To Travel by the Edge of a Creek

"Okay, okay, happy new year, teacher"

"Where are you celebrating the New Year this year? Are you going back to your hometown?" Yan Ran sat in his seat, holding his schoolbag and looking at his deskmate and asked.

"I don't know, I guess I'm going back," Liang Jia answered with a smile while packing up the books.

"Oh." There was a little disappointment in Yan Ran's tone, but Liang Jia didn't feel it.

"Yan Ran, let's go," Xu Tian shouted as he lay at the door of their class with his bag on his back.

"See you after the Chinese New Year," Yan Ran said as he stood up.

"See you at the beginning of school." Liang Jia stood up and made way for him to leave. He waved to Yan Ran with a smile on his face.

Yan Ran said to Shang Ning and Chen Xiao and left.

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Chapter 32 Chapter 32

According to the usual practice in previous years, Liang Jia and the others would go back to their hometown to celebrate the New Year, but this year his parents said that he was about to take the college entrance examination and did not want to travel back and forth, so they celebrated the New Year in Jiangcheng.

Liang Qian clapped her hands after hearing this. Although her hometown is nice, it is not as lively as Jiangcheng. Children like lively scenes where they can eat and drink.

"Aren't you going back to your hometown?" Yan Ran sat up from the bed excitedly after hearing what Liang Jia said to him on the phone.

"We can go to the temple fair on the first day of junior high school." Liang Jia thought that the lively temple fair would definitely be fun.

"Okay, then I'll go and play with you on the first day of the new year," Yan Ran said happily.

Before the first day of junior high school, he went to find Liang Jia.

On New Year's Eve, Yan Peng held a banquet at home and invited a group of friends to drink at home. During the banquet, Yan Ran was kept talking to everyone and toasting.

Yan Ran was so annoyed that he didn't even know what to say, so he took his father's best wine and ran away from home.

When his father saw that his son didn't listen to him, he was so angry that he scolded the little turtle grandson. Then I saw that my son had taken away the good wine he had collected, and was chasing and scolding him, "Just leave, what are you doing with my wine? You know that wine...", I couldn't do it now. If you show off in front of your friends, let’s see where you put your face this time.

"Of course" Li Hui went out to answer a phone call. When he came back, he looked at his son's back and left the house.

"The child won't come out if he doesn't want to. Why do you have to force him to come out?" Li Hui scolded Yan Peng.

"He has been out of the house several times since he came back. Am I not cultivating his communication skills?" Yan Peng made an excuse for himself.

Li Hui saw that it was hard to quarrel with Yan Peng because the house was full of guests, so he tolerated it.

Yan Ran did not take a taxi but rode Jiangcheng's bicycle to Nancheng District. Dongcheng and Nancheng were quite far away. Yan Ran rode his bicycle and followed the navigation for more than an hour before arriving. He just wanted to let the cold freeze his inner emotions and not think about anything.

There are not many lights in Nancheng District on New Year's Eve. Most of them are migrant workers who have gone home during the New Year.

Yan Ran parked the car at the bus stop and walked to Liang Jia's house.

"Why are you here?" Liang Jia heard the knock on the door and went to the courtyard to open the door. There was a person standing opposite, and he asked in surprise.

"Come and have a meal," Yan Ran said in a relaxed tone, "I also brought some wine for my uncle to try."

The man was wearing thin clothes, ripped trousers and a red sweater. The tip of his nose was red from the cold, and his whole body was filled with cold air.

"Come in" Liang Jiada opened the door and extended his hand to welcome him.

"Hey, brother Yan Ran is here." Liang Qian heard the movement in the courtyard and ran out.

"Ran Ran is here?" Sun Qing also went out to take a look.

"Send some wine to uncle." Yan Ran smiled and showed the wine to her.

"Then welcome," Liang Yueting said with a smile when he saw Jiu Mei.

