Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 818 New Year's Greetings
The New Year's Eve dinner ended in a joyful and peaceful atmosphere, but Qi Dasheng and Director Li's drinking party did not end. They set up the drinking party again in their own room and continued drinking.

Auntie Sun and her children set up their positions in the main hall and began making dumplings. As the sky gradually darkened, they heard Wang Li and the other two children cheering in the yard, then running into the house, shouting, "It's snowing, it's snowing!"

Aunt Sun said cheerfully: "It's good to have snow. It means a good harvest and a good omen."

Wang Zhan and He Yushui went to the door to take a look out of curiosity. The snow was not heavy and the wind was not strong. They saw large flakes of snow slowly falling. No wonder the three little ones were running around in the yard excitedly. They were catching the snowflakes with their hands, as if they were trying to catch them. They were having a lot of fun.

Aunt Sun took the two of them and made six dumplings. They froze three dumplings in the yard. They didn't dare to put them in the yard, so they put them in the corridor.

Wang Zhan washed his hands and followed He Yushui to the yard with fireworks and firecrackers. Jinbao had eaten a large bowl of bones today, so he didn't follow them anymore. He just lay in his nest, motionless.

Wang Zhan led them to set off fireworks and firecrackers. The children were very excited and kept shouting. From time to time, they ran to the main room to grab some peanuts and melon seeds and put them in their pockets before running out to play.

Aunt Sun was lying alone in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace, listening to the radio and drinking the Longjing tea brewed by Wang Zhan, feeling so comfortable.

When it was almost ten o'clock, the children looked tired. Aunt Sun hurriedly started to make dumplings. This time, they didn't wait until midnight. After eating the dumplings, the three children were so sleepy that they went straight to bed. He Yushui didn't last until midnight either and went to bed as well. Only Aunt Sun and Wang Zhan were on duty.

The snoring of Qi Dasheng and Director Li had already reached the yard. Wang Zhan quietly entered the house, collected the empty wine bottles, cleared the leftovers on the small square table, removed the small table, covered the two drunkards with quilts, and then quietly left.

It was midnight and there were intensive sounds of firecrackers outside. Aunt Sun could hardly hold on any longer, but she still stood up and picked up two plates of dumplings. She went back to her home. She wanted to offer sacrifices and burn incense to her family. She would not come over tonight and asked Wang Zhan to take good care of his grandchildren.

Wang Zhan stood in the yard and kowtowed three times towards his hometown. After all, that was his and his parents' home.

Wang Zhan picked up the remaining firecrackers and walked out of the yard. He went to the alley and lit them all. Looking at the firecrackers all over the ground, Wang Zhan's mood gradually improved. The new year had arrived, and he was one year older.

Wang Zhan closed the gate. There was already a layer of snow on the ground. Standing in the yard, the snowflakes were falling, the ground was covered with snow, the red lanterns, and the black roofs. Wang Zhan was fascinated by the night. It would have been even more beautiful if there had not been the snoring coming from the west wing.

Wang Zhan walked around each room one by one. Today, He Yushui and the three children slept in the west bedroom. Wang Zhan went to the last room and saw that the four people were all covered with quilts and slept soundly. Wang Zhan smiled, turned off the lights, and walked out. The lights in the living room were not turned off, so he had to leave a light on. He went to the east bedroom, got on bed, covered himself with the quilt, thought about nothing, and fell asleep in a short while.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he was woken up by his sister using her hair. She also sneezed. Wang Li sat on the bed, giggling. Wang Zhan hugged Wang Li and tickled her. The two siblings played for a while until He Yushui shouted, "Brother Zhan, get up. The dumplings are ready."

Only then did Wang Zhan let Wang Li go. Wang Zhan got dressed and had breakfast in the main room. Qi Dasheng was already drinking dumpling soup, and Director Li was about to finish his meal. Aunt Sun came over in the morning and specially made fried dumplings.

Qi Dasheng asked, "What do you have to do today?" Wang Zhan washed his face and rinsed his mouth, then sat down next to his master and said, "I have to go out to pay New Year's greetings today. I plan to take Yu Shui and my sister with me and go to Uncle Li first."

Qi Dasheng nodded and said, "Is everything ready? Oh, Uncle Li is on a business trip, and Grandma Li is at home."

Wang Zhan said, "I have to go to several houses today, including my teacher's, Aunt Zhang's, and Aunt Wang's."

Qi Dasheng said, "Okay, you can make your own arrangements. Your uncle Li and I have a lot of work to do today, so we may not be back until the evening. Just eat your food and don't worry about me."

Aunt Sun interrupted at this time and said, "After I finish my meal, I will take Erya and Xiaopang to the countryside. I guess they won't be back until the fifth day of the New Year. They don't need to look for us these few days."

Wang Zhan knew that everyone had their own things to do, so he agreed. After dinner, when they all left, Wang Zhan put the prepared things on the tricycle, locked the door, and rushed to the military compound with He Yushui and Wang Li.

Wang Zhan had a pass, so he arrived at Uncle Li's house smoothly. He knocked on the door and it was Grandma Li who opened it. When she saw that it was Wang Zhan and his sister and He Yushui, she was overjoyed and said, "I knew you would come today. Come in quickly."

Wang Zhan walked into the house carrying a bag of Daoxiangchun pastries, a bag of apples and a bag of pears. Today, Grandma Li's eldest daughter-in-law and second daughter-in-law were at home, and the others had gone out to pay New Year's greetings. Grandma Li said that this year was the year with the most family members together, but Uncle Li was on a business trip again, which was another regret.

Wang Zhan and the other two knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times to Grandma Li and said some auspicious words. Grandma Li gave each of them a red envelope. The three of them sat at Uncle Li's house for a while and then said goodbye. Wang Zhan told Grandma Li that they had to visit several houses today, including the teacher's house. Only then did Grandma Li let them go.

Wang Zhan and the other two then went to Aunt Zhang's home, Fei Qing's home, Principal Ren's home, and Teacher Yang's home. Finally, when they returned to Nanluoguxiang, they went to Director Wang's home, and then to the homes of Xiaowu, Xiaosi, and Da Laotie to pay New Year's greetings. At noon, Xiaowu's parents grabbed them and refused to let them leave no matter what, so they had lunch at Xiaowu's home.

After a long walk, they returned home in the afternoon. The three of them didn't want to move. Wang Zhan didn't even pack up the return gifts on the tricycle. He lay motionless in the rocking chair. He Yushui forced himself to stay awake and fed Jinbao, Dayu and Xiaoyu. After coming back, he went to the west bedroom, hugged Wang Li, and they both fell asleep.

Wang Zhan recovered a little and went to the kitchen to boil water and make tea for himself. After drinking a large pot of tea, he finally recovered completely. Wang Zhan was afraid that the things on the car would be frozen, so he started to pack the return gifts on the tricycle.

She collected five boxes of pastries and some canned fruits. The most interesting thing was that Aunt Zhang packed a bag with prepared pig's trotters and even pulled Wang Zhan to teach him how to cook them. Wang Zhan didn't know whether to laugh or cry and could only listen quietly.

The most common thing was candy. Maybe it was because Wang Li went there, every household was given a bag of candy, so she brought back a bunch of different kinds of candy.

(End of this chapter)