Reborn Soul: Me and My Family

Seeing her eldest son's face flushed, Zhou's mother stopped teasing him since it was a rare trip for him. She smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, both aunties. You know that A-Bo is a soldier and has few days off to visit his family. It was not easy for him to apply for leave this year. Besides, Brother Zhen said that he didn't want the eldest son to get married so early. He is still young and it is the time for him to fight for his career. Besides, as the eldest brother, A-Bo must set a good example for his younger brothers and sisters, building a career before starting a family. So I am really sorry. Don't worry, I will treat everyone to A-Bo's wedding in a few years."

Since the parents said so, the two aunties stopped worrying about it. Ouyang Qing took the plates from the two old people, put all the meatballs and dumplings on his own plate, washed them, dried them and returned the plates to the two aunties. This was the busiest time in every kitchen. The two aunties took the plates and praised Ouyang Qing for being sensible, saying that they didn't know which brat would get the good deal in the future.

After the people left, Ouyang Qing closed the gate. Before he entered the kitchen, he heard Zhou Ma joking to his eldest brother with a suppressed smile: "Abai, don't worry. Your father and I are open-minded parents. There is no rush to find a partner. You are still young now. But if you meet a girl you like, you must be bold and brave to pursue her. A person's second half of life is very long. You must find someone you like and who also likes you. Your father and I just want you to live a happy life. But I have something to say in advance. Don't go home with someone who can't tell the difference. The son of my colleague Sister Wang got married during the Chinese New Year last year. It was pretty good at first, but since she got pregnant, she has been making trouble at home and making the family restless. If you dare to find me a daughter-in-law like this, then don't ever enter my house again. If necessary, we can sever ties with you, and you can go wherever you want in the future."

When my mother said the first part, Ouyang Bai felt that his parents really loved him, and he was so moved. But Zhou Ma's next part made his heart cold. Ouyang Bai opened his mouth and swallowed what he wanted to say. Mom, you don't have to say the last part. Sit by the stove and continue to watch the fire. Ouyang Qing was almost fainting at the door with her hand on her belly. Mom was so funny that she didn't need to say the last part. My brother was so moved just now, but he hasn't found a wife yet? He is about to be unilaterally cut off from her relationship.

Hahahaha... It's so funny. Mom's technique in ruining the atmosphere is really first-rate. After a long time, Ouyang Qing finally adjusted his mood. Forget it, he decided not to go in. He couldn't let his elder brother know that he had laughed at his joke. He decided to go back to his room!

In the morning, the sun shines into the room through the curtains, emitting a faint golden glow. Winter is the room where one least wants to get up early. Normally, when Zhou's mother is at home on vacation, she never wakes up the children and lets them sleep until they wake up naturally. Thinking back to the past, today is New Year's Eve, and she must get up early. However, Ouyang Qing still had to lie down for nearly half an hour before he overcame himself and got up.

After breakfast, the family did a thorough cleaning of the house. In addition to cleaning, the bed sheets also had to be washed. Since Zhou's mother could remember, there has been a traditional custom that goes like this, which is to try not to clean the house in the first few days of the first lunar month, as it will affect financial fortune. Of course, this cannot be said in this era. Although it sounds a bit superstitious, basically every family does this and they are busy the whole morning.

After a short rest at noon, the family went to Ouyang's old house early to celebrate New Year's Eve. The whole family went there to eat and Zhou's mother felt embarrassed not to help, so every year on New Year's Eve she would go there early to help cook. It was rare for Ouyang Bo to be at home during the New Year this year, so Ouyang Zhen decided that the whole family would go there early this year so that the eldest son could spend some time with the two old people. After all, there were only a few days throughout the year when they could see each other.

Old Mrs. Ouyang was very happy to see her second son's eldest son, A'bo, coming back for the New Year (Ouyang Bo was the third among his cousins, so sometimes people called him the third brother). Zhou Ma and Ouyang Qing went to the kitchen to help. The old lady hadn't seen her grandson for a long time, and she held Ouyang Bo's hand all afternoon without letting go. Ouyang Bo had always respected and liked his grandparents since he was a child, because his grandparents were not like other people's grandparents, who would particularly like a grandson or granddaughter, and always treated them equally, with the exception of his aunt of course.

The Ouyang family’s New Year’s Eve dinner this year was very rich. The eldest cousin and the second cousin even said with a smile that this year’s New Year’s Eve dinner was the only time they had seen so many meat dishes since they grew up. Everyone enjoyed the meal very much. Of course, in addition to the meat, Ouyang Bai was celebrating the New Year at home this year. After the New Year’s Eve dinner was the important moment of distributing lucky money. In the Ouyang family, no matter how old you are, as long as you are not married, you can always get lucky money. This is because Ouyang’s grandparents said that if you are married, it means you have grown up and can support a family. Those who are not married are just children.

Ouyang Qing was so happy when he received the New Year's money. It didn't matter how much the money was, as it represented surprise and blessings from relatives. The happiest one was his younger brother. Zhou's mother never asked them to hand in the New Year's money. Since he was a child, all the children in his alley and other children of the same age had to hand in the New Year's money they received. Thanks to his open-minded parents, Ouyang Heng had been the envy of all the children in the alley since he was a child.

It is necessary to stay up all night on New Year's Eve. If the family stays up at the old house, it will be too late for them to go home. So every year Ouyang Zhen goes back to his own home with his wife and children to stay up all night. The next day they go back to the old house early to pay New Year's greetings. They have been doing this for many years. On the first day of the first lunar month, the whole family gets up early, first goes to pay New Year's greetings to some neighbors in the alley, and then goes to the Ouyang old house to pay New Year's greetings and have breakfast. This day is the most lively, and children can visit every household to pay New Year's greetings. On the first day of the new year, even the most frugal families will buy some candies and share them with the children who come to pay New Year's greetings.

Several brothers and sisters were responsible for visiting alleys to pay New Year's greetings. Ouyang Zhen and his wife only visited a few older people's homes to pay New Year's greetings and then went home. Today was the busiest day in the alley. All the children in the house would get up early, and there was no need for adults to wake them up. Are you kidding? Every household could get candy when they visited today. Candy was the source of their happiness.

After the New Year's greetings were over, the children who came to pay New Year's greetings had almost all arrived. The family locked the door and went straight to the old house. As soon as they entered the yard, they heard a sharp female voice talking in the room. Ouyang Qing remembered the voices of the family members, but this voice had never appeared in his memory. As the sharp female voice came again in the room, "Mom and Dad, how can you two old people still use new quilts! My family has not saved enough for a quilt in all these years. If Yanpeng doesn't find a job this time, he will have to go to the countryside, and you don't even ask for help. You only have me as a daughter, and Yanpeng is your grandson. This child is still covering himself with the quilt that I brought as a dowry when I got married? It's almost 20 years old, and it's no longer warm. Why don't you feel sorry for your grandson? I don't understand, how can there be such selfish old people like you."