There is a mountain in her arms

Jiang Yichen was awakened by a burst of New Year greetings. He rubbed his eyes drowsily. The sun's light shone faintly through the gap in the curtains.

I rubbed the warm bed with longing, but I really didn't want to get up.

"Chengcheng, get up and go to pay New Year's greetings with grandpa." Grandma Jiang knocked on her door.

"Got it. I'll get up right away."

Jiang Yichen hid in the bed and put on his clothes before he lifted the quilt and came out.

I opened the curtains and saw the sun shining brightly outside. It was already so late. I quickly folded the quilt and went to wash up.

Breakfast was on the table. Grandpa was holding An An, and grandma had set the table and sat down with a smile.

"Grandpa and grandma, happy new year!"

"Chengcheng, Happy New Year! Here is your lucky money."

The two elders gave her a red envelope at the same time. This was the first time in Jiang Yichen's life that she received New Year's money, and she was actually a little excited.

"Thank you, grandparents!"

"Good boy! This is our An An, oh, you know this is a good thing!"

Grandpa and his wife Jiang also gave An An two, and An An grabbed them immediately, making the old couple very happy.

After breakfast, grandma held An An at home to entertain people who came to pay New Year's greetings, while grandpa took Cheng Cheng out to pay New Year's greetings.

In the countryside, people visit their parents on the first day, their natal family on the second day, and friends and relatives on the third day and beyond.

However, on the morning of the first day of the new year, villagers will still pay New Year's greetings to each other. They don't do it for any reason, just to have a good time. After paying New Year's greetings, they will start to visit relatives with New Year gifts, which means they will have dinner.

At this time, every household will put various snacks and foods on the table to entertain people who come to pay New Year's greetings.

Jiang Yichen helped her grandmother put some peanuts, melon seeds, fruit candies, and mung bean cakes on the table and placed a thermos bottle next to it before going out.

On this day, everyone they met said auspicious words to each other. For the first time, Jiang Yicheng recognized all the people in the village, thanks to her adult soul.

The next house happened to be the great-grandfather’s. Jiang Yichen rubbed his little face which was stiff from smiling and continued to do business.

"Brother, sister-in-law, Happy New Year! We are here to wish you a happy new year."

"Happy New Year, Uncle!" At this time, only Zhou Lanhua and her two elders were at home. When they heard the voice, they hurried out from the kitchen.

"Happy New Year, niece-in-law!"

"Happy New Year, Auntie!"

Jiang Yicheng greeted him obediently.

"Second brother, Cheng Cheng, you are here."

"Grandpa, Grandma, Happy New Year!"

"Hey! Hey! Happy, happy. Come and have some candy! Old man, where are the red envelopes from Cheng Cheng and his sister?"

"Oh! Right, you're knocking my memory. Come on, Cheng Cheng, these two are yours, and these two are An An's."

Jiang Yichen looked at her grandfather and only took it when she saw him nod.

"Orange, you're so good!"

"Brother, sister-in-law, we have to go to the next house, so we'll leave first."

"Okay! Once you've finished running the year, we'll meet up on the mountain later!"

"it is good!"

After running a lap, Jiang Yichen's pockets were stuffed with things, which he finally carried back with his scarf.

As soon as he got home, Jiang Yicheng ran back to his room to open the red envelopes. Grandpa and grandma gave him one yuan each, and Grandpa Jiang gave him fifty cents each.

Jiang Yichen quietly told his grandparents, and they guessed that the first time he gave them a thicker amount.

That’s the meaning of the red envelope here. Usually the amount is not much, maybe 5 cents or 1 cent, it all depends on your intention.

In recent years, their family has had many children, and the old couple have given away a lot every year. Now that they are back, they have added a thicker one.

"Don't let anyone know about this, lest the rest of Great Grandfather's family make a fuss."

Grandma Jiang specifically reminded me of this because she still gave each child one cent this year. Grandpa's family has five grandchildren, and they give five every year.

In Jiangcha Village, visiting graves on New Year's Day is different from ancestor worship on Qingming Festival. A more precise way of saying it is to invite ancestors to celebrate the New Year together.

On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, you should bring incense, candles and offerings to the ancestral graves and respectfully invite your ancestors to come home to celebrate the New Year.

Then, on the first day of the New Year, people would bring offerings, money and paper and send their ancestors back to the cemetery to pay homage and bid farewell.

The meaning is that during the most festive holiday of the year, we should not forget the kindness of our ancestors and spend the holiday together.

Yesterday afternoon, when Jiang Yichen was helping his grandmother prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, Grandpa Jiang went up to the grave on the mountain alone.

Today, Grandma Jiang prepared incense, paper money, fruits, snacks, vegetarian wine, firecrackers and other offerings. Holding An An, Jiang Yicheng held Grandpa's hand, and the whole family went up the mountain.

