Chapter 281: New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is the last night of the year. The last day of the year is called "Sui Chu," meaning the old year is removed here and a new year takes its place.

Early in the morning, Ye Yaodong got up to paste New Year decorations. He and Lin Lin Xiuqing swept the doorway together, then began preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. Although only four people in the family would be celebrating this year, everything that should be there still had to be there.

"Ah Dong, there are only three people at the old house now. How about you tell your father and mother not to prepare anything today and come eat the New Year's Eve dinner at our place? We bought quite a lot of dishes at home."

"I'll go take a look."

His mother had said before that this was their first year after moving into the new house, so they couldn't have a cold stove and cold pot—they had to light the stove and celebrate the New Year in their new home. Otherwise, they would have invited everyone to the old house to eat, which would have been more lively.

His eldest brother's and second brother's families weren't having an easy year this year. Both couples had no mind for celebrating the New Year, and the sound of quarrels and scolding rang out from their homes from time to time. They probably wouldn't think of going to the old house to call people over for the New Year.

It was good that he went in time. At the old house, they had just finished pasting the New Year decorations, and his mother hadn't started preparing the meal yet.

The moment he opened his mouth and said to celebrate the New Year at their new home, the old lady happily agreed in one breath. Seeing this, his father and mother also took the opportunity to agree—otherwise, how would the two of them cook?

He immediately took the opportunity to help the old lady back to the new house, let her sit at the doorway to sun herself, and watch the children making noise so she could be a little happier.

When people get old, they like the house to be lively and bustling. Ever since they all moved away, the old house had been cold and quiet, without much human presence. Even after Ye Ye Huimei was married off, there was no younger generation by the old lady's side.

Ye Yaodong, helping to tend the fire inside the house, could still hear the old lady outside shouting "slow down on this one," "slow down on that one," "don't drop it" and so on. Listening to her loud voice, one could tell the old lady was very happy.

After his father and mother came over with the slaughtered chicken, it was no longer his turn to help out, so he went out to wander around.

The village was full of New Year flavor. Every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers, pasting couplets everywhere, hanging new lanterns, and slaughtering chickens and ducks.

On the road, every face was beaming with brilliant smiles, and children chased each other with firecrackers, playing, making noise, and laughing.

Every few steps he walked, he could see a small table with a group of men gathered around playing cards or gambling—one pile here, another pile there.

During the New Year, the villagers all took the opportunity to relax. For the whole year, only the New Year allowed them to rest well. At this time, the women at home wouldn't bother them either. If you didn't gamble during the New Year, it wouldn't feel like the New Year.

Ye Yaodong looked at this stall and that stall. Some were rolling dice to gamble on big or small, some were opening lids to gamble on numbers, some were gathering in twos and threes to play cards, and some even went so far as to gamble on Pai Gow right at the small shop.

The women were basically all at home preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. The chimneys of every household had been sending up curling smoke since morning, and the fragrance of food filled the air everywhere.

Wandering aimlessly along the way, he ran into A Zheng and a few others. They were all bored with nothing to do, so they hit it off immediately and went straight to Fatty's house nearby to play cards. It happened that Fatty's wife had just braised large intestines, small intestines, pork tripe, and pig ears, and she brought them right out to serve them—generous!

Other people played cards and cracked sunflower seeds, but they had a real treat—playing cards while eating braised food.

"No wonder you two husband and wife are getting fatter and fatter. Your meals are so good. Unlike us, who can only eat shellfish seafood every day and can't put on any weight."

"This is the importance of having a good wife—something you can't envy your way into." Fatty was a little proud. In these times, becoming a fatty wasn't easy; you needed some family fortune to do it.

The group didn't disperse until mealtime, agreeing to continue the battle in the afternoon.

Ye Yaodong felt the few yuan he had won in his pocket. Seeing the children on the road playing with firecrackers, he also bought a few boxes of firecrackers when passing by a small shop, including some string-shaped ones.

The moment he brought them back, the children at the doorway excitedly shrieked. Ye Yaodong didn't play favorites either—every one of the eight children got a share.

"Be careful not to blow your hands off."

"Wow… Third Uncle, I like you the most…"

"We have firecrackers to play with…"

"Third Uncle is so nice. When I asked my mom for money to buy firecrackers this morning, she gave me a good scolding."

"It doesn't matter. Get through today, and tomorrow on the first day of the New Year, your mom won't be able to scold you!"

The children all nodded. "Good thing we made the new clothes in advance, otherwise we wouldn't even have new clothes."

"Hurry back inside to eat, then come out to play after you're done."

At noon, they simply stir-fried some sweet potato vermicelli paired with fish ball soup. The family was eating happily when, in no time, they heard scolding coming from next door.

Ye Mu immediately frowned, stood up, and prepared to go over and take a look, muttering as she went: "The sins they brought upon themselves, and still scolding the children all day. It's been so many days and there's no end to it. Each and every one of them is being scolded like quails, about to be scolded silly. Even eating a meal gets scolded…"

The old lady also sighed, then called out to the two children who had stopped eating, "Eat, eat, you eat yours, don't pay attention to next door."

In no time, next door quieted down, and Ye Mu also came back still muttering.

With Ye Mu helping all day, Lin Lin Xiuqing had a much easier time. At three or four in the afternoon, they lit incense for the Kitchen God and Kitchen Goddess, then set off firecrackers to start the meal.

The sound of firecrackers announcing the start of meals also rang out one after another throughout the village.

As long as it was a festival or holiday, meals were generally started earlier. Fish was a must for the New Year's Eve dinner, and when eating it, the head and tail had to be left—this was called "surplus every year."

