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墨書 Inktalez
In the countryside, during the Lunar New Year, it is customary to hold off on any major grievances until after the celebrations. Conversations and interactions are marked by a heightened sense of humility, and it is generally frowned upon to argue or create discord during this festive time, as it brings discomfort to both others and oneself.
The actions of Third Aunt truly left the entire family feeling uneasy, though no one voiced their discontent.
For children, the greatest joy of the New Year is receiving red envelopes filled with money.
According to village customs, a newly married woman must give red envelopes to her nephews and nieces during her first visit home. This tradition holds true even today; Hu Ruoyun's mother and Second Aunt also give red envelopes to one nephew and one niece when they return for the New Year. In earlier years, when finances were tight, each child received fifty cents. However, as life has improved over the past couple of years, they decided to increase it to one yuan.
Aunts never fuss over whether or how much to give their nephews; harmony in the family is paramount. As long as the parents live peacefully with their siblings and sisters-in-law, it is considered a blessing. In previous years, Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed a cheerful atmosphere during the holidays because there were no conflicts among their children, and daughters-in-law did not cause trouble.
Before sitting down for dinner, Hu Ruoyun's mother and Second Aunt discussed giving red envelopes to their nephews and nieces with Third Sister. Second Aunt asked, “Third Sister, both I and Eldest Sister have prepared new bills for our nephews and nieces. Do you have any? If not, I can exchange a couple for you.”
To their surprise, the youngest sister flatly refused: “I just got married and don’t have any children yet. Why should I give out red envelopes? You can give them if you want; I won’t!”
This left her two older sisters utterly speechless.
What has happened to this sister? She used to be more understanding!
But since the money was in her own pocket, they couldn’t force her to give it away. If she didn’t want to contribute, then so be it. As elder aunts, Zhao Meirong and Zhao Meiying still secretly gave their nephew Chunsheng and niece Chuncao one yuan each in new bills.
The two children ran to their mother holding up the new bills: “Mom, look! Aunties gave us this money; it’s brand new!”
Hu Ruoyun’s Aunt Feng Cai exclaimed: “What did your Third Aunt give you? Did you lose it? If you lost it, I’ll have to punish you!”
The two children felt wronged: “We didn’t lose anything! It was just Aunties who gave us; Third Aunt didn’t…”
—The food was better than in previous years, yet the whole family felt that something was missing from the festive atmosphere.
Before heading off to high school registration, Hu Ruoyun followed her mother’s advice and went to Third Aunt’s house to pay her respects. What made Hu Ruoyun uncomfortable was that while Third Aunt was indeed warm in her demeanor, her words carried an air of superiority. She constantly reminded Hu Ruoyun that now that she was in town, she could no longer behave like she did in the countryside and needed to pay more attention to personal hygiene…
“Have your mother make you a couple of decent outfits; wearing those shabby clothes in our town will only make the neighbors look down on you…”
“Look at your hair, it’s such a mess! You should come to our house and tidy yourself up sometime!”
That last comment stung and left Hu Ruoyun feeling quite annoyed. Who did this person think they were? Just a resident of a small town, still half-buried in the mud, yet they acted as if they were a citizen of a big city!
Even if you were a city dweller, you were still just a small-time citizen, the kind that was rather petty.
What Hu Ruoyun found most intolerable was that this Third Aunt had the nerve to lecture him on table manners: “Don’t slurp your soup, don’t slurp your noodles… and stop tapping the ends of your chopsticks while eating…”
Fuming, Hu Ruoyun nearly dropped his chopsticks and walked out. Why don’t you try slurping a bowl of noodles for me!
It was like putting a green onion in a pig's nose—trying to look impressive; or like a toad trying to pass itself off as a wolf with a feather duster—pretending to be something it wasn’t; or like a toad lying on the road—trying to camouflage itself as a little jeep.
After that, he rarely visited Third Aunt again.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, guests arrived at Hu Ruoyun’s home, all coming specifically for him.
Leading the group was Brother Biao, followed by Jiang Qiuying, Class Monitor Zhao Hongtao, and Youth League Secretary Li Xiangqian. They were considered guests because they brought New Year gifts just like the adults did.
