C22

"Father," I said, stepping forward and standing in front of my father and mother.

"Your clothes are beautiful." "I brought you a present."

I shyly lowered my head, "Yuanyuan, I don't need a present. As long as father is safe." His father nodded with a smile. "Our Yuanyuan'er has grown up and is becoming more and more sensible." Then his father looked around and asked, "Where's Aunt Wang?"

"She was packing the boxes in the house and didn't let her come." "Yes," the grandmother replied. "Are the accounts all right?"

"This year, a few of our villages were affected and their houses fell. I have allocated some money to repair them." His father took a sip of tea.

"The house is down? Are you hurt? " the grandmother asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The second son of Steward Chang had his leg broken and hence, Steward Chang came back to take care of him." His father was rubbing a pair of walnuts in his hands, and the thudding sound was evident in the conversation between mother and son.

"Give him more silver coins. It's bad luck for something like this to happen during the new year." Grandmother touched a string of buddhist beads on her wrist.

"Mother, don't worry. I can do these things well." His father looked back at his mother and smiled again. The smile on his face was exceptionally gentle. His mother also had a faint smile on her face. It seemed that this was what a husband and wife thought at the same time.

Grandmother frowned, a deep square between her eyebrows, her face serious.

"Grandmother, when shall we have dinner? I didn't eat anything at noon, so I'm just waiting to come to your place to eat! " I hugged Grandmother intimately and shook her. Her expression became much more relaxed. "You clever girl!" Grandmother scratched my nose. "It's a lot less worrisome than them." Grandmother looked at her father and mother.

This year's New Year's Eve meal was the same as the previous years, the rich taste of the red-braised pork ribs, the green onions scattered on the steamed cinnamon fish, symbolizing the round and beautiful four Xi pills, the rich broth of the pig's feet, the crystal clear meat jelly, all sorts of dishes were placed on the table, the last three fresh dumplings were different from the previous years, they were all as big as Yuanbao, the prawns were bulging out in the dumplings, the taste was very delicious, when Father and Grandmother saw the dumpling, their expression slightly changed, the originally cheerful atmosphere quietened for a moment.

"Go and invite Aunt Wang." Grandmother sighed. It seemed like these dumplings were Aunt Wang's specialty. The young maid answered and left. The only sound that could be heard was the clinking of a silver chopstick and a cup and plate on the table.

Old lady." Aunt Wang lifted the curtain and came in, which really made people's eyes light up. On her head she wore a gold silk bangle with a beaded bun, and on her neck she wore a red gold band with a beige band, a beanstalk brim, and a double pendant of roses. She wore a thin coat of golden butterflies, a red satin gown, and a silver mouse gown of five-colored carvings, and a white dress of emerald-sprinkled flowers. Her voice was full of laughter as her figure curled up in the air. Behind him was a woman with a scarlet gold hairpin. Her hair was tied up with a pink muslin veil and she wore a pair of gold gourd earrings on her ears. Her face was thin and white, her rouge was lit up, and there were a few lines of smile lines at the corner of her mouth. She was wearing an orange and red fox-furs with a white silk dress tied at the bottom. She was cute and charming, and her small feet were covered with a pair of red embroidered shoes, making it seem as if she could dance with her palms. The next group of girls were dressed similarly. They were all dressed in pink armor, with white tunics, red dresses, and a double bun tied with a red rope. They were all pretty and lively as they carried a line of food boxes with smiles on their faces.

Old lady, it's the new year. Who made you angry?" Aunt Wang smiled as she took out a new bowl from the head of the food box. It was a silver plate with golden edges, carved with flowers. The silver chopsticks wrapped in a handkerchief were carved with pure white jade into the shape of a magnolia flower. The woman that followed her gave her father a similar set of cutlery. However, the design on it was that of a magpie, and on the chopsticks was a small qilin lying down. These two pairs of chopsticks were clearly a pair.

A small white boat was floating on the surface of the broth, and as the steam emanated from it, it began to sway. This was the mushroom bamboo shoot soup, and when the winter bamboo shoot was used as a distant mountain, the small white boat should have been carved out of mushrooms. Aunt Wang stood by her grandmother's side. She scooped half a bowl of soup into a small bowl and blew on it with a spoon, feeding it to her grandmother to drink. In the misty fog, her grandmother's cheeks seemed to have turned smooth.

Mother's face turned darker and darker as she coldly looked at Aunt Wang, who was standing next to her grandmother and father. She seemed oblivious as she smiled and chatted with Grandma about the style and ingredients of the dishes, while Father lowered his head to eat in silence, while I sat alone and watched the farce.

Mother, she used to be a radiant person. Today, she looked like the real her. Wise and beautiful. How proud she used to be, how rich and reserved she was, how soon after she entered the house she became pregnant and how beautiful she had become the grandmother of the family head. But now, because of the changes of the world, she had returned to living under the roof of the family, and by doing so she hoped that her grandmother would not forget her motherly love for her.

I smiled at Aunt Wang. Her eyes lit up and a clean smile appeared on her face. She knew I understood what she meant.

"Old granny, I'll be leaving tomorrow. I'll go back and pack up first." Aunt Wang bent down steadily.

"Agility." Aunt Wang blessed her father's calligraphy. His father nodded slightly, water in his eyes. His mother tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hands. It seemed as if she was about to tear it open. The corner of her mouth slightly twitched; she was obviously angry.

With the help of the woman behind her, Aunt Wang walked in front of her mother. She lowered her head and looked at her mother with pity. "Lady Qing, I've already told you before that it's better to just let it be."

His mother was livid, holding her handkerchief tightly as she sat there without saying a word. Her body was exceptionally stiff. Aunt Wang gave two soft laughs, her breath like orchids as she looked at her mother with her curved brows.

"After walking for so long, I'm also tired. Let's go back." Aunt Wang turned to speak to the woman behind her.

"Yes, Grandmother." The woman intimately went forward to help the aunt out.

A large group of people followed Aunt Wang out, bringing a gust of cold wind with them that sent shivers down everyone's spines. The owner of the room, the servant girl, stood in silence, only hearing the occasional crackling sound of the candles.

Not long later, a little girl stuck her head into the room and said, "I'm passing on the message from Aunt, 'Mother, don't forget to wake me up when the fireworks are released.'"

From inside the house came the quiet sound of Grandmother's sobs.