Over a dozen hearty dishes on the table left everyone with greasy mouths. After the meal, with Ye Mu helping to clean up, Lin Lin Xiuqing went to bathe the two children and change them into new clothes, and also prepared the New Year's money, putting it into red envelopes.

It wasn't just the two children at home—the six children from the two families next door also got some. Each red envelope contained one yuan.

【Honestly, I've been using the Huanyuan app to read books and catch up on updates lately. Switch between sources, plenty of voice options for reading. The. huanyuanapp works on both Android and Apple.】

When Ye Ye Chenghai got his New Year's money and saw the amount inside, his face immediately fell. He said quietly, "Third Aunt, didn't Third Uncle tell you to just give half?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing was surprised. "What do you mean give half? You think it's too much?"

"No… if I take it, it won't reach my pocket," he tilted his mouth toward the house, "you know…"

Ye Ye Chengjiang also chimed in, "Yeah, Third Aunt, can you just give 80 cents, and secretly give us the other 20 cents, don't tell our moms and them."

This proposal won the approval of all the children.

Lin Lin Xiuqing was caught between tears and laughter. "That won't do. If I give less, what if your mom thinks I'm too stingy as an aunt? In previous years, it was always one yuan."

The children immediately hung their heads in dejection.

Ye Yaodong came out after his bath and saw this, hurriedly asking, "What's wrong? Got firecrackers and you're still not happy? Yo, you've got New Year's money…"

"Sigh~ it has to be handed over, nothing left over…"

So that's how it was. Thinking that this kid had been sneakily tugging at him yesterday, telling him to just give half for the New Year's money and give the rest separately, he couldn't help but flick his forehead with a smile.

"It's no big deal. Wait here. Once I win a bit at cards later, I'll get each of you a few banknotes to buy firecrackers."

"Hehe, then bless Third Uncle to win lots. I'll go with you, be your bodyguard…"

"Don't get in the way!"

"If you go out, you'll definitely only come back when it's time to sleep…"

So that was the scheme.

"Go on, go on. The few boxes I bought before the meal are enough for you to play for a while. If I give you money now and lose it, what then? Don't get in the way. I'll give it to you when I come back."

At this time, Ye Ye Ersao also came out after cleaning up and called the children in to bathe. Only then did they stop crowding around him, and Ye Yaodong quickly took the chance to slip away.

The New Year was a rare time for leisure. He had just stepped out of the house when he saw small tables set up all over the village again. The men, after finishing their meal, had washed their hands of housework and started gambling again right away.

He also saw that gambling-addict brother-in-law of his, brazenly teaming up with a few fellows from the neighboring village to set up a roadside stall for Pai Gow.

Is it because it's New Year's that there's no need to hold back?

No idea where he got the capital, but thanks to having a good wife.

A little gambling for fun, heavy gambling harms the body — he had his own scale in his heart; the occasional card game was fine.

But once he started playing, it dragged on till the middle of the night. He'd planned to head home early, but a few friends pulled him into drinking, saying once it passed midnight and the Goddess Mazu Temple bell rang, they'd go burn incense together.

Going to Goddess Mazu Temple to burn incense on the first day of the New Year was a local custom. The first incense stick of the year was out of the question — the temple attendant lit it first thing at the appointed hour.

But plenty of people were still waiting through the night to burn incense; the Goddess Mazu Temple had an endless stream of visitors. After Ye Yaodong finished his incense and came back, he started setting off firecrackers again, and the crackle of firecrackers rose one after another across the village.

Tonight the whole village was, for once, ablaze with lights. Whether or not they kept the New Year's vigil varied, but on New Year's Eve every household had to keep its lamps burning till dawn.

The children in the house were still fast asleep, but Lin Lin Xiuqing was awake.

"Back this late?"

"Waiting to burn incense at midnight, and on the way back I set off some firecrackers too," he said, peeling off his clothes and getting into bed as he spoke. "Why aren't you asleep yet? Waiting for me?"

"Got woken up."

"Stubborn."

As soon as he lay down, he casually drew her into his arms and felt her belly. "Tired today?"

"Not tired. With Mother helping out, I didn't really do anything." She wiggled a bit, finding a comfortable spot in his arms.

"The second day doesn't seem to have a set date — should we wait a few more days before going back to your parents'?"

"How about waiting till the thirteenth or fourteenth before heading back? My parents' village has a Lantern Festival custom — it's really lively, perfect for going back to join the fun."

"Fine." Even as he spoke, his hands weren't idle.

"It's a bit far, otherwise we could've gone back on the second and then again for the Lantern Festival."

"Going back and forth like this is too much hassle for you in your condition. If you want to go back next year, we'll go a few more times."

"Mm, we'll see. If we go back too often, my parents will be worn out too." Lin Lin Xiuqing caught his roving hand. "Why do you always like fooling around in the middle of the night?"

"It's not convenient during the day, and it's New Year after all — how about a New Year's 'cannon'? Welcoming the new and seeing off the old?"

"What nonsense? Every other day you come out with some weird stuff…"

Ye Yaodong flipped over, covering her, and nibbled her ear, murmuring lewd words. "Hehe… a New Year's 'cannon' means, uh… when firecrackers go off, gold fills the house; when fireworks bloom, children and grandchildren fill the hall… that's the idea… get it… hehe… come on… let's celebrate the New Year…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing was both annoyed and amused — any proper word that came out of his mouth turned improper.

"Don't press on my belly."

"I'll be careful. Why don't you turn on your side? Easier on you and it won't press the belly?"

………