An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

Jing Chunxi was in a bad mood because of the training. She felt a lump in her heart, unable to swallow it or spit it out, but Tao Jin did not compromise or indulge her.

After training on the morning of New Year's Eve, Tao Jin suddenly said coldly, "I'll let you go tomorrow, the first day of the new year."

Just when Jing Chunxi was feeling so happy that he could finally sleep in and almost wanted to jump up, Tao Jin added the second half: "No need to tie the sandbag tomorrow."

Jing Chunxi was furious, and almost pointed his finger at his face, saying, "You!... You... You did it on purpose!"

Tao Jin sneered, with a cheeky and teasing expression on his face, as if to say "What can you do to me?", but there was a hint of cunning in his eyes as he looked at Jing Chunxi!

Jing Chunxi still got up at noon, but he was no longer listless and listless as he had been in the past few days.

The aroma of the New Year's dinner was so tempting that she could almost stand up just by smelling it.

The weather is still a bit cold, and there is a drizzle, the kind of wet and cold. Wearing a thick cotton coat will make you hot, but wearing a thin jacket will make you feel a bit cold to the bone. You can only put on and take off your jacket.

Preparation for this New Year's Eve dinner starts early in the morning, and people in Lingnan are accustomed to eating it in the afternoon.

Just as the afternoon approached, firecrackers began to crackle and rang out intermittently around the village. Every family set off a small string of firecrackers, simply to tell their neighbors that their New Year's dinner was about to begin.

People in Lingnan love to eat chicken, and no feast is complete without it. They dare not eat poached chicken, which is still bloody and white.

Their large platters of chicken and duck are stir-fried or braised, with generous amounts of ginger, onion, garlic and softened mushrooms used to stir-fry the chicken; the braised duck with rich spices whets their appetite even more.

There are also braised pork with taro, braised spare ribs, pan-fried hairtail, braised pork elbow, braised fish with tofu, stir-fried bacon with garlic sprouts, and a platter of sausage and peanuts on the table.

The meat and egg in the egg drop soup were made by Zhuang after consulting the village chef. Perhaps it was because the chef was not skilled enough or the apprentice was not skilled enough, but the soup was not very successful. The meat might not have been pounded finely enough, and there was a little less sweet potato starch mixed in, so the meat and egg were a little loose. However, it tasted better than the meatballs he had eaten in Beijing before. The two children, who had never eaten wonton noodles, especially liked it.

As for the braised pork, a must-have dish during festivals in the north, Jing Chunxi took out four bowls, just one bowl for each table. However, when the meal started, Tang Shuang started to be picky about food, saying that the braised pork was not as delicious as the taro pork. The others also preferred to compete with other dishes, and the braised pork was not popular, with most of the bowl left over.

The two jars of apricot wine, however, were completely drained. The old lady and several of her daughters-in-law also, for the first time ever, drank half a bowl each, saying they were happy about the New Year. Jing Yongcheng was drunk for the first time, and he was still smiling as Jing Changning and Xiaobei helped him into the house.

It wasn’t even dark after the lively New Year’s Eve dinner, no wonder people don’t call it New Year’s Eve dinner.

After dinner, Jing Changning started to prepare the couplets.

This year, he and Erlang prepared a total of four couplets. The one for the gate was written by Jing Changning, and it was pasted from the top of the door to the threshold; the one for each of the front yard, the second yard, and the third yard was written by Erlang.

There are a lot of "Fu" characters pasted on the stickers, and they are posted in all the rooms of the house, from the main room to the kitchen. The chicken coops, rabbit cages, horse sheds and mule sheds in the backyard are all pasted with auspicious words such as "good luck" and "prosperity of livestock".

Sanlang and Silang were invited out by their friends in the village again. They were told to go to the doorsteps of each household and pick up the firecrackers that had fallen off but not burned out. The more firecrackers one picked up, the better luck he would have in the coming year.

The old concubine and Nanny Wang had just finished cleaning up and started to set out new food in the main hall. Tonight, incense, paper and candles had to be burned after midnight, and the whole family had to stay up to welcome the New Year.

Sugar cakes, melon seeds, and sugar cakes must be placed on the table.

Neighbors gave them rice dumplings, each of which weighed two or three pounds. They said that they should keep them simmering on the fire while they stayed up all night. After midnight, they should unwrap them and eat a few bites, which would be considered a good start to the new year.

However, the whole family was a little resistant to this way of eating. They still felt that the fat inside was not palatable and could not accept that the rice dumplings were actually salty.

Jing Yi cut the dumplings into rings to suit everyone's tastes, fried them in oil, and made crispy fried dumplings. Half of them were snatched up as soon as they were put on the table. In order to keep them until midnight, he had to order two more to be fried.

Everyone sat together only after it was completely dark. Tao Jin sat next to Jing Changlin and his wife, but at an arm's length away from Si. Jing Chunxi sat on the other side, and the two were closer.

Everyone else was in pairs or in groups of two, three or four, eating melon seeds and chatting. Grandpa and grandmother sat side by side in the first seat, whispering to each other non-stop, and Jing Chunxi couldn't get close enough.

Jing Mingyue and Zhuang were clinging to each other, both little girls were held by their mothers, playing face to face.

Jing Chunxi felt like she would go crazy if she didn't speak up. Seeing Tao Jin occasionally glancing at her, she couldn't help but ask, "What was it about you saying no one was home that day?"

Jing Chunxi clearly remembers that on his first day there, his grandfather asked him why he wanted to spend the New Year with them, and he replied, "There's no one at home."

Jing Chunxi doesn't believe this.

Tao Jin's expression was gloomy. "I haven't been in Lingnan for many years. This is my first time back, and my father is not home for the New Year."

It is impossible for the head of a wealthy family to go out and celebrate the New Year with his mistress, unless he is crazy. If he can't celebrate the New Year at home, it must be something important.

So, Tao Jin's father is the only person he wants to be close to. Without him, he feels like home is gone, and the rest of his family feels strange and distant. He would rather celebrate New Year with these strangers than with his stepmother and stepsiblings. How desolate!

Jing Chunxi tried to hold the hand that was resting on his knee. The skin was fair and the joints were slender. It felt warm to hold, just like what she dreamed of that night.

He didn't expect the little girl to suddenly do this. His heart, which had just turned cold when the little girl mentioned family matters, was now hit hard. At times like this, he was most easily moved. The ice in his heart was slowly melting, and suddenly he didn't feel so cold anymore.

Jing Chunxi also saw the light in his eyes, and suddenly felt that the harsh words he had said to her in the past few days were not so annoying or resentful. "If you like me, just spend every year with us."

Tao Jin was surprised and delighted: "Will you come again next year?"

Jing Chunxi: ...

Don't you know that this is a polite way of comforting others?

But still not wanting to disappoint him, she said, "Who knows, but grandparents will treat you well."

When will she come? She really didn't dare to say that. Whether she would come or not would depend on the circumstances. But thinking of the unknown future, her eyes dimmed.

A big hand held hers, very warmly: "It will be fine, everything will be fine in the future. Maybe we can celebrate the New Year together in Beijing in the future."

The tone and expression were a complete change from the harshness and indifference of the previous few days. They were like a gentle spring breeze, making people feel much more comfortable.