◎Third update◎
It is not customary to offer sacrifices at the graves nowadays, so Xu Shengjie poured a glass of wine for everyone in a small cup, raised the cup and poured it on the ground, just as if he was offering a glass of wine to his deceased parents and celebrating the New Year together.
Zhou Yun held the wine glass with a look of sadness on his face. So many years had passed in a flash, and the second brother and his wife had been gone for so long. In the blink of an eye, even his grandson had started a family. This year's New Year's Day, the Xu family was finally lively.
"Grandma, don't cry." Xu Shengya sat next to Zhou Yun and stretched out her hand to wipe her grandmother's tears. The little girl was closest to her grandmother. Her parents passed away when she was one year old. Her grandmother was the most precious thing to her. Seeing her grandmother's tears in her eyes, she also wanted to cry.
"Grandma, don't be sad. Today is a good day and it's so lively during the New Year." Liang Baozhen coaxed the old lady and signaled Xu Shengwei to come over.
Xu Shengwei is the happy fruit of the family. He jumped off the stool and rushed to his grandmother, "Grandma, why are you crying? Don't you want to give me the New Year's money? You can't cheat me~"
"You naughty boy!" Zhou Yun's originally worried face suddenly broke down and he burst into laughter. His grandson's words were really unbearable. "You're always thinking about the New Year's money, right? Sit back quickly, you'll be needed."
“Okay!”
Xu Shengjie picked up a piece of braised pork for grandma. The meat was cooked until soft and perfect for grandma with bad teeth. "Grandma, don't be sad. Our life is getting better and better now. Mom and Dad are happy to see it too."
"Yes, yes, your parents will definitely be happy!" Zhou Yun picked up the chopsticks and asked everyone to start.
The New Year's Eve dinner took more than an hour. It was the most sumptuous meal of the year. No matter how hard or frugal people worked on normal days, they had to have a good meal during the New Year, chatting and laughing. The meal was a time of reunion and celebration.
At midnight, firecrackers rang out, crackling and popping, and the excitement drove away the troubles of the past year and welcomed the arrival of the new year.
——
Early in the morning on the first day of the New Year, Liang Baozhen got up and put on new clothes. Her grandmother had planned it carefully, and everyone had to have a new piece of clothing, and they had to be beautiful.
Liang Baozhen was wearing a red floral jacket with new cotton inside, which was warm. Zhou Yun was skilled in craftsmanship and even sewed plum blossom buttons for her. Young girls all like to be coquettish, unlike her age, who didn't care about anything.
Xu Shengjie changed into a blue shirt, which was made of a slightly stiff fabric. It did not make the tall Xu Shengjie look bloated at all, and he looked quite handsome.
"Brother, sister-in-law, Happy New Year!"
Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya rushed over. It was a rare occasion for them to wake up so early in the morning without feeling sleepy. After all, they couldn't sleep because they were thinking about collecting the New Year's money.
The two of them were wearing a blue and a red shirt respectively, which were exactly the same colors as the eldest brother and his wife. They were very eye-catching standing together.
In the past, people had to kowtow when paying New Year's greetings. Since the campaign to destroy the four olds in recent years, the custom of kowtow has been required to be abolished. If two people say auspicious words, they will receive red envelopes, one for grandma, one for my eldest brother, and one for my sister-in-law.
"Xiaoya, let me see yours." Xu Shengwei tilted his head to take a look at his sister's red envelope. He always felt that his sister's red envelope looked thicker.
"You have one yourself." Xu Shengya hid the red envelope behind her and looked at Xu Shengwei with a pout.
The brother and sister are twins and look 60% alike. Xu Shengwei was also handsome when he was young. He inherited more of his mother Wu Huacui's looks than his older brother Xu Shengjie. His facial features are less heroic than his older brother's, but more handsome.
Xu Shengya inherited everything from her mother, with a pretty face and delicate features, especially her grape-like eyes which looked very lively. As she watched her second brother spread out the red envelope with two fingers and peer into it intently, she remembered something.
