this.
After Jiang Jiawei got a cell phone, Mu Zhengxi started sending her text messages. He would send messages about small things, like seeing a dog on the street, or even mentioning that he ate an extra bowl of rice at night.
What kind of dog?
The food you cooked was delicious?
[Is this time for dinner??]
They replied in less than three minutes.
[A Rottweiler, almost as big as me when it stands up! It's huge and looks really cool walking around. I want to get one someday.]
[Lunchtime... I typed the wrong number]
It wasn't tasty at all, it was awful. Only the rice was good, which is why I ate an extra bowl.
Why not raise a Samoyed?
Jiang Jiawei was puzzled again.
Is it legal to keep such a large dog in the city?
Haha, what did you cook?
"Ah Le!" Jiang Jiawei was not paying attention and the child who turned on the tap in the yard soaked his pants. After being called by name, he seemed to know that he had done something wrong. He looked at Jiang Jiawei cautiously, took two steps back, spread his hands, shook his head, and muttered that he hadn't done anything wrong.
Jiang Jiawei chuckled, shoved her phone into her pocket, walked over, picked her up, and gently told her, "You can't play in the water, it's so cold. What if you catch a cold? If you catch a cold, you'll have to see a doctor. Do you want to get a shot?" She then made a gesture as if she were getting a shot.
Ah Le reached out and covered his buttocks, shaking his head vigorously, "No, no, I won't hit you."
"Okay, no hitting, then you can't play in the water next time."
The obedient child nodded and said okay.
Jiang Jiawei kissed her cheek. "Come on, let me take you inside to change your clothes."
Samoyeds are so stupid, I won't keep one.
[Cannot be kept in the city]
The beef curry was cold, and the beef was tough; overall, it was awful and hard to swallow.
Jiang Jiawei could sense the melancholy in her writing, which made me chuckle.
"Jiajia".
"Eh."
After changing Ah Le's pants, Jiang Huali called her from outside, and Jiang Jiawei peeked out the window.
"Come on, we're one short for mahjong."
A table was set up in the yard, and Grandma, Aunt, and Grandpa were all ready. Jiang Jiawei carried Ale out.
Lin Jiale was handed to her father by her mother, who was itching for a big fight.
"Come on, come on, your grandpa and I, you and grandma, let's see who comes out on top today."
"Oh ho." Jiang Jiawei sat down, her interest immediately piqued. "What's the loser's explanation?"
"I'll treat you to a late-night snack tonight."
"Grandma, do you have confidence?"
Grandpa teased, "Your grandma might not even be able to see the cards clearly."
Grandma scoffed dismissively, "I might not dare to hit others, but hitting your grandpa is more than enough."
Hahahaha.
[Jiang Jiawei? Are you asleep?]
No, why would anyone be sleeping at this time of day in China?
"What are they doing?" Mu Zhengxi wondered as he turned over in bed.
Grandma always took an unusually long time to bury the cards.
Jiang Jiawei took out her phone and glanced at it.
I just changed my sister's pants. Now she's playing cards with my grandma and the others. The loser has to buy her a late-night snack, haha. Don't you dislike curry?
Sister? Mu Zhengxi frowned. Wasn't it a brother? Had he remembered wrong?
[Give it an 80?]
I don't like it, but curry was all that was left.
[Yes, what are you doing?]
How did you know I don't like curry?
Didn't you say that last time?
It was pitch black outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the room was dark, with only a faint moonlight.
During the Chinese New Year, the family would play mahjong. Mu Shaoqing and his siblings would play at one table, Mu Zhengting and his cousins at another, Mu Yashan and the other women in the family at yet another, while Zeng Yuan would mostly stay quiet, as she didn't like noisy environments.
Mu Zhengxi never spent a complete New Year at home. He always went back to his family compound after the New Year's Eve dinner. Jiang Wenqing would play some card games with him when he wasn't busy, but such times were rare.
I was thinking about how to play the 80-point game.
