Chapter 104 Sister-in-law
I went to my uncle's house to visit my grandmother in the afternoon, but she was not there.
I asked my cousin Luo Zhenzhen and found out that she went to the market to sell spring roll wrappers again.
When the Spring Festival comes in southern Jiangsu, every household will have a plate of fried spring rolls on the table, with fillings of vegetables and meat, red bean paste, or fruit. The key is the skin.
A coal stove, an iron plate, and a ball of flour in your hands. Gently knead it on the steaming iron plate, and a thin spring roll skin will come out.
This thing requires a lot of skills. Luo Yang has also tried it, but he didn't do it well. But grandma can spread out a round leather with even thickness.
Don't underestimate this leather. In the half month before the Spring Festival, Luo Yang's grandmother could earn four to five thousand yuan by doing this.
"Then I'll take some time to come and visit grandma in the evening."
As he spoke, he took out a box and handed it to Luo Zhenzhen: "Sister, I'm giving you a gift."
"?"
Luo Zhenzhen's face was full of question marks. How could her cousin actually give her a gift?
"I bought it with my part-time salary."
Luo Yang stuffed Pandora's box into his cousin's hand without saying anything: "It's a soft bracelet, quite nice."
"Yangyang is here?"
Uncle Luo Jianjun and aunt Tang Yuezhi came back with a lot of things. The 11th was already New Year's Eve, and every household was busy buying New Year's goods.
"Uncle, aunt!"
Luo Yang rushed over and took a pig's hind leg from Tang Yuezhi. He walked into the house and said, "I came to see grandma. I forgot that she sells spring roll wrappers at the market every year at this time."
"You little bitch, Yangyang knows how to help!"
Tang Yuezhi glared at her daughter who was still in a daze: "Come and help me get my things."
"Who told you not to ride the tricycle in?"
Luo Zhenzhen muttered to herself, but did not slow down as she ran over to help her mother carry things.
"Come over for dinner tonight. Your grandma keeps asking if you have had your winter vacation yet."
Luo Jianjun went to the house to put down his things and came out and said, "Call your parents over as well."
"My dad is terrible."
Luo Yang smiled and said, "I drank a lot with Brother Junpeng at noon. I probably won't wake up unless I sleep until three or four o'clock."
"Junzi had lunch at your house?"
Luo Jianjun nodded and said, "I didn't make a mistake in accepting this eldest disciple. Yangyang, your father has done a good job in the second half of the year. He even came to pay back the money a few days ago."
Everyone has a scale in their heart, and they remember who is good and who is bad.
"I can only say that I have cleared some of the debt. Finally, no one came to ask for money this year."
"Don't worry, take it step by step, and next year will definitely be better!"
Luo Jianjun sighed, "I was worried about how to hide this from the old lady, but now everything is fine!"
After chatting for a few more words, Luo Yang said goodbye, as he planned to go to the town to visit his grandparents.
"Leaving?"
Luo Zhenzhen came out at this time and shook her wrist at Luo Yang: "It looks pretty good, thank you!"
I strolled home and drove to the town, which only took about ten minutes.
The streets of the town are crowded with people and will be very lively until lunchtime on New Year's Eve.
"Grandpa, grandma!"
The backyard of the old supply and marketing cooperative was large enough to accommodate several trucks. Luo Yang's Mercedes-Benz was naturally no problem and drove directly to the cement yard in front of his grandfather's house.
"Yangyang is back?"
After entering the room, I didn't see Gu Baitao. Instead, my grandmother Xu Guifeng and my aunt Gu Hongqiu were chatting in the room. My cousin Qiao Jiajun was playing Snake out of boredom with a Nokia mobile phone.
"Grandma, Auntie, Xiaojun!"
Luo Yang called out politely, casually moving a stool to sit next to Xu Guifeng: "Where's Grandpa?"
"What else can he do? He must be playing chess with someone somewhere on the street."