"Second brother, Happy New Year and best wishes for prosperity." After saying that, she bowed to Xu Shengwei, turned around and looked at him with her hands spread out.
"What are you doing? You still want to ask me for a red envelope?" This time it was Xu Shengwei's turn to hide the red envelope behind his body. What a joke! This was the New Year's money he had been looking forward to for a year, and no one could use it!
"I've already wished you a happy new year, why don't you give me a red envelope?" Xu Shengya's eyes were bright and she spoke seriously, as if she was saying some wise words that no one could refute.
Xu Shengjie nodded, patted his brother's shoulder, and urged him, "Xiao Ya is your sister, as a brother, why don't you show some appreciation?"
Zhou Yun also helped to speak, saying with a smile, "Xiao Wei, Xiao Ya has already wished you a happy new year, you can't be stingy."
Hey guys, why are you all helping Xiaoya count your own dimes? Zhou Yun and Xu Shengjie each gave her 1 dime as New Year's gift, which was more than before.
As a result, before he could even feel the money in his pocket, Xu Shengwei thought about it and came up with a good idea, "Since we came here together, why don't you just be the older sister?"
"You kid, you don't even want to be your brother just to avoid paying the New Year's money?" Xu Shengjie rubbed his brother's short hair.
"No, no, what's the good of being a brother? You even have to pay me."
Xiaoya sniffed and scratched her cheeks with her right fingers. "Brother, I'm so embarrassed~"
"It doesn't matter. Money is more important."
Liang Baozhen couldn't help laughing as she watched the two of them talking. Xiaowei and Xiaoya had a good relationship. She thought of her brothers and sisters at home and looked forward to going back on the third day of junior high school.
Originally, she was thinking of going back to Damian Village with Xu Shengjie on the third day of the Chinese New Year. The New Year's goods had already been prepared and they could just carry them with them. However, Zhou Yun kept talking about not meeting her in-laws, and since it was a good time for the Chinese New Year, she simply asked the Liang family to come to the city to sit down and have a meal.
This made Liang Baozhen very happy. She hurried to the post office, spent money, called the commune, and asked someone to tell Song Chunhua to call back at 3 pm on the first day of the new year.
Song Chunhua had been worried before. She was always worried that bringing such a large family to the city would have a bad impact, as if they were going to beg for money. However, Zhou Yun went with her and talked to her on the phone, and Song Chunhua finally changed her mind.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the family went to the city and had dinner with the Xu family.
Because of this happy event, Liang Baozhen walked very fast on the first and second days of the Chinese New Year and smiled at everyone she met. When Liu Nianhua saw her, he thought she had some good news.
When Liang Baozhen explained the matter, Liu Nianhua felt the same way. She also loved to be close to her parents, especially after her divorce from Zhou Guoping, she preferred to stay with her parents. No matter what time, family members were her support.
This year, on New Year's Eve, she took Xiaolong and Xiaohu back to the tube-shaped building where her parents lived. This was the first time she went back to her parents' home to celebrate the New Year after getting married. In the past, the four of them always spent the New Year together in the big compound. It was fine in the first few years, but later Zhou Guoping always liked to run outside, and she didn't take it seriously, thinking that he was busy with his own things.
News of Liu Nianhua's divorce spread throughout the tube-shaped building where her parents lived. These days, no news can be kept secret, and some gossip has passed her ears, but she has gotten used to it. Her life is her own, so she doesn't care what others say.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, she brought her sons back to the yard. The large courtyard was bustling with activity, and the atmosphere of the New Year was much stronger than in previous years.
"Your parents and their family are coming to town? That's great, you can show them around."
"Yes, my sister has been talking about this. She really wants to come to the city to have a look." Liang Baozhen saw Liu Nianhua and his family coming back with large and small bags, and immediately understood, "How much stuff did your parents give you? You can't even carry it with both hands."
My own parents are the same. Whenever they go home, they always think of packing some food and taking it back to the city to eat.
There were still some peanuts and melon seeds left from the candies bought before the Chinese New Year. Liang Baozhen grabbed a handful and gave them to Xiaolong and Xiaohu, who received sweet wishes for the New Year.
