country bumpkin

In Xingfu Village, Aunt Du was busy cooking, while Zhang Qingjiao, heavily pregnant, sat on a stool making dumplings.

Xiao Zhe rolled out the dough, while Song Ke sat opposite Zhang Qingjiao and they made dumplings together.

Zhang Qingjiao wrapped a dumpling with a one-cent coin inside, while Song Ke wrapped a dumpling with wheat bran inside.

As everyone made dumplings, they joked that whoever found a coin in their dumpling would have good luck all year, while whoever found a dumpling with wheat bran in it would have to drink three cups of wine. Furthermore, it was a village tradition that those who found wheat bran in their dumpling were destined for good fortune.

Before Aunt Du had even finished cooking, she called out to Song Ke from the kitchen. "Ke'er, come and get a bowl of cured pork to take to Uncle Li's house. Also, get a bowl of fried crucian carp."

Just as Song Ke was about to leave, Aunt Du called him back and said, "Don't forget to send a copy of each item to the village chief."

After Song Ke agreed, he went to the old village chief's house and Uncle Li's house to deliver things. After a while, he returned carrying a basket containing four empty bowls.

Soon, the dumplings were cooked. The steaming dumplings were served, and their aroma filled the whole house.

Aunt Du's dishes were also served: stewed carp, steamed sausage, stir-fried spicy chicken, stewed pork knuckle, pork ribs stewed with mushrooms, and fried small crucian carp.

Six meat dishes and four vegetable dishes make ten dishes. Rural people value perfection, so even if there are no meat dishes and only vegetable dishes, they will still make up ten dishes, as it has a good meaning.

It was only a little past five o'clock when everyone sat down together and started eating dumplings.

Song Ke, with his sharp eyes, immediately picked up the dumpling filled with wheat bran, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

As agreed, Song Ke obediently drank three cups of wine, his face turning rosy.

At that moment, Zhang Qingjiao also bit into something hard. When she spat it out, she found it was the coin. Everyone congratulated her, saying that the child must have brought good fortune.

Just then, firecrackers went off outside. It turned out that some naughty children in the village had set off firecrackers ahead of time.

Hearing the sound, the people inside laughed even more heartily, as if all the good things of the new year were unfolding before their eyes. They continued to eat dumplings in a lively atmosphere, enjoying this warm moment.

…………

In the Sun family home in the city, Kong Xiujuan was cooking in the kitchen, with Sun Zitao helping her. Sun Limei was leading her younger brother, Sun Guoqiang, in peeling garlic.

They had already prepared the dumplings for dinner at noon. Now they just need to finish cooking the vegetables so they can boil the dumplings.

After cooking the dishes, Sun Zitao said, "Xiujuan, since it's the New Year, can I invite our dad over for a meal?"

Kong Xiujuan frowned. "Why call him? Mother has already prepared the meal. They should be eating now. It's too late to call him now."

Sun Zitao said, "I just feel that I should do my filial duty and let my father come to our house for the New Year."

Kong Xiujuan laughed angrily, "Sun Zitao, are you out of your mind?! When your mother was being harsh with me and the kids, your father pretended not to see it and let your mother bully us. What's wrong with you? Now that they're either too sick to move or too old to be cared for, why are you suddenly being the one to step in?"

She glanced at her husband and said, "Yesterday I overheard Granny Huang and Granny Lin from the village chatting. They said your eldest and second eldest sisters brought a lot of snacks and malted milk powder for Mom. She gave them all to the second eldest son's children. Did she even think about you, her eldest son? Did she even visit Guoqiang once? If she's ever given her son a piece of candy, I'd say she knows how to behave."

Sun Zitao was tongue-tied and didn't know how to respond. He just felt that his wife was being unreasonable and didn't know how to be filial to her parents.

And since his wife was angry, he didn't dare to continue the conversation.

I wanted to say something in rebuttal, but I didn't know where to begin. His parents definitely favored his younger siblings, and they completely ruined his authority at home.

Hearing her parents arguing, Sun Limei ran over to see what was going on. She saw her father sitting by the door, his face flushed, smoking, while her mother was bringing dishes and dumplings from the kitchen to the living room.

Sun Limei didn't know why they were arguing; she only heard her mother muttering as she worked.

