Chapter 287: First-Day Surprise

The lingering joy of the first day of the New Year had not yet faded, and in the Siheyuan the new year's joys and sorrows, reunions and partings, and the warmth and coldness of human relations were already playing out. The two cries announcing a new life were like stones tossed onto a lake, each ripple spreading differently.

The Yi Yuan was never a place to stay long, especially during this festive season of ten thousand families reuniting, it felt even more desolate.

Li Ping'an looked at his weary yet peaceful wife and the tiny, soft daughter Nuanqing in the swaddling cloth, his heart full of pity.

After carefully questioning the doctor and confirming that Lin Xueqing's condition was stable, he decisively said, "Xueqing, we're going home. The Yi Yuan has no people, the house is warm, and Yaozong also needs someone to look after him."

That night he borrowed a handcart, spread thick blankets, and carefully brought his wife and daughter back to Xi Kua Yuan. The house had already been tidied by him into a spring‑like warmth, the stove fire blazing, and the pre‑cooked millet porridge kept warm in the pot.

Xiao Yaozong saw his mother and sister return, jumped excitedly, but Li Ping'an gently stopped him, teaching him to speak softly so as not to disturb his sister.

The little child seemed to grasp the responsibility of "older brother" overnight, perched on the edge of the kang, eyes wide and black, looking at the reddish little bundle with curiosity and tenderness.

The next day, the second day of the New Year, was the day to return to the wife's family. Xi Kua Yuan was livelier than usual because sister Li Pingle and her family of four came back to pay New Year's visits.

Chen Jianghe carried two bags of pastries, Li Pingle held Xiao Anning, and Chen Anbang was strapped to his father's back with a harness; the whole family stepped on the unmelted snow, entering the door in high spirits.

"Brother! Sister‑in‑law! We're back! Congratulations on the new addition!" Li Pingle's face radiated happiness, and seeing the little niece on the kang made him overjoyed.

"Eldest brother, sister‑in‑law, Happy New Year!" Chen Jianghe said with a simple smile.

The two little ones were also placed on the kang, three infants lying side by side, cooing, kicking legs and waving hands, creating a warm and bustling scene.

Li Ping'an and Chen Jianghe, the two brothers‑in‑law, instinctively tied on aprons and slipped into the kitchen. Li Ping'an wielded the ladle, Chen Jianghe assisted, the two grown men bustling before the Stove like a raging fire.

Li Ping'an skillfully retrieved high‑quality ingredients from his storage, added the New Year provisions prepared before, and prepared a table of dishes that, though not lavish, were full of sincerity and excellent in color, aroma, and taste. The Red Braised Pork's rich oily sauce, the fresh plain flavor of steamed fish, and several light stir‑fries sent fragrance far beyond.

The women gathered on the kang, exchanging parenting tips. Lin Xueqing leaned against the quilt, her complexion still a bit pale but spirits high, listening to Li Pingle speak of the hardships and joys of raising twins, occasionally smiling and nodding. Li Pingle also watched Xiao Nuanqing closely, imparting newborn care techniques.

Xiao Yaozong was the busiest person today. He wore a new cotton coat, imitating the adults, clasping his little hands, and went to wish New Year's greetings one by one:

"Aunt, Happy New Year! Uncle, Happy New Year!"

"Wishing Aunt and Uncle… um… all the best!" he strained to recall the new words his father taught him yesterday.

Li Pingle laughed, pulled out a pre‑prepared red envelope and slipped it into his hand: "Yaozong is really good! This is the New Year's money from Aunt for you, buy some candy!"

Chen Jianghe also smiled and gave one.

Li Ping'an also gave his son a red envelope, patted his head: "Good boy, go play."

At that moment, Xi Kua Yuan was filled with laughter and chatter, warm family ties, the aroma of food mingling with children's play, forming a perfect New Year tableau.

In the Central Courtyard, the Sha Zhu Family was bustling in a different way this year. Ma Dongmei had just given birth, so she naturally could not return to her natal home.

Sha Zhu busily attended to the confinement period, clumsy yet taking it sweetly. He Yushui also returned from the Textile Factory dormitory; this quiet, elegant girl, upon entering, rolled up her sleeves to help, washing the baby's urine bag, simmering soup and cooking, easing Sha Zhu's burden considerably.

The house was filled with a faint milky scent and the aroma of chicken soup; little He Xiaonian slept soundly in his mother's arms, while He Xiao watched the newly arrived little brother with curiosity. Though the family was busy, they were also full of the joy and hustle of a new addition.

However, not every household was this warm.

In the Front Courtyard, the Yan Family was shrouded in an invisible low pressure from early morning. Yu Xiulian dressed neatly, waiting to return to her natal home. This was the new daughter‑in‑law's first return, a significance beyond the ordinary. Yet when she saw the "gift" Yan Bu Gui had prepared, her heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

It was a small cloth bag containing—five jin of white flour carefully wrapped in old newspaper, and nothing else. No meat, no oil, not even a piece of candy or snack.

"Dad… this…" Yu Xiulian's voice trembled, almost breaking into tears. How could she take this back to her natal home? Her mother was ill, her brother's family also struggled, and they were counting on her marriage into the city to bring back something good for the New Year to uphold appearances…

Yan Bu Gui adjusted his glasses, a face of "fairness": "Yu Xiulian, it's not that I'm stingy. This white flour is fine grain! It's precious! Our family only ate white‑flour dumplings twice this New Year. If you bring it back, your parents will surely be pleased! This gift is sincere!"

He never mentioned the red envelopes he had collected or the New Year provisions hidden at home, as if those five jin of white flour were a monumental blessing. San Dama stood nearby, hesitant to speak, and ultimately did not dare to make a sound. Yan Jiecheng lowered his head, unwilling to meet his wife's disappointed gaze.

Yu Xiulian bit her lip, forcing back tears of humiliation, took the seemingly weightless yet as heavy as a thousand jin flour bag, and silently left. On the road back to her natal home, each step pressed on cold snow and on her cold heart.

Sure enough, when she returned to the equally dilapidated natal home and placed the small bag of flour on the table, her bedridden mother's eyes dimmed, brother Yu Dazhuang looked at the meager offering, let out a heavy sigh, said nothing, and simply crouched at the doorway, smoking in silence.

Relatives and neighbors came to pay New Year's visits; seeing the shabby "return‑home gift," their inquisitive, sympathetic, even slightly contemptuous gazes pierced Yu Xiulian like needles. She forced a smile, fielded their questions, while inside her heart was as frozen and snow‑covered as the season's weather.

Her mother clasped her hand and quietly asked, "Yu Xiulian, how's life at the Yan family… are they treating you well?"

Yu Xiulian felt a sourness in her nose, almost shedding tears, but could only force a smile and say, "Mom, I'm fine, don't worry…" The meticulously measured meals, the peanuts portioned grain by grain, the cold newlywed night, the sordid eavesdropping… How could she possibly speak any of this to her seriously ill mother?

New Year's sunlight fell on the snow, reflecting a blinding glare. In the Siheyuan, Xi Kua Yuan and the Li Family were warm and cozy, the Central Courtyard's He Family busy and fulfilled, while the chill brought by the Yan Family in the Front Courtyard was colder than the winter wind of the twelfth month.

On this second day of the New Year, some bathed in family affection and festive fireworks, while others were already mired in calculation and austerity, tasting the fickleness of the world.