Free Web NovelChapter 404: Chapter 402: Happy New Year
After that, Gu’er and Sun Jiaming’s relationship grew even stronger. Now that they had reached an agreement about their child, they had nothing to worry about.
On the twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month, they received a call from the city, summoning them to a meeting. Their mall had been named one of the city’s Top Ten Outstanding Enterprises. And since Gu’er was the legal representative, she was also honored as one of the Top Ten Outstanding Youths.
While these honors couldn’t be spent like money, they signified the city’s official recognition. A high-ranking official personally presented the award, shook her hand, and offered words of encouragement. With reporters taking photos for television and newspapers, Gu’er and her mall were suddenly in the spotlight.
This television and newspaper coverage was great advertising for the mall. Liu Yuan called Gu’er to tell her the mall was now so packed every day you could barely squeeze through the crowds.
Good business made Gu’er and the others happy, of course, and in this cheerful mood, New Year’s Eve arrived.
On New Year’s Eve, they weren’t sure where to celebrate. Cao Qiu’s family wanted Sun Jiaming to go to their place, while Chen Fengjiao said Lin Shan was coming home today and wanted them to come over.
But Gu’er and Sun Jiaming couldn’t just abandon the large household on their side, so they invited everyone from Cao Qiu’s family to come celebrate with them instead.
Li Zhi had returned to his own family, but Dingzi, Grandma Dingzi, and Marina were at the Sun family’s home.
Aunt Zhao’s family was there too.
And Lin Shuying’s group of three.
Gu’er decided to simplify things and called Lin Shan, telling him to come straight to their house when he arrived. She then picked up Chen Fengjiao, Lin Sui’er, and Lin Zheng, figuring it was best for everyone to celebrate the New Year together there.
Even with a house as large as the Sun family’s, it felt packed to the brim with so many people.
Gu’er, Aunt Zhao, Chen Fengjiao, and Cao Qiu were the four preparing lunch.
Though there had been conflicts in the past, especially between Cao Qiu and Chen Fengjiao—the mere sight of Cao Qiu used to give Chen Fengjiao a headache—things were different now. They didn’t see each other often, and Cao Qiu was no longer as petty or sharp-tongued as she once was. As a result, Chen Fengjiao didn’t find her so grating anymore. Plus, it was the New Year, so the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
Lin Shan’s journey home was smooth this year, and he arrived a little after twelve. He was a bit surprised to see the house so full, but a smile soon spread across his face. They were all relatives, all family. It felt good to be together.
Seeing Lin Shan, Chen Fengjiao’s eyes reddened. She thought he looked thinner than the last time she’d seen him, with more gray hairs and new wrinkles on his face—a testament to how hard he worked.
Lin Shan first exchanged a few words with the two grandmothers before greeting everyone else one by one.
Noticing her mother was a bit distracted, Gu’er sent Chen Fengjiao to go sit with Lin Shan. The food was ready anyway; all that was left was to set the table.
There were so many people they had to set up several tables for the meal. They ran out of tables and had to borrow some from Dingzi’s house and Gu’er’s other property. They even called Li Zhi and told him they were borrowing a table from his place, too. When he heard everyone was there, Li Zhi shouted over the phone that he wanted to come. Gu’er could hear Li Zhi’s mother complaining in the background. "This son of mine is about to change his surname to Sun!" she grumbled. "It’s bad enough he’s never home, but now he wants to run off on New Year’s Eve. Does he even remember which family he belongs to?"
Gu’er heard Li Zhi’s embarrassed pleas for mercy on the other end and just smiled and shook her head. ’Days like these are truly wonderful,’ she thought.
The spread was incredibly lavish. There was no shortage of chicken, duck, fish, and meat, along with plenty of vegetable dishes. The women had each prepared their specialty dishes, so the tables were laden with all sorts of tempting food.
Lin Shan was the first to speak at the meal. Customarily, the eldest begins the speeches, but Grandma Sun and Grandma Dingzi deferred to Lin Shan, asking him to go first.
