girl, don't do this

Sure enough, as Cen Meng said, those red-eyed bunnies and green-eyed hedgehogs were all fat and cute after they got out of the pot.Especially the little hedgehog, with sharp spines cut out by Cen Zi's practical scissors on a small ball of white face, it was stunned, alive, which made Tao Jiaran want to

Squeeze to see if the urge to prick your hand.

Cen Zishi saw the longing in her eyes, picked up one regardless of the steaming heat, put it in a small plate, and handed it to Tao Jiaran.

"Try it," I forgot to tell her, "be careful not to burn your mouth."

How dare Tao Jiaran eat it?The whole family has not moved a mouthful of the freshly cooked food, and it has not been offered to the deceased, so how can I eat it carelessly?

It was hard to refute Cen Zishi's kindness, so she had no choice but to take it, said "thank you", and put it aside casually.

Cen Zi didn't think much of it, smiled and went to work on his business.

The Cen family seemed to be well-trained, which showed that they had done this more than once or twice.

Ms. Ji skillfully stacked small plates one by one, and each small plate was not empty. Some were filled with seasonal fruits, some were a few kinds of dried fruits, some were filled with small longevity peaches, and some were filled with well-made It is a delicate pastry.Then put two three-layer jujube steamed buns on the two sides respectively.

in a small dish.

Tao Jiaran looked at the jujube flower steamed bun curiously, this was the first time she saw the steamed finished product.At the bottom is a lotus-leaf-shaped noodle holder, on which are six jujubes each wrapped with noodles; on top is a smaller noodle holder with three dates; on the top is a small It has a very delicate q-page holder, and there is a small jujube.Six, three, one... Tao Jiaran instantly made up Liuyao, Sancai and "Tao as one", she thought she must have opened her brain too much.

At this time, Cen Zishi had already taken off his apron, and found a small paper bag in the closet in the small living room.Carefully opened it, Tao Jiaran opened it, it was a photo frame.But it was unclear who it was, because Cen Zishi was leaning against the wall beside the altar with the photo frame turned upside down.

Tao Jiaran understood that this must be a photo of Cen Meng's grandpa and grandma.When she was a child, she heard from the elders of Jigu that when worshiping the ancestors, it is said that only by burning paper money, offering incense and burning candles can the ancestors' "souls" come back and celebrate the new year with their descendants.In the early days when there were no photos, all the big families had their ancestral halls, which could not be opened casually except on New Year’s Eve and important events, and the portraits of ancestors hanging inside could not be easily shown to others.Now that we have photos, it is disrespectful to let the photos of our ancestors "see the light" before the time comes.

Unexpectedly, the Cen family has retained some old traditions, which is a bit interesting.Tao Jiaran felt more and more that this New Year's Eve was worth living.

The Cen's husband and wife are busy, but they are organized.Cen Meng couldn't point it out, if her senior sister hadn't poked here and looked curiously at this moment, she would have gone to her room long ago.Tao Jiaran said in his heart that he was young and strong, watching the two 40-year-olds

I'm really sorry for being busy.She wanted to help, but she was afraid that there would be some taboos in it. After all, this was the elder who enshrined the Cen family, and she didn't seem to be part of the Cen family.

The table was placed a little off, and Cen Zi really wanted to move it straight, so he asked Ms. Ji to move it with her.Tao Jiaran read on, moved forward, and said nervously, "Can I...can you help?"

Ms. Ji was worried that her back was sore and she had to work hard, so she quickly took over the conversation: "Just right, just right, come here, my waist is getting old."

"Is it okay?" Tao Jiaran asked anxiously.

"Jiaran, let's come, I'll say 'one two', you just move two inches this way." Cen Zishi gestured.

Tao Jiaran's heart was in his throat, it was much more tiring than hugging Cen Meng twice.The table was full of offerings and joss sticks, especially the photos of Cen's elders on the table. She couldn't bear it if it was bumped or even shifted out of position.

Holding his breath and concentrating, following Cen Zishi's rhythm and footsteps, he moved two inches, and the table landed firmly on the floor.Tao Jiaran's heart returned to its original position, and he subconsciously rubbed his palms, covered in sweat from being so nervous.

"Are you tired?" Cen Meng limped over, brushed Tao Jiaran's face with her small Ari towel, grabbed her hand, and wiped off her sweat.

Cen Zi took a real glance, and sure enough, girls are extroverted. Your father was tired for a long time, and his whole body was soaked in sweat, and he didn't see you handing over a cloth, let alone wiped my sweat.

"I'll do it myself." Tao Jiaran took the towel rather unnaturally, her uncle Cen Zishi's eyes just now, why are they so... resentful?

Finally tidy up.

"Get ready to eat!" Ms. Ji said loudly.

Tao Jiaran washed his hands, helped Cen Zi set up the table, and helped Ms. Ji put the prepared dishes on the table one by one, and set the positions, as well as the bowls, chopsticks, cups and saucers.

After getting ready, Tao Jiaran was surprised to find that none of the Cen family was on the table.She was not familiar with the situation, and she also stood there without moving when she said "fools look at their neighbors during the Chinese New Year".

"Jiaran, come here."

Tao Jiaran agreed, and followed Cen Zishi's voice.

The small living room is like a small ancestral hall at the moment, and two red candles have been lit, exuding a yellowish, warm light.The mysterious picture frame was also turned over.

