Starting a new chapter in life

Later, it became three couples, each forming a group, making a total of four groups playing mahjong with Grandma. Jingyan initially thought that this might be unfair to Grandma, but to her surprise, Grandma was really good at mahjong. All six members of the three families ended up losing money, with only Grandma being the big winner.

Grandma laughed heartily, saying that she was quite the mahjong master when she was young, and that her mind was still sharp. Of the four groups, the eldest brother's family suffered the most, losing the most. The eldest sister-in-law was not good at mahjong and could not help her brother, so she could only serve tea and water to everyone. The eldest brother was obviously not as cunning as He Zhijun, and as He Zhijun's next player, he was cheated the most.

It was past midnight when everyone was tired from playing. They started handing out red envelopes. The old lady, being the most senior member of the family, sat in the main seat in the living room and happily gave He Jiaoxu and Cui Hongru each a red envelope first. The red envelopes looked rather thin.

Next, He Zhicheng and his wife each received one, and He Zhijun and Jing Yan each received one as well. The red envelopes for this generation of four looked much thicker than those of the previous generation. Finally, He Chaoli's red envelope was the most exquisite and small. But children are happy to receive a red envelope. He put it in his pocket, his eyes crinkling with laughter. The child, who was about to doze off, immediately perked up.

Next, He Jiaoxu and his wife gave red envelopes to the younger generation, and finally He Zhijun and Jing Yan gave red envelopes to He Chaoli. After all the red envelopes were given out, Jing Yan and Zhou Jie went to the kitchen to cook some glutinous rice balls. Everyone ate a few, the mahjong table was over, and after cleaning up, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.

He Zhijun and Jing Yan received four red envelopes today, and they were very satisfied. Since she turned 18, she had never received a red envelope before. Receiving red envelopes today felt like being pampered like a child. This was something she hadn't felt in a long time, and she was really happy. Perhaps because she had drunk some wine today, Jing Yan felt that the bed was not as cold as it was yesterday.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone woke up around noon. We made some simple food. The leftover braised fish from yesterday had turned into fish jelly. We ate the dishes we had prepared earlier. Then, Jingyan was dragged to the study by her grandmother. Her grandmother, who is a calligraphy teacher, is quite strict and had lost all of her loving manner from yesterday.

Grandma took out a notebook and wrote the strokes at the top of each page. Jingyan then wrote each stroke on the next page, filling at least one page. At first, it was fine, but as she wrote more, she felt that the strokes and characters were getting increasingly wrong. Jingyan would stop writing from time to time to double-check, just like a primary school student starting school.

After she finished writing, Grandma would critique each one: "This one, the strokes aren't right, she rushed it; this one, it's crooked; this one, they're all separated..." In short, there were very few pieces on a page that Grandma could appreciate. Jingyan was almost in tears, but when she thought of Grandma's handwriting, the words she was about to say and wanted to back down were swallowed back down, and she could only continue writing while sobbing.

She didn't know that what she thought was poor writing, and which was always being criticized, was actually quite satisfactory in her grandmother's eyes. While Jingyan continued to work hard in the study, the old lady went to the living room and said to Cui Hongru:

"This child isn't highly educated, but she has a lot of patience and tenacity. Although she's not very bright, she's down-to-earth. If she practices like this, her handwriting should be presentable in a year at most. Anyway, I don't plan for her to become a master calligrapher; as long as her handwriting is presentable, that's enough."

Cui Hongru smiled and agreed, "Yes, but it's not easy to get Mom's praise. It seems Mom likes her very much."

The old lady smiled and said, "This child is cheerful and generous. Although he was a little reserved when he first came to our house, he is not shy at all, which pleases me. Tomorrow is the second day of the Lunar New Year. Zhicheng's wife is going back to her parents' home. Have you prepared the New Year's gifts she is going to take back?"

"It's all ready. I've sorted out some of the dried mushrooms that Jingyan mailed back last year, plus a piece of pork belly, a box of pastries, and a bottle of wine. I think that should be enough. As for the red envelopes to give them when they go back, let them prepare them themselves. I won't interfere."

"As long as the New Year's gifts are prepared, that's fine. We just need to be polite. By the way, you have older brothers and sisters on your mother's side. Why don't you go back and visit them on the second day of the New Year?" the old lady asked.

