New Year's Eve Dinner

When the bus arrived at the station, nearly 30 people got off the bus which could accommodate 19 people.

Chen Jiao's face turned pale and she found a tree to lean on while vomiting. Her husband and two children behind her didn't look much better. The air in the car was stale and people were so crowded together that they didn't even need to hold onto the handles.

Huo Xuan couldn't help but complain: "Why don't grandpa and grandma go to the city to celebrate the New Year? There is nothing in the village and it's far away."

Huo Kai frowned and said, "You also know that the journey is long. Your grandparents are old and it is not convenient for them to travel far."

Huo Xuan pouted in dissatisfaction. The car was smelly and she was full of anger. She hated the countryside. The toilets in the countryside were dirty, smelly and outside the door. She didn't dare to get up at night. She used to live with her grandparents for several months before she could eat meat. Her grandmother didn't like to use oil when cooking and the food tasted bad. She wanted to eat the food in the school cafeteria.

Huo Kai knew his daughter was spoiled, so he coaxed her: "Don't be so disrespectful in front of your grandparents during the New Year. Just bear with it for a few days and you will go home. Besides, you can get New Year's money when you go back to your hometown. Don't you want to save money for yourself?"

Chen Jiao listened to the conversation between the father and daughter. Huo Kai really loved his daughter. Huo Xuan's bad habits were caused by him. She was so carsick that she couldn't say a word. Huo Li'an stood quietly by the side in a daze.

Before she even sat down after returning to the village, she heard about Song Shixia's story. The names of the Song brothers and sisters were well-known in the village, especially when they drove two cars into the village during the New Year. It was said that Song Shixia and her husband were sent back by a driver, and after the New Year, the driver took them back to the city. Everyone said that Song Shixia married a rich and educated city man.

The second thing is that Song Qiusheng bought a washing machine and a refrigerator for his family and brought back a truckload of New Year's goods. This matter can make the villagers talk about it until the end of the year. The Song family is now the richest family in the village.

Chen Jiao felt mixed emotions when she heard this, especially when the neighbor next door once again mentioned his envy of Song Shixia while reminiscing with her, and even mentioned her.

"Look, you are only two or three years older than her, and you two really have different fates. Song Shixia is much luckier than you as both of you are stepmothers. I would say that you are just a bit irritable and unpleasant, your skin is not as white as Song Shixia's, and you are not as slim as her. Haven't you seen how Song Shixia speaks in a coquettish way? Can a man stand it?"

Chen Jiao envied Song Shixia, but she would not let a few words drive a wedge between them in her next life. She had lived in the village for most of her previous life, so such words would not hurt her at all. She could see through her neighbors' thoughts at a glance.

"Song Shixia has been spoiled by her family since she was a child, so what's wrong with that? My family is unreliable, so I have to be strong on my own to avoid being bullied. If I was born in her family, I would be even more spoiled than her. You are telling me that you are jealous of her, aren't you?"

The neighbor said embarrassedly, "I feel it's unfair for you. How can there be such a big difference between them when they are both stepmothers? Don't be too sad. Although you are not as good as her in other aspects, you can tell from one glance that she knows how to live. She is just pretty, and maybe she is disliked by her husband's family behind her back. Who would like a pretty daughter-in-law?"

The neighbor lowered his voice again, "I heard that she didn't even come out to help her family on the day they slaughtered pigs. She sat in the fire house with the city man and ate delicious food. I don't know what delicious food they ate, but the whole yard was filled with fragrance. She didn't even greet her parents. Tsk, how selfish she is. She also pretended to hold a book. If you didn't know, you would think she was going to college."

Chen Jiao smiled and said, "Auntie, you are wrong. You may not know that Song Shixia and I are in the same school. Her husband's position is higher than Huo Kai's. He is a university professor. Song Shixia is very popular in our neighborhood."

The neighbor's eyes widened: "Professor?! Aren't all professors old men? How can there be such a young professor?"

It's not like she had never seen a professor before. In the past few years, there were many professors living in cowsheds in the countryside. They were all well-known figures, and later returned to the city. She knew that Huo Kai was lucky to be sent to the cowshed and had a good relationship with the professor. He actually secretly learned knowledge from the professor and was admitted to a university as soon as the college entrance examination was resumed. It was said that he was able to stay and teach because he had helped a university professor.