Lin Shan began by thanking everyone for looking after Chen Fengjiao and the others while he was away over the past year. He then thanked the Sun family and everyone present for their support and acceptance of Gu’er. Finally, he wished the elders good health, the younger generation continued success in their careers, and the children a happy childhood.
Everyone applauded, praising his speech, and they all raised their glasses for a toast.
With Lin Shan breaking the ice, the conversation became lively, with everyone chiming in one after another.
The atmosphere was great. Everyone ate their fill and drank merrily, and no one made any inappropriate remarks. Even Wei Hong didn’t say a single thing out of line all day, so everyone was in high spirits.
After the meal, everyone broke off into their own groups. Some chatted on the kang, some watched TV in the living room, while others played cards or mahjong, each enjoying their own activity.
Lin Shan was talking with Uncle Zhao and Sun Zhuzi, and Chen Fengjiao sat right beside him. She poured him water and constantly offered him frozen pears, frozen persimmons, and crabapples to eat.
Gu’er noticed that whenever her dad was around, her mom basically had eyes for no one else. ’But that’s a good thing,’ she thought. ’It shows how much they love each other.’
Lin Shan, for his part, was deeply content with this trip home. His love for Chen Fengjiao was as strong as it had been for decades, and his gaze softened whenever he looked at his wife.
Gu’er was doing very well. The Sun family treated her kindly, she had a good group of friends, and now her mall’s business was stable and had earned a reputation. He could finally rest easy.
Lin Zheng had always been a well-behaved boy who never caused any worry. The one who had truly changed was Sui’er. The hostility in her eyes was gone, replaced by a much gentler, more obedient demeanor. Chen Fengjiao had told him over the phone that Sui’er had changed and had even started to enjoy studying, but he had been skeptical, worried that his wife was just trying to placate him. Now, seeing her in person, he didn’t know whether she enjoyed studying or not, but she had definitely changed. It seemed Sui’er was no longer jealous of Gu’er and had stopped being so harsh with her. In fact, they seemed to be getting along quite well.
’It seems a lot has happened while I was away,’ Lin Shan thought. ’Sui’er’s transformation must be partly thanks to Gu’er.’ He felt a deep sense of gratification. What could be better than a warm, harmonious family?
They had dinner at the Sun family’s house as well. There were plenty of leftovers from lunch, which they reheated, and they also made a large batch of dumplings for everyone to share.
They ate frozen fruit, cracked melon seeds, and watched the Spring Festival Gala. The whole house was full. The sofa wasn’t big enough, so people sat on stools. When they ran out of stools, people just sat on the floor. Gu’er felt their little gathering was more lively than the gala itself.
The two grandmothers were getting on in years and couldn’t stay up until midnight. Around nine o’clock, they gave out the New Year’s lucky money and went to bed.
The rest of the group continued their vigil. When the midnight bells chimed on the gala, everyone began exchanging New Year’s greetings and well wishes. The adults gave lucky money to the younger generation, and since there were several houses with plenty of room, no one went home. They all just found a place to sleep.
Lying in bed, Gu’er felt like she didn’t even have the strength to move. After all the chopping and cooking for so many people, her arms felt too heavy to lift.
As she drifted off, she felt Sun Jiaming massaging her arms. The sore, tingly sensation was very comforting, and she sank into a deep sleep.
She was startled awake by the sound of firecrackers. Opening her eyes, she knew that some families had already finished cooking their first meal of the new year and were setting off firecrackers to celebrate.
It was a new year, a new beginning. ’I hope this year will be even better,’ she wished.
With this wish in her heart, Gu’er got out of bed.
"You’re up. Go wash your face. Aunt Zhao and the others are boiling the dumplings. They’ll be ready soon."
Sun Jiaming, who had woken up earlier than Gu’er, said this hurriedly when he saw her emerge.
Gu’er nodded. She glanced into the living room and saw Uncle Zhao and his family were already there. However, Lin Shan’s family and Cao Qiu’s family hadn’t come over yet. ’At least I’m not the last one up,’ she thought.
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