MMB Chapter 1803 Lin Dongxue's Homecoming
Chapter 1803 Lin Dongxue's Homecoming
Chapter 1803 Lin Dongxue's Homecoming
Early in the morning, he stretched and stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching the uncles and aunts nearby bragging, twisting his neck and wiggling his butt.
"Home is so comfortable!"
Lin Xiuqing also came out of the house, "That's because I don't have to do any work, so I feel comfortable."
"That too."
"I'm off to Mom's for breakfast."
The couple continued to sleep in their own home, while the children slept in the small villa where Ye's parents lived.
After dinner yesterday, Ye Yaodong went upstairs to the children's room to take a nap. After waking up, he had a late-night snack and then returned to his own home.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, the kids at home are all gathered together and excited. They also have game consoles, and none of them go to sleep until 11 or 12 o'clock.
Sure enough, they've all gotten up and gone to the new house for breakfast, but none of the unmarried younger generation are up.
"No one will get up before 9 or 10 o'clock. You all eat your food, don't save any for them. They probably won't even need to eat when they wake up, they'll just be waiting for lunch."
"If anyone gets up early and gets hungry, they can cook instant noodles later. We'll eat our own food. They don't have breakfast these days."
As she spoke, Ye's mother busied herself preparing porridge for them.
With so many people, it's impossible for everyone to eat breakfast at the same time every morning, so we just eat as soon as we arrive.
"Dongzi, when are you going to the city?"
"Let's go after the New Year, there's no rush."
"You're not in a hurry, but I think they're all incredibly anxious. Yesterday they were arguing all day over who gets the game console, saying that once they get it, no one will be allowed to play it."
"Then I'm not sure when I'll be free to go."
After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he looked at Lin Xiuqing and asked, "Have you gone back to your parents' home? Did you send them your New Year's gifts?"
“I sent it a long time ago. I went there the day after I got back. My mother told us we don’t need to go back on the second day of the Lunar New Year. You’re busy anyway, so we can go over for the feast on the fifth day. That will save us from running around. It’s also good that my brother can accompany my sister-in-laws back to their parents’ home on the second day of the Lunar New Year.”
"Oh, okay."
That would save him the trouble of traveling back and forth.
After finishing breakfast, Ye Yaodong and the others strolled around for a while, chatted with the village officials, and basked in the sun for half the morning. After lunch, he went to the fish cannery in town.
He said he was back from vacation, but he was actually very busy. He had too many businesses, and he hadn't even settled the accounts for the fish cannery in town yet. He still had to keep working.
The younger generation in the family only saw him on the first night he returned, including his own three children. They had originally wanted to ask him about the game console, but afterwards they only saw him again during the New Year's Eve dinner.
As soon as they appeared, Ye Chengjiang and Ye Chenghe chased after them, asking for the game console.
“I didn’t have time to buy it. I didn’t go to the city. Didn’t you know to ask Ah Hai to bring it? At least he came back yesterday.”
Ye Chenghe slapped his thigh. "That's right, how could I forget about my brother? I even went to the trouble of looking for someone who was closer."
Ye Chenghai had just arrived home yesterday afternoon and asked curiously, "That Little Tyrant game console? You both want it? Why didn't you say so earlier? I bought one for my family too, it's really fun. If you had told me earlier, I would have brought one back for each of you."
"Never mind, I'll bring it when Uncle goes to the city in a few days."
"Then you can wait patiently."
Mother Ye came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and called out to them, "If you're not going to help, don't just stand there and get in the way. Hurry up and find a seat. Don't just stand there talking. Adults at one table and children at another. Squeeze in a bit."
There are many women in the family, so it's really not their turn to help. The bowls, chopsticks, and chairs have already been set out, and the dishes have been served one by one.
They had no choice but to get drinks and beverages as needed before taking their seats.
Looking at his children and grandchildren gathered together, Mr. Ye couldn't stop smiling. "Tomorrow I'll find someone to make a plaque that says 'Five Generations Under One Roof,' and then hang it on the living room wall."