Forgot already? I'll teach you again next time.
Okay, remember to send me the battle report later.
OK~
[Ah, it's a tie; each player won one game.]
My phone vibrated around 3 a.m.
Who's treating?
[Hey Dad and Uncle, have you had dinner yet?]
【have eaten】
What did you eat?
Curry Beef
Why are we having curry beef again?
[I misspoke, it was pizza, beef pizza.]
We're planning to have hot pot tonight.
Mu Zhengxi sat up abruptly, his eyes clearing instantly. What kind of heinous crime must someone have committed to see the words "hot pot" in the early hours of the morning in the West Eighth District?
[Jiang Jiawei, did you hear a breaking sound?]
Want some too?
Let's cut off contact for now.
Haha, isn't eating hot pot easy?
What's the point of eating hot pot alone?
Are you home alone?
【OK】
Then let's have hot pot together next time you come to Changqing.
【real? 】
【real】
Lagou
【good】
What should you do after eating hot pot?
[Homework: I haven't even started my winter break homework, especially the math homework, I'm doomed!]
Mu Zhengxi swung his legs and laughed, feeling much better. He typed, "If you don't know, I'll teach you~"
Forget it, I'm afraid you'll call me stupid.
When have I ever called you stupid?! I would never!
Mu Zhengxi absolutely could not accept this injustice.
You were the one who called me stupid, weren't you?
Jiang Jiawei recalled it carefully.
Does it exist?
You said I was clumsy last time I peeled an egg.
[Goldfish? Jiang Jiawei]
I'm peeling them really well now, we can have a competition next time!
Remembering that? That's really holding a grudge.
How childish of you to compare peeling eggs!
Didn't you say you weren't going to be a teacher anymore?
Not childish
Jiang Jiawei smiled when she saw those three words.
This is truly a case of trying to hide something obvious.
I was referring to the coach.
Isn't that the same thing?
That's different!
Jiang Jiawei pouted.
"Dinner is ready, Jiajia, call your younger brother and the others over to eat."
"good."
I'm going to eat.
【knew】
When Jiang Jiawei finished her homework and came out of her room to get a drink of water, her grandmother and great-grandmother were sitting on the sofa watching TV, one instructing the other with nimble, non-stop hand movements.
Jiang Jiawei ran over after drinking half of her water, exclaiming, "Grandma, this is mine!"
Grandma pushed up her glasses, her expression full of disdain. "At this rate, your friends won't be able to fit into your clothes by next summer. And the stitches are all frayed; it looks awful."
Jiang Jiawei pouted and looked at her grandmother, picked up the scarf she had knitted, glanced at it, compared it with her grandmother's, wrinkled her nose, and said somewhat dejectedly, "Is it really that ugly..."
Grandma replied without hesitation, "Oh, it's ugly."
Grandma smiled and defended him, saying, "You're doing very well since you're just starting out."
Grandma gave a slight smile. "That's why your great-grandmother would do this to coax you, anything you want."
Jiang Jiawei sat down next to her. "It's really heartbreaking..." Grandma wouldn't fall for a sad act.
"Have you finished your homework?"
"Okay, I'll write it tomorrow." Jiang Jiawei reached out to take the knitting needles. "Teach me some more."
"Look, this..."
"What did you say your friend's name was?"
“Call me…” Jiang Jiawei thought for a moment, “Xie Zhenmin, yes Xie Zhenmin.”
"This color is nice; it complements a girl's skin tone."
"Ah... haha."
"Do you want Grandma to knit one for you too? You don't seem to have a red scarf, do you?" Grandma wrapped the half-finished scarf around Jiang Jiawei's neck and looked at it. The more she looked at it, the more satisfied she was with the color of the yarn. "It's beautiful. Grandma will knit one for you too."
After saying that, Grandma patted her head and said, "I forgot how to write the pinyin letters you said you wanted to embroider on it. Write them down on paper and I'll take another look."
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