weddingnovel Chapter 125 New Year's Eve
Chapter 125 New Year's Eve
Chapter 126 New Year's Eve
The birds in my hometown are early risers; they start chirping as soon as it's dawn. They hop and chatter among the trees, and their activity signals that winter is almost over and spring is just around the corner.
Song Che heard a noise in the courtyard.
It was Song Jianguo getting up to sweep the yard, the sound of the broom scraping against the earthen bricks—I hadn't heard that for a while.
He heard noises coming from the kitchen. It was Zhang Shushu getting up to start a fire; the firewood was crackling.
A new day begins.
But he wasn't asleep yet.
next door.
Xia Li heard it too.
Birds chirping, the sound of sweeping the yard, the sound of starting a fire.
She opened her eyes and watched the light on the window change from black to white, and from white to bright.
She hadn't slept all night, but she wasn't sleepy.
She's acting strangely.
Ever since the last time she swapped bodies and experienced Song Che's emotions, her views on many things have started to become strange.
Take touching legs, for example.
Xia Li previously thought, what's so great about touching legs? What's so great about touching hands? What's wrong with kissing someone?
She now realizes that the problem is huge.
Whenever Song Che touched her, she felt flustered, her skin itched, and her fingers wanted to clench—but clenching them didn't help; it was just very strange.
Xia Li threw off the blanket and sat up.
She was wearing the pajamas Zhang Shushu had bought for her; the top was fitted, while the bottom was thinner because the bottom was made of creases. The overall style was a casual style favored by young people.
She rubbed her face, straightened her clothes which had been messed up while sleeping, then got out of bed and walked to the window.
She stood there, looking across the street through the newspaper covering.
She couldn't see him, but she knew he was over there.
Lying down, or sitting.
Xia Li reached out and lightly tapped the newspaper with her finger.
The newspaper made a soft rustling sound, *plop*.
There was no response from the other side.
She tapped it again, and then... *pfft*.
Still nothing.
When she tapped the button for the third time, she suddenly heard a sound from the other side as well.
puff.
Xia Li paused for a moment, staring at the window, and then she heard a voice.
"Xia Li."
Just those two words made Xia Li's ears turn red again.
She paused for a moment, then spoke.
"Um.
""
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Then the voice rang out again.
"Can't sleep?"
"Um.
""
"Me too."
Xia Li pursed her lips.
Why?
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
I'm thinking of you.
Xia Li's ears burned. "Don't say that."
"Okay." Song Che got up. Saying this was wrong, but not saying it was also wrong.
Women are such difficult creatures to please.
As dawn broke, Zhang Shushu's voice came from the courtyard.
"Are you all up yet? Time to eat!"
Xia Li blinked.
She heard a movement on the other side as well.
Then the voice rang out again.
"Let's go eat."
Xia Li nodded.
I only realized he couldn't see me after I finished ordering.
"Okay," she said.
The courtyard was bathed in sunlight. Although the old tree had no leaves, its branches cast shadows on the ground, which swayed in the wind, shimmering like water.
Song Che also came out of the house.
He stood in the doorway, looking at her.
Xia Li looked alright; she didn't have dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes were wide open, unlike Song Che, whose eyes were a little closed.
That's what staying up late is like.
I don't sleep at night, but I sleep all day.
I can't sleep at night, and I'm so sleepy during the day.
Song Che walked over, stood in front of her, and stopped.
The two stood in the courtyard, two steps apart, looking at each other.
Song Che reached out, but Xia Li interrupted him.
"You can't touch me now."
"I didn't mean to touch you." Song Che smoothed Xia Li's silver hair, then turned and walked towards the kitchen. "Your hair is messy."
He took two steps and looked back at her.
"What are you standing there for? Eat."
Her lips twitched, and she followed.
In the kitchen, Zhang Shushu was setting the table. Tao Xiang sat by the stove, slumped over sleepily; she was simply too lazy to get up and wanted to sleep. Song Jianguo was rolling out the last dumpling wrapper, his hands covered in dough.
Zhang Shushu looked up when she saw them come in.
"Didn't sleep all night?" She looked at Song Che's eyes, then at Xia Li's. "Xia Li too? You two—"
You two haven't been sharing a room anymore, have you?
As Zhang Shushu spoke, she became uncertain. The child was not young anymore and naturally understood matters between men and women. It was obvious that he had budding desires—could it be?
impossible.
Zhang Shushu continued with her work.
Song Che didn't say anything.
Xia Li didn't say anything either.
Zhang Shushu didn't ask any further questions, but simply pushed two bowls of dumpling soup in front of them.
"I drank it, it's warm."
Song Che sat down and picked up his bowl.
Xia Li also sat down and picked up her bowl.
They move in sync, like robots.
The dumpling soup was piping hot, steaming.
They held the bowls and looked at their reflections in them.
Xia Li took a sip of soup and said, "Song Che, was I wrong yesterday?"
Song Che didn't drink the soup; instead, he hugged his hands to warm them. "If I'm wrong, will you believe me?"
"I believe it." Xia Li paused, "But I also feel that it's right."
