Return To 1998

Most of the New Year's goods brought back by Xu Tongdao were eaten.

Before he came back today, he didn't ask what food he bought at home, but based on what he knew about his mother, he concluded that her mother was frugal, and he must have bought every kind of New Year's goods.

And with his current income, eating and drinking during the Chinese New Year season doesn't matter anymore, it's just a drop in the bucket.

No, he bought three kinds of melon seeds in the car today, pistachios, raisins, candied fruit, etc., each of which was bought by the catty.

I also bought a leg of pork, a leg of lamb, and ten pounds of beef.

I also bought a bunch of other dry goods.

In addition, he also bought a new set of clothes and shoes for his mother, brother, and sister.

Anyway, he bought everything he could think of.

So, seeing these things he brought back in the car, his whole family felt that they bought too much.

Xu Tonglu, who came to help move things, was stunned when he saw the piles in the car.

Ge Yuzhu came to help move things, and when she saw the pile of things in the car, she said in surprise, Brother, why did you buy so much? How can we finish so much food? Mom bought Chinese New Year vegetables.

Ge Xiaozhu, who came out of the kitchen, saw that Xu Tongdao bought so many things, and he couldn't stop complaining that he was spending too much money.

Tongdao Xu just laughed and said, Not much! Not much!

He thinks that the point of making money is to make the whole family happy.

Otherwise, why are you trying to make money?

If you can't buy more things during the holidays, when will you buy them?

It is the wish of many people to have a fat year. He thinks that a prosperous new year can make the whole family feel happy, or at least feel satisfied.

And this kind of happiness and contentment can change the mental state of everyone in the family.

It will make them feel that this home has finally climbed up.

give them hope for the future.

It was past three o'clock in the afternoon.

If it is normal, it is not too late at three o'clock in the afternoon.

But today is New Year's Eve, more than three o'clock,

Some people's New Year's Eve dinner may be almost finished. This is not an exaggeration. In Xu Tongdao's impression, every New Year's Eve, after three o'clock in the afternoon, there are always some people who finish their New Year's Eve dinner early, and then... play mahjong.

Especially for those who have the habit of gambling, they always eat their New Year's Eve dinner very early every year, in order to finish the meal early and go out to the poker table earlier.

When Xu Tongdao drove into the village just now, he saw that many people's doors were closed, and they were all having New Year's Eve dinner.

So, when he and his younger brother and younger sister had just brought the New Year goods from the car home, his mother Ge Xiaozhu urged him to hurry up and offer sacrifices to his ancestors.

After the ancestor worship is over, the New Year's Eve dinner can be held.

Xu Tongdao is very familiar with the process of ancestor worship.

Because before his rebirth, he had been in charge of ancestor worship for many years. Since his father disappeared, he has been responsible for ancestor worship every year in the family.

Carry the Eight Immortals table in the main room to the middle of the main room, and together with mother, brother, and sister, put the dishes for ancestor worship on the Eight Immortals table, and put bowls, chopsticks, wine glasses...

Fill each wine glass with wine, put a little dish in each bowl, recite words in your mouth, and greet the ancestors to go home to eat and drink.

Then kowtow, he took the lead and finished, the younger brother followed, and finally his sister.

After nibbling, go out to set off firecrackers and burn paper money...

incense.

This set of procedures is repeated three times before the ancestor worship is completed this year.

These are all learned from his childhood and his father.

It can't be cooked any more.

But it was precisely because he was so familiar with it that when the three brothers and sisters came to burn paper money outside the gate, both Xu Tonglu and Ge Yuzhu asked questions.

Ge Yuzhu: Brother, this is your first ancestor worship! Why are you so skilled?

Xu Tonglu: When I was worshipping my ancestors last year, I forgot to light incense and was told by my mother all night, how do you remember everything?

Because you are careless!

Xu Tongdao casually went over.

...

When the family had a New Year's Eve dinner together, the dishes on the table were not what Xu Tongdao expected. Although there were a lot of dishes, there were not many hard dishes.

Mother's frugality is evident at the New Year's Eve dinner.

The most valuable dish is a pot of chicken soup.

Next is the braised pork ribs.

Once again it was a braised fish.

Moreover, according to local customs, the braised fish on the Chinese New Year table is not allowed to use chopsticks until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Tongdao Xu frowned, but he was a son, not a mother.

He smiled and poured wine for his brother, and asked his sister to pour drinks for his mother, saying hello to everyone to eat and drink more.

This is his first reunion year with his family since he was reborn, and he didn't come back for the New Year's Eve last year.

So this year's New Year's Eve dinner, he had a mixed taste in his heart.

There is emotion, contentment, and more happiness.

Sister Ge Yuzhu had the most smiles tonight. Although the light shone on her dark skin, her bright smile made Xu Tongdao feel that she was beautiful tonight.

In fact, he always thought that his sister was very beautiful, except that her skin was a little darker, she had no other shortcomings.

The younger brother Xu Tonglu also had a faint smile on his face tonight. Although he still didn't talk much, the hostility between his brows was obviously lighter.

This kid has been rebellious since he was a child. Ever since his father disappeared, the anger between his brows has always been with him, but tonight, the anger on his face seems to be the least.

Mother also had a slight smile on her face tonight.

She didn't eat much. She served him vegetables for a while, and Xu Tonglu and Ge Yuzhu for a while. Looking at the three children on the table, she seemed a little dazed.

I don't know what she was thinking.

Tongdao Xu had a lot of heart, noticed the abnormality of his mother, and also noticed that his mother's eyes glanced at the vacant side of the Eight Immortals Table from time to time.

The table is fine, not broken.

The vacancy is that there is no one sitting on that side.

Tongdao Xu knew why she looked at the side where no one was sitting from time to time.

Their family was originally a family of four, and during Chinese New Year every year, the Eight Immortals table sits on each side, neat and complete.

But his father disappeared, and the table of the Eight Immortals was not full.

He wanted to say something to his mother, but when the words came to his mouth, he swallowed them back.

Today is New Year's Eve after all, so I can't talk about unhappy topics.

He held back, but when everyone was about to eat, his mother Ge Xiaozhu couldn't hold back, she sighed, looked at the vacant side, and said softly, It's a pity! Xiaodao can earn so much money now, if... How wonderful!

What she said was unclear, but Xu Tongdao, Xu Tonglu, and Ge Yuzhu all understood.

The expressions of the three were different, and the chopsticks in their hands stopped.

Mom, do you miss Dad?

Ge Yuzhu asked softly, and her mood became a little depressed.

After asking, he also looked at Xu Tongdao and Xu Tonglu worriedly.

The smile on Xu Tongdao's face disappeared, and his brows were slightly wrinkled.

The one who reacted the most was Xu Tonglu. The boy raised his eyes to look at his mother Ge Xiaozhu, looked at him coldly for a few seconds, then suddenly slapped the chopsticks in his hand on the table and said angrily, Mom! Why are you mentioning him? What's wrong with our family now? He did that kind of scandal, do you still miss him? Do you have any blood?