In front of the grave of the Jiang family's ancestors on the mountain, Jiang Yichen was holding An An. When her grandparents had placed offerings on the new graves of the Jiang family's ancestors and her parents, Grandpa Jiang also came up with the three brothers of the Jiang family.

The atmosphere at this time was always gloomy, especially in front of her parents' new grave. It was clean and the grass around it had been pulled out.

Because her parents only had urns, they were buried together. There was no tombstone, and we have to wait three years to find out.

Jiang Yicheng held An An and kowtowed to them three times. Now little Jiang Yicheng should be reunited with them, right?

She silently told them in her heart that she would take good care of An An until he grew up, so that the three of them could rest assured.

She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she felt a gentle breeze blowing across her and An An at this moment. Was this a response?

When they were going down the mountain, they met other people who were visiting the graves. They greeted each other and went back home.

Having completed today’s mission, Jiang Yichen went home with his grandparents.

Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Jiang also came to play. Grandma Jiang was afraid that Jiang Yichen would be bored, so she specially invited Jiang Weiguo's three children to come and play.

In fact, Jiang Yichen wanted to refuse. She was an adult at heart and couldn’t play with real children!

When Jiang Weitong brought the three of them over, Jiang Yichen was practicing military boxing for Grandpa Jiang to see.

Although Grandpa Jiang was a veteran, they had not learned military boxing at that time, so they watched with great interest.

"Chengcheng, can you teach this to Uncle San?"

Jiang Weitong was very interested. Boys of all ages would have a martial arts dream.

"Cousin, I want to learn too."

Jiang Zitao's eyes also lit up and he seemed eager to try.

"Uncle San, your bones are already grown, and I don't know how much you can learn. If you are not afraid of hardship, you can give it a try. Cousin Zitao, learning this requires practicing basic skills, which is very hard. You should go back and ask your elders first."

"Grandpa, I want to learn martial arts from my cousin, is that okay?"

"You'll have to ask your parents about this. I only care about your father's generation."

"Then I'll go ask now."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Zitao was still impatient and turned around and ran away.

"Dad, I'm old enough now, so I don't need to ask for your opinion, right?"

Jiang Weitong touched the back of his head and raised an eyebrow at his father.

"Who cares about you!"

"Ha ha ha ha"

Everyone laughed.

Jiang Yichen took out his delicious food to treat Jiang Ziqing and his sister.

Jiang Zixiao stuffed a White Rabbit candy in his mouth, held a glutinous rice cake in his left hand, and a mung bean cake in his right hand. Looking at the egg cake, he wished he had another hand, which made Grandma Jiang so angry that she laughed and scolded him.

"You have enough food and drink at home, why are you so anxious?"

"Who are you talking about, mother?"

Jiang Weiguo's voice came from the gate of the courtyard. Jiang Zitao was still pulling his arm, and Jiang Weiping also followed.

"Who else could it be? Your little greedy cat looks like he's being abused at home. Look at how helpless he is."

"Haha! Mom, you don't know this. Everything in my second uncle's house is delicious. I've known this since I was a child."

"Bah! Your uncle is just generous. If it were someone else, they would have refused to have any contact with him. You guys should remember his kindness!"

"You're not the one to tell me that!"

Jiang Weiping also knew that this was a hint at him.

"Cousin, my father agrees. Can you teach me?"

Jiang Zitao saw his second uncle making a mess and quickly pushed him away.

"Uncle, let me make it clear first. It will take a lot of effort to learn this. Don't feel bad and blame me when the time comes. This is how I got through it."

"Chencheng, you are not afraid of hardship, so your cousin, as a boy, is even less afraid. Don't worry, even if he gets hurt, we won't blame you."

"Well then! We are all witnesses, so we can't deny it!"

Jiang Yicheng said this deliberately, and Grandpa Jiang immediately supported him.

"Chengcheng, don't worry. If they dare to deny it, I will beat them up."

"Dad, at least give us some face in front of the younger generation."

Jiang Weiguo protested, but of course the protest was ineffective.

In the yard, Jiang Yichen led Jiang Weiping and Jiang Zitao to practice horse stance.

The two old men started playing chess again, and Jiang Weiguo and the other man also went over to join in the fun.

Grandma Jiang and Great-grandma Jiang decided to have dinner at her house so they wouldn't have to move.

Grandma Jiang also thought it was a good idea and said she would go back and call her wife. When she came over, she brought a full basket of vegetables.

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing? I've prepared some dishes at home."

"Haha! No matter how many people you have at home, you can't afford to feed so many of us. We come to your house every few days to eat! Who doesn't lack food now?"

"It's New Year's Day, why bother about these things?"

"I'm happy!"

"Okay, okay, I can't argue with you, let's go prepare the food together!"

Grandma Jiang asked Jiang Weiping to hold An An, and the two sisters-in-law went to the kitchen together.

