Chapter 13
Lifting the heavy box lid reveals a set of tableware: the bowls are adorned with peach blossoms in early bloom, the plates with peach blossoms in full bloom, and the spoons with peach petals—clearly custom-made porcelain.
"What made you think of sending this?"
Li Ye picked up the peach blossom bowl. The petals, which were not yet fully open, were slightly open, and the tips of the petals were slightly lower than the rim of the bowl, all of which were designed for easy everyday use.
"The design is quite nice; it takes thought and effort."
Zhou Yuan took out a plate and spoon, combined them with a bowl to form a complete set, and presented it to Li Ye. The peach blossoms bloomed layer by layer from small to large, from top to bottom, which, as expected, pleased Li Ye greatly.
"I found a young craftsman, and communication was very smooth. If you like, you can do it yourself later."
Keeping a close eye on the clock hanging in the living room and the sounds on the TV, Zhou Yuan reminded Li Ye at the exact time, saying, "When it's time, cut the cake and share it."
Looking up at the clock, it was indeed close to midnight. The entire performance of "The Butterfly Lovers" had lasted for more than half an hour, and I had been standing in the restaurant touching the new bowls for quite a while. It was definitely this time.
Turning on the kitchen and dining room lights, Li Ye took the intact cake out of the refrigerator and placed it steadily on the dining table. He then went to the cupboard to get six pairs of cutlery, and unplugged the electric pressure cooker in the meantime.
From the living room, I could see the kitchen lights were on, and the Spring Festival Gala on TV was starting its countdown. The adults began another round of invitations and refusals. Ms. Li was making longevity noodles for her beloved daughter, so she didn't participate in the activity.
Seeing Ms. Li come over to prepare noodles, Li Ye left the kitchen and returned to the dining room to focus on unpacking the birthday cake. No one would eat too much late at night. This time, the eight-inch cake was first cut in half, and then one half was cut into six pieces and plated separately.
A thick paper plate holds a cake made by the child, which is then personally served to the birthday person on this joyous occasion of the New Year. There is absolutely no room for refusal.
The Zhou family elders had no choice but to break their rule of not eating overnight. They used to limit themselves to drinking a small bowl of chicken soup during the transition between the old and new years.
The cake has two layers, with a ring of cream filling and fruit in the middle. There is no jam, and the final cream decoration is just a thin layer. It looks a bit amateurish, and it is indeed made by a novice, but it is very suitable for eating during the New Year or birthday celebrations. It is not too sweet.
On the other side, Ms. Li, wearing cotton gloves, brought the whole pot of chicken soup to the table, told someone to come and get a bowl to drink the soup, and indicated to Li Ye that her portion had been prepared separately.
After putting down the cake he had only taken two bites of, Li Ye used a tray to bring his longevity chicken soup noodles to the table. He picked up the clearly exposed noodle head with his chopsticks, sipped the noodle bit by bit, and then quickly ate a bite of cake to settle his stomach.
The fruit used this time is strawberries, which are bright red and juicy, and look very much in line with the colors of the New Year. The cream is also pink to avoid picking at the thorns.
With two bites of cake and a sip of chicken soup, and the adults exchanging New Year's greetings all around them, Li Ye and Zhou Yuan exchanged a glance. This was the first time they had ever celebrated the New Year like this.
After putting all the dishes into the dishwasher, Zhou's parents left first, Teacher Li tidied up the dining room and kitchen, and Ms. Li tidied up the living room. Li Ye decided to take Zhou Yuan home and enjoy the first cold wind of the new year.
"You should go back to sleep too. It's just a few steps, but I still want to walk you home."
Seeing that Li Ye was just making an excuse to go out, Zhou Yuan stood by the door with his violin, waiting for Li Ye to open the door for him.
The icy air outside gave the two of them a shiver as they stepped out. Just as Li Ye had expected, the wind did make them feel much more awake. They could feel the temperature of their fingertips dropping rapidly, so Li Ye decided to keep it short.
"Even though I've given you so many gifts this time, when it's your birthday, I'll still only give you a similar gift as before."
Zhou Yuan denied this claim: "Your birthday presents were a homemade cake and a set of custom-made bowls, while 'The Butterfly Lovers' was a New Year's gift for you."
“In the past, every year’s performance was a New Year’s gift; we always gave two gifts. If Li wants a performance as a birthday present…”
Zhou Yuan, who was almost at his doorstep, suddenly stopped, picked up his violin, and a spring-like melody filled the air. It disappeared after a few dozen seconds, and Li Ye's illusion of feeling his fingertips warmed with the music vanished in an instant.
"The unfinished piece was originally meant to be played for Li after it was finished, but now it's part of the performance as a birthday gift."
The Zhou family's gate wasn't closed tightly, and light shining through the crack shone on Zhou Yuan's face, revealing a handsome and refined face full of smiles. He was very happy.
Happy birthday, Li! And happy new year!
Happy New Year to you, Zhou Yuan.
Li Ye was also very happy, even when he returned home surrounded by the adults watching him.
Seeing that observing the situation would not yield any results, and realizing that some questions were inappropriate to ask during the Lunar New Year, Ms. Li took out two red envelopes and handed them to the grown-up girl, saying, "This is your New Year's money."
Li Ye was both amused and exasperated, but in the end he happily accepted it. "I've been an adult for several years now and I'm earning money. What's this excuse for giving me New Year's money this time?"
"Why can't a child who isn't married yet receive New Year's money? You're still getting pocket money at home."