Cen Zishi took out four sticks of incense from the incense tube, lit them with the light of a red candle, and waved them lightly, turning the small bunch of flames into four light spots.He solemnly raised the four incense sticks above his head, held them in both hands and worshiped three times in front of him, then stepped forward and respectfully inserted them into the incense burner between the two red candles one by one.

At the same time, Tao Jiaran's eyes were attracted by the two people in the photo frame.

A man and a woman in the photo are about 40 years old.Although the man is wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and dark red tie, there is a heroic look between his brows, and his tough demeanor seems to tell everyone that only a straight military uniform is the most suitable attire for him.The woman's hand is in the man's arm, she is wearing a plain cheongsam to set off her exquisite waist, and a shawl of the same color is draped over her shoulders. If it weren't for her undeniable strong temperament, people who saw it would probably think this She is a lady of the old days.

Tao Jiaran felt that the most unbelievable thing was that woman's appearance. If it wasn't for this situation, she would have mistakenly thought it was her appearance after 40 years old!

These two people are her... grandma and grandpa?

In a daze, Cen Zi was already kneeling on the floor.She heard his prayer.

"Dad, Mom, this is sister Zihua's child, have you seen it?"

Is there something about her here?Tao Jiaran was startled, no wonder Cen Zishi specially called her over.

I only heard Cen Zishi continue to say: "Father, Mom, you are well-informed, and you can understand how difficult it is for my sister, right? We are a family after all, and we can't write two words 'Cen' in one stroke. What can't be forgiven by my own daughter?" of?"

When he mentioned "family", he choked up, and Tao Jiaran also felt pity in his heart.

"Look, my sister's child has grown up so much, she's a good child...Your spirits in the sky, you must bless her safe and sound, and Mengmeng, our family will be safe...If you really meet my sister , please, just forgive her...

... "

After Cen Zishi finished speaking, he fell on the ground and kowtowed three times in a row, then he didn't move, but his body trembled slightly.

Tao Jiaran looked sad.

"Are you okay?" She held Cen Zishi's arm.

Cen Zishi let out a long breath, stood up slowly, his eyes were red.

"Jiaran, go and kowtow to your grandma and grandpa for a new year's greetings."

"!" Tao Jiaran was taken aback, is this the rhythm of recognizing ancestors and returning to them?

Cen Zishi patted her on the shoulder, and said softly, "They are elders after all. The past has passed. It has been 30 years. Even if your mother is still alive, she would not care about her biological parents any more. We are a family, you It’s the juniors, they’ve been gone for so long, you should pay homage to them too.”

Tao Jiaran thought so too, so many years have passed, one generation belongs to another, if she cared about the kindness and resentment of the previous generation, then where did she start with Cen Meng?What's more, she is Cen Meng's lover and also Cen Meng's cousin. This head should be kowtowed both emotionally and rationally.

"Okay!" Tao Jiaran agreed, and respectfully saluted the two old people in the photo.

After Ms. Ji and Cen Meng finished paying their respects, the dinner was officially served.

Cen Meng was slightly injured and couldn't get out of the line of fire, and still couldn't change her cheerful nature, habitually commenting after moving a few chopsticks.

"This beef is good, mom, you are good at cooking!"

Hey, it's obviously a compliment, why is her mother's face so gloomy?

"Mengmeng, I did that." Tao Jiaran lowered his voice to her ear.

Well, the flattery patted the horse's leg.

Picked up another chopsticks cold dish, um, yes, the taste is just right, a bit like her mother's handicraft, just about to speak, her senior sister whispered to her again: "I made that too."

Cen Meng became anxious, and growled: "Tao Jiaran, what did you do?"

Tao Jiaran: "..."

Ms. Ji recited silently: "Don't be angry, angry is easy to age, and it can also cause heart disease, high blood pressure, liver cirrhosis..."

Like most people in China, the Cen family must watch the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve.Living in the downstairs living room is not casual, the couple have already moved to their own bedroom, so the old couple and the younger wife are living their own lives at this moment.

Cen Meng hasn't been favored for a long time｜Xing Dabai, now she hugs her in her arms like a daughter, kissing and chewing at the same time.

Tao Jiaran couldn't bear to look directly at him, but fortunately Dabai was still so white, otherwise she would really have to let Cen Meng wash and strip her clean before hugging her to sleep.

Cen Menglin｜Lucky enough to understand, she didn't forget about Madam Tao, she stretched out her arms: "My dear, give me a hug!"

It's a New Year's Eve, it's hard to let a bastard lose, Tao Jiaran embraced her as she wished, but was afraid of touching her injured leg.

"My dear, you have such a serious expression, what are you thinking? The person you should miss the most is in your arms right now, do you still want to wander off?" Cen Meng held her senior sister's face in her hands, looking at the plump eyes with satisfaction. One is fragrant on the lips.

Tao Jiaran let her self-satisfaction go, but the expression on her face didn't change.

"Mengmeng, don't you think I look a lot like your grandma?"

"It's normal. She is your grandma, and she is related by blood."

"Don't you think it's too similar?"

"Well, it's very similar. I didn't pay much attention to it before. Grandma's genes are too strong, and my aunt is very similar to her; my aunt's genes are also strong, so you are also like her." Cen Meng was thoughtful.

Tao Jiaran was agitated by the logical structure of "Grandma＝Aunt＝You", an inexplicable thought flashed through her mind, and then disappeared in an instant.