Chapter 1487

The old lady held the hands of her two granddaughters, looking at them carefully.

When Li Fang and Li Yuan first got married, they came back once.

It's been over two years since we last saw them, and the old lady has been thinking about it.

"Good, good." The old lady wiped her eyes: "Just missing your eldest uncle and his family, and then we'll all be together."

Zhou Xiurong frowned and snorted: "It's the New Year, do you have to bring him up? Can't we just not mention him?"

"Mom!" Zhou Xiufang was also unhappy: "Everyone was happy, why bring him up? Do you have to make everyone unhappy?"

"No!" The old lady hurriedly said: "I just felt..."

"Don't feel that way." Zhou Xiaoli said: "Dongzi's grandparents, uncle, and aunt are all here. If you want us to have a happy New Year, don't mention your eldest son.

If you want to make our New Year unpleasant, go ahead and do whatever you want. Anyway, you're the mother, and we can't do anything about it."

"I won't say, I won't say anymore."

The old lady waved her hand, knowing that the eldest son and his wife had become a pile of stinking dog feces.

Even his own siblings find them disgusting, let alone others. If she keeps talking, this New Year will really be ruined.

Although the old lady felt sorry for her eldest son, she wasn't foolish enough to, because of him, offend her other two sons and two daughters.

Especially Zhou Andong — the Zhou family's current prosperity is all thanks to Dongzi's support behind the scenes. Whoever feels chilled, no one can let the eldest grandson feel chilled.

Zhou Andong looked at the old lady, took Li Fang and Li Yuan's hands, and walked into the three-courtyard house, shaking his head helplessly.

Zhou Xiaoli stood beside Zhou Andong, took out a cigarette and lit one.

"This old lady." Zhou Xiaoli sighed: "Really hopeless."

Zhou Anbei also looked helpless: "Let Grandpa and Grandma stay in Jingcheng, keep away from the eldest uncle's family, and they might live two more years."

"Your grandfather and grandmother can't do that." Zhou Xiaoli took a puff: "If it weren't for your third grandfather being here, and your maternal grandparents also present, they would have left long ago."

The sky had already darkened, and the lanterns and colored lights in the courtyard lit up.

The fourth son and Yuan Haoyu's little fatty brought a group of little kids.

They came out shouting and yelling, like a gust of wind, running past them.

Zhou Andong felt a chill on his face, looked up, and saw fine snowflakes falling sparsely in the night sky.

"Damn, it's snowing again."

Zhou Xiaoli looked up at the sky: "This year's snow is a bit heavy; I guess next year's rain won't be lacking either. It should be a good harvest year."

"Snow foretells a bountiful year!" Xiao Bei said with a smile: "We farmers plant crops, hoping every day for just that bit of rain, don't we?"

They didn't notice the worry on Zhou Andong's face.

The flood of '94 was no less severe than that of '98.

But this winter, there have been snow disasters in some places — how could he not remember?

He must have seen this news somewhere; at the time he didn't pay attention, so he has a vague impression, but not a deep one.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhou Xiaoli finally noticed Zhou Andong's absentmindedness.

"Nothing." Zhou Andong came back to his senses: "Let's hurry back inside; it's too cold out here."

Just then, a sound came from the gate: squeak—bang.

Zhou Andong turned his head and saw the open gate.

The fourth son held a sky-rushing monkey in one hand and a lighter in the other, lighting it.

Squeak—bang, a spark flashed in the night sky.

The little ones jumped and hopped, clapping their hands.

"Bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

From the alley entrance came a few explosion sounds, and soon several seven- to eleven- or twelve-year-old girls and boys appeared at the gate.

"Can I use firecrackers to trade for your sky-rushing monkey?" a little boy, holding a handful of firecrackers: "Just one trade will do."

The fourth son rolled his eyes, glanced at the boy's bulging pocket, and shook his head: "No trade."

The little boy hesitated, then pulled out another handful from his pocket: "I'll trade you all of these."

The fourth son looked again at the boy's pocket, hesitated, and finally shook his head.

"The sky-rushing monkey can fly into the sky; I won't trade it with you."

Another dark and thin little boy also pulled out a handful of firecrackers from his pocket: "If we two put ours together, it should be enough, right?"

The fourth son felt it was about enough, sighed: "Alright, seeing how sincere you are, I'll take a loss and trade with you."

Yuan Haoyu immediately opened his upper garment pocket: "Put it in my pocket."

The two little boys put the firecrackers into Yuan Haoyu's pocket, then both reached out to take the sky-rushing monkey the fourth son handed over.

Zhou Xiaoli said with a smile: "Our fourth son really has a talent for business, huh."

"Swindler!" Xiao Bei also laughed.

"I'll go play with them for a while."

Zhou Andong turned and went to the west wing, then brought out a box of children's fireworks.

"Come on, come on, I have so many fun fireworks here — let's all play together."

Zhou Andong put the box down, then opened it: "Come over and take some."

Several boys and girls gathered around, including the little boy who had just traded with the fourth son for the sky-rushing monkey, who asked in disbelief:

"You're letting us set off these fireworks?"

"Yes!" Zhou Andong nodded: "Except for the magic bullets and sky-rushing monkeys, you can set off anything else."

The little boy was still puzzled: "Why can't we set off the magic bullets and sky-rushing monkeys?"

Zhou Andong said with a smile: "If you're not afraid of summoning the police uncles and having all the fireworks confiscated, you can go ahead and set them off."

"Then forget it," Xiao Xiaozi said, shaking his head, then confirming once more: "You're really letting us set them off however we want?"

"Of course!" Zhou Andong bent down, took out a hand-held sparkler, and handed it to several girls: "Take them and set them off."

Seeing this, the little boys weren't polite either, scrambling with seven hands and eight feet to grab them from the cardboard box.

Lao Si came up to Zhou Andong, looked up at him, and then let out a deep sigh.

"You wasteful brat, I was doing my business just fine—what are you stirring up trouble for?"

"You're just a little profiteer," Zhou Andong snorted, then picked up a hand-held sparkler: "Want one?"

"Yes!" Lao Si snatched the sparkler rudely, then waved at the little ones: "Come on, let's go set off fireworks."

Zhou Andong leaned against the gate tower, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

On the gate tower, the huge red lantern cast everything around in red.

The snow in the sky fell heavier and heavier, the children hopping, jumping, laughing...

String after string of fireworks sparkled in the night sky, wisp after wisp of smoke drifting in the air.

Zhou Andong smelled the sulfur in the air, watched the children's innocent smiles, and laughed too.

Hearing the children shout, watching them play, smelling the scent of fireworks being set off—this is what it means to celebrate the New Year.