Mother Ye rarely smiled and agreed, "This is a good suggestion. Our family now has everyone from 0 years old to over ninety."
Ye Yaodong poured drinks for everyone around him, saying, "You should all fill your glasses with wine and drinks too. Let's all have a toast and wish for a better and better 1994, with peace, health and great wealth."
"Good, good, good, may you be safe, healthy and prosperous."
"I wish the younger ones also make progress in their studies."
Ye Chenghu also shouted, "I wish my dad more and more money!"
"Won't this kill me?"
"Hahaha……"
The lively New Year's Eve dinner lasted from dawn till dusk. The children only ate a few bites before running off to play, without taking any lucky money.
Nowadays, everyone has plenty of pocket money, so they don't keep thinking about New Year's money. Besides, they're all older now, so they feel like it doesn't matter whether they get it or not.
But twins are different. While everyone else runs out to play, they dawdle and stay around their parents, refusing to go anywhere.
They're young, and they haven't saved much money, so they're hoping to make a fortune during the Lunar New Year.
We've already finished our New Year's Eve dinner, but we haven't given out any lucky money yet. What if they run away and we lose it all?
Lin Xiuqing looked curiously at the two brothers squatting behind her. "Why are you two still here? Oh, I forgot. The red envelopes were in my pocket. I've been busy with the New Year's Eve dinner and forgot to give them to you."
The twins' eyes lit up, and they immediately stood up, saying in unison, "Thank you, Third Aunt."
Ye Huimei shook her head with a smile, "These two didn't get their New Year's money, so they don't want to leave and are squatting behind waiting."
"Hehe, I got my New Year's money at Grandpa's house for lunch, but I haven't gotten it from Grandma yet."
Ye's mother also stood up from her seat and said to them with a smile, "Grandma has been busy all day and hasn't had time to give you red envelopes. She was thinking of getting them after we finished eating and cleaning up. Now she'll go get them for you."
"No need, Mother. Let's eat first. Don't worry about them. They're so grown up. It's okay if we don't give them any."
"I'm not giving red envelopes this year since I'm already working and earning money. Otherwise, people like Ajiang who deliberately wait until he's 30 and still doesn't get married, and still get red envelopes, would be a laughing stock."
Ye Chengjiang was playing a game when he heard this, so he turned around and shouted, "Didn't everyone say you're not married and are still a kid?"
Sister-in-law Ye shouted irritably, "If you're not married by 50, are you still a child at 50?"
"If you're not married by 50, you're not a child. I'm still a son, and you might even be a grandson."
"With such a silver tongue, why don't you use it to charm young girls? Why are you so good at talking to me?"
Mother Ye had already wrapped out several red envelopes with a smile. "It's the New Year, so don't scold me. Say something nice. These two red envelopes are for you twins, and this one is for Xiaoyu. Huimei, put them away and give them to her tonight."
"This one is for Ah Hai's family, these two are for Cheng He's family, and the one in her belly counts too."
"There are three more here, three for Dongzi's family. Aqing, please keep them. Everyone else is at work earning money, so I won't give any more."
Almost everyone received one, and those who did were somewhat surprised.
Holding two in her hands, Chen Xiuni smiled and said, "Does that include the one in my belly?"
"Of course, the baby in her belly is also her great-grandchild."
Lin Xiuqing took three red envelopes, then returned two of them, saying, "Just give one to the little one. The other two are too big, they're both around 10 years old, what are we going to give them?"
"She's not married, doesn't earn money, and is still studying, so of course she's still a child. Don't try to refuse, just accept it. We two old folks have enough for this little bit of money. This is for the child, not for you."
"That's actually a bargain for me, haha."
"Give them to us now, and when they grow up, it will be their turn to take care of us two old folks. I'll just wait for them to support us in the future."
"That's natural."
The happiest people at this moment were the twins. They circled the table and received more than a dozen red envelopes. They were so happy that their mouths were practically stretched to the back of their heads.
Ye Huimei was worried that if they went out to play, they would lose so many red envelopes, so she thought of keeping them safe for them. However, the twins held them tightly and watched them warily.
