Chapter 535: The Mother Who Pits Her Child

In his excitement, he wrote many "Fu" characters.

They were pasted everywhere in the house.

Lunch was prepared jointly by Wang Yinghao and Fang Jie, and it was very sumptuous.

This meal had its own rules; first of all, one must make plenty!

Do not fear waste; leftovers signify having abundance year after year.

Another thing is that there must be fish on the dining table, and it cannot be just any fish; it must be carp or mandarin fish.

Carp implies "propriety" (li), wishing for great luck and prosperity.

Mandarin fish implies "nobility" (gui), using a pun; it is all for the sake of good fortune.

Furthermore, dumplings are a must, to attract wealth and treasure, and the dumpling filling also has its rules—it must be chive or celery filling.

Chives—for longevity.

Celery—for diligence.

Today's lunch dumplings were chive, shrimp, and egg filling, commonly known as "three-fresh."

With the mother-in-law busy in the kitchen preparing the reunion meal, the responsibility of looking after Erbao fell squarely on Shi Ran.

Shi Youxuan stood to the side, directing her daughter: "Put this on first; that bright red one is the outer coat, put it on last..."

Erbao did not cooperate with his older sister.

His sister was much gentler than his mother, so the little guy bullied his sister without the slightest hesitation.

When Shi Ran tried to put his pants on, he would lift his arms.

After finally getting the pants on, as she prepared to put on his top, he tucked his two lotus-root-like arms behind his back, making them impossible to reach.

Shi Ran was so tired her forehead was covered in sweat.

Her younger brother's lack of cooperation made her look like a clumsy older sister.

Her mother didn't come over to help, but instead stood to the side making sarcastic remarks: "Shi Ran, you're not doing well here. An excellent child cannot develop in only one aspect; it is not enough to just study well and be good at sports. You can't even handle these simple daily tasks..."

Shi Ran was dissatisfied: "Mom, don't you think you're being a bit excessive?"

"No," Shi Youxuan answered very crisply.

She told her daughter to move aside and demonstrated for her.

Throwing the clothes onto Xiao Erbao, Shi Youxuan commanded: "Put them on yourself."

Then she opened the bedroom door and, sniffing, said to Erbao: "Grandma has already put the reunion meal on the table. If you don't get dressed, I'm going downstairs to eat with your sister, and I won't take you."

Zichen pursed his lips, about to cry.

Shi Youxuan turned her head away and ignored him.

Consequently, Erbao surrendered, flipped over to sit up by himself, and started putting on his clothes!

Although he didn't put them on perfectly, he looked like he knew what he was doing.

Shi Ran:...

It could be done like this?

Now that she went over to help, it was much easier.

Once dressed, Shi Ran led the chubby Zichen downstairs to the dining room.

The little guy only walked two steps before blocking his sister's path, stretching out his two chubby little arms: "Sister, hold!"

Shi Ran: "No holding, walk by yourself."

She was still angry thinking about what happened just now; Sheng Zichen was a classic case of judging people by their status, it was too much.

If not for the incident with the clothes just now, she would have held her younger brother.

But now, Shi Ran was unwilling.

"Come here Zichen, Mommy will hold you." Shi Youxuan refreshed Shi Ran's perception once again as she took Zichen into her arms.

"Smack."

The little guy kissed his mother hard on the face, then wrapped his arms around her neck and pressed his face against hers.

He turned back to spite his sister: "Mommy, loves Bao, doesn't love you."

Sheng Zichen was almost a year old and could basically say anything now, which made him even more infuriating!

Shi Ran's eyes welled up with tears, almost falling.

Shi Youxuan hurriedly explained to her daughter: "Don't spoil him in other things, but when it comes to walking, you can't let him walk too much."

A young child's bones are soft; if they walk too early, there's a fear their legs won't grow straight when they get older.

After her mother explained, Shi Ran no longer felt aggrieved.

After comforting her daughter, Shi Youxuan patted her son on the bottom twice and scolded him: "If I hear you say things like that again, I will spank you, do you know that?"

"Mommy loves you both; you are both Mommy's treasures."

