"Lu Haici... Lu Haici... go to pay New Year's greetings." Early in the morning, when the Lu family was still eating, Ji Yang came running over excitedly. It can be said that the happiest day of the year for the children in the family compound is the first day of the first lunar month, because on this day they can pay New Year's greetings to each household, which is the happiest and most lively day. At the same time, it is also the day when they have the most snacks.
"Wait for me..." Lu Haici ate all the dumplings made by his grandmother and asked Lin Qingqing, "Mom, can I bring my sister to pay New Year's greetings? This way we can get two portions of lucky money and two portions of snacks." Although he is young, he is very smart.
In previous years, when they visited families with brothers and sisters during the New Year, they would bring double the gifts. Even if someone came to their house, they would also bring double the gifts.
Before Lin Qingqing could answer, Lu Cheng said, "It's too cold outside. Your sister can't do it."
"Oh..." Lu Haici felt a little regretful.
"It's okay, put your sister in the stroller and push her carefully." Lin Qingqing didn't care. It was the first day of the first lunar month in 1968. According to the Gregorian calendar, it was January 30, 1968. Xiaobao, who was born on September 25, 1967, is now 4 months old. Occasionally, Lin Qingqing and her mother would take her out to let her see the outside. And Lu Haici was in high spirits today, so Lin Qingqing didn't think it was a problem.
However, Xiaobao still needs to be kept warm. Xiaobao is the nickname Lu Haici gave to his sister, because he is the baby of his parents, the eldest child, so his sister is called Xiaobao. There is no such thing as a straight man's name.
However, Xiaobao's full name is Lu Hanyan, which is the name Lu Cheng married. As a mother who has no right to name her, Lin Qingqing doesn't care at all. For her, the most important thing is that her daughter can be loved by everyone.
"Oh." Lu Haici was very happy to hear his mother agree.
Seeing this, Lu Cheng stopped talking. Anyway, he had no status at home.
So, Lin Qingqing first put a big blanket on the baby carriage. The baby carriage was very big. It was a design drawn by Lin Qingqing and made by a carpenter. If the blanket was used as the bottom, the baby could be wrapped. Moreover, it could also be used as a bed. As long as the bottom wooden board was buckled, it could be used as a bed for the baby.
Then, Lin gently carried Xiaobao to the stroller and hugged her tightly, leaving only her little face exposed. Because of the warmth, her little face was red, like a red apple.
Xiaobao was still wearing his hat, feeling warm, and his pair of black eyes were moving around as if he was curious about something. He also seemed to know that he was going out, and his little mouth was open with joy.
The baby carriage has a windproof board and a hook next to it. The hook is used to hang bags. When Lin's mother pushes her out, she puts bottles, handkerchiefs, etc. in the bag. Now, Lu Haici hangs a cloth bag on it, which is used to hold the New Year's gift from her sister.
"Mom, I'm leaving." It was not the first time for Lu Haici to push a cart, and he was very skilled.
"Thank you, auntie. Happy New Year." Ji Yang took the red envelope from Lin Qingqing and happily put it into his trouser pocket.
"Be careful." Lin Qingqing said.
"I know." Lu Haici and Ji Yang responded loudly.
Lin smiled and shook her head, and she followed him out. Sure enough, Lu Haici pushed the cart to the Ji family next door, and heard him say loudly: "Uncle Ji, Aunt Ji, my sister and I are here to pay New Year's greetings, wishing you all a happy New Year." He also brought his sister with him.
There were steps on the eaves of the Ji family's house, and Lu Haici's cart could not go up, so he stood in the yard.
Seeing this, Xu Huijuan came out and saw Lu Haici pushing a baby carriage. She hurried back into the house. She had only prepared one red envelope for Lu Haici, but now Xiaobao was here, so of course she had to prepare two. Fortunately, there was red paper at home, so she could wrap it quickly.
When Xu Huijuan went out again, she brought two red envelopes and some food on a plate. "Haici, I wish you and Xiaobao a happy new year." She handed the two red envelopes to Lu Haici, "Take the New Year's money, one is for you and one is for your sister, don't throw it away. There are also some food here, do you have a bag?"
Lu Haici took the red envelope: "Thank you, auntie, there's a bag." He opened the cloth bag hanging on the stroller, and after Xu Huijuan poured the toffee, peanuts and sweet potato chips on the plate into it, he hung it up again.
