After the college entrance examination, life began to follow one's heart

Chapter 196 Chinese New Year and Visiting Grandpa's House

The morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year was quite busy.

Xu Lin got up very early.

Like my father and Ms. Ren, they also get up to work before dawn.

In the morning, they have to pray to the gods, while Ms. Ren is responsible for doing some housework.

As is customary in previous years, Ms. Ren will also make a meal of glutinous rice balls in the morning.

After Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan got up, Ms. Ren saw them and gave each of them two red envelopes. These were Ms. Ren and Xu Cheng's red envelopes, given all at once.

"May you be happy and prosperous!"

Xu Lin gladly accepted the red envelope.

Rong Xiyan happily said, "Mom, congratulations on your fortune and good health!"

Then she said to Xu Cheng, who was preparing offerings, "Uncle, congratulations on your fortune and good health!"

"Okay, okay, you too."

Xu Cheng turned around and responded, then continued with his own business.

It was still dark, but the sound of firecrackers could already be heard from the commune, indicating that some people had arrived even earlier than them.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Xu Lin and Xiao Rong followed the old man to the commune to worship the gods.

The morning worship ceremony followed the same routine, except that Rong Xiyan accompanied them to burn incense and paper money; after all, this was the only simple task.

We can't exactly let her set off firecrackers, can we?
This is Xu Lin's responsibility.

The morning prayers have ended.

The hot glutinous rice balls are ready, and they taste just like before.

Then the sun came out.

Today is sunny and the temperature can reach 16 or 17 degrees Celsius, so two layers of clothing will suffice.

"Xu Lin, are we going to visit relatives?"

"It's just my uncle's house and my second uncle's house. It won't be long before I take you there."

Xu Lin already had a plan: "Around ten o'clock, let's drive to the city center and take a look!"

"Okay, let's go to the city!"

That's the plan.

After breakfast, Xu Lin visited his eldest uncle's house and his second uncle's house. During this visit, Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan received a few red envelopes.

Xu Lin doesn't need to give red envelopes to the children. He's only eighteen and not old enough to give them. Besides, according to local customs, you don't need to give red envelopes if you're not married. Of course, you can give red envelopes if you go out to work and earn money, since customs are fixed.

After visiting his uncles' houses, Xu Lin returned and took out his father's electric scooter.

Many rural families now own cars, and on the first day of the Lunar New Year, many villagers drive into the county town or city, or to nearby temples or scenic spots.

In other words, four-wheeled vehicles are not as convenient as two-wheeled vehicles, because if everyone drives, traffic jams are very likely to occur.

When Xu Lin drove the car to the entrance of a scenic area near the county town, he saw at least fifty cars stuck there.

"I was right after all. Look, isn't there a traffic jam?"

"clever!"

Rong Xiyan excitedly waved her right hand: "Xu Lin, let's continue!"

"Sit down."

"Sit down!"

Rong Xiyan hugged Xu Lin's waist tightly and swaggered through the gaps between dozens of cars stuck in traffic.

Half an hour later, Xu Lin and his group first entered the county town, and then went from the county town to the urban area of ​​the prefecture-level city.

The development of Xulin County is so-so; it's the urban area that's more developed.

"Just tell me what you want to eat or do."

As Xu Lin drove, he asked Rong Xiyan, who was behind him.

"I don't think there's anything I want to play."

Rong Xiyan thought for a moment and said, "Let's just go for a drive."

"Watching a movie?"

Xu Lin thought that Rong Xiyan usually liked watching movies, and now that it was the Spring Festival season, regardless of whether the movies were good or not, there were indeed many movies to choose from.

"No, we've come all this way, and it's the Lunar New Year, so let's go see some sights!"

"Alright, let's go for a drive around!"

The city wasn't very big; Xu Lin explored it all in just over an hour.

Although the Spring Festival is lively and there are many activities held in the city, it is well known that the Spring Festival activities in the city actually lack any festive atmosphere.

Therefore, both Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan found strolling around the city center rather boring.

