Reborn since 2005

Chapter 413 The embarrassment of a combined family celebrating the New Year

Author: Hometown Three Thousand Miles

Chapter 413 The embarrassment of a combined family celebrating the New Year

The next day is New Year's Eve.

Before dawn, I heard the crackling sound of firecrackers and a roaring sound. It was Tuan Nian on the other side of the river.

What they attach most importance to on New Year's Eve is the morning meal, which starts at four or five in the morning, when it's still dark.

The emphasis here is on the lunch meal, and it’s not time to show off yet.

After getting up in the morning and having dinner, it was past eight o'clock, and then the family started to work.

Prepare the meal at noon on New Year’s Eve.

The two older ones went to the kitchen to sort out the ingredients.

Yan Xin and Bai Xiaoling's task is to put up the couplets and hang up the word "Fu".

I also bought two red lanterns and hung them at the gate.

Even the chicken coop has been pasted with a Spring Festival couplet saying the animals are prosperous.

After doing this and taking a few more photos, they went to the kitchen to help.

Those who wash the vegetables wash the vegetables, those who chop the vegetables chop the vegetables, and those who light the fire make the fire.

Yan Xin cooked a few dishes himself, and Wu Xiuhong did the rest.

They were all brought over. There were twelve dishes in total, basically all hard dishes, which looked quite rich.

Dad Yan couldn't help but sigh, this life is so good.

Now four people celebrate the New Year together, which is a lot more lively, and one family finally looks like a family.

It's just such an embarrassing thing.

According to custom, before eating the New Year's meal, one must first worship the ancestors and let the deceased use it first.

They served three bowls of rice to the deceased, with chopsticks placed on each bowl, and a glass of wine beside each bowl.

The donors were Yan Xin’s grandparents and his mother.

And the portrait now enshrined on the shrine is that of Yan Xin’s mother.

It's okay to just serve food, but before eating, you have to kneel before the portrait.

——The custom here has always been like this, and of course it is normal for them to do this today.

However, this year, it is not only the Yan family and his son who are celebrating the New Year here, but also Wu Xiuhong and her daughter.

And these two new members have nothing to do with Yan Xin.

It is quite strange to participate in this ceremony.

But if you don't participate in this ceremony, you will appear to be an outsider.

At first, the Yan family's father and son didn't think of this, so they just followed the habits of previous years.

After both father and son had finished worshiping, they saw the mother and daughter looking a little embarrassed, and then they thought of this.

They are a combined family.

It was also their first time to start a family. They had no relevant experience and didn't know what to do if they encountered such a situation.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Xiuhong pushed her daughter:

"Xiaoling, please go over and pay your respects too."

Bai Xiaoling looked at the portrait enshrined in the shrine, then at her mother, then at the Yan family's father and son.

Finally, he knelt down and kowtowed several times to the portrait.

I thought to myself: "Just think of it as kowtowing to your future mother-in-law. This is what we should do..."

Thinking about it this way, I felt a little better.

Just thinking about her mother's situation, she still felt a little bit unfair in her heart - "Women are so embarrassed. They don't have any ancestors of their own, so they can only worship other people's ancestors."

Wu Xiuhong's behavior showed that she understood the general situation and did not care about those empty statuses or fight with the dead, which made both the Yan family and his son feel some gratitude for her.

We set off firecrackers and then had New Year's dinner.

The weather was not bad on this day. According to the usual practice in previous years, as long as it didn't rain, we would go to the graves after the New Year's Eve dinner.

In the past few years, the Yan family went to visit Yan Xin’s mother’s grave.

However, now both the Yan family and his son are embarrassed to make this request.

Of course there is no problem for the two of them to go, but the status of the remaining mother and daughter is awkward. Should they go or not?

They had already given in before, but they still wanted to make such a request, which seemed a bit bullying and went too far.

——Although they do not mean to bully others subjectively.

However, Wu Xiuhong took the initiative to mention this matter and asked them to go up the mountain to worship after eating.