You big dummy.
Song Che lowered his head and drank his soup. "You need to understand that you have to be responsible for your words. Think about what you said, and then think about whether you've been responsible for it?"
"I—I didn't." Xia Li lowered her head. "Then it's my fault."
"It's not your fault. This is something that should be done step by step. Things will fall into place naturally once you get to know each other. This just means you're not familiar enough yet."
"Then I want to become more familiar with it."
"You—" Song Che looked Xia Li up and down. He didn't know if he was familiar with her or not, but her figure was definitely familiar. "It's good that you have this idea, but we both have to take the initiative."
Song Che's foot touched Xia Li's foot under the table.
Xia Li's feet didn't move.
But she pursed her lips and lowered her head to drink her soup.
After a while, she also kicked Song Che.
Zhang Shushu was so engrossed in the conversation that she forgot to check the pot, where the water was bubbling away.
She hurriedly went to lift the pot lid.
These two young lovers must have done something shameful last night.
But it sounds like—Xia Li is being irresponsible?
However, the fact that the two of them brought it up during a meal suggests that it wasn't a big deal.
Zhang Shushu stopped gossiping and focused on preparing the food in the pot.
The soup was boiling, and wisps of smoke rose up from the chimney.
The food in the pot sloshed around in the soup, and it sloshed around from morning till night.
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and there are many things to do.
Zhang Shushu swept the yard three times.
The first time was in the morning, when I swept up the fallen leaves and dust from last night and piled them in the corner. The second time was at noon, when I shook the quilts that I had taken down from the clothesline and spread them back on the bed. The third time was in the afternoon, when I took a rag and wiped the windowsill, stove, and cabinets again and again until the wood shone.
Song Jianguo squatted in the yard repairing the red lantern. One of the lanterns was from last year, and the paper was a bit torn. He found a piece of red paper, cut it to size, and glued it on. After gluing it, he held it up to the light to check for any light leaks.
"Alright," he muttered to himself, hanging the lantern on the iron hook at the courtyard gate.
The lantern swayed twice, then jingled steadily.
Tao Xiang squatted to one side, watching intently without blinking. She had never seen such a bright red thing before; it was round and plump, with a tuft of yellow tassels hanging down at the bottom. When the wind blew, the tassels swayed, like dancing.
"Uncle," she asked Song Jianguo, "what's this called?"
"Lanterns." Song Jianguo patted the dust off his hands. "They'll be bright when lit at night."
Tao Xiang nodded and remembered it in her heart.
In the kitchen, Zhang Shushu was frying meatballs.
She mixed shredded radish with flour, added salt and five-spice powder, shaped it into small balls, and tossed them into the oil. With a sizzle, the oil bubbled up, releasing a fragrant aroma. She skillfully flipped them with a strainer, scooping them out when they were golden brown and placing them in a large bowl beside her.
Xia Li stood by and watched. She had taken a nap at noon and was now wide awake again.
She watched intently, her eyes following Zhang Shushu's hands, observing how she rubbed, tossed, flipped, and scooped the food.
"Want to learn?" Zhang Shushu asked.
Xia Li nodded; she genuinely wanted to learn how to cook.
Zhang Shushu wiped her hands and pinched off a lump of dough for her.
"Just roll it into a ball, don't make it too big, otherwise it won't cook through."
Xia Li lowered her head and rubbed it.
She rolled it very slowly. The first one she rolled was a size bigger than Zhang Shushu's. It was round, but a little flat.
Even a flattened circle is still a circle.
Zhang Shushu glanced at it.
"Okay, leave it there."
Xia Li put the dumpling into the plate and continued rolling the second one.
The second one was a little smaller and rounder.
The third one is smaller and rounder.
By the time I rolled the fifth one, I had rolled almost as many as Zhang Shushu.
Zhang Shushu glanced at her.
This girl learns everything very quickly.
She learned too fast, which gave me a feeling that was hard to describe. Like a blade of grass under a rock, she was quiet and unassuming, but you knew she was growing with all her might.
"Alright, that's enough." Zhang Shushu took the meatballs she had made. "Go ahead and cook them. You can eat them yourself."
Xia Li nodded.
She watched as the meatballs slid into the oil one by one, rolling and turning from white to yellow, then to gold, their aroma filling the air—a smell she had never encountered before.
—A unique fragrance, a rich, wheaty aroma.
"These are called radish balls," Zhang Shushu said. "They're all fried for the New Year, along with lotus root sandwiches and crispy pork."
Xia Li thought for a moment.
Why?
"Why?" Zhang Shushu was taken aback. "It's just—it's a habit. If we fry it and leave it there, people can have it as a snack, or it can be served as a main dish."
Xia Li nodded.
Zhang Shushu scooped the meatballs out, drained the oil while counting them, and muttered to herself after counting.
"Putting up couplets, putting up the character '福' (fortune), making dumplings, watching the Spring Festival Gala, staying up late on New Year's Eve, setting off firecrackers." She paused, "Oh right, and lucky money."
Xia Li stopped kneading the dough.
New Year's money.