"Why don't we go to the Grand Temple? I heard there's a lion dance."

"Xu Lin, let's go watch the lion dance."

Rong Xiyan had also heard about it from Ms. Ren this morning.

The temple is actually located near the county town. There is a large temple there with thriving incense offerings. It is said that it was built a few years ago at a cost of more than ten million yuan. During the Spring Festival, many people from the county town would come here to queue up to offer incense.

On a whim, Xu Lin decided to go see a lion dance.

About half an hour later, Xu Lin arrived at his destination.

After parking and locking the car, Xu Lin took Rong Xiyan and headed towards the temple.

The temple is located on a high hillside and is quite grand in appearance. It is said that it was built after consulting a feng shui master.

Xu Lin and his group were a hundred or two meters apart, and there were people queuing up in front of them, also a hundred or two meters long, and there were six queues at the same time. Heaven knows how many people were there.

Xu Lin decided not to waste his time going to burn incense; he just wanted to watch the lion dance.

Directly opposite the temple, there was a large flat area where many people had gathered. Judging by the number of people, there were several thousand, surrounding the entire area, creating a noisy and bustling atmosphere.

The venue was bustling with activity, including drumming, dancing, and lion dances. It was much better than events in the city. In the city, the government would keep an eye on large events to prevent accidents from happening due to large crowds, so they couldn't allow too many people to gather.

Wow, there are so many people in Xulin!

Rong Xiyan loves taking photos, and she had already opened her phone's camera, snapping away at the first few shots.

"Everyone is free during the Spring Festival, and the atmosphere is very festive, so naturally there are more people."

Xu Lin said, "Let's just look here, otherwise we won't be able to get in."

"Uh-huh!"

"Xu Lin, those lion dancers are amazing! They're like they can fly!"

"They put in ten years of practice for just one minute on stage!"

"Right."

"Xu Lin, I want to send the photos to Yao Yao."

“Send it!”

"I wonder what Yao Yao is doing."

"It must be during the Chinese New Year."

"Did she spend the Lunar New Year with her father or mother? I didn't ask."

"do not know."

The two stayed there for more than half an hour.

It's about two o'clock in the afternoon.

Xu Lin drove into the city again and had a meal with Rong Xiyan at a restaurant before returning home.

It was past four o'clock when I got home, and the sun had already set.

Is the city center fun?

When she got home, her father was nowhere to be found, while Ms. Ren was outside in the yard eating sunflower seeds.

Ms. Ren is a typical urban woman who finds it difficult to fit in in the village. The women in the village, ranging from their thirties to their fifties, are still playing mahjong or cards at the small shop, chatting about all sorts of village gossip, such as who broke up their family due to gambling, whose son was arrested in northern Myanmar, and how much money whose husband earned this year. Ms. Ren can chat with them casually for a bit, but she can't stand it when they talk about those messy things.

Urban women ultimately cannot integrate into rural areas.

So Ms. Ren could only stay home bored and eat sunflower seeds.

Rong Xiyan: "It's not fun. The city feels quite boring, and there's nothing I want to eat."

“We’re a small city, so we can’t be as nice as the provincial capital, let alone Jiangdu.”

Ms. Ren asked, "What did you two eat just now?"

Rong Xiyan: "Northeastern cuisine!"

"Is it tasty?"

Rong Xiyan shook her head, "But Xu Lin has finished eating."

Rong Xiyan added, "But we went to the Grand Temple today to watch the lion dance. Mom, let me tell you, it was absolutely packed with people..."

Rong Xiyan chattered on and on, talking about how many people were queuing at the temple and how many people were watching the lion dance.

After parking his car, Xu Lin went back to eat sunflower seeds.

As the sun sets in the west, the first day of the Lunar New Year is drawing to a close.

In fact, Xu Lin felt that the New Year was not for adults, but for children, just like when he was a child he would look forward to the New Year for delicious food, new clothes and new toys.

Xu Lin is now completely uninterested in these things.

New Year's Day also seemed quiet for Xu Lin.

