Changsheng’s mother put a bowl in front of Yan Huan. Inside the bowl were dumplings in the size of ingots. This was the first time Yan Huan ate dumplings after leaving home, not to mention a wheat flour dumpling.
“Thanks, Auntie.” She used the chopsticks to take one dumpling. Although she might burn her mouth with the hot dumpling, she forced herself to eat it anyway. As expected, it burned her mouth, but it warmed her heart and satisfied her appetite.
The dumpling was delicious. Indeed, it was really good. There was not much meat in the filling which was made with mostly flour and vegetables planted by the villagers. It might be cheaper than any other dumplings she had in the restaurants at Sea City, but they were the only dumplings she had this year. The dumplings definitely tasted more delicious as they were rare.
Yan Huan finished the big bowl of dumplings and even the soup.
It was the Spring Festival again. However, the vibe was quite cold and cheerless here.
Yan Huan went back to her room after cleaning all the dishes. There was a set of cotton clothes on top of the table, which was made by Changsheng’s mother. Both Changsheng and she had one set each. Hugging the blanket on her bed, she took the clothes and put them on her lap. The cotton felt unbelievably soft and mushy under her hands, even the fabric on the outside was extremely soft. This cloth must be warmer and softer than any other down jacket, she thought.
She put the new clothes on the table and hugged the blanket. She did not hear any sound of firecrackers outside, but she could still feel the festival vibe. The fire pit was still hot. She withdrew her hand from the fire pit and could see that her frostbite was getting better. It meant the spring was just around the corner and the weather was getting warmer. It was time for her to go home.
She laid down and leaned against the warm fire pit, not feeling the least bit cold. She thought she could finally have a good sleep tonight.
However, she let out a bitter laugh.
Perhaps the three kids have forgotten about her already.
She wondered whether Lu Yi had forgotten her as well.
At a place far, far away from the village, a firework rose, bringing a moment of splendor. After the seconds of grandeur, the night sky became silent again.
Lu Yi stood in front of the window with Xunxun in his arms. Xunxun pointed at the fireworks outside with her little fingers.
“Yes, that’s a firework.” Lu Yi explained to her daughter. “Everyone will set off fireworks during the Spring Festival. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Xunxun leaned her little head on her father’s shoulder. Her big eyes were filled with streaks of fireworks, but only loneliness like snow was left after the fireworks faded off.
Lu Yi closed the curtain, put his daughter in his arms and let her sit down properly. Then, he took out a photo frame and put it in front of her daughter.
“Baby, wish your mother a Happy Chinese New Year.”
Xunxun reached out to embrace the picture frame. The woman in the photo was extremely gorgeous, looking warm and beautiful as she smiled. Xunxun put her little face on the frame and frowned when she felt the cold on her mother. She thought mummy should be as soft and warm as her daddy.
Notwithstanding the fact that her mother was hard and cold now, it did not affect her love for her mother. She still loved her mother the most even though she was not as warm compared to her father.
Rubbing his daughter’s small head, Lu Yi said, “Yes, Xunxun, remember that this is your mother. This is Xunxun and your brothers’ mother, no one can ever replace her.”
Lu Yi feared that the three kids would forget their mother, which was why he let the kids look at Yan Huan’s picture every day, just to make sure they would not forget their mother’s appearance. In case their father passed away in the future, they would still be able to look for their mother.
He put his hands into the pocket and took out a red envelope.
“Daddy is giving this to Xunxun. Happy Chinese New Year, Xunxun.”
Holding her mother’s picture in one hand and Lu Yi’s red envelope in her other hand, Xunxun grinned from ear to ear, showing two beautiful dimples on her cheeks. Ye Shuyun had always said that Xunxun looked very much alike with Ye Rong as Ye Rong had a pair of dimples too. However, now that Xunxun had grown up, she actually looked even more like her mother.
He held his daughter up and brought her to the living room. Old Master Lu and his second son’s family were here today to celebrate the Spring Festival. It had been very long since Old Master Lu celebrated the Spring Festival with his sons and grandsons, he had come today solely because of Little Xunxun. Other than Qin Xiaoyue and Lu Qin, Sun Yuhan was here as well. Sun Yuhan and Lu Qin just got married, they had earned their place and fame and were one of the most famous couples in the entertainment industry. Since the Ye family had been supporting Sun Yuhan, it was no wonder she could become famous, albeit her bad acting skills. Even if she attracted many anti-fans and received a lot of criticism, she could get famous as long as she had enough resources.
She did end up rising to fame, together with Lu Qin.
The two kids who looked exactly the same with each other were standing outside, wearing the same clothes. One of them was holding Ye Shuyun’s hand while the other was holding Lu Yi’s hand. Both of them looked just like Lu Yi and their personalities resembled their father’s too. They rarely put up a smile, but they were fair, clean and looked adorable.
Qin Xiaoyue’s words were always stinging with jealousy.
“The kids have grown so much, it’s such a pity that they don’t have a mother.”
Ye Shuyun had a strong impulse to punch her in the face and throw her out upon hearing what she said. What she hated the most right now was people saying that her grandsons did not have a mother right in front of them.
Old Master Lu took a glance at Qin Xiaoyue, his squinted eyes were filled with anger and sternness. Qin Xiaoyue could feel pressure on her body. “Shut your mouth if you don’t know how to talk properly. Get back to your house and stop annoying me here.”
He had always been mean to Qin Xiaoyue since the beginning as his temper was always like this anyway. Especially when it came to his great-grandsons, he would not allow anyone to insult them. He would not only scold but also beat anyone who dared to do so, even if that person was Qin Xiaoyue. Besides, he always talked harshly, those mean words were popping out one by one like ice beads.
“Why? Are you envious of others’ grandchildren because you yourself cannot have one? If you’re jealous of me, why don’t you give birth to one yourself?”
Qin Xiaoyue was unable to rebut Old Master Lu’s words, with her face flushed red as she felt extremely embarrassed.
“It’s a fact that they don’t have a mother. Why can’t we talk about that?” Sun Yuhan rolled her eyes. She had no intention to help her mother-in-law as she had always looked down on Qin Xiaoyue. All in all, there was no need for her to seek help from the Lu family since she had support from Ye family.
