Volume 1 Chapter 83 New Year

  "Then I can wear that fox sleeve?" Jian Wen's eyes sparkled brightly.

  Zhen Shining's smile didn't diminish on her face, "That has to wait until New Year's Day."

  Just as they were about to go out and have some fun, Jian Wu's face fell as soon as he heard this, his eyes landed on the dough that had just been put away, and he became excited again, "...... I'll help mother wrap dumplings!"

  "I'll help too..." Jianwen had already rushed over.

  Zhen Shiniang stopped her with one hand, "First go change your clothes and wash your hands before coming over." The two had only put on a clean set of clothes that morning, but by mid-morning they were already stained red and green all over, looking like little devils.

  "Take them away..." Qiu Ju put down her work and led Jian Wu and Jian Wen out.

  "Miss..." The kitchen maid Xu Fenglan couldn't help but speak up, "Young master is a man after all." How can a man enter the kitchen.

  "Would they really wrap dumplings?" Zhen Shi'niang smiled and shook her head, "They're just playing around, don't mind them, let them tire themselves out, they'll leave once they've had enough." Children all like to play with dough, she remembered when she was young and her family wrapped dumplings, she would pester her mother to make dough people.

  Xu Fenglan let out a quiet sigh.

  This new master really spoils his son rotten.

  Li Changhai was led by several guards to a separate table in the back hall, while Zhen Shi Niang led Jian Wu, Jian Wen, Qiu Ju and her family to the front hall to enjoy their New Year's Eve dinner happily.

  The table had just been cleared away when magpies and Li Changhe came to pay their New Year's greetings.

  "Let you come tomorrow, the fifth watch will be here at midnight." Zhen Shi'niang saw it and blamed her, "You are pregnant, be careful not to bump into anything unclean." She didn't believe in superstitions, but this was enough to make Jixi alert.

  In ancient times, there were no streetlights. They just used a small lantern that would be extinguished by a gust of wind. In this icy and snowy weather, it was always dark and chaotic, and something bad was bound to happen sooner or later.

  "...... Isn't the slave thinking of your wrapped dumplings?" Zhen Shi Niang's culinary skills were exceptional, and her seasoning techniques were unparalleled. The joy sparrow had long been tamed.

  Chrysanthemum smiled mischievously, "Aunt Ji Kuai is a bit late...". The front yard still had many dumplings left, but they were all taken away by the backyard, saying that it was not enough to eat.

  Zhen Shiniang's face was a bit embarrassed. "...It's not that I'm reluctant, who knows they have such big appetites." The New Year's Eve dinner had to be prepared in large quantities, symbolizing abundance every year, but there were only eleven people, so she specially asked Xu Fengshan to prepare for fifteen or sixteen people. It wouldn't spoil even if it was left out on a cold winter night. But unexpectedly, it wasn't enough, "It's as if I'm being too stingy as the host." Fortunately, Shen Zhongshuo had sent over various pastries and dried fruits, and she had Winter Chrysanthemum send over a batch.

  The magpie's mouth is wide open and can't be closed.

  "Miss had Winter Chrysanthemum send over those dried fruits, none of them were touched..." Xu Fenglan said with a smile, "I've been a cook for so many years, but this is the first time I've encountered such a thing. It's not that we didn't make enough, it's just that Miss made it too delicious..." She chuckled and continued, "Fortunately, the dishes on the table in the back room weren't made by Miss. If they were as delicious as the ones in the front room, even the plates would have been cleaned out by now..."

  Everyone in the house burst out laughing.

  "Happy New Year, Aunt Magpie!" Just as they were chatting and laughing, Jian Wen and Jian Wu led Ji Huifeng and others into the courtyard from inside. Seeing Xi Que, Jian Wu rushed up first, "I'll let you off with a double penalty!"

  "I also released two!" Jianwen was not willing to show weakness either.

  In the past, they didn't have money to buy them, so they would go out and pick up discarded ones from other people's homes. Fortunately, this year Rong Sheng gave several strings of firecrackers, and Ji Huaifeng and Li Changhai were in charge. Zhen Shi Niang also felt at ease letting them set off the firecrackers in the courtyard.