"Come here, what kind of wine can you bring?" Sun Qing felt that as a child with no financial foundation, it was embarrassing to bring gifts to play.

"My child is so considerate." When Liang Yueting saw the name of the wine, he couldn't help but want to say what kind of gift he wanted to bring, and quickly caught it.

"Oh, is it cold? Why are you wearing so little? Go inside quickly. Jiajia quickly went to get a cotton-padded jacket for Ran Ran to put on." Sun Qing exclaimed when she saw Yan Ran's thin clothes again.

Yan Ran smiled and said he didn't need to get clothes because he wasn't cold. Liang Jia pushed him into the house and went to get clothes for him. Sun Qing went to the kitchen to get a pair of dishes and chopsticks.

Yan Ran entered the house, and the coldness on his body melted away little by little.

"Brother Ran, sit here." Liang Qian patted the small bench next to her and asked Yan Ran to sit there.

"Okay" Yan Ran said and sat down.

"Put it on." Liang Jia covered Yan Ran with his clothes and asked him to put them on.

Yan Ran put it on obediently.

"Come" Sun Qing came back with the bowls and chopsticks, placed them in front of Yan Ran and sat down.

"Thank you, auntie" Yan Ran moved the bowl and chopsticks and thanked her.

"Most people can't afford this wine." Liang Yueting opened it and smelled it. The aroma of the wine was fragrant, and he was so happy that he poured a full glass.

"Come on, Lao Sun, you have a drink too," Liang Yueting said, pouring a small glass for his wife.

"You have agreed, then I have to try it." Sun Qing has been able to have a few drinks with Liang Yueting these years.

"Do you want to drink?" Liang Yueting also asked the children.

"Let me have some too." Yan Ran took the cup and asked for some. Liang Yueting could have poured him a cup if Liang Jia hadn't stopped him.

"What happened?" Liang Jia put some food for him and asked in his ear.

"It's okay." Yan Ran patted him to reassure him.

"Quickly try the food, your uncle's cooking." Sun Qing thought that during the Chinese New Year, it would be no big deal for a child to drink a little bit of wine as an adult, so she did not persuade Yan Ran not to drink.

On the table were home-cooked dishes, simple, but in Yan Ran's eyes, they were much more pleasing to the eye than the fancy and pretentious meals at his home.

On New Year's Eve, the family sat in a small but warm room and had a New Year's Eve dinner. They laughed and told old stories at the dinner table.

"Here, take this cup. Thank you for running around and making money to support your family." Sun Qing raised the cup and said to her husband calmly.

"Then thank you for taking care of the children at home. Thank you for your hard work." Liang Yueting also picked up the cup and thanked his wife.

The two clinked their glasses and drank, looking at each other and smiling. These years have not been easy, but fortunately they have come through now.

"Then I'll give you tea instead of wine to thank mom and dad. You two have worked hard." Liang Jia toasted them both with a cup.

"Thank you son," Liang's father and Liang's mother clinked glasses with Liang Jia, "I hope my son will be healthy and get good grades in the new year, and he will also get good grades in the exam."

"Thank you, uncle and aunt, I'd like to toast you too," Yan Ran said, holding the cup and raising his hand to drink.

Yan Ran couldn't tell whether the wine was good or bad, it all tasted the same in his mouth, and it was burning in his stomach after drinking it.

"I'd like to toast mom and dad too," Liang Qian pretended to be an adult while holding her juice.

"Little girl" Liang Yueting touched the child's head lovingly.

After a long time, fireworks were set off in the sky outside. Liang Qian couldn't sit still and ran to watch.

"Follow her, don't run too far," Sun Qing said to Liang Jia and the others when she saw her little girl running outside the hospital.

"Then let's go see it too, parents, please enjoy the world between the two of you," Liang Jia said sweetly, pulling Yan Ran out.

The child ran in front to go to the place where the fireworks were set off. Liang Jiayan followed behind and walked slowly talking. The street lights illuminated the two of them.