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

Chapter 197 The New Year Holiday Ends, Return Journey

It was a little after 3 p.m. in the room where Xu Lin was sleeping that night.

"Xu Lin, where's your red envelope?"

Rong Xiyan took out a stack of red envelopes from her coat pocket.

There are more than 30 people in Xu Lin's maternal grandfather's house, 29 of whom are older than the two of them. Even the youngest fourth cousin, who has gone out to work, gave them two red envelopes.

Therefore, Xu Lin and his group each received twenty-nine red envelopes.

"In my pocket."

"I'm going to open a red envelope, and I'll open one for you too!"

"Then take it apart."

Xu Lin took out a red envelope from his pocket and opened it for her.

Rong Xiyan opened each of the fifty-eight red envelopes one by one.

The red envelopes in eastern Guangdong are not very big, some are only ten or twenty yuan.

The red envelopes given by Xu Lin's maternal grandfather and others were quite generous, with the smallest being forty yuan and the largest being one hundred or even two hundred yuan, but there were only three of them.

However, for Xu Lin and his group, the red envelopes were just for the sake of celebration.

So, when Rong Xiyan opened the red envelope, she saw a pile of money on the bed, totaling more than three thousand yuan. Because the denominations were different, mostly ten-yuan notes, it made up a small pile, which looked quite visually striking.

In the era of mobile payments, many people have little concept of money.

"Xu Lin, so much money!"

Rong Xiyan exclaimed, picked up the money and brought it closer, "Xu Lin, smell it."

"Smell my ass! Aren't you afraid of getting dirty?"

"Humph."

"Put your bag away."

"Xu Lin, then I'll carry it for you!"

"Take it."

Rong Xiyan folded the money and put it into her small bag. Of course, she did the same with the red envelopes. Rong Xiyan felt that the red envelopes had a special meaning, just like when her mother was still alive, she would give her red envelopes. She never threw them away.

"Let's go for a walk."

"Where are you going?"

"Let's go for a walk around the neighborhood, otherwise it'll be so boring staying at home."

"Oh, okay, let's go out and take a look."

Rong Xiyan was also very excited. She had been here for several hours and still didn't know what the surrounding area was like.

Xu Lin's maternal grandfather's house is in the town, but not in the market. It's very close to the market, only a few hundred meters away, so it's very convenient to go shopping.

Moreover, the rural development here is quite good, and the environment is very nice.

"Third Aunt, do you have an electric scooter?"

"Yes, but your fourth cousin took it."

Auntie said, "She just went to town to buy groceries with your third and fourth cousins."

My third aunt was the youngest among all my aunts, the most educated, and had the best temperament.

The most educated family in this area was Xu Lin's maternal grandfather's family.

"so."

"You guys want to go out and have some fun?"

"Well, walking is fine too, just take a walk around here."

"Should I ask your third cousin to take you there?"

"No need, we'll just walk around around here."

Then Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan went out.

Because it's located in a town, the houses here are quite densely packed, with several hundred households.

During the Chinese New Year, everyone is at home, so it's very lively.

However, there's not much to do in rural areas.

Xu Lin took Rong Xiyan around to see the sights. Later, on a whim, Xu Lin bought four small boxes of firecrackers from a convenience store.

This is a toy for kids, about the size of a matchbox, and inside are just a bunch of firecrackers.

"Xu Lin, why are you buying matches?"

"This is not a match."

Xu Lin took out a stick, rubbed it on the side, and it caught fire with a sizzle. He then quickly threw it away.

It exploded with a loud crack.

"ah!"

Rong Xiyan was startled by the sudden turn of events.

He quickly asked, "What is this?"

"Just think of it as a firecracker, something kids play with. I played with it when I was a kid and went back home for Chinese New Year."

As he spoke, Xu Lin lit another one.

Rong Xiyan found it very novel, "Xu Lin, I want to play too!"

"Let's play together, but you have to be careful. If it catches fire, you have to throw it out immediately."

"Uh-huh!"

Rong Xiyan listened carefully to Xu Lin's instructions and quickly learned how to play under his guidance, enjoying herself immensely.

"Xu Lin, this is so much fun! Give me another box!"

"for you."

With a series of small popping sounds, the two quickly finished off the four boxes of firecrackers.

"Are you satisfied?"

Xu Lin asked her.

Rong Xiyan nodded, still somewhat unsatisfied.

"Xu Lin, let's go check out other places!"

"Ok."

Xu Lin also considered going to see other places. This place was really big, feeling like it was ten or eight times bigger than his hometown village. It would be convenient if there were electric cars.

Before long, the two arrived at a field.

"Xu Lin, look, there are kids flying kites over there!"

Rong Xiyan excitedly pointed, and Xu Lin looked over and saw four children flying kites.

