nucmednet Chapter 168 Year of the Snake: Grandparents' Home
Chapter 168 Year of the Snake: Grandparents' Home
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, sunlight playfully streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains. Li Yuan got up early and busied herself in the kitchen preparing breakfast. The joyful scene of the family reunion yesterday was still vivid in her mind, and today she was going to visit her maternal grandparents for the New Year, which filled her with anticipation.
"Liu Xuan, get up! We're going to Mom and Dad's today, so don't dawdle!" Li Yuan shouted into the bedroom while frying eggs.
Liu Xuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and muttered, "It's the New Year, can't people even sleep a little longer?" Despite saying that, he still reluctantly got out of bed.
Just then, sounds came from the rooms of her two daughters and son. Li Shiqing yawned, her hair disheveled, and walked out of her room, muttering, "Mom, why so early? I don't feel like I've had enough sleep."
"It's so late, why are you still sleeping? Go wash up, and we'll head to your grandparents' house after breakfast," Li Yuan urged.
Liu Yixin followed closely behind, wearing a pink nightgown and a sweet smile on her face: "Mom, I can't wait to see Grandpa and Grandma."
Liu Qicheng was the last to appear. He was still tying his shoelaces as he walked, and mumbled, "Sisters, wait for me, I'm not ready yet."
After washing up, the family sat around the table for breakfast. Li Yuan looked at the children and her two prospective sons-in-law, her heart filled with joy: "You all better behave yourselves when you go to your grandparents' house today, and don't cause any trouble."
With a steamed bun stuffed in his mouth, Liu Qicheng mumbled, "Mom, don't worry, I'll definitely be the most obedient one."
Zhang Chen and Fu Yu nodded with smiles: "Auntie, we will take good care of everyone."
After breakfast, the family packed their things and set off in a large group. The car was filled with laughter and chatter along the way. Liu Qicheng sat in the passenger seat, excitedly watching the scenery outside the window, occasionally chatting with Liu Xuan.
"Dad, do you think Grandpa and Grandma will give me a big red envelope this year?" Liu Qicheng asked expectantly.
Liu Xuan laughed and said, "You little rascal, all you know is red envelopes. As long as you behave, your grandparents will definitely not treat you badly."
Li Shiqing and Liu Yixin sat in the back seat, chatting and sharing their funny stories. Zhang Chen and Fu Yu listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a few words that made everyone laugh.
Before long, they arrived at their grandparents' house. Even before entering, they could hear bursts of laughter and cheerful voices coming from inside. Li Yuan pushed open the door and shouted, "Mom and Dad, we're here!"
Hearing the noise, the grandparents rushed out of the house to greet them. The grandmother's face lit up with a smile when she saw Li Yuan and the others: "My darlings, you've finally arrived! Come in, come in!"
Everyone went inside to exchange New Year's greetings. It was then that Li Yuan noticed her uncle and his wife were also there, with a little girl with a ponytail standing beside them.
"Oh, isn't this my little rascal?" Li Yuan squatted down and said to the little girl with a smile, "It's been years since I last saw you, you've grown so tall."
The little girl, a little shy, hid behind her mother and whispered, "Hello, Auntie."
The uncle introduced with a smile, "This is your cousin, Tingting. She's 12 years old this year and quite mischievous."
When Tingting heard her uncle say that, she was unhappy and pouted, saying, "Dad, you're talking bad about me again."
Everyone was amused by Tingting's adorable appearance. Liu Qicheng walked over and patted Tingting's head: "Cousin, you've grown quite a bit taller! Have you missed your cousin?"
Tingting looked up, her eyes sparkling: "Of course I wanted to, cousin! Did you bring me a present?"
Liu Qicheng patted his forehead: "Oh dear, I forgot. But it's okay, your cousin will take you to buy some delicious food later."
Tingting then smiled with satisfaction.
At this moment, Grandma invited everyone to sit down, saying, "Don't stand there, sit down and rest for a while. I've prepared lots of delicious food for you."
Everyone sat down, eating the snacks Grandma had prepared and chatting about everyday things. Grandpa sat on the sofa, looking at the large family in front of him, his face beaming with a happy smile: "Our family is really lively this year, everyone's here."
Li Yuan smiled and said, "Yes, Dad. All the children are back this year, and two prospective sons-in-law are here too. Our family will definitely become more and more lively in the future."
Grandpa looked at Zhang Chen and Fu Yu and nodded with satisfaction: "These two young men are both good. They seem like reliable and dependable people. Yuan'er, you have good taste."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen and Fu Yu immediately stood up and politely said, "Grandpa, you flatter us. We will take good care of Shi Qing and Yi Xin."
The uncle joked from the side, "Dad, don't just praise them, praise me too. I've worked very hard this year as well."
Grandpa laughed and said, "You little rascal, you're so old and still jealous. You're not bad either, work hard and take good care of your family."
Everyone burst into laughter at their uncle's words.
Tingting couldn't sit still any longer. She grabbed Liu Qicheng's hand and said, "Cousin, didn't you say you were going to take me to buy some delicious food? Let's go now."
Liu Qicheng looked at everyone and said, "Then I'll take my cousin out to buy some things, and we'll be back in a bit."
Li Yuan reminded him, "Be careful on the road and come back soon."
As soon as Liu Qicheng and Tingting left, Grandma took Li Shiqing and Liu Yixin's hands and asked, "Qing'er, Xin'er, when are you getting married? Grandma is looking forward to drinking your wedding wine."
Li Shiqing and Liu Yixin blushed upon hearing this. Li Shiqing said shyly, "Grandma, my parents and his parents have agreed to get married in the garden or by the sea."
Liu Yixin added, "Grandma, we want to stabilize our jobs first before considering marriage."
