Chapter 69.1

Translated by Aviana

Lin Qingwan slept in until noon the next day. The couple from the third branch also didn’t seem to have come, for she didn’t sense any movements while asleep.

After getting herself dressed and helping Yang Tiezhu get dressed as well, Lin Qingwan opened the door, went out, and called the third branch’s husband and wife.

To her surprise, she found that the third branch’s couple seemed to have woken up just then too. When Yao-shi opened the door, a sliver of ’embarrassment’ seemed to have painted her face.

And to Lin Qingwan, this sort of embarrassment seemed awfully familiar. She broke into a peal of mischievous laughter with an expression of understanding.

Yao-shi felt that she might go insane by this second sao of hers. How could a person, who usually seemed to be sweet-tempered and cool-headed, be so different all of a sudden?!

Perchance, was it because of her pregnancy? Yao-shi, utterly red-faced, could only hold second sao’s pregnancy accountable for her oddity.

But alas, the pitiful Yao-shi failed to perceive that even when Lin Qingwan wasn’t pregnant, she would behave similarly every now and then. Swamped with other matters, Yao-shi simply didn’t notice it prior to this.

For lunch, these few people simply warmed the baozi and wantons from the other day and ate them. Finding just these two too dry to eat, Lin Qingwan also cooked lean meat with cabbage soup additionally.

Once everyone had their fill, they gathered around and casually conversed for a bit. While the two little girls ran out only to come back after a little while. Piqued with curiosity, Lin Qingwan asked Yao-shi about their antics. This year, it turned out that Yao-shi had made new clothes for the two girls. They wanted to wear them, but Yao-shi said they had to wait till the next day. New clothes were a rarity for the girls, and they were unable to put them down. Thus earlier, they ran back to take a look at their dress and caress them before running back again.

Lin Qingwan found it very amusing yet couldn’t help but feel a trace of sorrow in the next moment. Seeing a similar expression flash across Yao-shi’s face, she patted her shoulder, “Alright, now that we have separated from the family, our days will get better and better. Just see how happy you are now. Day in, day out, there is no one to suppress you any longer. Even those two little girls have fattened up and are radiant every day.”

Yao-shi nodded as her bad mood also disappeared. Although Yang Tiegen, sitting at the side, didn’t say anything, a pensive look appeared on his face.

After a while, Yao-shi stood up, saying that she wanted to do another round of cleaning. Lin Qingwan was a little aware of this—eliminate the old and usher in the new!

The three of them gave the room a clean over once. As for Lin Qingwan, no way would she admit that she was but in charge of handling small things, nothing else! Once they cleaned the second branch’s room, they went to the third branch’s room.

There were also movements in the main room; however, they seemed very small. Besides, the main room had only slight movements the past few days. Neither did they have any indicator for preparation for the New Year.

In the evening, Yao-shi began the preparations for New Year’s Eve’s family dinner with Lin Qingwan’s help from the side.

By the time the feast was served, the color of the sky had already begun darkening. Vague crackling sounds of firecrackers could be heard from outside. Once a family lit the firecrackers, it was an indication that the said family was about to start their family reunion dinner. However, as Luoxia village was poor, only the families with good financial circumstances would light a small string of firecrackers on the night of the Lunar New Year’s Eve prior to the family feast.

Every year, Yang jia would set off firecrackers before the family dinner on the night of Lunar New Year’s Eve as well. Usually, Yang Tieshuan, the eldest one, would be the one doing this. But this year, there wasn’t any movement from the main room.

Even after waiting for quite a while, they didn’t hear any noises. Yang Tiezhu was unable to sit any longer and gestured to Yang Tiegen to go out. The two brothers headed out and lit a string of firecrackers.

Hearing the crackling sound of firecrackers, Lin Qingwan’s mood at once became jubilant. The two girls began jumping inside the room as they clapped their hands and burst into a peal of laughter. Yao-shi’s face also lightened up with joy.

Once the firecrackers went off, Yang Tiezhu and Yang Tiegen headed back into the house. All of them gathered around the table and started eating. Because the dishes were comparatively more this day, they sat around the table below rather than on the kang.

The table was filled with a sumptuous spread of arrays of varieties with chicken, pork, and fish. Lin Qingwan’s marinated pork chop was the main course tonight. She had made braised spare ribs and lotus root soup. The lotus root had simmered in the pot till they were perfectly cooked and soft. While the soup was still in the pot, she scooped a bit to have a taste and found it delicious. The spare ribs also gave an aromatic smell and were savory to eat. Additionally, she cooked a large plate of cured chicken and cured fish as well.

On the night of Lunar New Year’s Eve, families would usually offer sacrifices to their ancestors before the dinner. However, Yang Tiezhu was aware that people from the main room would follow this ritual every year, so he didn’t care much about this step. After all, when both the parents are alive, those of the younger generation have to follow their parents in offering the sacrifices to ancestors, and cannot be done alone.

The dinner in the second branch was filled with lively laughter, with a harmonious atmosphere. Contrarily, the main room was enshrouded with gloom. While Yang laoyezi’s face was painted pitch black.

“What the heck, tonight is the Lunar New Year’s Eve’s feast, yet you didn’t prepare any meat dishes? You said you hadn’t bought the meat, but didn’t laoer and laosan give meat as a part of the end-of-the-year gifts? Furthermore, I asked you to prepare the firecrackers in advance, where are they?” Yang laoyezi furiously hit the table with the tobacco pipe. None of the people sitting around the table dared to utter a word.

老二 (lǎoèr): second-eldest child in a family/Old two 老三 (lǎosān):third-eldest child in a family/Old three

“Aren’t you aware of the shortage of food and silver at home? As for those end-of-the-year gifts, didn’t I take them all out for you as an offering to the ancestors?” He-shi didn’t think she had done anything wrong. Many families in Luoxia village couldn’t afford to have meat dishes on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Thus, their family wouldn’t also lose much of their face if they didn’t have them.

“Also, what will you get if you set off those fireworks? You can’t eat them anyway. They just crackle a few times, and in a matter of seconds, dozens of copper coins will disappear. Isn’t that just a pointless expense?”

Her money, they would naturally be saved and used for laosi to get a wife. These people, not a single one, managed the household expenses and were unaware of how expensive daily necessities such as oil, salt, and rice were. They simply like to have those flowery, insubstantial, and flashy stuff!

老四(lǎosì): fourth child in a family/Old four

Yang laoyezi was furious beyond words!

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