The fields are wide open, you can run around freely, and it's the perfect place to fly a kite.

Seeing that Rong Xiyan was very excited, Xu Lin asked her, "Would you like to fly a kite?"

"miss you!"

"But where can we buy them? We'd have to go to the town market, and even then, they might not sell kites."

Rong Xiyan really wanted to fly a kite.

"Just ask the kid to buy it."

Xu Lin said, "Wait for me a moment, I'll go ask."

Children are relatively easy to communicate with. Xu Lin happened to have some cash on him, which was the red envelope given by Ms. Ren and her father, totaling six hundred yuan.

Xu Lin went over and talked to the child who was flying the prettiest kite. He gave the child two hundred yuan, and the child happily gave the kite to Xu Lin.

Two hundred yuan is a huge sum of money compared to rural areas, especially in eastern Guangdong, where elders usually give children red envelopes containing ten or twenty yuan.

Xu Lin took out two hundred, which speaks volumes.

So after getting the money, the kids ran off immediately, saying they were going to town to buy some treats.

"come over!"

Xu Lin waved to Rong Xiyan, and Rong Xiyan quickly ran over.

"Xu Lin, did you buy a kite?"

"Take it."

Xu Lin handed her the kite and asked, "Have you ever flown a kite before?"

Xiao Rong shook her head and asked in return, "Xu Lin, have you ever played this game?"

"I played with this when I was a kid."

"Then teach me how to play!"

"Just throw the kite into the sky, run with the string, it's very simple."

Xu Lin taught her, and Rong Xiyan quickly got the hang of it. She ran around in the fields, and the kite flew high as she had a lot of fun.

"Xu Lin, take a picture for me!"

"No, you have to film me too, both of you, I need to record it!"

"Ok."

Xu Lin did as she said, taking a series of photos of her with her phone, and then recording a video.

Around four or five in the afternoon, the sun gradually set behind the western mountains, and the sunlight fell directly on the fields and on Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan.

Xu Linrong and Xi Yan recorded many photos and five videos. Some of the photos turned out quite well because of the good angles they were taken unintentionally.

"Xu Lin, let me see how the photos turned out?"

She took the phone and looked at it. "Wow! Xu Lin, how did you take such a beautiful picture?"

"is it?"

"Yes, some of the photos are especially beautiful!" Rong Xiyan was amazed.

"Xu Lin, I want to take your picture too!"

What should I film?

Xu Lin said, "I'm not very interested."

“No, you have to take pictures too. Mom said that you should take more pictures when you are young, otherwise you probably won’t even remember what you looked like when you were young when you get older.”

"Then hurry up and take the picture. We'll buy some snacks in town before we go back."

"oh oh."

After the photo shoot, Rong Xiyan followed Xu Lin to the town market, which was only a short walk away.

The two bought snacks at the supermarket and went home, arriving around 5 or 6 p.m.

At this time, Xu Lin's uncle and his group were already killing chickens; they had a lot of manpower.

Because there were more than 30 people eating, five roosters were killed.

My uncle, aunt, and mother were all working, chatting and laughing, creating a joyful scene.

"Xu Lin, it's so lively at Grandpa's house!"

Upon seeing this scene, Rong Xiyan couldn't help but say something.

"Of course it's more lively with more people."

Xu Lin: "It's definitely better to have more people; it makes the celebration more festive."

"Ah Lin, Yan Yan, these are red envelopes from your grandma."

Just then, Grandma saw the two of them return.

"Thank you, Grandma. I wish you good health!"

Rong Xiyan accepted the red envelope, and Xu Lin followed suit.

"Ah Lin, Yan Yan, are you settling in well with Grandma?"

"It's a habit! Xu Lin and I went to play earlier, we flew kites over in the fields!"

Rong Xiyan showed the kite in her hand.

"You'll get used to it!" Grandma said with great satisfaction.

"Grandpa, are you playing chess?"

Xu Lin saw on the other side of the courtyard that his grandfather was playing chess against himself.

"Ah."

Grandpa responded, raised his eyelids slightly, and glanced at Xu Lin: "Do you know how to play chess?"

"I know a little bit, how about I play with Grandpa for a bit?"

"Then you come."

Xu Lin sat down and played with the old man.

The elderly people here often gather at the base of trees or in some shady places to play chess together.

Xu Lin's maternal grandfather was similar.

Xu Lin had played chess when he was a child, but he couldn't say he knew how to play; he only knew the basic rules.

But Xu Lin is different now. He has an exceptional learning ability, so playing chess is naturally no problem for him. After playing for a short time, his grandfather could no longer beat Xu Lin and was frequently defeated by him.

"How come you're so good at chess, kid?"

My grandfather was quite alarmed.

