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Xie Tiesheng feels quite guilty about Xiao Shi’s emotional outburst, but in the village, it has always been tradition to celebrate the addition of a son, and such old customs cannot be changed simply because he wishes to.
As soon as they reached the front courtyard, Xiaojiu led her sister and Xiaoqi, each holding one of Xiao Shi’s hands, to the area where the Xie Family children were gathered—a line of grandchildren, giving the third branch of the Xie Family a particularly promising future.
For a while, the corner of the front courtyard was filled with the laughter and playfulness of children.
The village matrons and aunts from the sa clan often co to help with the celebration and bring their grandchildren along.
Inevitably, the children co over and get a taste of candies, which is an old custom when celebrating in the countryside.
This actually doesn’t an that the relatives who co to help are thick-skinned.
It’s really out of poverty; material things are scarce, and close relatives from the sa clan co to help without being asked. Only during such tis do the children have a chance to get a hold of so candies and cookies.
It’s not only the Xie kinsn who do this; practically every family and clan does the sa. When a mother or grandma goes to help, the children obediently follow behind. Of course, most of the children are over six or seven and can play by themselves.
After Xiao Yi and his brothers, including Xiao Si, finished watching the lamp addition ceremony at the ancestral hall, they followed the village’s Qilin Team, chasing after them wherever they went, and the group of children were extrely happy.
It wasn’t until the sun began to set that Xiao Yi, being the oldest, called his cousins and returned ho.
When Xiaojiu and Xiaoqi arrived at the front courtyard with Xiao Shi, Xiao Yi and Xiao’er had just returned ho to their own courtyard.
A large group of young lads gathered together, joyfully discussing the interesting sights they had seen earlier, especially the Qilin Team, which they were most envious of.
The Qilin Dance Team had already visited and offered New Year’s greetings to each household in the village on the first day of the new year. This ti, they only perford the Qilin dance for the households where a lamp was added.
Being located at the foot of the mountain, the Xie Family was the last stop for the Qilin Team. Xie Tiesheng had arranged early on for the Qilin Team to have a simple al and a celebratory drink at the Xie Family at the end of their route.
With almost eleven o’clock approaching, relatives such as the Xie Family’s maternal uncles started to arrive one after another.
The first to arrive were Zhou Xiuhua’s younger brother’s family and her paternal cousins. Soon after, relatives from Lin Caixia’s maternal family also arrived.
Uncle Zhang and his family arrived just after Lin Caixia’s maternal relatives. Lin Caixia coaxed her child to sleep in the grandmother’s room. Upon hearing the sound of firecrackers, she imdiately ran out to see and was overjoyed that the first to arrive were her relatives.
As for the Zhang Family, they arrived just after the Lin Family. Uncle Zhang and his wife were getting on in years, and the village’s ox cart had been borrowed by those celebrating, so they didn’t have one for themselves and had to rely on their own slow pace to get there.
They also had to carry the gifts, so the Zhang Family didn’t move quickly.
Not to ntion Uncle Zhang, even Zhang Zhiming wasn’t young anymore. The three Zhang sons took turns carrying the load and supporting the grandparents, and finally arrived at the Xie Family around eleven o’clock.
In addition to the Zhang Family, Yan Jinsu also invited the Li Family.
The Li Family ca in a little cart, but since Chen Xiufang was heavily pregnant and the village roads were difficult, they moved very slowly. Even so, Chen Xiufang vomited twice along the way but managed to reach the Xie Family before eleven thirty.
Yan Jinsu felt extrely grateful when she saw Chen Xiufang’s pale face from car sickness, especially considering that she was seven months pregnant and it’s not common for won in her condition to travel.
However, Chen Xiufang said that Yan Jinsu and her husband were her lifesavers, rescuing both her and her son. Now that Yan Jinsu was helping her make money, the two of them getting along like sisters, it would not make sense for Chen Xiufang to miss the celebration of Yan Jinsu’s child’s Lantern Festival—a big day.