"Xiaojun!"
Aunt Gu Hongqiu glared at her son.
"elder brother!"
When the game was at a critical moment, Qiao Jiajun called out to Luo Yang without even raising his head.
"Xiaojun is in the third year of junior high school, right? I will help him prepare a set of secret exam papers for the high school entrance examination. They are very targeted."
"elder brother!"
No matter how long the snake is, it is not as long as his cousin's routine. Qiao Jiajun interrupted the game, raised his head and looked at his cousin with sad eyes.
I can't cure you yet.
Give a stick and a sweet date.
"Xiaojun, come out for a walk with me if you have nothing to do!"
"Hurry up and go out for a walk with your brother. You're either holding your phone or your game console all day long, and you're going to become dull."
Aunt Gu Hongqiu was helpless with her son who liked to stay at home, so when she saw that Luo Yang was willing to take him out for a walk, she was of course more than happy to do so.
Qiao Jiajun followed Luo Yang out the door very reluctantly.
"Brother, is this your car?"
After sitting in the passenger seat, Qiao Jiajun looked like a curious baby. He remembered that his cousin's family only had one car, and it was driven by his uncle.
"A gift from someone else!"
"Tsk, it's more believable if you say you bought it yourself."
Qiao Jiajun replied in disbelief, wondering in his heart who he had borrowed it from to save face.
The car drove out of the town and headed towards the city.
Qiao Jiajun started playing with his cell phone again and didn't even ask where Luo Yang was taking him.
Half an hour later, the car arrived at the wholesale market on the outskirts of the city.
Luo Yang remembered that there was a large fireworks wholesale store here. The owner was very powerful and his sources of goods spread across Anhui Province, northern Jiangsu, and Hunan Province.
Although regulations banning the burning of fireworks and firecrackers were formulated in 2006, the time of implementation varies from place to place. It was not until 2014 that Jiangsu Province implemented a large-scale ban, and it was only in urban areas. There were no restrictions on township areas.
So the fireworks wholesale store is doing a booming business right now. Boys don't have much resistance to this stuff, and when Qiao Jiajun saw Luo Yang bringing him to buy fireworks, he immediately put away his phone.
"Within 500, you choose."
Luo Yang was not stingy with his cousin. After giving him some instructions, he went straight into the store.
What he wanted to buy were all big ones, and the quantity was not small. He didn't want to take the goods away immediately, so of course he talked to the boss directly.
After some negotiations, Luo Yang bought more than 15,000 yuan worth of fireworks, and took home a dozen large ones and some Wanzhanghong (small firecrackers with ten thousand sounds) from the spot. He specified the time and place for the rest and asked the fireworks shop to help deliver them.
"Brother, are you rich?"
"Don't tell!"
On the way back, Luo Yang pulled the child worker: "If you can keep it a secret for me, I will take you to set off those fireworks on New Year's Eve!"
"A word is settled!"
"A word is settled!"
That afternoon, a cousin named Qiao Jiajun was added to the group to set off the fireworks for free.
Originally, Luo Yang wanted to talk to his uncle about premixed cement mortar the next day. However, after the call, he found out that all units had endless year-end meetings and were even busier at night, so he had no time at all before the New Year.
Then we can only make an appointment on New Year's Day. Luo Jianmin will come to his uncle's house to wish his mother a happy new year, and his brothers and sisters will also have a meal together.
The next few days are spent preparing for the New Year, cleaning, visiting graves, and pasting Spring Festival couplets.
Time flies and it's New Year's Eve.
The table is full of food, but there are a few dishes that are indispensable every year: celery means hard work in the coming year, herring means surplus every year, and hecai means harmony and happiness in the family.
The New Year’s Eve dinner starts at 5:30 and ends around 7:00.
Luo Yang went to his uncle's house with his parents and received New Year's money in advance from his grandmother.
He didn't stay long because Jiang Fan sent him a text message.