"No, we'll keep it ourselves."
"That's right, my cousins keep their own red envelopes, so we should keep ours too."
"Let's run home now to put the red envelopes away, and then go out to play."
"Yes, that way it won't fall off."
The two of them said one sentence each and then ran outside, not giving anyone else a chance to speak.
Ye Huimei had no choice but to give up.
They're clutching it tightly in their hands like it's their own eyes; they'll go straight home, so it shouldn't fall out.
Ye's mother asked Ye Huimei, "Is it alright that you didn't have New Year's Eve dinner at Lao Pei's place?"
“My father-in-law’s side eats in the afternoon, starting around 3 or 4 pm. They finish eating before 5 pm and then they start burning ingots to welcome the gods. We were planning to eat on both sides in turn, so it would be a good transition. After they finish eating, we can start eating here too.”
"That's good."
After all the children had run off, only the adults remained at home. They drank and talked about things at sea and about fishing boats. Even after the women got off the table to clean up, they were still sitting there.
Every year, the Spring Festival is the same old thing. In fact, even the food is basically the same now. Their family has a high standard of living and good conditions, so the food is naturally better.
Things that we used to only buy during the Lunar New Year can now be enjoyed by the whole family whenever we get together.
For them, the most precious thing about the Lunar New Year is getting together with each other.
Even the old lady was reluctant to leave the table, putting down her chopsticks early, but she remained seated, listening to their conversation with a smile on her face.
But as they talked for a while, everyone noticed that the old lady's head was drooping little by little.
Ye Yaodong happened to be sitting right next to the old lady, so close that he didn't see her.
"Dongzi...it seems the old lady has fallen asleep?"
"I guess it's because of the constant firecrackers these past few days that I haven't been sleeping well."
Ye Yaodong turned his head and saw that the old lady's head was hanging down. He called her twice, and the old lady looked up at him as if she had just woken up from a dream.
"what happened?"
"If you're sleepy, go back to your room and sleep. We're going to call it a night and go play cards."
"Oh, are you done talking? I'm not sleepy either, I'm going to watch some TV."
"That works too, the Spring Festival Gala just started."
Ye Yaohua shouted to Ye Chengjiang, who was engrossed in the game, "Put the game console away and watch some TV."
"okay."
Ye Chengjiang wisely cut off the game he was playing halfway through, switched the channel to the Spring Festival Gala, and ran outside.
Ye Yaodong had originally planned to go out to play cards, but after thinking about it, he decided to just play on the coffee table in the living room, and he could also watch the Spring Festival Gala at the same time.
They don't need to find anyone else to organize a gathering; the four of them—father, sons, and brothers—are enough to fill a table.
After the women finished cleaning up, they had nothing to do but watch TV and eat melon seeds after burning the ingots.
It was dark and cold outside, so they didn't want to go out. Only the children were still running around outside.
"I think we should buy a mahjong set. They can play cards, and we can play mahjong."
Mother Ye put down the melon seeds in her hand, "Isn't that easy? I'll go out and borrow a table, and you can go next door and borrow a square table too."
"Do you think we can borrow that? It's the Lunar New Year, everyone's probably playing mahjong, right?" Sister-in-law Ye said.
"Let's ask around; the corner store has several sets. See if we can borrow one."
"Then we'll borrow the mahjong set first, then we'll borrow the table. Borrowing a table is very easy."
Before long, a mahjong table was set up in the house, and the women were unusually enthusiastic about playing mahjong.
Women sat at one table, men at another, and the rest of the group watched the Spring Festival Gala. Although it wasn't as lively as having children running around, it was still cozy, and they could play games while staying up to welcome the New Year.
It wasn't until almost midnight, with fireworks and firecrackers going off continuously, that everyone put down their mahjong and other games, some setting off fireworks, others burning incense.
Ye Yaodong knelt before the statue of Mazu and prayed, "May my whole family be healthy and safe, and may my grandmother live to be a hundred years old..."
This is his biggest wish now. He feels that he has accumulated enough wealth and is not greedy. Good health is the most important thing.
