Back home, Xia Rong told his mother about it. His mother was overjoyed and excitedly said, "Bring your father to the city as soon as possible after the New Year. I can only feel at ease if things settle down sooner!" Xia Liang smiled but didn't say anything. After his mother finally calmed down, she and Xia Rong went outside. Once outside, Xia Liang spoke first, saying, "Don't let Dad go back after the New Year. He doesn't earn many work points, and he's exhausted. Let's find some connections to find him a job." Xia Rong was no longer the naive, country bumpkin he used to be. After spending so much time in the black market, he had matured considerably and had built up his own network. Xia Rong nodded, "Okay, then we can all live together and take care of each other."
And so, in the blink of an eye, it was the 29th day of the Lunar New Year. The factory was closed for the holiday, and Xia Liang and her brother went to the black market to buy some fruit, cigarettes, alcohol, tea, meat, eggs, and the like. Perhaps because it was almost the New Year, the prices were much higher than usual, but the siblings didn't pay much attention. After buying their things, they returned home and, together with their mother, packed some clothes for a change of clothes. The three of them headed straight to the county bus station to catch the bus. After a long and tiring journey, they finally arrived at Dahe Village at dusk. Every household was preparing New Year's goods for the next day, and the aroma wafted for miles, which quickened the pace of their journey home. When they arrived home, Xia Dahe was preparing pig offal. Today, the team had slaughtered a pig for the New Year, and every household had received a share of pork. Because Xia Dahe had made several tables for the village committee, the pig offal was a reward for him. Xia Dahe thought that his wife and children would probably be back soon, so he decided to process the pig offal.
Seeing the mother and her two children enter, Xia Liang, disregarding the cleanliness of her hands, tried to help them with their things, but her mother politely declined. The group put their things down, drank some water, rested for a while, and then got up to prepare ingredients for frying New Year's treats for tomorrow. They have a custom of eating glutinous rice balls, symbolizing family reunion. She chopped pork, added tofu and radish, along with eggs, mixed it all together, kneaded it into balls, and fried them in oil. They were especially fragrant, and both adults and children loved them. Xia Liang went to the kitchen and found the soybeans they had received this year, soaking them in a basin, planning to grind them into tofu the next day. The family of four prepared until almost ten o'clock at night, then washed up and went to bed.
A loud crowing of a rooster woke up most of the villagers in Dahe Village. It was New Year's Eve, and every household was bustling with activity, putting up couplets and grinding tofu. The tofu shop was especially crowded; there were middle-aged women carrying basins and children carrying buckets of soaking soybeans. Xia Liang was also in the queue. Seeing the people ahead of her, she couldn't help but sigh. She thought she had gotten up early enough, but she was still in the middle of the line. An older woman in front of her asked, "Xia Liang, when did you get back? I didn't see you yesterday." Xia Liang recognized her; she was the daughter-in-law of Xia Youguo's fourth grandfather, who used to live near her grandparents' house. Xia Liang called her Third Aunt, so she replied, "Third Aunt, I got back yesterday. You all got back so early!" Third Aunt Xia smiled and asked, "Have your mother and brother arrived yet?" Xia Liang nodded, "They're both back. It's New Year's, so the whole family has to be together." Aunt Xia kept trying to chat with Xia Liang, asking about her salary, income, and what her mother did in the city. When Aunt Xia mentioned her nephew, Xia Liang knew she wanted to introduce him to her, so she interrupted, "Auntie, it's almost your turn. Get ready." Aunt Xia then stopped talking and turned to scoop soybeans from the basin into the stone mill, one spoonful at a time. Xia Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although she hadn't been honest about many of the questions, she hadn't slept enough, and they weren't very familiar, so she didn't want to chat. After waiting in line for about half an hour, it was finally Xia Liang's turn. Following the steps of the previous aunties, she scooped the soybeans into the stone mill, used another empty bucket she had brought to collect the residue at the outlet, and then carried it home to make tofu.
Back home, Xia Rong was putting up couplets, Xia's mother was chopping meat, and Xia's father was holding a rooster, preparing to kill it. Xia Liang poured the ground soybean milk into a large pot, added water, and started a fire. She then stood by the stove, stirring with a large spoon to prevent it from burning. After boiling for another ten minutes, Xia Liang took four large bowls, put a spoonful of sugar in each, ladled out some soy milk, and called her parents and brother over to drink it. She also prepared boiled gypsum water in a bucket, poured the cooked soy milk into the bucket, and waited for it to solidify into tofu pudding. With nothing else to do, Xia Liang went out to help out.
Xia Liang estimated the tofu pudding was almost ready, so she went into the kitchen and scooped out a bowl of tofu pudding with a large bowl. She then used a special tofu mold to scoop out the remaining pudding. After scooping it all out, she placed a flat wooden board on top, then a large stone on top of that. That was it; the tofu would set in a few hours. Satisfied with her masterpiece, Xia Liang went out. Seeing that her father had already prepared the rooster and was now cleaning the fish, Xia Liang took the rooster to the chopping board where her mother had just chopped meat and started chopping it into three- or four-centimeter pieces to make soup that evening.
And so, amidst the family's busy preparations, it was time for the New Year's Eve dinner. When Xia Rong and Xia Liang brought the dishes to the table, Xia's father opened a bottle of wine that Xia Liang and Xia Liang had brought back, and said happily, "It's wonderful! I, Xia Dahe, am truly blessed to have such children. Today is a happy day, and it's New Year's Day, let's all have a drink!" He then poured a glass for everyone. After the family drank, they began to eat. Looking at the braised fish, stir-fried pork intestines, fried meatballs, stewed chicken, tofu pudding, fried tofu, braised pork, and stir-fried potato shreds on the table, Xia's father couldn't hold back his tears and said, "I never expected that we..." "I never imagined our family life could turn out like this when your grandparents separated us." Actually, Xia Dahe had been terrified ever since he was separated. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to support his wife and children, afraid he wouldn't survive, afraid his parents wouldn't accept him back home, afraid they'd say something that would drive him to despair. It was as if he was always the one being abandoned, someone who could be discarded at any moment. He knew in his heart that his parents' attitude towards him and his older and younger brothers had differed over the years, and he wasn't unmoved. But what could he do? He had no choice. They were his parents, like a huge rock weighing on his heart for decades, and today it seemed to have suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help but burst into tears. Xia's mother, having shared a bed with him for decades, understood her husband's thoughts perfectly, but she was helpless too. She was a weak woman with little self-confidence, and she too began to sob along with her husband. Seeing this, Xia Liang and his sister couldn't help but step forward to comfort them: "Mom and Dad, don't cry. Don't be sad during the New Year, it will affect your luck for the whole year." Hearing their son's words, Xia's parents smiled and wiped away their tears, saying, "We're crying tears of joy. Okay, stop crying and eat your food." Seeing that her parents weren't crying, Xia Liang smiled and said, "Dad, after the New Year, my brother's girlfriend wants to meet you. You'll be having a daughter-in-law soon, so please don't be like this anymore." Hearing his daughter's words, Xia's father turned to look at his son: "You have a girlfriend? Where is she?" Xia Rong was a little shy because her father was looking at her, but she still blushed and said, "She's from the county, and she's my sister's colleague in the same workshop." Xia Dahe laughed happily: "Good, good, good, that's great! It seems that next year's New Year's Eve dinner will have one more person in our family." Xia Liang smiled and said, "Maybe two more!" She chuckled twice as she spoke, and Xia Rong couldn't help but blush at her sister's teasing.
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