Cui Hongru shook her head: "No, after our parents passed away, the hearts of us siblings were long gone. In the past few years, we were all afraid that I would be a burden to them. Although everything is in the past now, I will never get over their attitude towards me. There is no need to have any contact. Anyway, I'm just staying at home. How about we play cards again tomorrow?"

The old lady's eyes lit up: "Okay, Jingyan will practice calligraphy for two hours, and then we can play cards. She watched all night yesterday and even tried it out, so she should have learned it. She just received red envelopes and has money. Tomorrow, this old lady will win all your New Year's money, hahaha."

Cui Hongru smiled and agreed, "Okay, let's just have something simple to eat tomorrow. Zhijun can cook, and the four of us can make a table."

So, while Jingyan was painstakingly practicing calligraphy, the red envelope that had just been put into her pocket was already being eyed.

Early on the second day of the Lunar New Year, He Zhicheng and his family of three went out with New Year's gifts. Jingyan continued to practice calligraphy. After finishing ten pages of calligraphy, she showed the finished product to her grandmother for inspection. The old lady's expression softened a lot. After checking, she circled the characters that were not written well. Jingyan took a look and breathed a sigh of relief. Compared with the dense red circles yesterday, there were visibly fewer red circles today.

The old lady stopped her when she saw her about to go into the study again: "Jingyan, diligence is a good thing, but everything should be done in moderation. You don't have to go to school or take exams. You can practice writing ten pages a day. Writing too much may not be effective and may even make you tired. Put your notebook away. We'll play cards together in a bit to relax."

Jingyan wanted to cry again. It was so hard for her. Playing cards was all about luck. She had no idea how to count cards, so it was obvious she would lose. She looked at He Zhijun with pleading eyes. He Zhijun shrugged at her and spread his hands, looking like he couldn't help her.

Cui Hongru added with a laugh, "Zhijun's got nothing to do anyway, so let's leave the tasks of serving tea and water, and cooking to him today. Let's have a good time."

Feeling the money in her pocket, Jing Yan steeled herself and forced a smile: "Then I'll put the notebook back in the study first."

After putting the notebook back, she quickly went back to her bedroom, took out her small wallet, and pulled out all the loose change under ten yuan. She counted it: forty-eight yuan and thirty cents. That should be enough to lose, right? She stuffed all the money into her pocket and went to the living room full of confidence.

After the card table was set up, Jingyan took out all her change and put it into the money box next to her seat. Her actions confused the others, but He Zhijun immediately realized what was going on and laughed heartily: "Jingyan, you don't have that much confidence in yourself, do you? Did you calculate that you would lose?"

Only then did the others realize what was happening, and they couldn't help but laugh. Jing Yan blushed and glared at He Zhijun: "You see through it but don't say it. You have no martial ethics."

He Zhijun pleaded repeatedly, "Alright, alright, I won't laugh at you anymore. It's okay, we're rich, we're not afraid of losing. To cheer you up, I'll go make you a cup of malted milk powder, it'll help your brain." Then he looked at the other three elders, "Grandma, Dad, Mom, do you want some?"

Grandma waved her hand: "I don't want to drink that stuff, make me a pot of tea instead."

He Jiaoxu chimed in, "Bring a few more cups over, your mother and I can have some tea too."

He Zhijun started bustling around serving tea and water to the card players, cutting fruit platters, brewing tea, and preparing snacks. The four card players were relaxed, but the assistants were extremely busy. Jing Yan had good luck today. Although it didn't require much skill, she only lost ten yuan after half a day thanks to her good cards, which was far beyond her expectations. She was very satisfied.

The old lady still managed to become the biggest winner by relying on her brain. He Jiaoxu was unlucky. Not only did he have bad cards, but he was also completely crushed by his mother's opponent. If it weren't for his not-so-bright daughter-in-law, he would have suffered a huge loss today. Even with Jingyan helping to share the burden, he still lost eight yuan, which wasn't much less.

When everyone had finished clearing the card table and were getting ready for dinner, Jing Yan proudly showed He Zhijun the money she had left: "Look, I prepared more than forty yuan in change, and I was worried it wouldn't be enough. Well, I'm lucky, I have this much left. It should be enough for playing cards during the Spring Festival."

He Zhijun chuckled: "You didn't intend to win?"

Jingyan's eyes widened, and she reached out to touch his forehead: "You don't have a fever, so why do you think I can win? With my card skills, it would be a feat to lose less."