Zhou Lanhua felt grateful as she watched her three children living comfortably here.

It was a very lively day. We had dinner at Grandpa Jiang's house.

The next day, the second day of the Chinese New Year, Jiang Yicheng had never heard her mother talk about her parents, so everyone assumed that she had no natal family. If she didn't have a natal family, she didn't need to visit her parents' home.

But her grandmother does have a mother's home, so today the four of them are going to visit her to pay New Year's greetings.

Her grandmother's hometown, Yumiao Village, is two villages away from Jiangcha Village. Because the distance is far and transportation is inconvenient, they left home early in the morning.

The walk lasted two hours, and Jiang Yichen once again reaffirmed his desire to buy a car.

If bicycles are too expensive, a oxcart will do!

"Grandpa, should we buy a cow? We don't need that little bit of money now, and it will be more convenient for me to go to school!"

"Old man, I think what Cheng Cheng said makes sense. With a bullock cart, it will be more convenient for me to go back to my mother's house. It is really a bit of suffering to bring a family with me and carry things."

Every time Jiang Yichen made money, he would report it to them. Now the family’s savings are almost over 8,000 yuan, and the old couple still live a very frugal life.

"Okay, then we'll buy a bullock cart."

Listening to their complaints, Grandpa Jiang wiped the sweat from his face and felt that it was time to buy an ox cart.

Because they had power, they had the strength to walk, and soon they saw the shadow of the village.

"Chengcheng, we're almost at the village entrance! Hang on a little longer."

Grandma Jiang's mother's family has an old lady in her seventies who gave birth to three siblings. Grandma Jiang has two older brothers.

My great uncle, Yu Aiguo, married a woman named Miao from our village, another big family in the village. They had three sons.

Now all three sons have started their own families. The eldest and second have children, but the third has not had any children yet as he just got married.

My second uncle, Yu Aijun, married Liu from the neighboring village. They had two daughters and one son, and the three of them have already started their own families.

Mrs. Yu was a strong-willed woman all her life. She didn't have any sons to follow her and lived alone. But the two families lived close to each other, so she could always take care of one of them.

As soon as I reached the small river in front of the village entrance, I met the villagers.

"Yu Chun? Yu Chun is back. Who are these two children?"

"Second Aunt, these are my grandchildren. Bring them back to show my mother."

"Yu Chun, your granddaughter is so pretty!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Sister Fu. I will clean it up a bit."

"Yu Chun, I haven't seen you for a few years. Do you have time to sit down with me?"

"Aunt Wang, great! We can go together if we have a chance. You guys go ahead and do your work. My mother must be waiting anxiously."

Grandma Jiang greeted the villagers one by one. Grandpa Jiang held An An in his arms and carried a backpack without saying a word or urging anyone to come. Jiang Yichen quietly served as a background figure.

"Grandma, you haven't been home for a long time?"

"Well, sometimes I only come back during the Chinese New Year. Every family is poor, and we have to calculate how much food we have at home. I feel embarrassed to come back if I don't have anything to offer."

Grandma Jiang said it lightly, but Jiang Yichen felt sad.

"Old woman, you have suffered with me."

"What are you talking about? I'm luckier than most people. I don't have any harsh criticism from my parents-in-law, and you're so kind to me, which is better than anything else. Besides, I don't feel it's hard, isn't it the same for every family? I'm already very grateful to you for not disliking me for only having one child."

"Ahem! Grandpa and grandma, I'm still here! Let's talk about this when you get home."

Jiang Yichen listened to them talking more and more outrageously, so she quickly interrupted them. The embarrassed grandmother glared at the grandfather and walked forward with her head down.

Grandpa Jiang chased after him with An An in his arms, grinning foolishly, while Jiang Yichen followed slowly behind.

Someone had already informed Old Lady Yu of the news, and from afar she saw an old lady with white hair standing at the entrance of the village, looking around.

"Mom! I'm back. Why are you waiting here?"

When Grandma Jiang saw her mother, she ran over quickly.

"Hey, hey, slow down! Your second aunt's grandson came back to tell me the news, so I'll be waiting for you here."

"Mom, we are here to wish you a happy new year. This is my granddaughter Cheng Cheng, and this is my grandson An An."

"Happy New Year, great-grandma!"

"Oh! These are my two great-grandsons. They are so good-looking. How old is the little one?"

"Five months. Mom, let's go back and check. Chengcheng is tired from walking."

"Yes, yes, go back, go home."

Old Mrs. Yu was very happy, and Grandma Jiang and Jiang Yichen supported her on both sides.

The mother and daughter seemed to have endless things to talk about. No matter what the old lady asked, Grandma Jiang answered patiently.

Jiang Yichen observed the situation of Yu Miao Village calmly. The environment was roughly the same as that of Jiang Cha Village, neither of which was very wealthy.