Chen Jiao pretended to be nonchalant: "Universities are full of professors, Huo Kai will also be a professor in a few years. Professor Ji is a well-known figure in the school, and Song Shixia's life will only be better if she marries him. Professor Ji's parents are both highly educated people, and they come to Song Shixia's house every now and then to give her several kilograms of meat, and she is tired of eating meat all year round. Song Shixia's cooking skills are worse than mine, and her popularity is also good. I am indeed inferior to her in every aspect. So don't compare yourself with others, and the most important thing is to be yourself."

Chen Jiao didn't know whether Professor Ji's parents were high-level intellectuals. She just made it up. Anyway, her mother-in-law would definitely not be willing to give her meat every meal and would be eager to get some money from her.

The neighbor was embarrassed: "You are right, we can't compare with others."

Originally, Chen Jiao was the object of her envy. She didn't want Chen Jiao to live comfortably, so she deliberately mentioned Song Shixia in front of Chen Jiao, hoping that she would feel jealous with her. Who knew that Song Shixia actually married a university professor? The man who looked gentle and could not farm was actually a university professor!

Even if it was an ordinary university professor, she wouldn't be so shocked. What kind of background does such a young professor have? She couldn't understand why Song Shixia kept it a secret. If she married a young university professor, she would want the whole world to know.

Chen Jiao's envy was relieved after she let out her anger. Her neighbors wanted her to be against Song Shixia, but she knew that she and Song Shixia were not from the same world and there was no need to be against each other. Song Shixia could have a good fortune without doing anything, and her family had already dragged her down. She just wanted to cherish the hard-won chance of rebirth and find a way out, and she would never repeat the same mistakes and step into the dead end of her previous life.

During the days she was lying in bed, she read a book written by the old lady in the next bed. The book talked about some Buddhist principles. One of the philosophical stories said that everyone's blessings are limited, so people will suffer in life. If a person has blessings all the time, it means that he did a lot of good things in his previous life.

In her previous life, she did not believe in Buddhism, but God allowed her to be reborn. She suddenly felt that everything in the world has its own cause and effect, and there is no need to envy others.

The neighbor's attempt to sow discord failed, and she was one of the idle chatterers at the entrance of the village. In her eyes, the university professor who returned to the city was a great figure. At this time, she no longer had the mood to watch the excitement, and her mind was full of shocking news.

Unfortunately, today is New Year's Eve, so I can't spread the news immediately and let my friends who usually chat with me at the village entrance know the news.

This is a university professor, a professor who is less than 30 years old! Song Shixia actually married such an extraordinary person. No wonder she looked down on the village man before. He just came to the city and found a university professor with a good family background. At this moment, she felt that even if this professor had two children, Song Shixia was marrying above her station.

Her cousin who worked in the county winery used to visit her often. She knew what her cousin was thinking. There was no young man in the village who didn't like Song Shixia. Most young girls disliked Song Shixia. They were jealous of her because she didn't have to work in the fields and just stayed at home to take care of her younger brother. She was also jealous of Song Shixia and even maliciously speculated that Song Shixia would marry the ugly and rich son of the factory director.

Most young people's mothers don't like Song Shixia either. How can she be a good woman when she is young and attracts many men? She is lazy, greedy, and conceited. She doesn't know how to farm. She has a small butt and definitely can't have many children. She is probably not honest after marriage.

All the women chatting at the entrance of the village would have the same idea when they saw a pretty girl. If their sons couldn't get her married, they would slander her. Any girl who had been pursued by more than two young men would be talked about and commented on by the aunties at the entrance of the village, as if she was so despicable.

Chen Jiao was also discussed, but everyone criticized her for being unfilial and having a falling out with her family. They said that marrying a daughter-in-law like her would definitely bring unrest to her family, and everyone was waiting to see her quarrel with her man and become homeless.

When a person is so outstanding that others cannot find any flaws to criticize, then everyone's jealousy of her will turn into envy. Chen Jiao's words made the neighbors and the women at the entrance of the village unable to say anything sarcastic to Song Shixia. When they mentioned her, they only said "She is so lucky" and endless envy.

Chen Jiao went to the kitchen to see if she needed help. Her mother-in-law was busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner at the stove. It wasn't that she had just gone out to be lazy. The eggs and meat in the house were her mother-in-law's lifeblood, and no one else knew where they were hidden except her. She knew that her mother-in-law was on guard against her, so she deliberately went out to give her mother-in-law time to take out the hidden things.