  Jian Wu's simple and unadorned writing has really satisfied his craving.

  Look at them, full of energy and spirit. Although Xi Que is worried that the kids playing with firecrackers are in danger, she still imitates Zhen Shiniang's tone, "Wen Ge, Wu Ge is really brave." Suddenly remembering something, she turned her head back to face the wall where Nezha was sticking out his tongue and making a face, "Miss!"

  Zhen Shining smiled and said, "The children are happy, don't look for trouble on New Year's Day."

  Ji Xiwu was about to speak when Li Changhe hastily pulled her back.

  Jian Wu looked at the magpie in a daze, suddenly ran to the edge of the kang, "Mother, Ji Dage said that now is the first day of the new year, and the magpie aunt has come to pay New Year's greetings to you. I'll go give dogzi mama New Year's greetings too, and also Zhang Da Shu, Li Da Bo..." He counted on his fingers.

  Going out for New Year's visit, you can wear that fox sleeve arrow shirt. Autumn Chrysanthemum said he looks very majestic in that outfit, like a little prince.

  Zhen Shining looked at Ji Huifeng.

  Ji Huai Feng's face was somewhat unnatural, he just told Jian Wu the fact that after midnight it would be New Year's Day, and didn't encourage him to go out and play, nor did he have anything to blame himself for. It was just that suddenly, he discovered that among all the people in this house, Jian Wu called Ji Huai Feng "big brother".

  They were four, and they were a whole generation shorter than these people!

  His lips moved, Ji Huai Feng thought to let Zhen Shi Niang call the child to change his words, and then thought that this new master, although looking weak and weak, spoke and acted without any ambiguity. In front of a room full of people, once being refuted, he would lose face, and the words on his lips were hard to swallow back.

  The room suddenly fell silent.

  When he found the atmosphere was not right, Li Changhe hurriedly persuaded Jian Wu, "Xikui Auntie is not here to celebrate the New Year, we just live here, it's coming back to rest." After Rong Sheng left, Xikui and Li Changhe moved into the ancestral mansion, living in the west wing. "It's late today, it's too dark outside, tomorrow I'll accompany Brother Wu to pay respects for the New Year."

  Under the piercing gaze, Ji Huai Feng finally looked away with a guilty conscience. He walked forward and pulled Jian Wu's hand, "Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to play Go, let me see how good your skills are."

  Jian Wu Zheng was met with disagreement from his sister, but he wanted to continue grinding. Upon hearing that Ji Huai Feng wanted to see his level in Go, he became excited again, "Needless to say, brother can't even beat me!"

  "Don't be ridiculous!" Jianwen said, fed up.

  "I'm not talking nonsense." Jian Wu retorted, "You can't beat me, you lose seven out of ten times!" Although Jian Wen was cunning, when it came to playing games like Go or Dilemma, he just couldn't win against Jian Wu.

  "Victory and defeat are common in the military, you've also lost to me before!" Jian Wen's face turned red, looking like he was about to devour Jian Wu, "You're just sore because you lost!"

  "Who's playing truant......" Jian Wu brandished his fist and was about to rush over.

  Seeing the two were about to come to blows, Li Changhai hastily fetched a Go board to mediate, "Wen Ge, Wu Ge, don't quarrel, let's compare and see who's better."

  The two of them decided to have a contest.

  Previously, it was just Jian Wu and Jian Wen competing in a solo match, but later Ji Huai Feng and others couldn't help but join in one after another. What surprised Zhen Shi Niang was that although they were all adults, especially Ji Huai Feng who looked very astute, when playing Go, none of them could beat Jian Wu. Seeing him lose and looking uncomfortable, she shook her head and instructed Li Chang He, "Keep an eye on Wen Ge and Wu Ge so they don't stay up too late." Then she took Xi Que into the house to rest.

  She is in poor health and seeing Wen Ge and Wu Ge happy, she can barely hold on until now.