Grandma nodded and said, "Alright, you can make your own decisions. But if there's anything you need Grandma's help with, just let me know."
At this moment, the uncle's wife smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry about them. The children have all grown up and have their own ideas."
Grandma smiled and said, "I'm just hoping they get married soon so I can hold my great-grandson."
After chatting for a while, Liu Qicheng and Tingting returned. Tingting was carrying a large bag of snacks, her face beaming with a happy smile.
"Grandma, look! My cousin bought me so many delicious things!" Tingting ran to her grandma and boasted.
Grandma laughed and said, "You child, all you know is how to eat."
Liu Qicheng sat on the sofa, panting, and said, "Cousin, you really can shop! I'm exhausted."
Tingting stuck out her tongue and said, "Since you're my cousin, you have to come shopping with me."
Everyone was amused by Tingting's words.
At noon, Grandma prepared a sumptuous lunch. Everyone sat around the table, raising their glasses to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
"Come on, everyone, let's toast! May our family enjoy good health and all the best in the new year!" Grandpa raised his glass and said loudly.
"Cheers!" Everyone raised their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
During the meal, everyone enjoyed the delicious food while sharing anecdotes from their lives. Zhang Chen and Fu Yu also took the initiative to chat with their uncle and grandfather, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Looking at Zhang Chen and Fu Yu, the uncle asked curiously, "Zhang, Fu, what do you do for work?"
Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Uncle, I am the business manager of Aunt Li's subsidiary and also the son of the chairman of Zhang's Group."
Fu Yu continued, "Uncle, I am an ancient etiquette teacher, mainly researching and teaching traditional Chinese etiquette culture."
Upon hearing this, the uncle's eyes lit up: "An ancient etiquette teacher? That sounds like an interesting job. Xiao Fu, can you tell us about the fun aspects of ancient etiquette?"
Fu Yu pushed up his glasses and said with a smile, "Uncle, there's a lot to learn about ancient etiquette. For example, there were many kinds of greetings in ancient times. The way of bowing was different depending on the occasion and the status of the person. In formal occasions, you would usually bow with your hands clasped together, left hand over right hand, hanging down naturally and swaying slightly to show respect and greeting."
As he spoke, Fu Yu demonstrated the cupped-hand salute on the spot. His movements were standard and elegant, and everyone couldn't help but applaud.
"Wow, Xiao Fu, you're amazing!" Uncle exclaimed. "I never knew there were so many intricacies to ancient etiquette."
Fu Yu continued, "Besides greetings, ancient dining etiquette was also very distinctive. For example, there were rules about seating arrangements when eating, with elders sitting in the superior position and juniors in the inferior position. Moreover, one should not make loud noises while eating and should chew slowly. These are all basic etiquette norms."
Tingting listened with great interest and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Fu Yu, am I eating correctly right now?"
Fu Yu smiled and said, "Tingting, you're doing very well now. However, you should be careful when eating in the future. Don't put your elbows on the table; it's not very polite."
Tingting quickly pulled her elbow back and said earnestly, "I remember, Brother Fu Yu."
Everyone was amused by Tingting's serious expression.
After lunch, everyone sat in the living room chatting. Grandpa suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, by the way, I found some old photos when I was sorting through some old things the other day. Would you like to see them?"
"Yes, yes!" Tingting was the first to jump up, excitedly saying.
Grandpa took a photo album out of the room and placed it on the table. Everyone sat around it, flipping through the album, and old photos came into view one by one.
“Look, this is a photo of me and your grandmother when we were young.” Grandpa pointed to a black and white photo and said with a smile, “We were both very young then. Although life was tough, we were very happy.”
Looking at the photos, Li Yuan said with emotion, "Dad, Mom, you were so beautiful and handsome when you were young."
Grandma smiled and said, "Back then, we didn't have such good conditions. We were lucky if we could have enough to eat and wear."
Next, everyone saw photos of Li Yuan and her uncle when they were little. In the photos, Li Yuan had two little braids and a pure smile on her face; her uncle was wearing a military uniform and looked very dashing.
"Wow, Auntie, you were so cute when you were little!" Tingting said enviously, looking at the photo.
Li Yuan said with a smile, "Back then, your uncle and I were very naughty, and we caused your grandparents a lot of worry."
The uncle laughed and said, "Yes, we used to go out and play together a lot. Sometimes we would get into trouble and get beaten up quite a few times."
As everyone looked at the photos, they reminisced about the past, and laughter filled the air.
Before they knew it, it was already afternoon. Li Yuan checked the time and said, "It's getting late, we should head back."
Grandma held Li Yuan's hand and said reluctantly, "You're leaving so soon? Stay a few more days."
Li Yuan smiled and said, "Mom, we will come to visit you and Dad often in the future. Please take care of yourselves, and call us if you need anything."
Everyone stood up and said goodbye to their maternal grandparents and uncle's family. Their maternal grandparents saw them to the door and told them to be careful on the way.
"Goodbye, Grandpa and Grandma!" Tingting waved and said loudly.
"Goodbye, Tingting! Come visit again next time!" Grandpa and Grandma replied with smiles.
The family got into the car and slowly drove away from Grandpa and Grandma's house. Liu Qicheng sat in the car, watching the scenery gradually disappear outside the window, and said with emotion, "Today was really a happy day."
Li Shiqing smiled and said, "Yes, being together as a family is the greatest happiness."
Liu Yixin added, "I hope that every year in the future we can be like today, with our family happily reunited together."
Zhang Chen and Fu Yu exchanged a glance, smiled, and nodded. They knew that this big family would bring them even more warmth and joy.
The car drove along the road, the afterglow of the setting sun casting a golden glow upon it, as if draping it in a golden coat. The family's laughter echoed through this warm Spring Festival, becoming their most cherished memory.