country bumpkin

Chapter 146 Happy New Year's Eve

The car returned to Kongjia Village without any obstacles. As soon as he got out of the car, he saw Mu Shuyun leading Yunya and waiting for him at the village entrance.

Kong Xiufang was deeply moved, and she called out with a smile, "Mom~ Yunya, why did you come to pick me up!"

Yunya quickly explained, "Auntie, it's already dark, and you haven't come back yet. Grandma was worried about you, so she brought me here to wait for you."

Then she whispered, "It's dark, it's scary, there are black monsters everywhere. How will you get home without a flashlight?"

Kong Xiufang was amused by her and patted her hair, saying, "Where are the monsters? You've been watching too much TV!"

Yun Ya said seriously, "There are no monsters, only ghosts. Ghosts all come out at night and are especially scary. We have flashlights, and they are afraid of bright light. When we shine a flashlight on them, they won't dare to come out and scare people."

Kong Xiufang couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she stopped arguing. Perhaps this was a source of comfort for the children, something that would put them at ease, so why shatter that comfort?

Mu Shuyun was in front, Yun Ya was in the middle, and Kong Xiufang was behind. The three of them walked home together.

Back home, Kong Xiufang ate a simple meal and prepared to go to bed. Mu Shuyun came over and asked, "When are you planning to get married?"

Kong Xiufang said, "Junhui's mother said that they would register their marriage on the sixth day of the first lunar month when people go back to work, or the sixteenth would also be fine. The wedding banquet will be held in February."

Mu Shuyun already had a plan in mind, and said, "Okay, I'll have your father see which day is better, the sixth or the sixteenth." After saying that, she went out.

Lying in bed, Kong Xiufang began to miss Lin Junhui again. It seemed she needed to get married soon; she had to let go of her attachment to him.

We've only been apart for a short time today, and I'm already missing him. I've never felt this way before.

In the city, Lin Junhui lay in bed staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

When I close my eyes, all I see is Kong Xiufang. Every smile, every gesture of hers deeply touches my heart.

Lin Junhui simply sat up, picked up a pen, and wrote a letter to Kong Xiufang in his diary.

He wanted to pour out all his longing on paper.

As he wrote, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, as if Kong Xiufang were right in front of him watching him.

After finishing writing, Lin Junhui carefully placed the diary under his pillow, as if hiding a most precious treasure.

This longing and anticipation flowed like a gentle stream through his young heart, further solidifying his determination to get married as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Kong Xiufang drifted off to sleep and dreamed of her wedding with Lin Junhui.

She wore a beautiful red wedding dress, while Lin Junhui looked dashing in a suit. Surrounded by the blessings of family and friends, the two smiled happily.

Suddenly, a rooster crowed, waking Kong Xiufang from her dream. Seeing the faint light of dawn outside the window, she felt a little embarrassed, realizing how eagerly she was looking forward to her wedding day.

The next day, Mu Shuyun woke up early, before her family had woken up. She quietly got dressed, closed the door, and went to the kitchen to get busy.

Prepare all the side dishes and seasonings needed for lunch and afternoon first. It's not too late to make breakfast after everyone is up.

Although it's Lunar New Year's Eve, Kong Tongming still has to work half a day.

Not long after, Kong Tongming also got up. Mu Shuyun saw him getting up and washing up, so she quickly went to make breakfast.

With pre-prepared hand-pulled noodles, simply stir-fry shredded radish in oil, pour in boiling water from a thermos, and the water in the pot will quickly boil.

Grab a couple of hand-pulled noodles and put them in a pot to cook for a few minutes; they'll be done in no time. Serve two bowls of noodles and top with the previously prepared meat sauce. Breakfast is ready.

Mu Shuyun brought the food into the living room, returned to the kitchen, and used a spatula to scoop up some of the embers from the fire at the bottom of the pot and put them into the stove in the east room.

He added a few more pieces of wood, placed the kettle on it, and with a whoosh, the wood caught fire. He then added two shovelfuls of charcoal, placed the kettle on it, and went back to eat.

The couple ate their meal in the living room, slurping it down. After finishing, Kong Tongming went to work.

Mu Shuyun started by preparing pig feed for the pigs, then led the sheep to the backyard to feed them, and then removed the bricks blocking the entrance to the chicken coop so that the chickens could come out and forage for food on their own.

After finishing all that, the children woke up. Kong Xiufang washed up and went to the kitchen to make noodles.

After washing up, Kong Xiangyao and Yun Ya sat in the living room waiting for dinner. Kong Xiufang called out, and the two of them hurried to the kitchen to get the food.

After breakfast, Kong Xiangyao prepared incense, paper money, gold ingots, firecrackers, ancestral tablets, and other necessities, and went to the woods to invite his ancestors home for the New Year.

Kong Xiufang led Yunya to her second brother's house to help bring her sister-in-law and children to celebrate the New Year.

In previous years, we would invite my sister-in-law over, but now that her children are older, we don't need to bring so much stuff, so we don't need to go to her house to help anymore. Besides, my sister-in-law might not be willing to come to the old house to celebrate the New Year together.

A few days ago, Mu Shuyun told her eldest son to invite them to celebrate the New Year together at the old house. Wang Cuihua refused, saying that there wouldn't be enough room for everyone at one table, it would be too crowded, and they should celebrate at their own home. Mu Shuyun didn't say anything more and let them be.

At noon, Kong Xiufang started chopping the meat filling, while Mu Shuyun kneaded the dough. Yunya helped Zhou Caiyun look after the children.

Jianjun and Jianguo didn't come; they stayed home and played with Granny Wang's granddaughter. Xianghong and Xiangyang also played in their maternal grandmother's yard and didn't go out.

Kong Xiangdong sold tofu all morning, and when he came back at noon, he found no one at home and no children's clothes or toys. He knew that they must have taken the toys to the old house.

He quickly pushed the car into the house, washed his face, changed into clean clothes, and prepared to go to the old house to find his wife and children.

After locking the doors and the main gate, I hurriedly went to the old house.

When he arrived at the old house and saw his wife and children inside, Kong Xiangguang breathed a sigh of relief.

He walked into the house with a simple, honest smile on his face and said, "Hey, what's everyone busy with?"

Kong Xiufang joked, "We've been waiting for you, you busybody." Everyone burst into laughter.

At this moment, Kong Xiangyao also invited the ancestors back. Everyone hurriedly set out the offerings and respectfully worshipped their ancestors.

Afterwards, Mu Shuyun invited everyone to make dumplings together. The women sat together chatting as they made dumplings, while the men discussed their work arrangements after the New Year.

Yunya curiously approached Kong Xiangdong and asked, "Second Uncle, is selling tofu fun?"

Kong Xiangdong pinched her nose and said, "There's no fun in this. Your uncle is working hard to support the family."

As night fell, the New Year's Eve dinner was served. The abundant dishes emitted an enticing aroma.

The family sat together in a lively atmosphere, exchanging New Year's greetings.

Kong Xiufang glanced secretly in the direction of Lin Junhui, her heart filled with sweet anticipation.

Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, illuminating every happy face. This New Year's Eve was filled with warmth and hope, and it also filled everyone with beautiful aspirations for the future.