Chapter 286: Newborn Cries at Dawn

The Spring Festival of year 63 opened amid a flurry of auspicious snow; snowflakes fell like shredded cotton, rustling through the night, coating Four Nine City in a silver mantle and temporarily masking the courtyard house's usual decay and scheming.

As the year‑end approached, the bone‑deep restlessness belonging to "the New Year" could not be suppressed by any hard times. The confidence brought by modest economic recovery was like a faint spark, igniting people's long‑stored desire to spend.

In front of the snack stalls and department stores that sold goods by ticket, queues longer than in previous years formed; people clutched carefully saved tickets and limited cash, their faces showing a complex mix of hope and caution.

Even the courtyard house was, unusually, filled with a busy and festive atmosphere.

In the front courtyard, Yan Bu Gui's family took the "New Year flavor" and their own "family style" to the extreme. Yan Bu Gui somehow obtained a few sheets of red paper, set a broken table in the yard, laid out the four scholar's tools (a bald brush, a near‑empty inkstone, a cracked ink slab), and opened a "custom spring‑couplet writing, free embellishment" stall. He wore glasses wrapped in tape, shook his head, and looked rather pleased.

"Hey, Lao Yan, you've set up a stall again this year?" Yi Zhonghai walked over hands behind his back, smiling at the red paper.

"Serving the masses, serving the masses!" Yan Bu Gui adjusted his glasses, his small eyes scanning Yi Zhonghai's hand. "First Elder, want a couple? I guarantee every character is auspicious, the meaning profound! Just a token, give me some peanuts and seeds and it's done!"

Yi Zhonghai, now burdened by the Jia family, was short on cash but still had to save face, so he placed a handful of seeds on the table: "Fine, just a plain one, 'In the sound of firecrackers a year is shed.'"

"All right!" Yan Bu Gui beamed, immediately splashing ink, his brush dancing like a dragon.

Liu Haizhong waddled over, belly protruding, and to show the Second Elder's generosity he produced a small handful of shelled peanuts: "Old Yan, write me something grand! It should reflect the vigor of our Working Class!"

"No problem! 'Spring wind and willows in ten‑thousands, six hundred million of the divine land honor Shun and Yao.' See the momentum!" Yan Bu Gui's characters seemed to be written with extra force.

Xu Damao strolled over to join the fun, clutching a few fruit candies, grinning: "Third Elder, give me one too! It should be festive, preferably with a touch of peach‑blossom luck!"

"Go, go, go! It's the New Year's, behave!" Yan Bu Gui scolded with a laugh, yet still wrote a couple: "Joy dwells in a blessed land for a thousand years, blessings shine on the household for all affairs." He slipped the candy into his own pocket.

Yu Xiulian, wrapped in a half‑worn cotton coat, stood at her own doorway watching her father‑in‑law meticulously "trade words for goods," watching neighbors exchange a few snacks for a spring couplet, feeling a swirl of emotions.

This was the family she married into; even the New Year's celebration had to be bartered for. She turned silently back inside, helping San Dama prepare the New Year's Eve dinner that was destined to be measured down to the last grain.

In the central courtyard, the Jia family was a bit more relaxed this year. Qin Huairu's modest factory wages, plus occasional aid from Yi Zhonghai and her own "intangible" income, finally added a few solid items to the holiday basket—half a jin of pork with more fat than lean, two frozen, rock‑hard ribbon fish, and a small packet of golden‑rich assorted candy.

Jia Zhangshi directed Qin Huairu to hide the goods, muttering, "Bang Geng, this year we finally have meat for the New Year! Don't go spreading rumors!" Bang Geng stared at the candy packet, saliva dripping.

In the rear courtyard, Xu Damao's household remained under Wang Cuihua's lead. She bought holiday provisions more generously than Yan Bu Gui, purchasing meat, fish, and even, unusually, a handful of peanuts and seeds. Xu Damao eyed the items, scheming how to stash a bit as his own activity fund.

In the western cross‑courtyard, Li Ping'an's family this year seemed especially composed. Li Ping'an didn't let the increasingly heavy Lin Xueqing labor, and himself took the hopping Yaozong to buy holiday supplies.

By ticket they bought ample pork and eggs, and even a large Big Carp, symbolizing "abundance year after year." He also bought Yaozong a tiny "crackle‑firecracker" that rang when dropped, delighting the little fellow who kept his mouth open all the way.

