Zhou Xiaoyun’s Happy Life

Chapter 37 Who doesn’t love lucky money?

　　After staying at grandma's house all day, the Zhou brothers and sisters' pockets were all bulging when they came home in the evening.

Grandma, aunt and uncle each gave me one yuan of New Year's money. My uncle, who is not married, has been working outside for a year and had money in hand and gave me two yuan each. Counting the new year's money in his pocket, Dabao narrowed his eyes with joy and opened his mouth wide enough to fit an egg.

Zhou Xiaoyun was not as happy as Dabao. She knew that a large part of the new year's money had to be handed over to the father-in-law, and at most she could keep some change for herself.

The giving of New Year's money to each other's children is just a nice sight, but it is also an essential New Year expense for rural people. The brother and sister received so much New Year's money, Zhao Yuzhen had to give a lot accordingly. Therefore, the New Year's money received by children should be handed over to the public as a matter of course. It is estimated that the New Year's money can be kept in the pocket until the fifth day of the first lunar month, which is commonly known as the "Little New Year".

Even so, the children who rarely see so much money happily put the money in their pockets. They feel much more confident when walking in front of their friends with money in their pockets.

 Dabao is a clever guy. He had already spent the New Year's money he had on him and set off match whips with a bunch of boys. The sound of "bang bang" kept ringing all day long.

  Xiaobao worked a lot harder when running a small shop. He didn’t want to eat the delicious food at home, so he specially bought some snacks that he usually covets.

Only the youngest Erya doesn't know how to use money yet, but she also puts her New Year's money in the pocket of her cotton-padded jacket every day and doesn't let anyone touch it. She has the tendency of being a "miser" at a young age.

Zhou Xiaoyun was also thinking about using part of the money before it was confiscated. As for what to buy, she had already thought about it.

 Early in the morning on the third day of the Lunar New Year, my aunt and her family came, and I heard the movement of my uncle Wu Youde’s tricycle from a long distance away. Wu Lei jumped out of the car first and went straight to Zhou Xiaoyun's house to play with Dabao. The three of them, including Zhou Zhihai, went crazy.

Wu Mei was extremely happy to see Zhou Xiaoyun, and she stayed close to Zhou Xiaoyun wherever she went, making Wu Mei close to her. Zhou Xiaoyun met Wu Mei for the first time since the holiday. Her parents were so busy that they had no time to take her to her aunt's house.

Wu Mei's situation is similar to hers. The two haven't seen each other for more than ten days and now they have endless things to talk about. Of course, Wu Mei has endless things to say.

 At ten o'clock, the third uncle's family in the city also came back.

Third uncle Zhou Guomin was wearing a dark jacket and glasses. He was much younger and more handsome than his two brothers.

Third Aunt Song Mingli is a Chinese teacher at a key middle school in the city. She is just twenty-nine years old. She has a slim figure and wears a woolen coat. She has the elegance of an intellectual.

 Song Mingli’s temperament made Zhou Xiaoyun deeply envious. She felt that a woman could be neither pretty, enchanting, showy, or fashionable, but she must have temperament. Temperament is a very elusive thing that cannot be seen or explained, but it can really be felt.

 Speaking of which, the three sisters-in-law each have their own characteristics.

Aunt Shen Huafeng is a little older, in her thirties, a bit fatter, and has the plumpness and roundness of a middle-aged woman.

My mother, Zhao Yuzhen, is younger and has the most regular and good-looking facial features. She wears very simple clothes, but she can't hide her natural beauty.

The third aunt Song Mingli is not as plump as her aunt or as beautiful as her own mother, but she has an indescribable and unique femininity all over her body. Her dress is never fashionable but never out of date. She has her own intellectual style, and her conversation and knowledge are far beyond those of rural women who have never seen the market. When I stood there, I immediately compared my sisters-in-law to each other.

 Look, this is the temperament of an intellectual woman!

Zhou Xiaoyun has always liked the third aunt. She is gentle, polite and measured, and is very considerate in her dealings with others. Zhou Xiaoyun has always sincerely hoped that she could become a woman like her third aunt in the future.

The third uncle’s family has only one son, Zhou Zhiyuan, who is six years older than Xiaobao this year. But being able to talk is much better than Xiaobao. Although he doesn't often go back to his hometown in the countryside, he soon became familiar with his brothers and played together.

Grandpa Zhou Xiaoyun passed away not long after Dabao was born, leaving only grandma to live with her third uncle for a long time.

The third uncle and the third aunt are both busy at work and have no time to take care of the housework. The sixty-year-old grandma is very agile and takes care of the children at the third uncle's house, cooking and washing clothes, and taking care of all the housework. Song Mingli was very good at doing things. She often gave her grandma some pocket money and bought new clothes every season. Her grandma felt that her third daughter-in-law was filial, so she even refused to come back.

Zhao Yuzhen often complained secretly about her mother-in-law's favoritism. The third child's family only had one child, and she had taken care of Zhou Zhiyuan since he was born. Even now, even though she has so many children in her family, she has never come back to take care of them for her.

Zhou Guoqiang was unhappy after hearing this: "The third child and his wife both have to go to work, so there is no time to take care of the children. My mother can take care of them and cook for them. We rural people go back and forth from home every day, who wants it?" Come and take care of the children for us. I have plenty of time! Besides, the third child’s family can only afford the extra food at home. For so many years, our mother has been supported by the third child without any payment from us. If it were left to our family, it would be difficult for us to support our children, but how could we support our mother?”

 When it came to the issue of support for her mother-in-law, Zhao Yuzhen wisely kept her mouth shut.

Grandma was indescribably happy when she came back to see all these grandkids. She used her personal savings to give the children new year's money. The older one went to school for two yuan, the younger one one yuan. The children gathered around when they saw the new year's money. Grandma was very happy to hand out the new year's money.

The aunt also gave each child one yuan, but the third aunt was much more generous. The brand-new five-yuan bills were so bright that they were dazzling. Zhao Yuzhen and Shen Huafeng were busy giving Zhou Zhiyuan five yuan as new year's money. However, the third uncle's family only had one child, so Zhou Xiaoyun thought that having the most children would be the most cost-effective.

She silently calculated in her mind and found that she had more than ten yuan of lucky money. At this time, it was a huge sum for a child to have so much money!

 (End of this chapter)