Ms. Li seemed to be in the right, and Li Ye, not to be outdone, also took out two red envelopes from his pocket and handed them to the two parents.
“The children who earn money don’t send money or gifts home during holidays, so please accept my gift too.”
"Besides, wasn't it me who put money in the household allowance for the family to spend? Why can't I take it?"
After exchanging red envelopes in a show of affection, the family of three stayed up together until the early hours of the morning.
He went to bed at 5 a.m. and woke up at 6:30 a.m., inevitably resulting in dark circles under his eyes. Fortunately, today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Teacher Li was taking Ms. Li back to his hometown. On the second day, Ms. Li was taking Teacher Li back to her parents' home, giving him two days to recover.
As for Li Ye, he hasn't visited relatives during these two days since he became an adult. In the following days, relatives will come to visit. The troublesome thing is that someone has to cook and reheat those dishes repeatedly.
The good news is that dinner is still being eaten by the three of us at home. In just two days, we've successfully transformed a perfect portion into a bountiful harvest. We still have plenty of steak and braised beef left over. The rib soup is now served with corn instead of yam, along with some fresh stir-fried vegetables and a beautifully presented plate of fish.
"Do you still have a few boxes of those brown sugar-filled glutinous rice cakes in the fridge?"
The adults have been busy running around these past two days, so Li Ye has taken the initiative to take over the housework. Ms. Li is quite attentive to food, thinking that there hasn't been any fried food at home these past two days.
"There are five boxes left. We only used one box that day. The name on the packaging is brown sugar rice cake. We had been calling it the wrong name before."
Li Ye took the dishes out of the dishwasher and put them in the cupboard. Hearing this, he thought it was Ms. Li who wanted to eat, and asked, "We're not going out tomorrow, so we can fry a plate for lunch. I think it would be delicious too."
"Tomorrow, my sister, your aunt, is coming over with her whole family to wish us a Happy New Year. They said they'd stay for lunch and I'm thinking of preparing some food that the kids like. Her granddaughter just started elementary school, so she can eat some fried food now."
While watching a rerun of a skit on TV, Ms. Li casually dropped a bombshell, shocking Li Ye, who was checking the refrigerator's contents. She disliked the aunt, as did the woman across the street.
"What else do you want to prepare? There's pork, beef, and lamb in the fridge. We still have one of the two chickens we bought before the New Year that we haven't touched, a box of chicken wings that we haven't touched, and two boxes of quail eggs. Is that enough?"
"There's no need for such a grand affair. Five people are coming from her family. We'll just have a plate of chicken wings, a plate of brown sugar rice cakes, and a serving of steamed eggs. The rest of the dishes can be adjusted according to the number of people."
Li Ye really didn't want to accept it. She even wanted to say that she would go out to visit friends for the New Year tomorrow, but the timing was wrong and there was no time to notify them at the last minute. Most importantly, it was already too much trouble for the two adults not to visit friends on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, so she decided to start going back to work on the third day.
Li Ye, who was in business mode, went through the third day of the Lunar New Year with a blank expression. The two families saw each other off politely. Ms. Li could only sigh in her heart when she saw Li Ye relax instantly.
The eldest sister didn't entirely mean it that way. It just so happened that they ran into each other at that time. Both sides are still unhappy now. It can only be said that she is still willing to maintain the appearance for Li Duoyun's sake.
In the following days, Li's distant relatives and former students came to pay their respects for the New Year. Li Ye was not very familiar with them, so he pretended to be polite and courteous throughout, but in reality, he was constantly scrolling through group chats on his phone.
These past few days, everyone has had more free time, and therefore more time to play on their phones. Although they still complain about the same old three things: work, house, car, and partner, there are some new changes in the group chat this year.
First, there's Zeng Yuan, who's newly married and still in a period of grace, so she won't be dragged out and attacked.
Then there's Li Ye, who has a complicated situation, but his family never brings it up on their own initiative.
The most unlucky ones are Yao Yao and Ye Tinglan; none of the three escaped the consequences. Ye Tinglan had dated a few boyfriends before, but not recently, so it's hard to say who is worse off.
After all, Yao Yao had already been tricked into going on three blind dates, introduced by her father's friends, her mother's colleagues, and relatives. This was an even bigger affair than when she got into university.
Unable to provide remote assistance, Li Ye gradually shifted his focus from interpersonal interactions to his schedule for the new year: he needed to have fixed time for animation work, to travel, to buy a house, to communicate with a designer about renovations, and to rent a place...
There are many events that need to be coordinated, so I need to ask Zhou Yuan about the arrangements. Li Ye put this into his recent schedule. Next is the study schedule, which includes reviewing animation production and game production, learning tango, and learning a musical instrument.
After buying the house, Li Ye thought about buying a musical instrument for the new home. Once he bought the instrument, he would start learning. So he chose the cello, the only instrument he had ever played. He figured he could ask Zhou Yuan for help with this, since Zhou Yuan could play more than just the violin.
The first half of the year's plan was written on two pages. Li Ye flipped back to see the parts that required Zhou Yuan's involvement. The proportion was quite high. Suddenly, she wanted to exchange New Year's plans with Zhou Yuan to see how much of it required her participation.
It's too ambiguous. Li Ye pulled himself out of his thoughts, took the note about Zhou Yuan from the paper and put it into his phone's memo. He needed to find an opportunity to ask Zhou Yuan about it before the Lantern Festival.
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