"Dad, fish! Big fish!" Yaozong shouted, pointing at the carp threaded with grass rope.

"Yes, eating fish at New Year brings surplus every year." Li Ping'an laughed, also buying several beautiful New Year pictures and a ready‑made, printed, big red spring couplet. He had no time to queue for Yan Bu Gui's "ink treasure."

In the central courtyard, the Sha Zhu Family was similar. Sha Zhu cradled his son He Xiao, the two of them wandering to shop. Sha Zhu, a cook picky about food, bought only good stuff, constantly bragging to He Xiao: "Son, see? This meat is marbled, clearly quality! This fish is lively! Tonight dad will show you a trick!"

On New Year's Eve, every household pasted spring couplets, set off firecrackers (a few small ones), and the stew's aroma spread through the courtyard from the afternoon onward, lingering long. It was a complex scent of hope, satisfaction and a brief release of a year's fatigue.

They kept watch, ate the New Year's Eve dinner. The Yan family still practiced separate dishes, but at least there was a hint of oil in the bowls; the Jia family, Bang Geng finally got to gnaw the long‑desired meat bone; Xu Damao rarely got scolded, quietly ate vegetables; Li Ping'an's and Sha Zhu's families enjoyed genuine abundance and warmth.

Yet this farewell‑to‑the‑old, welcome‑the‑new celebration was driven to a climax by the impatient cries of new life.

On the first day of the New Year, just before dawn, the western cross‑courtyard and the central courtyard almost simultaneously heard a commotion.

Lin Xueqing and Ma Dongmei, the two expectant mothers who became pregnant at about the same time, both went into labor on this brand‑new morning!

In the western cross‑courtyard, Li Ping'an snapped awake from his night‑watch fatigue, calmly arranging: "Xueqing, don't be afraid, I'll go borrow a handcart now! Yaozong, stay at home and listen to mother's words!" He moved swiftly without panic, gathering the pre‑prepared delivery supplies.

In the central courtyard, the Sha Zhu household erupted into chaos; Sha Zhu shouted at the top of his lungs for help: "Quick! Quick! My wife is giving birth! Anyone help!"

In an instant, the courtyard's New Year's peace was shattered. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong rushed out to keep order and help borrow a handcart. Yan Bu Gui also stuck his head out, nudged his glasses, weighing whether this counted as a "joyous event" and whether to bring a gift…

Two handcarts, carrying the two expectant mothers, hurried through the faint morning light toward the hospital. Li Ping'an and Sha Zhu followed the carts, one as steady as a mountain, the other as frantic as fire.

Inside the hospital, after several hours of waiting, the delivery room successively rang with two bright infant cries, like the most beautiful movement of the New Year.

A nurse emerged holding a swaddling blanket, smiling:

"Comrade Li Ping'an, a beloved one was born, a daughter, mother and child safe!"

"Comrade He Yuzhu, a beloved one was born, a son, mother and child safe!"

Li Ping'an let out a long sigh, his face breaking into a relieved and joyous smile. He gently took the small, red‑tinged swaddle, gazing at the closed‑eyed, wrinkled yet peaceful little face inside, feeling a brand‑new, soft yet powerful sense of responsibility swell within him.

"You've worked hard, Xueqing." He whispered to his weakened wife, then lowered his head to the daughter, "Hello there, little fellow."

Sha Zhu hoisted his son, so excited he nearly lifted the nurse, grinning wildly: "Hahaha! I'm a dad again! It's a boy! I, He Yuzhu, have a child now!"

As for a name, Li Ping'an had already decided. He looked at the snow‑cleared sky, sunlight spilling over the pristine snow, reflecting dazzling light.

"Let's call her Li Nuanqing." Snow‑cleared sunshine, meaning that after severe cold comes warmth and light, and may her whole life be warm and bright.

Sha Zhu, meanwhile, simply added, cradling his son, "My son was born on the first day of the New Year! This day is auspicious! Let's name him He Xiaonian! To commemorate this good year!"

The arrival of the two newborns, like the sunrise at the start of the New Year, injected fresh hope into the courtyard that had endured hardship. Auspicious snow foretells a bountiful year, cries at dawn welcome the new year. The opening of year 63, amid food aromas, lingering firecracker echo, and infant wails, felt especially different.