Chapter 252
Nan Sheng rubbed her eyes and sat up. Feeling a bit cold right after waking up, she draped the new padded jacket Zhong Yanyan had made for her over her shoulders.
"Sister-in-law and Siyu are here."
Sun Qian looked at Nan Sheng with envy. "This is a newly made padded jacket, right? I really envy you, sister-in-law. You only come home for a few days every year, yet you still get new clothes to wear. My family only changed the outer cover of Siyu's padded jacket, look how red the child's face is from the cold."
No matter how unreliable Sun Qian usually was, she still cared about her child. Seeing that Siyu was indeed freezing, Nan Sheng knew their family was not doing well financially.
"My mother made these clothes, all four of us in the family got one. If you don't mind, I can dig out last year's padded clothes. You can take the cotton out to make the child's clothes thicker. A little girl shouldn't freeze and ruin her health."
Sun Qian hurriedly said, "I don't mind, I don't mind at all! I'm thrilled! Siyu, hurry up and thank your Second Aunt."
Siyu weakly squeezed out a sentence from her throat, "Thank you, Second Aunt!"
When Nan Sheng lived in Xiangyang Village, she wasn't this kind-hearted. Back then, living conditions were just average, not good enough to afford such generosity.
Although she still didn't really like Third Brother Lin and Sun Qian, she always had compassion for children. Just like giving milk powder to Zhuzhu, making sure Siyu dressed a bit warmer was something she could easily do.
Sun Qian and Nan Sheng didn't really have much to talk about, but since she didn't want to leave, she kept blabbering about her and Third Brother Lin's messy affairs, making Nan Sheng's head throb with a headache.
Nan Sheng suddenly thought of something and went to the west room. "I bought this from Rongcheng, every family gets one. You and your husband weren't around the day I came back, so I just left it in the house."
Sun Qian said she didn't want it and that she couldn't keep taking their food, but her hands unconsciously reached out to take it. With this, she was finally willing to leave.
Nan Sheng found it quite amusing in hindsight. If she had known Sun Qian was just here to ask for things, her ears wouldn't have had to suffer for so long.
On the day of the Lunar New Year, Nan Sheng and the children were picked up to have lunch at her maiden home. Interestingly, Mingli came back by himself, while Luotong stayed at her maiden home for the New Year.
This idea was actually brought up by Zhong Yanyan, who said that since it was cold, it would be too exhausting for her daughter-in-law to travel back for the New Year. It would be better for the young couple to spend the New Year at the Yu family's home.
When Yu Feng heard this, he thought it was unacceptable. He was grateful that his in-laws cared so much about their daughter-in-law and the child, but they couldn't just stay with them; Mingli had to return to the village for the New Year!
When dinner started, Grandpa Nan was helped over. Nan Jingyu had specially made a chair with a backrest for him, afraid he wouldn't have the strength to sit up straight.
Sizhe and Siqi accompanied him on either side, coaxing the old man so well that he was extremely happy and even ate quite a bit.
After eating, Grandpa Nan couldn't help but feel sleepy and went back to the west room to sleep. Nan Sheng and her two children still had to make the tiring journey back home. This New Year was truly exhausting, but Father Nan and Mother Nan were very happy, hoping their daughter could come back every year.
After returning home, Nan Sheng asked Sizhe, "Do you want to go see your mother?"
Sizhe nodded. Siqi also wanted to go, but Nan Sheng didn't agree. The little girl was still so young; regardless of whether it was superstition or not, it was best for her to avoid going to such places.
They didn't have any joss paper at home, so Nan Sheng brought two types of pastries and some apples, taking only five of each. When they reached the grave, she cleared away the snow to make a spot and placed them at the front of the tomb.
"Go talk to your mother. I'll wait for you in the back."
Sizhe knelt in front of the grave and spoke softly to his mother. Nan Sheng stood where she was and looked into the distance. The Lin family's ancestral graveyard was chosen quite skillfully, with a wide field of vision; standing there, one could see the village.
Not long after, Sizhe finished kowtowing and came back. "Mother, let's go home!"
"Son, don't call me mother here. I'm afraid someone underground might suddenly answer, how scary would that be."
Sizhe gave his mother a speechless look. He remembered how she used to love talking nonsense, scaring herself so much she couldn't sleep at night, and then that sent-down youth even came over in the middle of the night...
Now, he was no longer the little child he used to be. "If anyone should be afraid, it's you. I'm her biological son, what do I have to fear?"
Nan Sheng snorted to show her dissatisfaction, feeling that her son was no longer cute. But seeing his mother's reaction, Sizhe laughed out loud. He followed closely behind Nan Sheng, not falling behind by a single step.
Fan Shuting still remembered how Nan Sheng complained about being hungry at dinner time last year. So when Nan Sheng and Sizhe went over this time, she immediately asked with concern.
"Second daughter-in-law, are you hungry? The food is still warm in the pot."
Zhou Wei, who was making dumplings, stood up immediately upon hearing this. "Wait a moment. We stewed a chicken at noon, it's also warming in the pot. No one touched the two chicken legs, I'll bring them over to you."
These two chicken legs were originally saved to be shredded for Zhuzhu to eat. But right now, Zhou Wei didn't care about her granddaughter; she had milk powder to drink anyway.
When the chicken legs were brought over, Nan Sheng took one. Sizhe broke the other chicken leg in half, giving half to his sister and half to Siyu, acting very much like a big brother.
Nan Sheng, however, didn't act much like a mother. She didn't even think about sharing any with her son, because at lunch, the chicken legs had already been eaten by the two little brats.
Lin Han didn't come home this year, and Sicheng was also missing, but the New Year's Eve dinner was just as lively. When setting off firecrackers, Nan Sheng went out to watch for a while, thinking that the Rongcheng Military Region must be very bustling right about now.
Rongcheng Military Region
There were always many people at the military region during the New Year. The soldiers made their own dumplings, and the leaders would invite the art troupe soldiers to perform for everyone.
During the meal, as the regimental commander, Lin Han naturally had to toast his superiors. Whether he was drinking to cope with missing someone or for some other reason, he got terribly drunk today. After the banquet ended, Little Hou had to ask Sicheng for help, and the two of them escorted him back home together.
When Lin Han got up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, he was still counting on his fingers, trying to figure out exactly when his wife and children would return.
After the New Year, Nan Sheng took the children around for some visits and then prepared to head back to Rongcheng. If they went back now, they could still stay in the family compound for a couple of days.
Both the Lin family and her maiden family expressed their understanding. Zhong Yanyan even asked Nan Sheng to bring the newly made padded jacket for her son-in-law. Lin Han might not wear it, but he couldn't go without having one!
Sicheng loved eating fried dough treats, so Zhou Wei specially deep-fried a fresh batch and asked Nan Sheng to bring them along; they were crispy and sweet with every bite.
"Sister-in-law, tell that boy not to push himself too hard in everything. He shouldn't ruin his health just for military merits."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. We'll be heading out now!"