In the afternoon, the Wei family came again with gifts. Because they were godparents, the two families became close relatives. Wei Haiping and Dong Xiufen bought a can of maltose and two cans of canned fruit. They remembered the kindness of saving their son's life and took the opportunity of the New Year to send a gift.
Liang Baozhen's family thought about refusing the gift because it was so important, but Biaozi called them godfather and godmother, which made it difficult for them to refuse during the New Year. They could only give the children a big red envelope with one yuan in it.
"Wow, canned syrup!" After the guests left, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya looked at the tin cans with starry eyes that made a clang clang clang sound when they knocked twice. They had only eaten canned food when they were sick before.
It was always like this these days, only sick people were qualified to eat canned fruit, as if drinking a sip of sweet canned water would cure the disease. Three years ago, Biaozi even did something stupid like deliberately getting sick for canned fruit, secretly taking a cool bath in winter, and finally admitted his mistake after being severely punished by Wei Haiping.
"It's over. When will we get sick?" You can only eat canned food when you are sick. Xu Shengwei was a little distressed. He touched his sister and thought about who of them was more likely to have a cold and fever.
Xu Shengya stretched her head to look at her second brother's forehead. Hey, they are both so healthy!
Zhou Yun was wiping the table. Seeing his grandchildren staring at the can of sugar water without moving their eyes, he smiled gently, "Want to eat? Open the lid."
"Ah?" They both jumped up in disbelief, "We can eat it now?"
"Grandma, we don't have a cold."
“You can eat it even if you are not sick.”
In the past, our family was not well-off and our conditions were very poor. The canned fruit we had was given as a gift by someone who came to visit us, so we naturally couldn’t bear to eat it. Now, both of us have full-time jobs and our conditions are good, so there is naturally no need to make the children suffer too much.
Xu Shengjie happened to hear what his grandmother said from outside, and his heart ached. It would be better if his younger brothers and sisters could eat canned fruit whenever they wanted.
"Xiaowei pried open the lid, and Xiaoya shared it among the four bowls."
"Brother, you don't want to eat?" Xu Shengya knew that among the four bowls, her brother definitely didn't count his own.
Xu Shengjie waved his hand and went to find Liang Baozhen next door, "You guys eat."
Xu Shengya swung her thin legs and muttered, "I still want five."
The little girl was very particular about doing things fairly. She lined up five porcelain bowls in a row, and used a spoon to scoop food into the cans. She scooped an orange slice into each bowl, then held the cans with both hands and poured sugar water into each bowl one by one. She had to check with her head tilted to make sure the sugar water line remained on the same level, so that everyone had the same amount!
The Wei family sent canned oranges. The orange flesh was bright yellow, and the syrup was also light yellow, exuding a sweet aroma.
Take a gentle bite of the orange flesh, and the sweetness fills your mouth. The flesh is very soft and melts in a sip.
When Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen returned to the house, they smelled a sweet fragrance. There was canned water left for them on the table. Xu Shengya pushed the bowl and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, come and eat some canned fruit."
The author has something to say:
A historic meeting of elementary school student netizens is coming soon!
★Recommend the pre-collection of "Love Story in the 1990s". Please collect it. You can see it in the author's column.
Ye Huan, who has the courage of a needle tip, has done two very daring things in his life:
The first thing was that her biological father wanted to sell her to an old widower for money. Ye Huan took her sister, stole her father's money, and took a train for three days and three nights to seek refuge with her aunt who lived far away in Guangzhou.
The second thing was that when she was almost desperate in Guangzhou, she started dating Lu Cheng, the best-looking gangster in the tube building.
The neighbors in the tube building all advised her that Lu Cheng was not a good person, was uneducated and had no future, and that it would be bad to follow him because he was a heartless person.
Ye Huan thought it didn't matter because she didn't really mean it.
She just wanted to follow Lu Cheng to set up a stall to make money, and break up with him when she made 10,000 yuan, and live with her sister...
However, after a long time, Ye Huan, the landlady who already owned a building, discovered that the amount of money in her piggy bank was always 9999.
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