If it had been too far, fine, but for just a half-hour’s drive to be skipped, what kind of relatives would they be?!
With the arrival of the Li Family ca also the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Chen Family.
For the incident of Yan Jinsu’s disappearance, the Chen Family felt extrely guilty, after all, it was under the Chen family’s na that Yan Jinsu had been taken away.
Fortunately, the Xie Family, along with the victim Yan Jinsu herself, knew that the sche was originally targeted at Xie Jingchen and his wife and had nothing to do with the Chen family at all.
If not the Chen Family, there would still be the Zhang Family, the Li Family!
Xie Jingchen had already soothed the Chen Family in private, which made the Chen Family comfortable enough to co over with their daughter.
Otherwise, even though the Chen mother and daughter-in-law liked Yan Jinsu a lot, out of guilty conscience, they would have felt embarrassed to show up and cause her more trouble.
As more and more guests arrived, the chairs and tables laid out in the Xie Family Courtyard gradually beca occupied.
Yan Jinsu and Chen Xiufang sat together under a mango tree, having not seen each other for a long ti, let alone Yan Jinsu’s amnesia, her nature remained unchanged, hence, as the two chatted, they often had a profound sense of long-standing spiritual connection.
And after greeting the relatives of his other two daughters-in-law, Xie Tiesheng approached the table where Uncle Zhang was sitting; Zhou Xiuhua, too, was spread thin, and upon seeing the old man arriving, she turned to check on her younger brother.
Before the Li Family had arrived, Yan Jinsu had already greeted the Zhang Family, and later her mother-in-law specifically asked her to see her younger uncle’s family, including her older female cousins and others.
It couldn’t be helped; though Xie Jingchen had been married to Yan Jinsu for two years, this was the first New Year Yan Jinsu was spending in Qingfeng Village, and she honestly didn’t recognize all of the relatives.
Unlike later generations, you couldn’t just pick so fruit or a small gift and visit the relatives whenever you felt like it.
During this era, the fifteen days from New Year’s Eve to Lantern Festival might be the only ’hibernation’ period for farm families throughout the seasons.
Fieldwork was a year-round, 365-days-a-year affair, especially in the south where there was no snow, where it was basically possible to harvest crops all year round.
As for Xie Jingchen, needless to say, as soon as the banquet started at half past twelve, he never had a mont’s rest, accompanying Xie Jinggang in toasting the guests everywhere.
Xie Jingchen was still fine, but after one round, Xie Jinggang was already drunkenly swaying. His colleagues were all fond of drinking, and the white spirits served to the guests at the Xie family were all fine wines from future generations!
The liquor was strong and llow without causing headaches. Most importantly, the host family did not forbid alcohol. Once the wine jug was empty, there would be teenagers coming forward to ask if you’d like a refill, now Xiao Yi and the other older kids were acting as wine servers.
Neither Xie Jingchen nor Yan Jinsu were stingy people, but aside from the generous serving of at, alcohol was indeed a specialty at the banquet.
The other offerings were much the sa as those of a few other families that added to the lantern’s illumination.
However, the two suckling pigs from the Xie family were incomparable to the other five households. This special dish was sothing the Xie family had not tasted for many years.
For one, farm families were reluctant; a piglet was not cheap, and raising it to size was a significant source of inco.
What farr would be willing to waste such money? It was only because Xie Jingchen himself was capable, and it extended to counting his brother’s son as well.
Hearing this, Xie Jinggang was not upset. To be honest, the current montum of the Xie family was sothing his third brother had bravely risked his life to achieve!
Without his third brother’s willingness to take risks at the forefront, the good days of the third branch of the Xie Family would not exist today. If he allowed himself to harbor resentnt against his third brother for so idle talk outside, then he would not deserve to be Xie Jingchen’s brother.
He understood this very clearly, even if his character was a bit soft, his intelligence was still on point; after mixing in the workplace for a long ti, he beca more diplomatic and comprehending.
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