The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

New Year's Eve.

Snowflakes were falling again in the sky over the capital, and the whole city seemed to be covered with a white blanket.

There are few pedestrians on the street anymore. Occasionally, you can see the door open, adults holding cigarettes in their mouths on the road at the door, or long strings of bright red firecrackers hung on the treetops, while children cover their ears to hide. Behind me, I was happy and nervous at the same time.

"Crackling, crackling!"

As the heavy curtain behind the door opened, the sound of firecrackers outside, the laughter of children, and the voices of parents shouting for dinner were all heard entering the house.

The flame in the furnace burned blazingly, glowing with orange-red light, and worked hard to radiate its own heat to the outside of the furnace, making the inside and outside of the house become two worlds.

When Li Nan came in, his whole body was wrapped tightly, his gloved hands were holding a stick of incense, and he grinned after entering.

“Mom, it’s finished, can we eat it~!”

He took off his gloves, extinguished the incense stick, and put it on the table behind the door, saving it for the next time he fired the cannon.

Seeing the New Year's Eve dinner on the table, she was so anxious that she even picked up a piece of pig head meat and threw it into her mouth with her head held high. The taller and taller girl was like a bud on a branch. Unknowingly, Gradually it grew.

"You, you are so arrogant, do you still look like a girl?"

Liu Yin, who was wearing an apron, put a plate of fried fish that had been prepared on the desk on the table, took off her apron, and poked her daughter, who was almost as tall as herself, with her finger.

"Oh, you don't dare to let it go. If I let it go, you'll tell me, don't look for me next year. Ask my brother to let it go for you. He's so cute!"

Speaking of his brother, Liu Yin frowned and looked a little unhappy.

"Hey, your brother, you are married. Do you think he can still think of us and my mother? I just sent a telegram back during the Chinese New Year. You are nothing compared to you. You are heartless!"

After patting off the little pig's hooves that her daughter was about to stretch out again, Liu Yin leaned the chopsticks on the table and stuffed them into her daughter's hands.

"Humph, when you're not married, you have to push hard. After you're married, why do you care about him? You should learn from the other three uncles. If brother Jie Cheng doesn't go to his place to eat, he'll still be happy!"

Li Nan, whose eyes were shining, almost turned his chopsticks into hot wheels. As he spoke, he put vegetables in his bowl, took them with him, and gave his mother a few pieces.

Liu Yin curled her lips and wondered if she could learn from the old Yan family about her situation. If the old man in the south knew about it, he would definitely be able to reach the capital the next day.

"It has to be me, Mom, I am your little cotton-padded jacket. This New Year's Eve, the little cotton-padded jacket will accompany you, so I will pretend that I don't have this brother!"

"Go, go, go, what are you talking about? You are talking nonsense during the New Year. I think you will get married by then. Will you be back during the New Year?"

She absentmindedly ate the New Year's Eve dinner in her bowl. Although it was much richer this year than last year, Liu Yin always felt something was wrong and couldn't eat it.

"Mom, it's early. Let me tell you, even if I get married, I will still accompany you. Hehe, I don't want to imitate my brother and sister-in-law!"

Li Nan smiled charmingly, and the speed of cooking was not slow at all. Maybe it was much better than in school. His cheeks were as bulging as those of a big hamster, and his voice changed.

Wiping the rice grains from the corner of her daughter's mouth, Liu Yin rolled her eyes at her. How could she, a mother, know what her daughter's temper was like?

As her arm slipped, she grabbed Li Nan's pocket. There was more stuffed there than in her mouth. The little girl's expression suddenly changed, she put down the bowl and chopsticks and covered her pocket.

"Mom, what are you doing~!"

"What am I doing? You and your brother used to fry dog ​​pots during the Chinese New Year and were beaten by your father. I think you can't remember it. Now that he's not at home, you can do it alone, right?"

Pulling out the firecrackers she had kept from her daughter's pocket, Liu Yin stared and slipped out a small bunch, and even the matchbox fell out, showing how well prepared she was.

Li Nan had a grimace on his face, a look of grievance on his face, as well as a hint of annoyance, maybe regret, as it felt like the criminal items had been seized before even a firecracker could be set off. "That was bombed by my brother. What does it have to do with me? Dabai has already left!"

Holding the edge of the pocket tightly, there were still a few dismantled ones inside. The big ones had been confiscated, but Li Nan had to keep the small ones.

"If you weren't holding Dabai's legs, would he be able to just watch your brother blow it up to make a living? Not to mention the dog, everyone would be pissed off by you two. You're a girl, you're a bit of a girl. Look!"

Liu Yin didn't care about her daughter's pitiful look. With a straight face, she collected all the firecrackers and threw them directly outside the door. A group of half-grown children, whose cheerful noses were bubbling.

"Okay, you, if you can't deal with my brother, then you know how to deal with me. I won't be with you next year either!"

The little girl got angry, twisted her head, turned her sadness and anger into appetite, and started to eat like crazy.

"The cat in the stove, the dog tied up in the backyard, the pig in the pigsty, and the person in the toilet, with cannons, you will be very excited to catch them. Those who are celebrating the New Year, it is better to calm down. If you are so big, I will take you with you. Come and apologize, let’s see who is embarrassed!”

A reunion dinner, although the whole family is not reunited, at least the mother and daughter are still together, and they can at least pass the New Year smoothly while being covered.

It's different with Lao Huang's family.

This year's reunion dinner was just like the Li family's, with the mother and daughter staying at home.

While Xiao Huang was engrossed in eating, she carefully looked at her mother's face. Who said children couldn't read adults' faces, but she could.

These days, she has never been happy at all. Her little butt can prove that when she is spanked, it hurts much more than before.

He was twisting around restlessly on the bench, his legs were dangling under the table, and his eyes were rolling around.

"Mom, dad isn't back!"

"Sister, sister is not back either!"

"Eat yours~!"

Putting the peeled shrimp tails into her daughter's bowl, Huang's mother, who looked much haggard, looked at the phone over there with a grimace.

These days, I am alone with my daughter at home, tossing and turning and unable to sleep. I always look forward to receiving a call from my husband in the next second, saying that my son-in-law is okay.

As a result, the phone never rang even in her dream, so as a mother and mother-in-law, how could she have any thoughts about celebrating the New Year?

"Jingle bell~!"

Suddenly, Huang's mother, who was helping her daughter peel the shrimps, ran to the phone in a panic and picked up the phone without even having time to wipe her hands.

"Hey, Lao Huang?"

"How's the situation over there?"

Huang Ma asked timidly, her hand holding the microphone a little unsteady.

Huang Beibei, who was looking at this scene with her head tilted, slowed down her chewing movements. She had not learned the word sadness yet.

She could only tell whether she was happy or unhappy from her mother's face.

Now, very unhappy. (End of chapter)