If you spend a lot of ti together, it's hard not to be attracted to each other.
But given the gap between their families, if there really were any other thoughts, it would only end in hurt.
She pursed her lips, "Xiao Mai, you and him…"
Zhao Lianmai seed to guess what her mother wanted to say, and she smiled again, "Mom, don't worry, I'm well aware of myself. He is very good, but he might not be the type I like, and I don't want to be in a relationship."
The woman silently sighed, wanting to say sothing, but in the end, she could only shake her head in distress.
Dinner ti.
Even for the New Year's reunion dinner, there were only two or three dishes and a pot of fish soup on the table.
But for them, it was already a very sumptuous al.
The little girl, craving the food, stared eagerly and reached out with her chopsticks, but first served her mother and sister.
Mother needed to nourish her body, and sister worked the hardest; on the rare occasions there was at at ho, they would always push it to each other, never willing to eat a bit more themselves.
"Eat,"
Zhao Lianmai served her sister and mother plenty of at and also the fish soup.
With a rare smile, she patted her sister's head and said to their mother, "From now on, we will never lack at again."
Those were the simplest of words, yet they filled this once-fractured little ho with imnse warmth.
Zhao Lianmai took a sip of fish soup and looked out the window at the sky, smiling softly to herself and shaking her head as she wondered...
I'll be nicer to you from now on.
...
New Year's Eve, eating dumplings, watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Every evening, fireworks could be seen blooming in the sky.
At this ti, fireworks and firecrackers were not yet banned, and the night sky was brilliantly colored, the air tinged with the scent of sulfur.
Children carried lanterns through streets and lanes, finally able to splurge at the corner store with the pocket money from adults.
Adults also took the rare opportunity to relax, preparing to hang Spring Festival couplets or et with a few good friends to play cards.
Elderly people too could enjoy the hard-earned joy of having their children and grandchildren around them.
This is the flavor of the New Year.
The New Year's Eve dinner.
Families gather to make dumplings and watch the Spring Festival Gala.
People in the north have a preference for dumplings over all the delicacies of the sea and mountains—no matter how well-off a family is, it doesn't feel like New Year's without having a bite of dumplings.
And as living conditions improved, the variety of dumpling fillings increased as well, including fillings like Spanish mackerel, shrimp, abalone, and crab roe.
But Xu Musen still had a special fondness for dumplings filled with chives and egg or pork and green onions.
During festivals, Yao Mingyue and Liu Rushuang, mother and daughter, would always co to Xu Musen's ho.
Their villa was spacious, but always seed too quiet and lacking in warmth.
They actually preferred to co to Xu Musen's not-so-spacious living room.
Together they would make dumplings, watch the Spring Festival Gala, and enjoy Uncle Benshan's non-sentintal performances on the show which were always worth watching.
"I put two coins in so of the dumplings; whoever eats them—it's their luck!"
Mother Xu said happily.
"Humph, it must be . I've found them several tis before," Yao Mingyue declared proudly.
Xu Musen added teasingly from the side, "Yeah, so people almost knocked out their teeth eating dumplings when they were kids."
"That was when I was losing my baby teeth, okay! And you're laughing? Watch as I make you a 'firecracker' filling, blast your teeth out!"
Yao Mingyue said indignantly, recalling being mocked by Xu Musen when she was a child and losing her baby teeth, pronouncing her threats huffily.
The adults laughed at this, starting to reminisce about the embarrassing things the two did as kids.
Like how Xu Musen went swimming in the river in his open-crotch pants and almost got pinched by a crayfish on his... he cried all the way ho worrying he would turn into a little girl.
Or the ti they played in the mud together and Yao Mingyue's dress got dirty, leading to a sound spanking when they got ho.
Or when they played house as children, fought over the toys, and Yao Mingyue ended up brandishing a washboard, ready to te out 'household law'...
Xu Musen felt a bit embarrassed hearing all this.
Why did it seem like boys did so many silly things when they were young?
Yao Mingyue's face, anwhile, turned a rosy hue as she listened; these were mories that belonged only to the two of them, which nobody could ever take away, no matter what happened in the future.
Xu Musen, no longer able to bear the stories, slipped into the kitchen to cook the dumplings while Mother Xu cleverly shaped so stead buns into small animals.
In their tradition, this was called a "cat," and people would give them as gifts to each other during New Year's.
Fresh out of the stear, plump and white with red bean and dates as decoration, they looked lifelike.
Especially the little white rabbit, Xu Musen always felt as if seeing this was like seeing a cute little silly thing.
"Yo, Mom, why did you think to shape a rabbit this year? Didn't you usually make cats or dogs in the past?"
Xu Musen asked with a smile.
Mother Xu glanced at him and said, "So people won't stop talking about how their little girlfriend likes rabbits; I've heard so much that my ears are about to grow calluses."
"So you made this especially for your future daughter-in-law,"
"Stop your babbling; get up and don't delay from cooking the dumplings,"
Xu Musen chuckled.
He took out his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to An Nuannuan.
"Wow, so cute! Where did you buy it? (Rabbit surprised.)"
An Nuannuan replied almost imdiately.
Mother Xu also glanced at the phone and seeing An Nuannuan's comnt, naturally felt very pleased.
Xu Musen laughed and dialed An Nuannuan's number.
"Nuannuan, do you like the little rabbit?"
"Mmm! Where did you buy it?"
An Nuannuan's soft and cute voice ca through, and Mother Xu couldn't help but perk up her ears to listen.
That voice was pleasing—you could tell she was a gentle girl, so there was no need to worry about her son being mistreated in the future.
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