Now that the new year has passed, the old lady is 92 years old, which is considered a long life. She has lived ten years longer than in her previous life, which is a pleasant surprise.
I'm living one day at a time now, and my condition is pretty good. I can still walk, eat, and sleep. Living to 100 years old wouldn't be too much of a torment.
If one is bedridden and has to struggle to live, then living a painful life until the age of 100 is a form of torture for the elderly.
He hoped to live to 100, but his greatest wish was to die peacefully in his old age without illness or disaster.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the weather was not very good. It started to drizzle, so the whole family didn't go out much. There were not many pedestrians on the road, and the festive atmosphere suddenly faded.
The light rain continued until the early morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year. Fortunately, we had told them in advance that we didn't need to go to Lin Xiuqing's parents' house, which saved them the trouble of running around in the rain.
The rain stopped on the third day of the Lunar New Year, so he simply took his child to the city to pay New Year's visits. He returned on the fourth day and went to his father-in-law's house for a wedding banquet on the fifth day.
After several days of gloomy weather, a faint ray of sunshine finally appeared on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, but it didn't appear until noon.
By this time, they had already sat down to eat at Lin Xiuqing's parents' house.
They set up a large tent in front of their house, decorated it with red ribbons and red lanterns, and set up twelve tables, which were packed to capacity.
Today is essentially a belated wedding ceremony for Lin Guangyuan and Lin Guangming. They had already held one in another city, but not at home, so it's been combined into one event.
Although they've merged, the meals they're supposed to eat haven't decreased.
There's one meal at noon and another in the evening, but they're combined into one meal on the same day.
Both couples dressed up specially for the day, dressed in the attire expected for a wedding.
Ye Xiaoxi was peeling melon seeds in her hand, looking around curiously. "Mom, didn't you say there were two brides? Why haven't we seen them yet?"
"They'll be out in a bit, and they'll come over to toast us again later."
"My two cousins are finally married. My grandparents and uncles and aunts can finally stop worrying. They'll be able to hold their great-grandchildren next year and won't be envious anymore."
Ye Yaodong chuckled and said, "You know quite a lot, huh?"
"Of course, I also know that my second aunt is so anxious she's about to poop."
Lin Xiuqing scolded her, "Who is such a child who has no manners?"
Ye Xiaoxi pursed her lips tightly, "Then let me put it another way. My second aunt is so anxious that she's getting sore throats. I saw that she even has blisters on her lips. I asked Brother Jiang, and he said it's because she ate too much during the New Year."
"You're so young, you don't need to worry about such things."
"I was just curious, wasn't I?"
"Use your curiosity to learn."
"I'm also wondering why my older cousin isn't married yet? Didn't she say she was dating someone?"
Hearing this, Ye Yaodong also became curious.
He looked at Lin Xiuqing and asked, "You're dating someone? When did you start dating? Is it that guy from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau that A Yuan introduced you to?"
"No, I heard she was her college classmate. Her family is from Shanghai, and she was also assigned to the Shanghai Tax Bureau. When I was hospitalized last time, she went to visit me and we happened to run into each other. Her elderly relative was also hospitalized, so we exchanged contact information and started chatting."
"Wasn't that a lucky accident?"
"Yes, it was introduced by A Yuan, the guy I met. It wasn't a good match. His family is well-off, and he wants someone local, not someone from out of town. It just so happens that she and her classmate have been keeping in touch by letter and occasionally by phone since they met. During the New Year, she said they had confirmed their relationship and that she would take him to Zhoushan after the New Year so that everyone could meet."
"It's like a predestined marriage that brought us together. This classmate relationship has developed quite well. We know each other well, having been classmates for at least several years."
"Yes, that's what I mean."
"Then why didn't you talk about housing when you were studying, but only now, several years later, have you started talking about it?"
"How would I know? It wasn't me who made the deal. Should I call her over and ask her? I only overheard it when I went home to deliver New Year's gifts before the holiday."
Ye Xiaoxi had been listening intently to the gossip, and upon hearing this development, she immediately stood up and raised her hand to call out to Lin Dongxue, who was sitting at the next table.