Xu Lin grew up in the city and spent very little time in his rural hometown. He wasn't very close to his cousins; they were only connected by kinship, but ultimately, they weren't as close as casual friends.

In addition, their family is small, with only four people now.

Xu Lin couldn't understand his father's loneliness about the quietness of the house.

But after having a full meal on the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Lin suddenly had some feelings.

He stood outside the yard and saw his neighbor's house a few dozen meters away, where six children were playing excitedly with firecrackers.

Looking at their own side, all they could hear was Ms. Ren and Rong Xiyan chattering away.

Xu Cheng doesn't talk much. As he's reached middle age and gained more experience, he's transformed from a sunny and talkative young man into a more composed one, and consequently, he speaks less.

Xu Lin felt a sense of unease. He realized that his home was indeed too desolate. If it weren't for Rong Xiyan's arrival this year, it would be even more deserted.

Thinking back to last year, it seems like I only went back here with the old couple. Then, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Lin went back to the city with Ms. Ren. There was no festive atmosphere at all. Moreover, the festive atmosphere is actually closely related to the number of people. If there are many people, there will be no lack of festive atmosphere, and if there are few people, it will be difficult to have any festive atmosphere.

"No way, I'm going to make my family more lively from now on!"

Xu Lin suddenly had an idea: to marry several wives and have more than a dozen children.

The thought flashed through my mind, and I don't know if it will ever come true.

At that moment, Xu Lin sat on a bench, opened his phone, and planned to chat with Ning Yuhan and the others.

Unfortunately, at this time, Ning Yuhan was still taking care of her younger siblings.

Chi Linyue was also busy.

She sent Xu Lin a photo. It turned out that his family was shopping in SY city. There were many people on the street, and the temperature there at night was obviously quite high. Most people were wearing two layers of clothing, and some men were only wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

Chi Linyue: "Let's talk later, I'm going to a restaurant with my family later."

"Ok."

Xu Lin then opened Yu Xinyan's chat interface.

Yu Xinyan is currently in the countryside. Her hometown isn't in this province, but in the next one. Although it's a rural area, Xu Lin, looking at the photos Yu Xinyan sent, felt that the village must be quite wealthy.

After chatting with Yu Xinyan for more than ten minutes, Xu Lin called Yu Jianhua again.

"Uncle, Happy New Year! I forgot to send you my New Year's greetings."

"I thought something had happened!"

Yu Jianhua also said, "Happy New Year, and I wish you even greater success in your career!"

"Uncle, please send my best wishes to Auntie."

"Xu Lin, is that right?"

On the other end of the phone, I heard Lin Yajing asking Yu Jianhua a question, followed by a chattering voice. It must have been Yu Xinyan's family. She has quite a few people in her family. Her grandparents are in good health, and the family is very large. I heard Yu Xinyan mention before that there are more than sixty people in total. Their family photo together is no less impressive than a school graduation photo.

“Yes, it’s Xu Lin,” Yu Jianhua said.

"Happy New Year, Xu Lin! And please tell your parents too."

"Don't worry, Auntie."

After exchanging a few more words with Yu Jianhua, the two ended the call.

However, Yu Jianhua's message came quickly; it was two red envelopes, each containing two hundred yuan. Yu Jianhua: "These are red envelopes from your aunt and me."

"Then I'll accept it. Also, I wish you both good health!"

"Dad, Mom, Aunt Jing wished you a Happy New Year."

Xu Lin entered the house and relayed Lin Yajing's words.

The first day of the Lunar New Year ended uneventfully.

Xu Lin felt a little lonely, and since Rong Xiyan didn't come up to sleep tonight, Xu Lin could only sleep alone.

The second day of the Lunar New Year was similar, and the evening arrived peacefully.

"Is my aunt coming to visit again this year?"

Xu Lin was curious.

"She's not in good health and won't be coming this year."

Xu Cheng said, "I'll go see her in a couple of days."

Xu Lin nodded slightly.

