Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Lu Jingzhi sent a picture of their family dinner to Sang Yu, and her brother Lu Youzhe also made an appearance in the photo. However, they didn’t chat much as everyone was spending time with their families, and it wouldn’t be good to be glued to their phones.
Later, around midnight, Lu Jingzhi called for a video chat. At that time, Sang's grandpa and Sang's grandmother had already gone to bed; they were getting older and didn’t have the energy they used to. The others were in the living room playing mahjong, chatting, and watching TV.
Sang Yu quietly got up, put on her down jacket, and stepped into the yard. On the television, the clock struck twelve for the Spring Festival Gala, and the sound of firecrackers erupted like a tidal wave—crackling loudly and joyfully, filling the air with a festive atmosphere that was hard to find in the city where firecrackers were prohibited.
Lu Jingzhi’s voice was drowned out by the deafening noise of the firecrackers. “What did you say?” Sang Yu shouted into her phone’s microphone.
“I said, Happy New Year!” Lu Jingzhi shouted back from his end.
“Happy New Year! It’s wonderful to have you here,” Sang Yu replied.
Standing in the yard, she could see fireworks lighting up the distant sky. “Look! Fireworks! They’re so beautiful!” She turned her camera to show Lu Jingzhi.
The fireworks soared into the sky, blooming into colorful flowers that fell gracefully back down—vibrant and stunning.
Only in their remote village could they enjoy such sights without restrictions. This was why she felt that home had a richer flavor than city life; celebrating there was truly dull by comparison.
At that moment, both of them fell silent, quietly savoring the joy that the New Year brought. They exchanged smiles across the phone screen; this was their first New Year together since being together. Although separated by distance, their hearts were filled with happiness.
On New Year's Day, everyone woke up early to pay their respects. Sang's grandmother and Sang's monther rose even earlier; they had already cooked dumplings. In Sang Yu's family tradition, they had to eat dumplings before paying respects—even just one would do. Sang Yu symbolically ate two but had no appetite since she woke up too early.
Sang's grandpa and Sang's grandmother no longer needed to go out for visits; they simply waited at home for others to come by. As for everyone else, they all went out to pay their respects without exception.
When she was younger and went visiting during New Year’s, people would stuff candies into her pockets. It didn’t take long before her pockets were filled with sweets. Now that she was older, she didn’t enjoy candies as much anymore; only when particularly enthusiastic elders offered them would she accept a piece.
New Year's Day was probably when the village was most crowded, with groups of people visiting each other everywhere. Since Sang Yu grew up in Yun Cheng, most of the people were unfamiliar to her; she could only stand beside her sister Sang Xia, watching adults exchange pleasantries while smiling. Only when someone mentioned her name would she greet them through her mother’s introduction.
In their hometown tradition, no work was done on the first day of the New Year. So even though there were plenty of sunflower seed shells on the ground, no one bothered to clean up.
The second day of the New Year was traditionally a day for visiting one’s maternal family (customs varied by region; in some places it was a day for tomb-sweeping instead).
In Sang Yu's generation, there were no girls; however, in Sang's grandpa's generation, he had a sister who married into a nearby town. Thus today, Sang Yu's grandaunt and cousin Sang Ying would be returning to their maternal home.
Sang's grandpa had three siblings: he was the eldest with one younger sister and one younger brother—the youngest among them.
Since Sang Yu's grandaunt and her sons were coming over, Sang Yu's Er Ye and Tang Shu also came to Sang's grandmother's house to entertain guests.
Sang Ying arrived at her maternal home early with her husband; their few-month-old baby received unanimous affection from everyone present. Watching the chubby little one made Sang Yu unable to resist wanting to hold him.
“Sister, hold your nephew!” Seeing Sang Yu’s eager expression, Sang Ying passed the baby over.
“Is it okay? But I’ve never held such a small baby before.” Looking at the soft little one made Sang Yu unsure how to proceed.
Comment 0 Comment Count