As for her, of course she stayed to clean up the dishes and didn't go with her.

She also asked Bai Xiaoling if she would stay and help her wash the dishes or follow them to the grave.

This gives her a chance to make the decision.

As for her late husband, Bai Xiaoling's biological father, don't think about it.

Having already arrived at this home, it is somewhat unreasonable to go to pay homage to my ex-husband.

That's not to say that you can't do this, but doing so will obviously not give your current husband's family face.

She has only been married for a month or two, and what she needs to do is to make the combined family more harmonious, rather than making the family more divided.

It can’t be like this during the Chinese New Year, and it can’t be like this during the Qingming Festival.

As for the deceased husband, the brothers of the Bai family can only go to pay homage.

——Who told them to take away the fields and houses? Logically speaking, it should be their business.

Wu Xiuhong thought so.

Bai Xiaoling thought for a moment and said with a smile: "I'd better go with my dad and brother."

What she thought was that this could bring Yan Xin closer to her, so it would be good to go out. Although she was worshiping someone she didn't know and had nothing to do with her, it could make their relationship more harmonious.

Why not do it?

Wu Xiuhong smiled and said: "That's okay. It's also good to go for a walk. You can also help."

After eating, the Yan family father and son and Bai Xiaoling went out with firecrackers, incense, candles, paper money and other things.

Wu Xiuhong, on the other hand, stayed at home alone to clean up the dishes.

After they all left, Wu Xiuhong looked at the portrait of Yan Xin in the shrine for a long time, and finally sighed and whispered:

"I really envy you for raising a good son."

By the time they came back from visiting the grave, it was only around two o'clock in the afternoon.

At this time, Wu Xiuhong was chatting with her neighbors outside.

Now there are four people in the Yan family celebrating the New Year together, which is much more lively than in previous years.

However, several of the neighbor's sons who went out to work have gone home, and the older two and their wives and children are also celebrating the New Year at home. There are about ten people in total, which makes it even more lively.

Wu Xiuhong envied the liveliness of her neighbor's house, but her neighbor said:

"Your family is a good one, and all the children can do it. There are not many people there now. In a few years, the sons and daughters will all have families. If we add more children, it will become more lively."

Wu Xiuhong smiled, but thought in her heart:

"When my daughter grows up and gets married, she will be someone else's daughter-in-law. She will only celebrate the Chinese New Year at someone else's home. Even if she gives birth to a child, she will only be in other people's homes."

Thinking about it this way, I feel a little bit uncomfortable in my heart.

This is a combined family.

Although Yan Xin is a good boy and does not treat her as an outsider, he is not her biological son after all.

In the future, if Yan Xin marries a daughter-in-law and has children, it will have nothing to do with her.

But as a stepmother, if she wants to be a good stepmother, she must conscientiously help her stepson with the children, and even serve her daughter-in-law during the confinement period.

The person he works so hard to serve is someone who has no blood relationship with him.

But her biological daughter, her daughter's children, people who are related to her by blood, are people she cannot take care of.

The people I love most are far away, but I can only stay in this home like an outsider.

It doesn't make sense, but that's the truth.

In order to better integrate into this family, she even thought about having another child.

This possibility is not impossible, she is only in her forties now.

Only if you can give birth to a child for the Yan family can you truly integrate into the family.

But later I learned that it was too risky to have a baby at her age.

And if the child is not a son, but a daughter, wouldn't that be the same?

After all, she has to get married and cannot be considered a member of the Yan family.

Then after a hundred years, she still won't be able to escape the identity of an outsider.

Thinking about it this way, it's really quite sad.

There is inevitably such a delusion in my heart - "How great would it be if Xiaoling could be with Yan Xin?"

If this is the case, the daughter does not need to marry outside, she is both her daughter and her daughter-in-law.

The child she gives birth to is both her grandson and her grandson.

He is also related to her by blood.

This is a real family!