At this time of night, Ms. Ren and Rong Xiyan were packing their things, as Xu Lin would be taking them to their maternal grandfather's house the next day.

"Are you really not going to Grandpa's?"

Xu Lin asked his father again.

"Too lazy to go, haven't been in so many years."

Xu Cheng lit a cigarette.

"Alright then." Xu Lin didn't say anything more.

"Row."

Then, on the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Lin and his group were all ready to go, and the three of them got into the car.

Xu Cheng came over and reminded him, "There will be a lot of traffic during the Spring Festival, so please be careful on the roads."

"Don't worry, I'll drive safely."

Xu Cheng didn't reply to his son, but then looked at Ms. Ren and Rong Xiyan and reminded them, "Fasten your seatbelts."

The mother and daughter were both in the back seat.

They then remembered their seatbelts and quickly fastened them.

"Then let's set off!"

Xu Lin glanced at the old man.

After saying goodbye, Xu Lin drove off to his destination, watched by his father.

This journey is quite long; it's to eastern Guangdong.

Even without traffic jams, it takes ten hours to drive there; it's even longer during the Spring Festival.

Xu Lin drove for 21 hours before finally entering the county town the next morning. He spent another two hours buying things along the way and finally arrived at his destination at noon.

Xu Lin's maternal grandfather's family is a large and prosperous family, a scholarly family in this town. Ms. Ren's siblings all went to key universities, and the next generation, Xu Lin's cousins, also went to key universities. Moreover, there are three PhDs in the family, all of whom graduated from prestigious universities.

If Xu Lin hadn't had some kind of special advantage and gotten into a top university, but instead had only attended a second-tier university here, he probably wouldn't have dared to speak and would have had to keep a low profile.

Closer to home.

Xu Lin parked his car in a large courtyard.

Upon hearing the car, likely after Ms. Ren had given prior notice, many people came out of the house, including men, women, and children.

Ms. Ren has three older brothers. All three brothers have separated their households, but their houses are connected and they share the same yard.

So the yard is very big. There are eight cars parked here now, and there is still a lot of open space left.

"so many people……"

Rong Xiyan was a little nervous. There were probably more than thirty people there, and everyone was looking at them.

Xu Lin's car window was open.

"Don't panic, just treat her like family. Yan Yan is now part of our family!"

Ms. Ren comforted her.

"Mmm!" Rong Xiyan nodded her little head.

After Xu Lin parked the car, Ms. Ren and the other woman got out one after the other.

"Yan, is this our little niece? She's so beautiful and charming!"

The first to speak was Ms. Ren's third sister-in-law, who was curiously looking at Rong Xiyan.

"Yes, this is our Yan Yan, as in Yan Ruyu (meaning 'jade-like')!"

Ms. Ren pulled Rong Xiyan along and introduced her to everyone, while also introducing Rong Xiyan to her family members.

However, there were many people here, and it was impossible to introduce everyone. Ms. Ren only gave a brief introduction, since she was sure she would know everyone here after spending an afternoon here.

"Why did you bring so much stuff?"

My second aunt came to the back of the car and saw that the entire trunk was full of gifts.

"We've come all this way, we can't just come empty-handed, can we?"

Xu Lin smiled.

“Ah Lin is tall and strong now!” Second Aunt looked up at him.

"Has Linlin grown taller? And he's become even more handsome!"

Xu Lin's third cousin also came over.

"I grew a little taller in the second semester of my senior year, but that's all I've grown yet."

"How tall is he? Does he look about 1.9 meters?"

"No, I'm about 1.87 meters tall, but I haven't measured it in half a year, so I don't know if I've grown any taller."

"Wow, she's so tall! She looks down on all the boys from our side!"

"My third cousin must be about 1.7 meters tall, right?"

"Exactly 1.7 meters tall!"

"Does Ah Lin have a girlfriend yet?"

My second cousin also came over.

Xu Lin has five older cousins ​​and four older cousins, but no younger cousins.