Sheng Zichen started acting up, covering his ears with his two chubby little hands: "Don't listen, don't listen, don't listen, listen listen listen..."

He spoke too fast, and the meaning of the latter part changed.

Shi Youxuan freed one hand to hold her daughter's hand, preparing to go downstairs together.

She was very careful in this regard; she couldn't let her daughter feel any favoritism in any detail!

The three arrived at the dining room, and the room immediately became lively.

Several cold dishes were already set on the table: celery with dried tofu, scallops with garlic, egg yolk duck rolls, and colorful starch noodles.

"Wow—scallops with garlic, this is my favorite." Shi Ran cheered.

Wang Yinghao walked out from the kitchen carrying a dish and said to her granddaughter with a smile: "This dish is usually called scallops with garlic, but today it is called Family Harmony and Happiness."

She didn't just rename the scallops; she gave every dish on the table an auspicious and festive name.

Celery with dried tofu—Jade Dragon Presenting Auspiciousness.

Egg yolk duck rolls—auspiciousness and wealth.

Scallops with minced garlic—family happiness.

The colorful big cold noodles, usually a staple on the dining table, were also given a pleasant and festive name today—national celebration.

The hot dishes were the same.

Braised sea cucumber with matsutake is called "Fortune as vast as the Eastern Sea," and abalone with scallion oil is called "Attracting wealth and treasures."

Poached red shrimp is called "A lucky star shining high," and the braised pork ribs they were used to eating became "Joy and celebration filling the hall" today because pigeon eggs were added!

Soy sauce imperial concubine chicken is called "Soaring success," and the roasted duck, charred and crispy, is called "Wealth filling the door."

Shi Youxuan thought for a long while but still couldn't figure out what this name had to do with roasted duck.

But it didn't matter; she just had to force the connection, as it was all for the sake of good luck anyway.

"Time to eat!" Wang Yinghao shouted toward the Study upstairs.

Sheng Hanyu and his son came out of the Study, and the family of six, plus Fang Jie, seven people in total, sat around the dining table.

Fang Jie had originally intended to eat alone in the kitchen.

But the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pulled her out of the kitchen without any room for argument, making her eat at the dining table with everyone else.

Shi Youxuan said that today was a reunion dinner, and she was also a member of this family, so she had to be with everyone.

Tears almost fell from Fang Jie's eyes.

She had been in the Sheng Family for so many years; it could be said she had deep feelings for the Sheng Family, and the Sheng Family had treated her well, but she had never felt as warm as she did now.

Sheng Jiang sat in the seat of honor, and he looked even more emotional than Fang Jie.

Although he usually sat in the seat of honor, today was different.

Today was the first New Year the whole family had spent together, and as the "head of the family," he was the one who had to give the opening remarks and take the first bite.

Shi Youxuan filled her father-in-law's glass with red wine; he stood up holding the glass, his lips quivered a few times, and suddenly he covered his face and began to sob.

Wang Yinghao hurriedly nudged him and whispered, "What are you doing? It's New Year's, don't cry."

On New Year's Eve, even if children cry, it is considered taboo and they would be scolded by the adults.

As it turned out, the children were all happy and cheerful, but Sheng Jiang was crying his eyes out, and even his wife couldn't stop him.

Sheng Hanyu pulled his mother back: "Let him cry; he'll be fine once he's cried enough."

He knew his father wasn't sad, but rather crying tears of joy.

Having been suppressed for a lifetime, now that it was finally his turn to be the master of the house, he was too excited, which was why he was like this!

In the end, Sheng Jiang didn't manage to give his New Year's speech.

After crying enough, he had forgotten all the words he had prepared; Sheng Jiang stuttered and couldn't say a single word, so in the end, his son had to do it for him.

After the reunion dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to watch programs and wrap dumplings.

The dumplings for the New Year's Eve dinner needed to be wrapped during the day.

While wrapping the dumplings, the mother-in-law took out a shiny coin, washed it clean, and wrapped it inside a dumpling.

Shi Ran asked curiously, "Grandma, why do we wrap a coin inside a dumpling?"