When I woke up the next morning, it was snowing lightly outside, and Zijun and Zimei were very excited and had a snowball fight in the yard. Wang Lanfang was busy dusting and cleaning with a long broom in the morning, cleaning the roof, wall corners and other places that are rarely visited all year round. The two sisters were a little embarrassed to play when they saw their mother's busy figure, and helped their mother wipe the cabinets, chairs, tables, and windows at home. Zi'an was not idle, and turned the firewood that was piled there there into slender strips, preparing to use it for cooking and roasting during the New Year.

The mothers and sons were busy at home for several days, and Chen Zhili also helped to do some things within his ability, and the pace of the year slowly approached in the busyness of the family. On the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, my mother prepared the dishes that needed to be stewed, boiled, fried, and fried in advance, and only reserved a few vegetables for temporary stir-fry tomorrow. In the past, Chen Zhili was responsible for kneading glutinous rice milk, Zi'an and Zijun were responsible for kneading the balls, and Wang Lanfang was the chief technician, responsible for frying the balls in the oil pot.

This year, Dad's health is not good, so he changed to Zi'an kneading the pulp, and he always said that this life has no technical content at all, and he is eager to try. This time, I did it myself, but I didn't know the essentials, and I was tired and sweating profusely in this cold winter. In the end, it was under the guidance of my father that I successfully completed the task.

Zijun and his father laughed at the Haikou he boasted about before while rubbing the balls, and even Zimei laughed at his inability, but it was his mother who gave face, saying that Zi'an was already very good for the first time, and it was better than the first time his father did it.

Zimei naturally didn't believe it, and his father also admitted it, remembering the Spring Festival in the first year of marriage, the grandparents taught their husband and wife to make rounds, and couldn't help laughing. This is the most lively thing before Chinese New Year's Eve, and it is also Zijun's favorite.

Everyone in the family has a contribution to do a good job together, and the balls feel very sweet and crispy in the mouth. Although Dad's health is a little worse, fortunately, he can still be together as a family like this, it's good! Zijun looked at Dad's smiling face and smiled himself, and took a bite of the balls that had just come out of the pot.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, in the north, it is mainly eaten at night for Chinese New Year's Eve, while in northern Xiangbei, it is customary to eat early New Year's rice. Early in the morning, the whole family sits around to have a sumptuous New Year's dinner, and after eating, they have to go to the ancestors' graves to send fire, in order to show that the incense is inherited.

Mom got up at four o'clock in the morning and started to be busy, and Dad also got up early to worship the god of the stove and worship the ancestors in the shrine in the living room, and then waited for Mom to cook, set off firecrackers, and only started to eat after picking up the ancestors.

The weather was very good that day, and the family had a New Year's dinner, leaving only their mother to clean up the dishes and chopsticks at home, and the three siblings and Chen Zhili all went to the cemetery to send the fire. The cemetery is not far away, and it is only a little more than half an hour's walk. Considering my dad's body, I rode the bike today. Dad Zaizi'an, Zijun Zaizi.

When I arrived, there were already many people in the cemetery, and I heard the crackling of firecrackers from a distance, and I saw a field of fireworks filling the air. This formerly quiet occasion is rarely lively.

Dad lit incense wax in front of the grave where his grandparents were buried, first kowtowed, Zi'an brothers and sisters also did the same, the lit firecrackers crackled, and the whole grave was filled with smoke, Zijun saw Dad standing in front of the grave, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Chen Zijun—" There was some uncertainty in his voice. Zijun looked back, but it was his former classmate Xiao Ping, only to see her wearing a red cotton coat standing not far away, the only bright color in this cold season.

"Xiao Ping, it's you. "Yes, Xiao Ping used to be in their village, but later her father made a lot of money in business and moved to the county seat, but the ancestral house is still here.

"Chen Zijun, are you coming back from work?" Xiao Ping's voice was very sweet, with a little deliberately squeamish.

"Hmm. Are you alright?" Zijun is not good at such pleasantries.

"Me, of course. Alas, if you can also study, the two of us can be classmates again. "Classmates for a few years, Zijun and Xiao Ping don't have much contact, and the two of them are not the same kind of people. If Xiao Ping is a pampered flower in a greenhouse, delicate and beautiful, then Zijun is a small daisy on the side of the road, fragrant and elegant. Because of this difference, the circle of friends of the two has completely different preferences.

That's not all right, at least they both had a liking for the same boy, and that was Zhou Can. Xiao Ping likes Zhou Can, that's something they all know in their class, but Zijun's liking for Zhou Can is on the eve of graduation. And girls are always naturally sensitive, so in the following semester, the two of them basically have little intersection, and Xiao Ping saw that she just didn't take a detour.

Zijun was silent, and his heart couldn't help hurting again.

Xiao Ping then said: "I heard about my uncle's matter, and I really feel sorry for you." The teacher also asked me several times, but I had no choice but to tell the teacher about your family, you won't blame me, right?"

"It doesn't matter, you're telling the truth. My brother and they were still waiting for me, so they left first. Looking at Xiao Ping's smug expression, Zijun's heart ached, she didn't need anyone's pity and sympathy, and she didn't like other people's ridicule and laughter.

"Zhou Can is in the class next to us, and he often helps me make up for my lessons. Do you want me to tell him you're back?" Xiao Ping's voice came from behind, through Zijun's eardrums, echoing in his mind.

What do you mean by telling me, do you mean that you are the one who can stand with him now, or are you telling me how good your relationship is, that you can go to him at any time? But these have nothing to do with her now, do they, do they? But why does my heart still ache faintly?

On the evening of the thirtieth year, the family sat around to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Chen Zhili thought that he would accompany his family to watch the Spring Festival Gala before going to sleep, but he couldn't hold it until more than ten o'clock, and everyone advised him to go to bed first.

Zijun and Zi'an looked at their father who was obviously very tired but had to hold on, and they didn't want their father to have regrets, so they thought about moving the TV to their parents' bedroom, anyway, the room in the countryside was big, and the family sat in their parents' bedroom to watch TV, Wang Lanfang took two thick pillows to help Chen Zhili cushion behind his back, and let him lie on the bed to watch, and the family was happy. After a while, when Zijun looked back again, he found that Chen Zhili was already lying on the bed and sleeping soundly. She couldn't help but smile a little, as long as her father was fine, it was worth it to suffer a little by herself.