  On the first day of junior high school in the morning, it was said that Jianwen and Jianwu got up at 3 am. Zhen Shining originally thought they would not be able to get up, so she wanted to wait until the dumplings were cooked before calling them. Who knew that when they heard someone outside starting to set off firecrackers, the two of them got up on their own and washed up without Zhen Shining's instructions, and brought Ji Huifeng to set off a string of firecrackers.

  The magpie in the house listened and laughed straight away, "Brother Wen and Brother Wu are already big, Miss doesn't need to worry about these things."

  Wutong Town customs, thirty packages of dumplings must leave half on the first morning of the New Year to cook, and when putting the dumplings in the pot, you also need to add a handful of scallions, these are all adult things.

  "...Poor people's children grow up early." Zhen Shi Niang smiled, "Children are curious about these customs and manners, as long as they are patiently guided, there is nothing they can't remember." Her voice was soft and low, hoping that Jian Wu would still remember this happy New Year when he grew up.

  After finishing breakfast, Jianwen and Jianwu happily changed into their blue fox fur trimmed arrow sleeves.

  The hall was suddenly lit up.

  Lian Ji and others were all staring straight at him.

  Shen Zhong was a rare handsome man, with a simple and elegant appearance, and being young added to his aura of innocence and majesty, as if the golden boy from heaven had descended to the mortal world.

  Looking at her delicate and refined son, Zhen Shiniang's heart melted.

  For them, it's not just two years, even losing freedom for life is worth it.

  Ji Huaifeng was eager to take them out for New Year's greetings, but Zhen Shiniang subtly stopped him, "Let Zhang He take them instead, the neighbors all know each other. Today is the first day of the year, and there are many children setting off fireworks. Be careful not to let sparks fall on your roof or walls."

  He went out with a proud and arrogant attitude, but before the time of Shen (a Chinese unit of time), Jian Wu and Jian Wen came back like eggplants that had been hit by frost.

  A good piece of clothing, in one day, was burned with several holes by Mars, and a large patch of black was rubbed on the left elbow.

  "...it's all small carelessness, I didn't know brocade is so afraid of fire." Li Changhe felt both ashamed and uneasy, his face tightly tense, listening to Xi Que say that these two sets of clothes cost sixty taels of silver.

  Zhen Shi Niang slowly came back to her senses, squatted down and carefully examined the burnt clothes inside and out. She let out a faint sigh in her heart, "After all, she was used to being careless and didn't know that she should be more careful when wearing new clothes."

  More than sixty taels of silver, almost all the expenses for her to cultivate lotus ponds and buy medicine for a year. Zhen Shiniang was very heartbroken, but she would never scold the children for being naughty and breaking their clothes. She couldn't help thinking that this was the first time their biological father had bought them clothes, which was quite memorable.

  Unfortunately, it was ruined in just one day.

  I wonder if Shen Zhongjie knows that his own son has turned out like this, and whether he will be furious.

  Yu Guang secretly glanced at his mother, seemingly not too angry. Jian Wu's courage grew again, and he muttered in a low voice, "What a broken dress, it's not as good as hemp cloth. Even if charcoal falls on it, nothing will happen." The hemp clothes he wore a few days ago had been stained with a large piece of charcoal, but they didn't burn so many holes.

  "Are clothes burned with fire?" Zhen Shining frowned, "No one is allowed to go out today, just stay in the house honestly!" They stayed up too late last night.

  Jian Niang was only punished with house arrest. Jian Wu and Jian Wen quietly turned their backs to each other and made a face at one another.

  Next, Jian Wu was much more cautious. On the first day of junior high school, Xi Que gave them new three-layer brocade jackets and repeatedly reminded them to be careful before leaving the house, and fortunately, they didn't come back with another burn that night.

  The magpie let out a long sigh of relief.

  After breakfast on the first day of junior high school, Jian Wu and Jian Wen disappeared.

  As it was a day for paying New Year's visits, there were fewer people coming to pay their respects and make social calls. Zhen Shi asked about the house, "When is the Yu family moving?"