The family raised two chickens, both old hens for laying eggs. Chen Jiao guessed that the family had at least 50 eggs. Even so, her mother-in-law protected them like treasures and didn't let anyone know where they were. She guessed that Huo Xuan had stolen a lot of them.

She didn't feel anything about her mother-in-law's behavior, at least it was better than the mother-in-law who was nice to her on the surface but secretly helped her hide her husband's infidelity. Anyway, she didn't live with her mother-in-law, so she came back to stay for a few days during the Chinese New Year to save face and make it acceptable to everyone.

There were only a dozen eggs and a pound of pork on the chopping board. My mother-in-law was reluctant to kill even a chicken, but it was not easy to see oil and water on New Year's Eve in this family.

My mother-in-law was very excited when she first came in, but her smile faded a lot after she saw what they were holding.

Chen Jiao didn't understand at first, until her neighbor mentioned the Song family, she finally understood why her mother-in-law reacted that way.

Maybe the mother-in-law thought that Huo Kai had made a lot of money teaching in the city, but he was reluctant to buy a TV or a washing machine for the family. She knew that the mother-in-law definitely didn't need household appliances, but the son of the Song family who went out to work for half a year could bring back two large appliances for the family, so how come her glorious son went to the capital to be a teacher and only brought back a few kilograms of sugar and fruit.

"How are you doing?"

Chen Jiao helped light the fire and cried as if nothing had happened: "It's okay, but the daily expenses are too high and I can't save any money. Huo Kai supports the family with a salary of 80 yuan a month, and it is a big expense for two children to go to school. I found a job washing and cutting vegetables in the school cafeteria to barely make ends meet."

My mother-in-law obviously didn't believe it.

"Why does the city cost so much? Eighty yuan a month is not enough?"

"Old lady, we are in the capital. How can you not spend money in the capital? You have to pay for the bus, and we don't have a yard. We have to pay for the vegetables we pick in our yard. We have to pay for water, electricity, and coal. You have to spend money everywhere. Even though being a university teacher sounds respectable, the building we live in is not as comfortable as the yard in our village. There are at least two washing machines in a building. If anyone dares to buy a washing machine, it will be borrowed every day."

The mother-in-law was a little hesitant. How could people in the city live in such poverty?

"How come Qiu Sheng from the Song family earns so much? And Song Shixia, the man she married bought her a TV, a large color TV worth hundreds of dollars."

Chen Jiao rolled her eyes secretly.

"Song Qiu Sheng went out to do business, and there are gains and losses in business. It's not like he hasn't lost before, his luck just got better this year, and it's normal for him to take advantage of the money to tidy up his family. Do you know what kind of family the man Song Shixia married comes from? Her mother-in-law brings a few pounds of meat to the house every now and then, fearing that she and the children won't have enough to eat. Song Shixia lives the most comfortable life in our area."

The mother-in-law was shocked by Song Shixia's life. What a wonderful life!

"How many kilograms of meat would it take to eat for a year?"

Chen Jiao said nonchalantly, "About a month. Both of Song Shixia's children love to eat meat. They would buy meat even if their mother-in-law didn't come to deliver it to them."

The mother-in-law was full of envy, but she said happily: "You are such a spendthrift, it's a good thing Huo Kai married you. We couldn't afford to support someone like you!"

Chen Jiao smiled and didn't say anything. Given the Huo family's conditions, she would only marry Huo Kai without a dowry in order to leave the small mountain village.

On New Year's Eve, there were chickens, ducks, fish and pork on the Song family's table. Last year, Song Dongdong couldn't believe that the New Year's Eve dinner could be so sumptuous.

The only thing he dreamed about was eating a big pork elbow for the New Year's Eve dinner. He ate a whole big pork elbow by himself, and when he woke up his saliva was all over the pillow. He never thought that there would be four different kinds of meat on the New Year's Eve dinner table.

Song Shixia was amused by his naive look. Song Dongdong's look with his eyes wide open and mouth open in disbelief was so adorable.

"Come to the capital after the high school entrance exam. I'll take you to eat barbecue, with beef and lamb. There are so many delicious foods in the capital."

I wanted to take a leave because I felt uncomfortable during my period, but I couldn’t bear to leave my little flower.

Chen Jiao does not believe in Buddhism, but after her rebirth she has some faith in fate. This is purely her personal feeling about her mental growth.