But what a pity, Yan Xin already has a partner.

This made her very depressed.

——I’m not that sentimental on weekdays, but during the Chinese New Year, because of a question about worship, I suddenly felt like an outsider, and I had these thoughts.

It's so embarrassing to have a combined family.

However, it would be too difficult to choose to go it alone and face the cruel reality in order to avoid those embarrassments.

She knew very well how difficult it had been over the years, and if she were asked to do it again, she wouldn't have the courage.

After getting married, my living conditions have indeed improved a lot, and I don't have to worry so much about my daughter.

She didn't know what kind of situation she would be in as an outsider after Yan's father was gone.

But at least Yan's father is still here, so she can live a good life, be taken care of, and be respected.

It's worth it.

It's better than carrying it all alone.

What she worries most about is her daughter.

But she really can't do anything to help her daughter.

Like Yan's father, although she is still living in this era, she is already a laggard of this era.

At most, it can guarantee that my daughter will not starve to death at home, but there is no way to guarantee anything else.

She brought her daughter to marry into the Yan family. With Yan Xin's help, her daughter immediately found a good job and earned more money in more than a month than she earned in a year.

With just one word to Yan Xin, her daughter's fate changed.

This further proves that her marriage was the right choice.

The Yan family came to rescue her and her daughter.

She has nothing to complain about.

If I must complain, I can only complain that my life is not good. I did not meet such a good family in my first marriage, but only met a short-lived man.

She didn't do anything wrong.

The Yan family didn't do anything to feel sorry for her.

My identity is a little awkward now. It is purely fate and I can't blame anyone.

There was a little bit of resentment in my heart, but I hid it and didn't show it.

Seeing Yan's father coming back with the two little ones, she smiled again and asked them:

"Why are you back so soon? Thank you for your hard work."

She noticed that Bai Xiaoling and Yan Xin were still holding hands, and the smiles on their faces became even stronger.

——Even if these two little ones can't get together, it's a good thing that the relationship between brother and sister has improved.

With such a capable brother, her daughter will not suffer in the future.

Even if you suffer a loss, there are still people who can help you regain your position.

This is what makes her most at ease.

Bai Xiaoling replied with a smile: "It's not very hard, but the way up the mountain was quite tiring. I almost couldn't climb it."

In fact, the mountain is not high, and it is not very tiring to climb up, but that's what she has to say.

Because when she was going up the mountain, she used the excuse that she was tired, panting and saying that she couldn't climb anymore, and then she took this opportunity to ask Yan Xin to pull her hand, and they succeeded.

With this precedent, it seemed natural that he would still hold hands with Yan Xin when he went down the mountain.

——In fact, Yan Xin really wanted to refuse. He felt that it was not good, and it would not be good for others to see it.

However, during the Chinese New Year, a sister who was not related by blood to her family did not pay homage to her biological father's grave, but came to visit her mother's grave. She was too tired to move forward, so she asked him to pull it.

Sometimes I really can't refuse.

It would be very inhumane to refuse.

Now that they have done it once, they will hold hands next time, so they are not so repelled.

——In fact, it was impossible for him to throw away Bai Xiaoling's hand when she grabbed his hand and held his hand.

That would hurt your self-esteem.

If it spreads, it may even cause the split of this combined family.

So he can only continue to accept it.

In fact, he was a little uneasy - he was worried that Wu Xiuhong would be angry after seeing it and think that he was going to abduct her daughter.

But fortunately, nothing like that happened.

Wu Xiuhong saw them holding hands, with a smile on her face, without showing any trace of blame.

I felt relieved, but also felt ashamed, thinking: "I am still too dirty, always thinking about things that are and are not. This is how a normal relationship between brothers and sisters should be. They treat me as a family member, so they think it's okay.

It’s normal, but I think it’s not good. It’s my fault and I treat them as outsiders. Alas, I’m ashamed!”

When they got home, the brother and sister no longer had to hold hands.