To be honest, throughout his life, aside from visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s house, Hu Ruoyun couldn’t recall his father having much social interaction. They had never hosted anyone at home before, so Brother Biao and the others caught the Hu family off guard with their visit.
In this era, once New Year’s Eve passed, all the shops in the market closed down and didn’t reopen until after the sixth or eighth day of the new year. With no social engagements, there was nothing prepared at home for entertaining guests—where could they go shopping at this time?
Even though these were just kids visiting during the festive season, they all came bearing gifts. It wouldn’t do to just serve them dumplings.
Fortunately, Second Uncle had several good friends in the back street. They would visit each other during festivals and important events, so every year during New Year’s, Second Uncle always kept some wine and dishes ready.
Hu Ruoyun was the leader of their generation. As the younger ones began to socialize, Second Uncle and Second Aunt were delighted. They brought ingredients from their home and helped prepare eight dishes, balancing meat and vegetables, along with serving both white and sweet wine.
As guests arrived, Second Uncle and Second Aunt took it upon themselves to entertain them, which inevitably led to them pouring drinks for the guests. Brother Biao was quite the character; whether it was the wine poured by Hu Ruoyun's father or by Second Uncle, he downed it all in one go. In the end, he managed to get himself drunk and rushed to the bathroom to vomit.
Second Aunt brought out some hot and sour soup to help him sober up, muttering, "Oh dear, this child is so sincere..."
When Brother Biao arrived, he had ridden a bike carrying Jiang Qiuying. On the way back, however, he had to rely on Group Leader Li Xiangqian to carry him while Jiang Qiuying rode her own bike.
As Hu Ruoyun saw them off from the village, Zhao Hongtao lagged behind and said to him, "Both Forward and I are at Sixth Middle School. Whenever you come to the county town, make sure to visit us at school." He glanced at the three people walking ahead and turned back to slip an envelope into Hu Ruoyun's hand. "This is from Qiuying for you; open it when you get home!"
Then he hopped on his bike and pedaled after the two ahead.
Hu Ruoyun waved goodbye to them.
Little did he know that the arrival of these four classmates made his parents realize that their child had truly grown up. Just look at how four guests came all at once this year! They would have to prepare food and drinks for future gatherings during festivals!
This thought brought them great comfort: their lives had reached this point, and no matter how they looked at it, their child was now much better off than they had been!
Aunt Kui and Sister Jie soon came over with gossip: "Which girl is really something? Which village is she from? Has she made a promise with our Yunzi? How much did they give her as a 'meeting gift'?" (The red envelope given by the male's family when meeting the female's family for the first time.)
"That girl really has height and looks; she's quite impressive!"
Even Woodzi's Wife joined in on the gossip, filled with envy and jealousy: "From Qihua's Family? Your Hu Ruoyun is short, dark, and not good-looking—how could he possibly match up with that girl?"
Zhao Meirong wore a proud expression, no longer submissive in front of that domineering woman: "She studies at that Experimental High School in our county; her grades are excellent... During meals, she kept glancing at our Hu Ruoyun... There's not even a hint of romance yet; we didn't dare say anything about it...
Anyway, it's their business now; I won't worry about it!"
The line between reality and illusion left Hu Ruoyun both amused and bewildered.
That night, Hu Ruoyun opened the envelope that Zhao Hongtao had given him. Inside was a single sheet of paper, neatly written in Jiang Qiuying's handwriting:
"…Although we don’t attend the same high school, I will never forget that it was you and Debiao who rescued me from the hands of bad people. Without both of you, I wouldn’t be who I am today!
I will always remember! Even though you never mentioned it, I know you both did a lot for me! These are things I could never have imagined, and I truly admire you.
Although Eight Middle School isn’t as good as No. 1 High School or other high schools, I believe that as long as you work hard, you will achieve great results!
Our Language teacher’s last name is He, and he has published articles in many newspapers and magazines. I told him that your writing is excellent, and he hopes you keep it up.
Hobbies are the best teachers; nothing motivates people more than their passions.
Also, one more thing: please convey to Debiao at the right time and in the right way that we are still young. No matter what happens in the future, we must prioritize our studies now…
He will understand what that means.
Life is short, but friendships last long. Finally, I wish you new achievements in the coming year!"
Hu Ruoyun chuckled bitterly: Brother Biao, it seems like you're about to face heartbreak.
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