Chapter 621: New Year

As the New Year drew near, the town grew ever more bustling. The moment Ye Yaodong stepped onto the street, it was so packed he could barely squeeze through, let alone ride a bike—people were practically shoulder to shoulder.

Worried his bicycle might get stolen if he just parked it by the road, he found a small shop nearby, left it at their door, locked it up, and tipped the shopkeeper a mao to keep an eye on it—he'd be quick in and out, just picking up some photos.

But he hadn't expected that, in and out as he was, the bicycle was safe, yet the little over two yuan he'd had scattered in his pocket was gone.

He'd originally planned to buy a couple of Spring Festival couplets too. Luckily the photos were so big and numerous—he'd grabbed his two brothers' sets as well—and wouldn't fit in his pocket, so he'd carried them in his hands. Otherwise it would've been a wasted trip; the negatives were wrapped in newspaper along with them, held in his hands.

He set the photos in his bicycle's basket, cursing as he went. "Dammit, these New Year thieves are way too brazen—gone just a few minutes to pick up photos and my money's already stolen."

The shopkeeper chimed in, cursing along with him. "Exactly. Lately there's been way too much petty theft. Every single day at my stall, little things go missing—a bundle of nylon socks here, a pair of insoles there, a few handkerchiefs the next. Nearly drove me mad. Even with the whole family keeping watch, we can't stop it."

Ye Yaodong was only venting, so he gave a casual reply, hopped on his bicycle, and headed home.

It was the New Year—total chaos. Earlier, passing through a few alleys, he'd even seen people fighting, and seen some brazenly drag someone into an alley to extort them.

Even though the crackdown had been fierce this year, this sort of thing was still commonplace. Usually they might rein it in a bit, but during New Year they go wild.

Forget it—no more going out before the New Year.

He'd just have someone write him a couplet later. Hand-brushed calligraphy isn't bad either, better than printed ones—one of the essences of traditional Chinese culture.

Lin Lin Xiuqing was annoyed when she learned he'd gone to town and come back missing over two yuan. That was no small sum.

"You just can't keep money in your pocket."

"I never keep money in my pocket either—doesn't it all sit with you? It's just that yesterday buying pork left over two yuan… ah, no, that's not…"

Ye Yaodong quickly shut his mouth, but realized it was too late—the words had already slipped out.

"So you didn't say you bought meat? You've learned to stash private savings too, have you? Gave you twenty to buy meat, two left over—not a bad profit margin!"

He laughed awkwardly. "Heh, I was just thinking I'd keep the two yuan in my pocket to buy cigarettes, or get the kids a little something to eat. I was even planning, since I was already in town, to grab a couplet on the way back. Look! I was spending it on the household, not hiding it—only it got stolen."

Lin Lin Xiuqing saw him cringing his head down, speaking in a placating tone, and wanted to laugh but didn't dare. She only glared at him, then turned her head away.

"Who knows if you really meant to buy a couplet or not? Either way, you just can't keep money in your pocket—the moment you do, it vanishes. Either spent or lost."

The two kids stood to one side, looking at their father, then at their mother. Ye Chenghu was still snickering over there.

Lin Lin Xiuqing poked his forehead with her index finger. "Go on out and play. You're in the way here."

"I want to see the photos!"

Ye Yaodong explained at the same time, "You have no idea how many people were in town near year's end—more than last year. The street was jam-packed, I could barely squeeze in, had to shuffle along step by step…"

"Stop explaining. Hand over the photos so I can have a look."

"Here, they came out pretty well. Too bad they're black-and-white though—if I had them painted in color, it'd cost a fortune, enough for over a dozen more shots."

Lin Lin Xiuqing happily unwrapped the newspaper around them and said, "Black-and-white is already fine. Why bother with color? Such a waste of money."

"Let me see, let me see…"

"I want to see too…"

The two kids, one on each side, tiptoed and grabbed at her arm—and accidentally made all the photos in her hand scatter across the floor.

The two boys instantly tensed up, both stepping back, and said in unison, "I didn't do it on purpose…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing glared at them, quickly bending down to pick them up. "Out of my way, you two—always in the way, making things worse."