But Xu Lin also has nephews and nieces, the children of his eldest, second, and third cousins. Two of them are PhDs, and one is a master's degree holder. They are all married and have stable jobs with high incomes.

"I have a girlfriend."

"Where are you from?"

"The neighboring Duanzhou."

"Hey? Aren't you going to call her over? She's so close."

"Next year, I'll bring her over then."

"It's a deal then!"

The group chatted as they carried their luggage, but with so many people, each person only needed to carry a little bit of luggage.

Xu Lin and his group entered their third uncle's house. In families with several sons, the parents usually live with their youngest son, and the married daughters return to the home where the parents live.

"Grandpa, I've come to see you!"

Xu Lin saw his maternal grandfather in the living room. He was sitting on a typical red wooden sofa from eastern Guangdong, lost in thought.

The old man is 86 years old. Very few elderly people in the neighborhood live past 90. However, even with today's advanced medical technology, an elderly person in their eighties can still be considered to be of advanced age.

Xu Lin's maternal grandfather suffers from dementia and is said to no longer recognize people.

But he recognized Xu Lin at a glance.

"Ah Lin, you've come to see Grandpa?"

"it's me."

Where's your dad?

"He's a bit busy, but he said he'll come see you when he has time."

"That's it."

Grandpa spoke Cantonese, and he muttered to himself, "He's never come to see this old man."

"I'll come again later," Xu Lin said.

Grandpa did not respond further.

Ms. Ren came over and said, "Dad, I've come home to see you."

"Huh? Who are you?"

Grandpa looked up at his daughter, his face blank.

Auntie was pouring tea for Xu Lin and the others, saying, "Grandpa is sometimes normal and sometimes not. Ayan, don't mind him. Sometimes your dad doesn't even recognize his own sons whom he sees often, but he remembers the swallows in the corner the clearest. He even knows to scoop up their droppings every day."

"fine."

Mom sighed.

"Grandpa?"

Xu Lin also asked a question.

When his grandfather saw him, he was also bewildered. "Grandpa, I think I've seen you before..."

"You see, that's just how he is."

My third aunt invited everyone to have some hot tea. It was just boiled not long ago, and it tastes quite good. You should all try it!

Xu Lin and the other two drank tea.

A few minutes later, Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan came out of the living room.

At this moment, Rong Xiyan saw the swallow's nest in the corner of the wall. Inside the nest, there were four baby swallows sticking out their little heads and chirping with their mouths open.

"Xu Lin, look! It's a baby swallow!"

Rong Xiyan asked curiously, "Are they hungry?"

"right."

"What should I do?"

"What can we do? Their parents will feed them, and they've probably gone out to find food now."

Speak of the devil, and he appears. No sooner had Xu Lin finished speaking than two swallows flew back, each carrying an insect in its beak.

The moment they returned, the two swallows began feeding their chicks.

But under the watchful eyes of Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan, both swallows simultaneously stuck out their bottoms and produced two lumps of white poop.

It fell to the ground with a thud.

"Disgusting!"

Rong Xiyan almost couldn't hold it in.

"Is it still cute now?" Xu Lin couldn't help but laugh.

Rong Xiyan quickly shook her head.

At that moment, my grandfather came out.

He seems to have no problem walking.

Grandpa picked up a small shovel and walked outside into the yard.

"Grandpa, where are you going?" Xu Lin called out.

"I'm going to cover the swallow's droppings with grass ash, and then I'll shovel them later."

Soon, he shoveled some grass ash back and covered the swallow's droppings.

Grandpa seemed to have returned to normal, saying, "No one can knock down this swallow's nest, or the family will have no good fortune."

"I know that swallows do not enter poor homes."

"Yes, swallows do not enter poor homes."

Grandpa nodded in agreement.

“Ah Lin, your demeanor has changed. Last year you were just a greenhorn.”

Grandpa seemed to have indeed recovered and recognized Xu Linlai again.

He looked Xu Lin up and down, and said with satisfaction, "Your face looks better than last year. You look dignified and blessed. Hmm, very good!"

(End of this chapter)