Then, Lu Haici pushed the cart and went to the next house with Ji Yang.
Lin Qingqing looked at this scene and found it interesting. She told Lu Cheng and Lin's mother, "I'll go take a look too." She didn't walk too close, but followed from a distance. She felt a little sorry that there were no mobile phones in this era, otherwise she could take pictures at will. If she took pictures of all these, it would be enough for the children to remember in the future. Thinking of this, Lin Qingqing planned to go to the department store after the New Year to see if there were any cameras for sale. If there were, she would buy one to take pictures.
Lu Haici is a very considerate person. On the way to visit every household to wish everyone a happy new year, he did not forget to ask his sister if she was cold. He would even gently touch her little face, for fear that she was frozen.
Ji Yang said: "Sister is wearing so many clothes, she will definitely not be cold."
Lu Haici said: "My sister is still young, and children can easily catch a cold."
Ji Yang: "Okay."
On the way to pay New Year's greetings, the two of them met other children, and the group going to pay New Year's greetings became larger and larger.
Lin Qingqing followed for a while and then stopped and went back home. To be honest, she felt cold.
About two hours later, Lu Haici came back pushing a cart: "Mom, grandma, dad, I'm back."
Mother Lin went out hurriedly: "Are you cold? Come in and drink some hot brown sugar tea." As she said that, she picked up the baby in the stroller and hurried back into the house.
Lu Haici followed behind and took the cloth bag off the baby carriage. When Lu Haici entered the house, Lin Qingqing brought him a bowl of brown sugar water. The brown sugar water at home was kept warm in a clay pot. When children came to pay New Year's greetings, Lin Qingqing would always serve them a bowl. It was not because she was generous, but in this weather, the children were running around to pay New Year's greetings. Although they were happy, they might also get cold, so she was on guard.
Lu Haici gulped down the brown sugar water, then excitedly poured out the contents of the cloth bag and said, "Look, Mom, these are the snacks my sister and I brought as New Year's greetings." Then he opened his schoolbag and said, "Mom, and this is the New Year's money my sister and I got." Some families wrap the New Year's money in red paper, while others give it directly without wrapping.
Because of Lin Qingqing, Lu Haici would give New Year's money to every family he visited. However, people gave New Year's money just for fun these days, so they usually gave one or two cents. If the children were happy, it wouldn't affect their family. Of course, there were also some who gave generously, such as Xu Huijuan, Zhang Hongping and Yu Xiuyao, who gave fifty cents.
In fact, it's all the same. Because their families are close, Lin Qingqing gave more New Year's money to Ji Yang and Qin Ming.
It was the first time that Lin's mother saw her child take out New Year's money. She was a little surprised and said, "It's a lot."
Lin Qingqing was shocked: "That's right." There are more than 100 families in the family compound. Even if each family gives Lu Haici one cent, it adds up to one yuan. Of course, some families give more than one cent. So Lu Haici can get about three yuan in New Year's money every year.
"Mom, all this New Year's money is for my sister." Lu Haici said generously. Then he ran into his room and took out a red envelope he had prepared yesterday, "Mom, this is the New Year's money for my sister." A very stylish brother.
Lin Qingqing smiled and accepted the New Year's money that Lu Haici gave to Xiaobao, but she said: "Mom will accept the New Year's money you give to your sister, but I can't accept the New Year's money given to you by others. You should divide the New Year's money given by others into two parts, one for you to put in your piggy bank, and the other for your sister's piggy bank."
When Lu Haici heard this, he did not object: "Does my sister have a piggy bank?"
Lin Qingqing went into the house and took out one: "I just made it a few days ago." It was exactly the same as Lu Haici's piggy bank. She thought her daughter would receive more or less New Year's money this year, so she made one for her in advance.
"Wow, that's great." Lu Haici happily put the other half of the New Year's money into his sister's piggy bank, "Mom, put the New Year's money I gave to my sister in the piggy bank too."
The little guy was also worried that the New Year's money he gave would be taken away by his mother.
Lin Qingqing really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She opened the red envelope given by Lu Haici and saw a brand new one-dollar bill inside. She thought that this might be what Lu Haici had exchanged somewhere. Then she stuffed it into Xiaobao's piggy bank.