Actually, Grandpa wasn't a chess master, so Xu Lin's learning ability was more than enough to handle him. "Grandpa, let's continue."

"Ah."

The chess game continued, but Grandpa no longer entertained himself. With Xu Lin around, he enjoyed playing chess much more and became more and more engrossed in it.

Grandpa lost three times, and each time he got more and more carried away.

"Ah Lin, let's do it again. Grandpa hasn't been this happy in a long time."

Grandpa slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.

“Okay, Grandpa, let’s continue.”

"Come!"

Before we knew it, it was past seven o'clock in the evening.

It was lunchtime.

Everyone ate in the courtyard, where five large round tables were brought out, each seating eight people.

"Dad, Xu Lin, dinner's ready!"

Ms. Ren came over and called out.

Xu Lin: "Here we are."

Grandpa said, "When can't I eat? I'm still feeling a bit tipsy!"

"Old man, don't you need to eat?"

Grandma cursed.

"What do you, an old woman, know?"

Grandpa grumbled and cursed, but he had no choice but to get up and go eat.

Tonight is arguably the most complete gathering of my maternal grandfather's family. All four of his children are here, along with their families. Tomorrow, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, my eldest uncle and aunt will embark on their journey home for the holiday. In less than three days, this large courtyard will be completely empty.

The saying "all good things must come to an end" perfectly illustrates this point.

Five tables were set up in the courtyard, and everyone chatted and laughed, eating and drinking, and before they knew it, an hour or two had passed.

After the music ended and everyone left, Ms. Ren and the others began to clean up the table.

Grandpa sat in the rocking chair in the yard, looking at the sky. On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, there were no bright stars or a bright full moon. There were very few stars, and the moon was less than half full.

"Grandpa, are you looking at the stars?"

Rong Xiyan came over and asked curiously.

"Grandpa is in heaven, and the stars and the moon are watching too."

Rong Xiyan doesn't speak Cantonese, so her maternal grandfather speaks Mandarin. After all, he was a teacher, so his cultural background is there, and his Mandarin is quite good among the older generation.

"Grandpa, I've heard there are fireflies in the countryside. Where can we see them?"

Rong Xiyan had never seen a firefly before and was quite curious. She had heard that fireflies' bottoms glowed, which was amazing.

"That can only be seen in the summer!"

Grandpa laughed, "You'll only see fireflies if you come here in the summer!"

"Grandpa, then I'll come over with Xu Lin again this summer!"

"Alright, alright, when summer comes, you two can come over and visit Grandpa while you're at it!"

"OK!"

Rong Xiyan nodded.

The elderly are more sensitive to time and family. The former is because they know that every day they have left in this world is one day less, and they are about to be buried. The latter is because their children have all started their own families. In addition, with the development of society and economy, people are becoming atomized in society. They are no longer like the older generation, where an entire family lived in one village. For example, some large villages have thousands of people, all with the same or two surnames. In fact, it was originally one or two families that came here to settle down and grow.

Grandpa looked at the sky and thought that starting tomorrow, his children and grandchildren would leave one after another. Although he could go to their homes, it would not be as good as the New Year, when the whole family would gather together.

"Xu Lin, let's come back in the summer and go see the fireflies!"

"Okay." Xu Lin thought about it and agreed.

"Xu Lin, have you ever seen a firefly?"

"Of course I've seen it, I even caught it to play with!"

"But I've never seen it."

Grandpa gazed at the sky for half an hour, and then unknowingly fell asleep in his recliner.

When his grandmother found out, she brought a piece of clothing and covered his stomach with it.

“Your maternal grandfather often falls asleep in the yard at this time of night, and he will wake up on his own later.”

Grandma added, "He's getting old, and he often can't sleep all night. Let him get some rest."

Rong Xiyan: "Grandma, it's chilly outside at night. Won't Grandpa catch a cold?"

"It's alright, he's always been like this."

"oh oh."

My grandfather woke up around 10 o'clock.

At this moment, Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan finished taking a bath one after the other.

There's not much to do at night in rural areas, so the two of them went to bed early.

The next day was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Thirteen people, including my uncle and aunt, left one after another in the morning. At this time, many people were returning to their jobs.

The noise in the house suddenly decreased significantly.

"Ayan, are you leaving tomorrow?"

Third Aunt asked.

"Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow. I have to go back to work on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year," Ms. Ren said.

"It's so fast."

"What about you?"

"I'm not in that hurry, I'll wait until school starts."

My third aunt is a teacher at a top high school in Shenzhen, and she can still take a few days off.

"Yan Yan, when do you and A Lin's vacation end?"

"Third Aunt, school doesn't start until March 3rd!"

The one who spoke was Rong Xiyan.

"There are only ten days left until school starts!"

My third aunt checked the calendar; today is February 22nd.