"Luo Yang, Sun Qin and I have an appointment at 8:30, have you set off yet?"
"Oh, it's so annoying. There are so many people coming to my house."
Jiang Yuanshan was a man who brought great success to his family. His home was always full of guests, especially during the Spring Festival, when a large number of his brothers, sisters and relatives from his wife's side would gather at his home. According to Jiang Fan himself, they could even have three tables playing mahjong.
"I've already set off. I'll go to the Lakeside Square to set up. You and Sun Qin will come to the stone beach to find me."
He replied to Jiang Fan's message and then drove to the city.
My uncle-in-law's house is in the city, so Luo Yang has to pick up the free worker Qiao Jiajun first, and then contact the owner of the fireworks shop to ask him to arrange the delivery.
When I finished everything and rushed to Lakeside Square, it was already 7:55.
"Xiaojun, come and help!"
"I'm coming!"
Qiao Jiajun was very excited when he saw a pickup truck towing a load of fireworks, all of which were huge.
"Brother, there aren't many people here on New Year's Eve, why are we setting off fireworks here?"
While placing the items according to Luo Yang's instructions, he wondered, "It would be nice to put them in my grandparents' yard."
"You'll find out soon."
It took more than twenty minutes to set up dozens of big guys. Fortunately, Luo Yang brought a flashlight with him and he was able to find the fuse without any problems.
The lakeside park is not empty. Just like Luo Yang and Jiang Fan, young couples also make appointments to meet here or set off some fireworks.
"Wow, there are so many fireworks!"
Couples passing by saw dozens of large fireworks spread out on the ground and stopped to look. Gradually, more than a dozen couples gathered around.
Let's first look at the brilliant fireworks going off one after another in the city in the distance, and then you can watch the fireworks in front of you up close for free. The main point is to enjoy it for free, it's still romantic!
"Luo Yang!"
At around 8:40, Jiang Fan and Sun Qin arrived.
From a distance, you can see a lot of people gathered near the rocky beach. When you get closer, you will find that Luo Yang is standing in front of a large field of fireworks.
"Wow, so many fireworks!"
Sun Qin suddenly let go of Jiang Fan's arm and ran over: "Luo Yang, are you going to let them all go later?"
"Are you going to keep it overnight?"
After Luo Yang replied to her, he stretched out his arms to hug Jiang Fan and gave her a passionate kiss.
"elder brother"
Qiao Jiajun appeared beside the two of them at some point. He looked left and right, his eyes dark and no one knew what he was thinking.
"My aunt's son, Qiao Jiajun!"
After introducing his cousin, he glared at her and said, "Why don't you call me sister-in-law!"
"Sister-in-law, Happy New Year!"
Jiang Fan's face suddenly turned red to his neck, and he quickly buried his head in Luo Yang's chest.
Seeing that his cousin was about to reach out for a red envelope like Jiang Fan, Luo Yang quickly said, "Let's set off the fireworks. Start from the middle of the farthest row, two at a time. Each of us will be responsible for lighting one."
Qiao Jiajun's attention was suddenly diverted.
"I'll do it, I'll do it, you two are responsible for watching!"
Sun Qin was supporting the couple and took the initiative to take over the task of setting off the fireworks.
“Whoa~~~~Bang!”
As fireworks exploded in the air, the night sky near the rocky beach of Lakeside Park was lit up.
"Like it?"
"Yes, I like it!"
"."
In the distance, Sun Qin and Qiao Jiajun were running among the fireworks, shouting loudly from time to time, looking extremely happy.
"Jiang Fan, Happy New Year!"
"Luo Yang, Happy New Year!"
With her black hair resting on Luo Yang's shoulder, Jiang Fan smiled as bright as a flower.
I always feel that the New Year atmosphere is getting weaker and weaker, so I couldn’t help but write some things I wanted to write. Please forgive me when you read it, but it would be even better if you can resonate with it.
(End of this chapter)