Lu Haici looked at his piggy bank, then at his sister's piggy bank. He picked it up and weighed it. His piggy bank was heavier than his sister's, and there was too little money in his sister's piggy bank. But it didn't matter. He would take his sister to visit relatives every year, and the money would increase.
"Hai Ci, this is the New Year's money your grandma gave you." Seeing that her child had finished her own things, Lin's mother took out two red envelopes from her trouser pocket. The red envelopes she made looked better than those outside because she tied them tightly with a red rope, and then put the red rope around Lu Hai Ci's neck. The remaining one was naturally put around Xiao Bao's neck.
Lu Haici's eyes lit up: "Thank you, grandma." He and his sister both brought New Year's money given by their grandma, and it was obvious that they were brother and sister.
Lin Qingqing felt that her mother had many tricks up her sleeve, and she hadn't considered this. But she remembered that when she was a child, whether it was her childhood or the original owner's childhood, their grandmothers also prepared New Year's money for the New Year in this way. Like the original owner, she liked to bring such New Year's money to pay New Year's greetings, as if... this was a way for children to show off.
Unlike me, in their hometown, many children wore lucky money like this during the Spring Festival. But in Gaoshan'ao Production Brigade, only the original owner wore it like this, so many people envied her since she was a child.
Compared with Lin's mother, Lin Qingqing was a little embarrassed to take out her red envelope. There was no red string, only red paper wrapped, which looked a little shabby. She handed her daughter to Lu Cheng, and then took out her own red envelope: "Lu Haici, Happy New Year, this is the New Year's money from your mother, I hope you can grow up healthy and happy this year."
"Thank you, Mom." Lu Haici ran back into his room, took out a red envelope and gave it to Lin Qingqing, "Happy New Year, Mom. This is the red envelope I give you."
Lin Qingqing: “…” It was the first time she received a red envelope after traveling through time, and she was so moved that she wanted to cry.
Seeing this, Lu Cheng couldn't help but narrow his eyes. As a straight man, he never prepared New Year's money for the New Year. Now, he regretted it a little. But... He handed over all the money and had no money to prepare for the New Year's money.
"Oh, our Lu Haici has prepared New Year's money for his mother?" Lin's mother joked.
"It's not New Year's money, it's not New Year's money." Lu Haici explained with a red face, "Mom, take a look. Do you like it?"
Lin Qingqing knew it was not New Year's money, she could feel it. But seeing Lu Haici's blushing face, she became even more curious. So, under the gaze of the whole family, Lin Qingqing opened the red paper, and inside was a red head flower.
"Mom, do you like it?" Lu Haici asked again nervously.
Lin Qingqing immediately bent down, held Lu Haici's face, and kissed him deeply: "I like it very much, thank you, son." She immediately put on the hair flower.
Seeing this, Lu Cheng's eyes deepened. He stared at his son. This little bastard has always been able to please others since he was young. Looking at his wife's happy face, Lu Cheng, who was penniless, decided that he would deduct a little from the next bonus and buy a gift for his wife.
Lunch was prepared by Lin's mother and Lin Qingqing. Lu Cheng held the baby while Lu Haici played with his younger sister.
While cooking, Lin's mother gently asked her daughter: "Xiaobao is four months old. It's not good for you and your son-in-law to sleep in separate rooms. Why don't you switch your son-in-law and let me sleep with Xiaobao and Haici."
Lin hesitated for a moment: "This is not good, Haici is already ten years old, although you are her grandmother, but..."
"What's the big deal? We can just separate the room with a piece of cloth. Xiaobao and I can sleep inside, and Haici can sleep outside. Besides, I'm his grandmother, what can I do?" Mother Lin thought. When she gave birth to the child, the child's father died after one month. Since she came, the son-in-law has been sleeping in a separate bed from her daughter for a year. If it continues like this, it will probably be bad.
Lin Qingqing didn't know her mother was thinking this way, but when it came to sleeping with Lu Cheng, of course she wanted to. After all... two people in love, who wouldn't want to sleep together after living in separate rooms for a year? "We still have to ask Hai Ci's opinion on this matter. This is his room, so we need his consent." Lin Qingqing said democratically.
Mother Lin said: "He must be happy."
In fact, Lu Haici was very happy after hearing his mother's question. Sleeping in the same room with his sister was definitely better than sleeping in the same room with his father.
So at noon, Lin Qingqing took out all the worn-out clothes in the house, took them apart, and used a sewing machine to make a partition curtain.