She knew the word. Song Che had told her about it.
But she never took it.
"I'll make one for you this year," Zhang Shushu said.
Xia Li was stunned for a moment.
"Give me?"
"Hmm," Zhang Shushu said, "It's the first year here, so we have to give something. The amount given last time is different from this time."
Xia Li opened her mouth, then lowered her head to look at the golden meatballs in the bowl.
Radish balls.
On New Year's Eve, as soon as it got dark, Song Jianguo lit the lanterns.
A bright red light shone through the courtyard gate, illuminating the mud-brick ground, the branches of the old tree, and the "福" (good fortune) character pasted on the courtyard wall. The "福" character was pasted upside down by Song Che, who said it meant "good fortune has arrived."
Xia Li stood in the courtyard for a long time, finding these things really interesting. She realized that pasting the "Fu" character upside down meant good fortune had arrived; she had initially thought it should be pasted right-side up.
She looked at the red lantern, the upside-down "福" (good fortune) character, and the paper-cut window decoration on the kitchen window. The decoration, made by Zhang Shushu, depicted a chubby rabbit holding a large "福" character.
"Is it pretty?" Song Che walked over.
Xia Li nodded.
"nice."
"How does it compare to your magic lamp?"
Xia Li thought for a moment.
The lamps in the magic castle were floating crystal balls that emitted light, illuminating the entire hall. The light was bright, but cold, and felt like moonlight on one's face.
The lantern's light is red and warm, shining like fire on your face.
"It's different," she said.
Song Che nodded.
"Come in, it's time to eat."
The main room was filled with eight-immortal tables.
Radish balls, crispy fried pork, stewed chicken, braised fish, and a large plate of dumplings. The dumplings were made in the afternoon; Zhang Shushu rolled out the dough, Song Jianguo filled them, and Xia Li tried to make a few herself. The dumplings she made couldn't stand up; they all lay flat. Zhang Shushu said it was okay, the ones lying flat were called Yuanbao (meaning "gold ingots").
Overjoyed, Xia Li wrapped up dozens more gold ingots.
Of course, Song Che ate all the gold ingots she wrapped.
Tao Xiang was already sitting at the table, her eyes fixed on the plate of crispy pork, her mouth practically watering. Seeing them come in, she quickly sat up straight, pretending nothing had happened.
Zhang Shushu brought in the last bowl of soup and placed it in the center of the table.
"Please sit down, please sit down."
The family of five sat together. Song Jianguo sat facing south, Zhang Shushu sat next to him, Song Che and Xia Li sat on one side, and Tao Xiang sat next to Xia Li.
Song Jianguo looked at the dishes on the table, and then at everyone.
"Eat."
Just two words.
But she had been waiting for those two words, "Peach Fragrance," for a long time. She reached for the crispy pork with her chopsticks.
Xia Li didn't touch her chopsticks. She looked at the dishes on the table, at the room, and at the people around her. She seemed to sense a word, but she couldn't say what it was—she only knew that its antonym was loneliness.
The lights shone down from above, illuminating everyone's faces clearly. Zhang Shushu was serving food to Song Che, Song Jianguo was pouring wine, Tao Xiang's mouth was greasy from eating, and Song Che was watching her.
When he looked at her, his eyes shone.
"What are you staring at?" Song Che picked up a piece of fish and put it in her bowl. "Eat."
Xia Li looked down at the fish.
The fish meat was white and tender, coated with a dark brown broth, and steaming hot.
She picked it up and put it in her mouth.
good to eat.
After finishing their meal, Zhang Shushu began clearing the dishes. Song Jianguo helped her carry the bowls, and the two went into the kitchen one after the other.
The couple were quite the nemesis.
"Don't stack the bowls so high, what if they break?"
"It's alright, I can hold it steady."
"You always say that, and you always almost fall."
Song Che leaned against the door frame, looking at his parents in the kitchen.
Xia Li stood beside him, watching as well.
"Are they arguing?" she asked.
"No," Song Che said, "I was talking."
Xia Li watched for a while.
She noticed that although Zhang Shushu was talking, her hands were still moving. Even though Song Jianguo was being criticized, the corners of his mouth curved slightly.
This was different from anything she had seen before.
Back in the castle, the servants always spoke with their heads bowed, respectfully. The witch, on the other hand, spoke with her chin raised, coldly. No one ever spoke while laughing, simultaneously showing disdain and affection like this.
"That's called talking," Song Che said. "It's family talking."
Xia Li nodded.
Family members.
She had heard this word many times, but it seemed like she was only truly understanding it today.
At eight o'clock, the TV was turned on.
The Spring Festival Gala had just started, and a group of people were singing and dancing on the screen, creating a lively atmosphere. Tao Xiang sat in the front row, her eyes glued to the TV, forgetting even to eat her snacks.
Song Jianguo sat on the other side, holding a teacup and taking sips every now and then. He didn't watch TV much; he just sat there and listened to the commotion.
Song Che and Xia Li sat on small stools, leaning against the wall.
"Staying up all night on New Year's Eve," Song Che said. "It means staying up until midnight."