There were no other activities in the afternoon. For dinner, I just ate the leftovers from lunch and cooked a little. There was nothing to be busy about.

So the four of them did nothing else in the afternoon. They set up a small round table in the main room on the first floor, with a coal stove underneath. Then they put a blanket on the table, and the four of them gathered around it and sat at the table.

Hit a hundred percent.

This place has such a habit. During the Spring Festival, every household plays cards.

Most of the cards are played by family members, and the winning and losing are all within the family, which means that the wealth does not go to other people's fields.

It's more about entertainment.

There are also a small number of people who play cards with people from other people’s families, which makes the nature a little different.

But later on, such customs and habits gradually disappeared. Fewer family members got together to play cards. The whole family just played on their mobile phones at home, or just chatted.

Those who are addicted to cards can go to the chess and card room to play cards. The boss will pump money, but will also provide them with food, so everyone can take what they need.

Nowadays, mobile phones are not that fun, not many people even have mobile phones, and there is no good TV to watch on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, so playing cards is the mainstream.

The Yan family used to be like that.

Yan Xin learned to play cards when he was a few years old.

However, there were only two fathers and sons left in the family, and their relationship was not very good at that time, so there was no such tradition.

Now the family of four is enjoying themselves happily, just picking up the old tradition.

The fight lasted until about six o'clock in the evening.

In more than three hours, Yan Xin lost more than a thousand yuan.

It wasn't a big fight, he would lose alone.

The other three all won.

The one who won the most was Bai Xiaoling.

In things like playing cards, when a person wants to win, he may not be able to win, but when he wants to lose, he can definitely lose.

Yan Xin didn't want his family members to be in a bad mood because they lost money, which would affect their mood during the New Year.

So he often loses on purpose.

Bai Xiaoling won most of the more than a thousand yuan.

This is not because Yan Xin lost to her, the main reason is that her skills are indeed higher.

Young people's minds are inherently more active.

If Yan Xin hadn't deliberately let the situation slip, Bai Xiaoling might have won, but the two old men would definitely lose, and they would lose a lot.

After dinner in the evening, it was only after seven o'clock. The Spring Festival Gala hadn't started yet and it was already dark.

Fireworks were set off outside. Although each house set off not many fireworks, one house set off and the other set off again. The crackling sound never stopped, and the night sky was lit up again and again.

Yan Xin and Bai Xiaoling also took some fireworks and went out to set off.

I bought more than 1,000 yuan worth of fireworks to use during this Spring Festival.

If you don’t let it go on New Year’s Eve, then there is no need to let it go at other times.

I set off a few fireworks, took photos and videos, and then went in.

The whole family was watching TV in the master bedroom on the first floor. The small table was moved over and the coal stove was placed underneath. At Bai Xiaoling's suggestion, they continued to play cards while turning on the TV.

There are two fruit plates on the table, with various foods in them, as well as orange juice and Coke.

You can eat whatever you want and drink whatever you want.

This night, they played cards until after one o'clock in the morning, and then they ended.

At midnight, Yan Xin and Bai Xiaoling went out to set off firecrackers.

That one is called Fengcaimen, so it needs to be released at this point.

When they went out, there was a roar outside. Every household was setting off firecrackers at this spot, and it became a sea of ​​firecrackers.

This night, the card game lasted longer, and Yan Xin lost even more, losing more than two thousand yuan.

Most of it went into Bai Xiaoling's pocket, making her extremely happy.

Although Yan Xin lost money, his family was happy, so naturally he was happy too, even happier than if he had won money.

They were not very impressed with some of the programs shown in the Spring Festival Gala this year.

But in their minds, this New Year's Eve this year is the most lively New Year's Eve in recent years, and it is also the only New Year's Eve in recent years that feels like Chinese New Year.

In the past few years, every Chinese New Year was deserted.

But it's not just the Yan family who is like this, the Bai family is also like this.

Two unhappy families finally looked happy on this day.

(End of chapter)