The old lady laughed and patted their shoulders. "It's fine, just pick them up and blow them off."

Both boys breathed a sigh of relief. Yesterday Brother Brother Ahai had bragged about eating pork cracklings and broken a bowl, and Ye Ye Dabo's wife had beaten him something fierce—they'd watched and felt their own butts hurting. No wonder they were panicking.

"Did you bring back your big brother's and second brother's?" the old lady asked Ye Yaodong.

"Grabbed theirs on the way, and Brother Ahai's too—it's all at the bottom of the basket. I'll drop it off to them in a bit, save them another trip. Didn't bother with anyone else's—what if I lost them?"

"Oh, this family portrait should be framed…" Lin Lin Xiuqing looked through them with great interest, commenting as she went.

"It's not big enough. After New Year I'll go back, have him print a bigger one and get it framed, bring it home to hang on the wall. The photo studio's too busy right now—when I went this morning it was packed."

"It's New Year, lots of people are willing to take one or two photos as a keepsake."

The whole family sat around the table, chatting away, discussing whether the photos had turned out well.

Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao, hearing the commotion at the door, knew Ye Yaodong had brought the photos back from town, and hurried over to collect theirs.

Everyone was all smiles, overjoyed. Their families weren't like Ye Yaodong's—both households were taking photos for the first time, and these were their very first pictures.

This year had been a bountiful one. All three brothers had earned plenty, each had even gotten a shop, and the two sisters-in-law were willing to lay in a big pile of New Year goods, and had even vied to invite Ye Father and Ye Mother to spend New Year at their homes.

Ye Father and Ye Mother were also overjoyed. Whether sincere or not, at least all three daughters-in-law were competing to invite them to their homes for New Year—they'd have face to brag about it.

Some households have daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law at each other's throats like enemies—forget inviting them for New Year, they can't stand the sight of each other, squabbling day in and day out like fighting cocks, the whole household worn down by the noise.

But then, Ye Father and Ye Mother had eaten at Ye Yaodong's house all year, so of course they didn't plan to run off to the eldest or second son's place for New Year.

Besides, it was New Year—New Year's Eve only comes once a year. Of course the whole family had to sit together, reunited and harmonious, to see in the big New Year properly.

Last year they'd had the New Year's Eve dinner at Ye Yaodong's. This year Ye Mother planned to cook a whole spread herself at the old house, so the whole big family celebrating together would be livelier.

Each household bringing a few bowls of dishes would already fill up a whole table—no, two tables.

The children of the family were growing year by year—one table couldn't seat them all anymore. Originally there were nine adults, and now the kids had grown to nine too—a textbook case of a flourishing household, a bountiful year.

Especially Ye Yaodong—this year he'd gained both family and fortune.

The children sat at the table, and before long started clamoring they were full. But once they got down, none of them actually left—they all stood grinning in the cramped main room, waiting, afraid of missing out on the New Year money.

Grandpa and Grandma's New Year money hadn't been handed out yet—how could they leave? What if they left and missed it? Or had it confiscated by their own mother? That'd be a real loss.

Every adult present could see through their little schemes—they all knew the kids were looking forward to getting their New Year money after the meal.

Two tables in the main room already nearly filled the whole space, and with so many people, Ye Mother wanted them to clear out and go play sooner too.

She beckoned them over and pulled out the red envelopes she'd prepared in her pocket, handing them to the kids.

"One each. Inside is one yuan one mao. Keep the mao for yourselves, hand the yuan over to your mother to save. After New Year she'll put some aside for you to register for school."

Locally they had a custom of "standing out"—red envelopes liked to have an extra amount, not round numbers.

The kids had originally been thrilled that Grandma was so generous this year with one yuan one mao—usually she only gave five mao. They hadn't expected it was meant for school registration.

Ye Mother had also worked for several months this year, earning several months' wages, which was why she was feeling generous—planning to subsidize her three sons and ease the burden of their children's schooling.

After joining the Women's Federation, she'd learned to recognize a few more characters, and gained a clearer understanding of how important education was. She hoped all the children in the family would study well and not drop out halfway.