He Jiaoxu walked over to them, patted his son on the shoulder, and said, "Thank goodness for your wife, otherwise I would be the worst one. Your grandma always tricks me, sigh~" After saying that, he shook his head and went to the kitchen to get the dishes.

Seeing that everyone was getting ready to eat, Jingyan asked He Zhijun, "Brother's family hasn't returned yet, shouldn't we wait for them?"

"No need to wait. If they come back, I'll cook noodles for them. There's chicken soup simmering in the pot, so it'll be convenient. If they don't come back, I'll probably go early tomorrow. Anyway, with my older brother here, there's no need to worry about their safety. Don't worry."

Everyone sat around the table for dinner. The New Year's goods prepared in advance were sufficient, and many dishes appeared on the table repeatedly. There was no other way; this is how Chinese New Year is. Difficult dishes are prepared all at once and then reheated whenever needed, until everyone is full, and only then can the New Year be considered over.

As expected, my older brother's family didn't return that evening. They came back on the afternoon of the third day of the Lunar New Year. With no major activities during the holiday, they mostly stayed home and found their own entertainment. The children were fine; they could play with their friends in the courtyard. But the adults were a bit bored. Of course, Jingyan wasn't among those who were bored.

She practices calligraphy every day and reads books when she has time. The books in her study are quite varied, including the Four Great Classical Novels and military strategy. In short, they are a good way to pass the time. Most of the books are in classical Chinese. When Jingyan has difficulty reading certain parts, she asks He Zhijun for help. The young couple reads together, which adds a touch of romance.

By the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, everyone except his sister-in-law and nephew had to go back to work. He Zhijun also prepared to take Jingyan and his grandmother back to Haishi. He brought the luggage he had brought back and found the shipping receipt. They took a bus to Haishi and first sent his grandmother back to the sanatorium.

The couple found the house using the key from the address. When they opened the door, Jingyan was dumbfounded as she looked at the two-story house with its own yard: "This is the house Mom said she would give us? It's so big!"

He Zhijun was also somewhat surprised. He had visited this place when his grandparents lived here when he was a child, but more than ten years had passed, and his memories of the place had faded considerably, especially since the house was so different from what he remembered.

"This house used to be so tidy, but now it's completely different from what I remember." The two of them said as they entered the house. The walls were blackened and had mold spots, and the lighting was very dim. After looking around on the first floor, they went up to the second floor. After looking around, Jingyan was dumbfounded: "Where's the kitchen? Why is there no furniture at all?"

He Zhijun patted her hand: "If we don't have it, we don't have it. Even if we did, we probably wouldn't be able to use it. This way, it saves us the trouble. It looks like this house needs major repairs. Do you have any ideas?"

“We need to paint the whole house white to make it brighter. Let’s turn one of the two rooms on the right side of the first floor into a kitchen and the other into a bathroom. Besides the sink, we’ll also build a big bathtub so we can take baths at home. We’ll also build a drain trough under the bathtub’s outlet. After we’re done, we can just pull out the plug and the water will automatically flow from the trough through the opening in the corner of the room into the yard and directly into the vegetable garden. That way, we won’t have to empty the water ourselves. What do you think?” Jingyan looked at He Zhijun expectantly.

He Zhijun looked around the room and pointed to one side of the wall: "The bathtub will be placed here, which avoids the window. Making a hole in this corner is the closest to the vegetable garden. If we can buy thicker water pipes, we won't need to build a separate sink for the bathroom. We can just connect the water pipes to the bathtub's outlet and plug it from the inside. This way, the room won't be too damp. We can dig a cement ditch from outside the wall to build the drainage channel, and then add a slope so that even during the rainy season, there won't be any backflow of water."

Jingyan didn't know much about these things, so she just made up her own requests and opinions. "If we could find some craftsmen from our area, we could build kang beds in the two bedrooms on the left side of the first floor. We could also build a fireplace in the living room so that one fire could power the kang beds in both rooms. That would be perfect. We could just make a hole in the wall and extend the chimney out, but I don't know if that's feasible. We'd have to find a professional to take a look."

"The two bedrooms on the second floor are just the right size for our beds. One room will have a wooden bed, and the other a cot. That way, we won't need to buy any more beds, and we'll have just enough," He Zhijun added.

We can put our wardrobe in the downstairs bedroom. The dressing table will fit too. We can fill in the rest later. And this floor—the brick floor is so worn out you can't even see the original color anymore. How about we remove the bricks and turn it into a cement floor? It'll be easier to clean and smoother.