Lu Cheng felt that happiness came just in time. He was just about to mention this matter these days, but his mother-in-law and wife brought it up. Thinking that he could sleep with his wife at night, his heart beat faster, and he even wondered how he would sleep at night.
There is no need to tell you how she sleeps at night. When Lin's mother gets up to go to the bathroom at night, she can still hear the noise from the opposite side.
After the New Year, students will go back to school. Since the firewood sales started, the children in the family compound would go to collect firewood whenever they had time, even on the way home from school, not to mention on weekends.
From the winter vacation to the summer vacation, their wallets became fatter. When the weather was hot, they could use the money they earned from selling firewood to buy popsicles at the supply and marketing cooperative.
However, this summer vacation, the Lu family is more lively than usual because Lin Luming is coming.
It had been too long since they last saw Lin's mother. Lin's father and Lin Luming finally couldn't bear it anymore. Just looking at the photos sent by their daughter was not enough to ease their longing.
At the entrance of the county train station, a military vehicle was parked there. Mother Lin held Xiaobao in her arms and sat in the vehicle, looking outside. She said to Xiaobao, "My dear, your grandpa and uncle are coming. Are you happy?"
“Ah…ah…” Nine-month-old Lu Xiaobao couldn’t speak yet. When she heard her grandmother’s words, she could only babble in agreement.
At the train station, Lu Cheng took Lu Haici to see Lin's father and Lin Luming getting off the train. Lu Haici shouted, "Grandpa... Uncle..."
Lu Haici was so happy that his voice was quite loud. Hearing his voice, Lin's father and Lin Luming looked over here.
"Dad, Lu Ming." Lu Cheng stepped forward and took a large bag of things from Lin's father's shoulder.
Father Lin did not refuse. These things were really heavy. His mother treated him as a laborer and did not care at all that her son would get crushed carrying all these things along the way.
"Brother-in-law, Haici." Lin Luming was also happy to see Lu Haici.
Lu Cheng nodded: "The car is outside, and mother is outside too, let's go to the car and talk first."
When they got to the car, Lu Cheng put his stuff in the back, then opened the passenger door and let Lin's father sit in. It was the first time for Lin's father to ride in this kind of car. He looked around curiously as soon as he got in the car, not at all reserved. The Lin family was once a wealthy family, and Lin's father had lived a wealthy life when he was a child, so he was not reserved. Lin Luming was a little reserved, but when he saw his mother in the car, he forgot about being reserved. Looking at the child in Lin's mother's arms, he asked curiously, "Mom, is this my niece?"
Mother Lin asked, "She is your niece, why is she as dark as a monkey?"
When Lu Haici heard this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Lin Luming also laughed and said, "Mom, you look better now than before, like an old lady from a county town."
When Father Lin heard what his son said, he looked back and pursed his lips. Not to mention, his son was as dark as a young monkey, and he was as dark as an old monkey. Compared with his wife, he simply couldn't bear to look at himself.
Mother Lin didn't know how worried Father Lin was. She said, "Your sister made all the clothes for me and used lotion on me. How could I not look good? Women, no matter how old they are, have to dress up. Your sister said, if a woman doesn't dress up, what kind of woman is she?" In the past, she would not have said such a thing. She would rather save the money for her child than spend it. But after living with her daughter for more than a year, even her hard-hearted heart was led astray.
But in addition to knowing how to dress up, Lin's mother also experienced the fun of it. Looking at her increasingly younger face, she felt that what her daughter said was right.
Lin Luming said: "Sister, what you said is right." Sister is so capable, how could she be wrong
Father Lin felt aggrieved because his daughter dressed his wife to look younger and didn't even bother to dress up her father.
Lin Qingqing didn't go to pick up anyone today, she wanted to cook at home. Since her father and brother were coming, of course she had to cook a good meal. She first cooked fish and tofu soup, then made shredded chicken, followed by scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cold-mixed eggplant, and stir-fried winter melon. There were five dishes in total, not many dishes, but the portions were enough. Especially the shredded chicken, because they put a whole chicken in it. The shredded chicken also had cucumber shreds and peanuts, and the bowl was too small, so she used the vegetable bowl she usually used to put vegetables in, which she specially asked a carpenter to make.
After she had done everything, she was about to wait at the gate of the family compound when she heard Lu Haici's voice: "Mom, we're back."