"Yes, school starts soon, time flies!"

Rong Xiyan looked at Xu Lin and saw that Xu Lin was playing chess with his grandfather in a corner of the yard.

When he woke up in the morning, Grandpa only remembered Xu Lin; he didn't remember anyone else.

His memory is sometimes good and sometimes bad, and his family is quite worried about his health. After all, he is already 86 years old, and 90 is a critical age.

The group chatted, ate sunflower seeds, candy, and fruit in the courtyard.

Xu Lin and his grandfather played chess for more than two hours.

Later, around noon, we had breakfast.

Grandpa sat in the recliner for a while and then fell asleep, and no one disturbed him.

In the afternoon, Xu Lin and his friends went out with his third aunt and others to stroll around the neighborhood.

There's also a temple nearby, and there's a temple fair today.

Ms. Ren thought she might as well go and offer incense to the gods and make a wish for her family's safety.

Fortunately, there weren't many people at this temple, unlike the big temple Xu Lin went to on New Year's Day. Here, you only had to queue for a short while to get there.

Before we knew it, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year had quietly come to an end.

Time quickly came to the next day.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Lin and his group finished packing in the morning and prepared to leave.

All good things must come to an end; every gathering must eventually end.

Grandpa came over with a red envelope, his old eyes a little cloudy, and he seemed quite reluctant to part with it.

"Ah Lin, Yan Yan, Xia Tian is coming to see Grandpa. Grandpa will show you fireflies."

Clearly, he had remembered someone else.

"Don't worry, they'll come. Grandpa, you should also take care of yourself."

Xu Lin nodded.

Rong Xiyan also said, "Grandpa, we'll come to see you during our summer vacation!"

"Okay, Grandpa will be waiting for you at home!"

Grandpa took out two or three red envelopes and gave one to each of Xu Lin and the others, and Ms. Ren also received one.

"Dad, take care of yourself!"

Ms. Ren warned.

"Dad knows!"

"Dad, and everyone else, let's go first!"

"Grandpa, Grandma, everyone, we're leaving!"

Everyone bid a solemn farewell, and amidst the sound of cars, Grandpa and the others watched Xu Lin and his two companions leave until the cars were out of sight.

"They left again so soon, sigh..."

On the bus, Ms. Ren felt unwell, and the withdrawal symptoms kicked in quickly.

Rong Xiyan was the same, and the mother and daughter started chatting.

Xu Lin was fine; he was just focused on driving.

The return journey was another day of traffic jams. On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, many people were rushing back to their jobs, and traffic was congested everywhere.

So the journey to the provincial capital took Xu Lin a full twenty-three hours.

I finally arrived at the residential area on the evening of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

"You're back!"

After getting out of the car, Rong Xiyan couldn't help but stretch.

Ms. Ren looked at her son and instructed him, "Xu Lin, hurry up and go take a shower and get some sleep. You've been driving for so long."

Xu Lin wasn't physically tired, but he was mentally exhausted.

So Xu Lin went to bed early tonight.

In the days that followed, everything returned to normal.

On the 24th, the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Ms. Ren had already returned to work.

Xu Lin and Rong Xiyan rested in the provincial capital for three days, and finally said goodbye to Ms. Ren on the last day of February, the 28th, and returned to Jiangdu.

"I'm numb, I'm finally back!"

Xu Lin returned to the big house, to the familiar smells and familiar surroundings.

"Xu Lin, I'm going to find Yao Yao to play. Do you want to come?"

"No way, damn it, you've been sleeping in the car for so long, you must be wide awake now."

"Humph!"

"Xu Lin, do you need a car?"

"No need, you can drive it if you want."

"Then I'll drive!"

Xu Lin then gave the car keys to Rong Xiyan.

It was a little after 2 p.m. outside, the sun was shining brightly, and the temperature in Jiangdu was quite nice that day, around 17 or 18 degrees Celsius. At this time, the weather was gradually warming up, and summer was just around the corner.

After Rong Xiyan left, Xu Lin slept at home for three hours.

When Xu Lin woke up, the room was pitch black, and he felt a wave of loneliness wash over him.

Humans are strange creatures; they seem to be most prone to feeling down right after waking up, especially when they are all alone.

Eighteen-year-old Xu Lin could not avoid this problem either. He felt very lonely, and there was a kind of depression in his heart that was hard to describe and hard to express.

"In Jiangdu?"

Xu Lin sent a message to Chi Linyue, saying that Ning Yuhan would not be back until tomorrow.

"exist."

"convenient?"

"It's time to leave work."

"Shall I come pick you up?"

"Come!"

Chi Linyue sent a pinky emoji.

Xu Lin walked over to the electric scooter, took a picture, and went over.

"Tank start!"

"smirk.jpg"

(End of this chapter)