"Big cousin, come quick! My parents have something to ask you."
Lin Xiuqing slapped her thigh, "Mind your own business."
"Didn't you say you wanted to ask her? I called her for you."
"I think you're just curious."
"hey-hey……"
Lin Dongxue, puzzled, came over to greet them and patted Ye Xiaoxi's head, "Auntie, Uncle, what's wrong?"
"Your uncle is curious about how you found a girlfriend. He wanted to ask you a few questions so that you wouldn't run away and leave him without anyone to do his accounting."
She chuckled and said, "Then my uncle really needs to find someone to be ready to replace me at any time. If I really get married, I might just run away at any moment."
Ye Yaodong asked curiously, "Then after the New Year, I'll bring one of my nieces up with me, and I'll take care of her for a few months. I heard her boyfriend is your college classmate? That's quite a coincidence, meeting again after so many years since graduation, and even becoming a couple?"
"Yes, I also find it quite amazing. In college, everyone just focused on studying. Some classmates were dating, but he was very honest and only knew how to study. I actually had a boyfriend back then, but after graduation, we went our separate ways."
Lin Dongxue laughed as she spoke, feeling that it was quite a coincidence. They didn't date in college, but several years after graduation, they suddenly reconnected and started dating.
"Then why hasn't he looked for someone all these years?"
"He said he had been on many dates, but none of them were suitable. He was almost engaged to one woman, but her parents had some demands, so they couldn't reach an agreement and they broke up. Then, after many twists and turns, he met me."
"That's fair, one for you and one for him."
Lin Xiuqing glared at him reproachfully, "What are you saying?"
"Isn't that the truth? Bring Zhou Shi over to meet us then, and we'll support you. We can't let them look down on us."
“He called before the New Year and said that he had already spoken to his parents and that he would let me visit him at his home after the New Year.”
"Does his family look down on you because you're from out of town?"
“His family says as long as he likes it, it doesn’t matter if he’s from out of town. After all, he’s getting on in years and can’t afford to waste time. As long as we stay in Shanghai together, that’s fine.”
"Let's wait and see when we meet. Who knows if it's just talk?"
Lin Xiuqing slapped him again, "What are you saying?"
“I’m just worried she’ll get taken advantage of. You have to see for yourself what the parents are like. You should drive her there! Don’t let her go alone.”
"Haha, that's a good suggestion, Uncle."
Lin Xiuqing nodded with a smile, "That's a good idea. We can't let people look down on us. So what if we're from out of town? There are plenty of people from out of town who are better off than locals."
"Okay, then I'll be counting on my aunt to back me up."
“No problem. After you’ve met his parents, bring him to Zhou City to meet us. Your parents live far away, so it’s not good for them to run around before things are finalized. We’ll help you make an assessment first.”
Lin Dongxue covered her mouth and chuckled, "He met my parents when we were in Shanghai, at the hospital, just to say hello. So we can meet them formally once things are settled."
"It's good that we've already met beforehand."
Ye Yaodong said, "If you really want to settle down, you'll have to work after you go to Shanghai. You can't not work and you have to be financially independent, otherwise staying at home will make your partner's parents look down on you."
"Of course I have to go to work. I've thought about it. I'll either go work for my aunt, or it'll be easy for me to find a company. Shanghai is a big city."
“I’ll arrange something for you then, I guarantee you a decent job. When you get married, your uncle will give you a car as a dowry to make a good impression. It won’t be for nothing that you’ve worked for me for so many years.”
Lin Dongxue's face lit up with surprise, "A car as part of the dowry?!"
"That's right. You turned down the job I assigned you and worked for me for so many years. I can't let you suffer a loss."
"Haha, actually the unit I was assigned to wasn't very good. It's quite remote and far from home, so I didn't really want to go."
"Then you've really given up. You've worked for me for several years. If you go to Shanghai and don't work for me anymore, I'll use my connections to find you a good job."
"Then I'll thank you, Uncle. Haha, you're a big boss, rich and powerful, so I won't stand on ceremony with you."
(End of this chapter)