"Being filial to your parents also means loving them in return. If you're already showing favoritism to an extreme degree, don't even think about treating everyone equally." Sun Limei listened to her mother's words thoughtfully.

She walked to her father's side and whispered, "Dad, Mom is right. It was really unfair of Grandpa and Grandma to treat our family like that."

Sun Zitao sighed and threw away his cigarette butt. Just then, Kong Xiujuan called out, "Dinner's ready." The family silently sat down at the table.

Meanwhile, in Xingfu Village, after finishing the dumplings, everyone cleaned up the dishes.

Aunt Du held Zhang Qingjiao's hand and said, "Jiao'er, all the good fortune today is thanks to you."

Zhang Qingjiao responded with a smile. Song Ke then suggested going out for a walk to see the lively scene in the village. So the group put on their cotton-padded coats and went out.

The meal at the Sun family's house in the city was unusually somber. After the meal, Sun Limei offered to help wash the dishes.

Seeing her daughter's actions, Kong Xiujuan's anger subsided somewhat. She said to her grandson, "It's not that I don't want you to be filial, it's just that they have to deserve it first." Grandson nodded, indicating that he understood his wife's meaning.

As night fell, Xingfu Village was brightly lit, filled with the joy of the New Year; the Sun family in the city gradually returned to peace, and everyone was reflecting on their family relationships. The future might be changed because of this argument.

At her mother-in-law Gao Qinglian's house, she was carrying a bowl of mutton dumplings to the second wife's family. Sun Youcai called out to his wife, "Where are you going?"

Gao Qinglian stopped and said, "Bring Zitao a bowl of mutton dumplings."

Sun Youcai ran over and snatched the bowl of dumplings: "What are you doing? These are my snacks to go with my drinks. How am I supposed to eat them if you take them away?"

Gao Qinglian said, "Isn't there still a bowl in the pot? Isn't that enough for you to drink?"

Sun Youcai said angrily, "My second son and his wife do no work all day, all they know is how to eat. They don't hand over their earnings, what's the point? Am I supposed to support them in their old age? If they want to eat, let them buy mutton and cook it themselves. Besides, I'll eat one bowl at noon and save another for the afternoon. Nobody can take my mutton dumplings away."

After saying that, he took the mutton dumplings he had snatched back and went back inside to drink. He then ladled some out of the pot and placed it right under his nose to look at it.

Helpless, Gao Qinglian dared not speak again, fearing a beating. She then went to cook dumplings with radish and vermicelli filling. After cooking the first bowl, she took it to her second son's room.

As soon as she entered the house, she called her son and daughter-in-law to come and eat dumplings, and said that they would celebrate the New Year together and have a reunion dinner in their room that night.

That evening at the dinner table, Sun Zitao and Liu Xiuju each held a child as they ate.

The two children held dumplings in their hands and ate them bit by bit. The eldest son, Sun Guosheng, ate his meal obediently by himself.

Liu Xiuju took a bite of a dumpling and spat it out. She asked her mother-in-law, "Mom, why are these radish and vermicelli dumplings for the New Year? Didn't you buy some pork?"

Gao Qinglian said helplessly, "There are many things going on at home this year, and many places to spend money. We don't have money to buy pork."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and continued eating her dumplings. She thought to herself, "It's just that the old man is greedy and wants to eat mutton dumplings, so he used the money he would have spent on pork to buy mutton."

She can't possibly tell her daughter-in-law all this, can she? Unless she wants to get a beating.

Sun Youcai glared at his daughter-in-law and said, "If you want to eat meat, pay for your meals. You don't pay a single penny every day, and you still want to eat meat? Where will the meat come from? Will it fall from the sky?"

Liu Xiuju didn't dare to say a word and ate in silence. Sun Zitao dared not speak either, afraid that his father would take the opportunity to ask him for money.

Although there were no meat dumplings, there were meat dishes on the table. There was braised pork belly with cabbage and glass noodles, and a carp that my daughter brought was also braised.

One dish of minced meat stir-fried with bean sprouts, one dish of fatty pork and diced radish, one dish of boiled egg, and one dish of spinach stewed with meatballs. That's enough for six dishes.

The youngest daughter, Sun Ziqin, sat at the corner of the table, eating silently. The atmosphere at the table was even more oppressive than at her older brother Sun Zitao's house.