Zhou Xiaoyun’s Happy Life

Chapter 38 Chinese New Year is about eating, eating, eating

 As usual, we had lunch at the eldest brother Zhou Guofu's house on this day. That night, the third uncle's family stayed at the uncle's house. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, a large number of people arrived at Zhou Xiaoyun's house, and Zhao Yuzhen started busy from early in the morning.

 Father Zhou borrowed a large round table from his uncle's house, which was big enough for ten people. Even adults and children could barely squeeze in and sit down.

  The chicken, duck, and fish that Zhao Yuzhen had prepared years ago were cooked into large bowls and served on the table.

 When relatives come to the house for dinner during the Chinese New Year, it is the highest level of hospitality at home. If everyone is not full or well fed, the host will have no place to put his face. Therefore, Zhao Yuzhen, who is usually reluctant to use oil when cooking, worked hard to scoop out lard for cooking.

Although the Zhou brothers, together with Zhou Fang who is away from home, are considered the poorest, Zhao Yuzhen has always had a strong personality, and she has to cook decent dishes during the Chinese New Year. Don't let others look down on you, Zhao Yuzhen thought, and put the fried meatballs at home into the pot.

Zhou Xiaoyun doesn't like to sit in the corner of the table. There are so many people, big and small, gathered around the table. If the child wants to pick up a dish, he has to stand up and stretch his hands to reach it. She excused herself to help in the kitchen and hid out. Father Zhou was too busy to take care of her and let her go.

The bottom of the pot was lit with branches and the fire was very strong. Zhao Yuzhen was busy cooking, and Zhou Xiaoyun ran to help serve the dishes.

The edge of the hot bowl was unbearable even for an adult holding it. Zhao Yuzhen was afraid that Zhou Xiaoyun would be burned and would not let her handle it. Zhou Xiaoyun picked up the rag at home and wrapped it around the bowl. The temperature was just right and he didn't worry about slippery hands. Zhao Yuzhen praised Zhou Xiaoyun for being smart.

Zhou Xiaoyun saw that there were dishes he liked, so he asked Zhao Yuzhen to put some into a small bowl. It was much more comfortable to eat alone without fighting over it than at a big table!

　　It was almost half past two in the afternoon when we finished up after lunch. Zhao Yuzhen picked up the leftovers, and aunt Shen Huafeng and third aunt Song Mingli also came to help. The children all ran out to play, and only Zhou Xiaoyun stayed aside to help sweep the floor and tidy up the stools.

Shen Huafeng praised Zhou Xiaoyun: "His second aunt, your eldest daughter is really a good and sensible child. At such a young age, she knows everything like a little adult. A few days ago, Dabao and I carried the cage over , I asked a lot when I saw there were smaller buns inside, and then I realized they were Da Ya Bao’s buns. Tell me, how come she has such skillful hands at this age, and she can also make feather shuttlecocks? My Xiaoxia is at home. I heard that it was Da Ya who kicked the shuttlecock every day.”

Zhao Yuzhen said a few words of humility with a smile on her face, but she was actually extremely happy. Who doesn't like to hear their children being praised like this?

Song Mingli hasn’t been back to her hometown for more than half a year. This is the first time she heard about it, and she couldn’t help but look at Zhou Xiaoyun.

Zhou Xiaoyun did not show any pride after hearing the compliment. He smiled politely at Shen Huafeng and arranged the long benches next to the table one by one.

Seeing that Zhou Xiaoyun was neither arrogant nor impetuous, Song Mingli smiled and nodded approvingly: "I haven't been back for a long time, and the children have changed their appearance. Da Ya Ke has grown up a lot compared to the last time we saw her, and she can go Go to school and study.”

"His third aunt, our eldest daughter entered the first grade last year." Zhao Yuzhen was honored to say that Song Mingli was an educated person who graduated from a serious school and was a teacher. She praised her daughter for being more important than her elder sister-in-law. Much.

Song Mingli was surprised: "Oh? I remember Da Ya was only seven years old during the Chinese New Year. Did she go to school at the age of six last year? It's quite early to go to school. Da Ya, can you follow the class at school and understand the class? "

Zhou Xiaoyun didn’t like to show off, so he nodded and answered briefly: “I can understand.”

"This kid is too humble. He got two hundred points in the final exam. I heard from Haizi that he ranked first in the grade." Shen Huafeng had already heard from his son Zhou Zhihai that Zhou Xiaoyun ranked first in the grade. At that time I have been lamenting for a long time at home, why are there so many differences between children?

In Song Mingli's surprised eyes, Zhao Yuzhen's vanity was greatly satisfied. Being able to show his face in front of his sister-in-law who is better than him in everything is an event that will go down in history: "Da Ya asked to go to school, and your second brother and I didn't agree at first. We felt that the child was too young to go to school. It was too early, but we couldn’t help it, so we agreed. We didn’t expect the results to be so good.”

Song Mingli immediately took a liking to Zhou Xiaoyun. As a teacher, she always has a favorable impression of children who have good grades and love to study. Next, Zhao Yuzhen rambled on about Zhou Xiaoyun's various advantages. Although she didn't overexaggerate the facts, it was enough for Song Mingli to listen.

Zhou Xiaoyun was very happy that her third aunt liked her, but after hearing her mother praising her endlessly, she couldn't stay any longer no matter how thick-skinned she was, so she simply ran away.

The next day, a large number of people went to my aunt's house again.

 This day is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, also known as the Xiaonian. Zhou Fang's house is very spacious, and the children can knock the roof over when they run around. The girls are headed by Zhou Xiaoxia, plus Zhou Xiaoyun and Wu Mei, and the youngest Erya, but there are only four of them. They can skip rope and play shuttlecock together.

 Elegance. Dabao is the oldest among the boys, followed by Zhou Zhihai and Wu Lei, and then Zhou Zhiyuan and Xiaobao. Under the leadership of Dabao, the five boys went crazy.

The happiest person these two days is Zhou Zhiyuan from my third uncle’s family. He is an only child and has few friends to play with. This time there were a lot of brothers, brothers, sisters and sisters, which made him very happy. At night, I refused to go back no matter what.

Zhou Zhimin was defeated after a long time of persuasion. Song Mingli had a straight face, and before she could say a few words, Zhou Zhiyuan left obediently, much to the amusement of the surrounding family members.

Grandma couldn't bear to see her beloved grandson dejected, so she whispered in his ear: "Yuan Yuan, don't be unhappy. Tomorrow the eldest uncle's family, the second uncle and the aunt's family will all go to our house for dinner. How about you play with Brother Dabao and the others tomorrow? good?"

Zhou Zhiyuan immediately beamed after hearing this.

 (End of this chapter)