New Year's Eve finally arrived. Every household was eating their New Year's Eve dinner. The snow outside hadn't stopped, but that couldn't prevent the children from playing wildly outdoors.
Ji Zhaoxi and Qin Du were eating the dumplings she had wrapped the day before. They looked pretty good when she made them, but the moment they went into the boiling water, they all broke apart.
"Brother Qin Du, I think the dumplings I made taste better."
Qin Du nodded.
Ji Zhuxin really couldn't stand watching them anymore. "Stop eating those broken dumplings. You have perfectly good ones right here, yet you won't eat them."
She really couldn't understand kids these days.
Qin's mother ate her dumplings, her eyes full of memories. "When I was little, my mother used to make pickled vegetable dumplings for me too. I just love this flavor."
Ji Zhuxin blew on her hot food and asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, didn't you eat them after you married Uncle?"
Qin's mother shook her head. "His father didn't like the smell of pickled vegetables. He was a picky eater, so I could only sneak a bite or two occasionally."
Speaking of this, she smiled. "Qin Du was still quite young back then. Knowing his father wouldn't let me eat it, he would secretly go to other families to buy pickled vegetables and give them to me."
Ji Zhuxin clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Why was Uncle so overbearing? Just because he didn't like it, he wouldn't let anyone else in the family eat it."
Qin's mother smiled and nodded.
"He was highly educated, and I didn't have much schooling. He always felt we had nothing in common to talk about. The Fourth Concubine had been to school, so he preferred spending his time with the Fourth Concubine."
A child's sudden scream came from outside. Startled, Ji Zhuxin cursed under her breath.
She blew on a piping hot dumpling. "Well, Auntie, you raised Qin Du well. What a good son. You'll be able to enjoy a good life in the future."
Qin's mother smiled and didn't say anything more.
To be honest, after his father died, she actually felt the tight string in her heart loosen. She felt much more at ease, though, of course, she couldn't say this to others.
When they lived at his father's house, his father despised everything about her—the food she liked, the way she ate, how she sat and stood, and the things she said.
But he was quite good to Qin Du.
He was a good father, but he wasn't a good husband.
It had been so many years since his father passed away. Truthfully, she never missed him; she only hated him for dragging their son down.
Firecrackers were set off at the educated youths' compound and the village chief's doorstep. The village children went over in groups to play wildly.
"My mom bought me fruit candies!"
"My mom bought me White Rabbit milk candies!"
"What's so great about White Rabbit candies? I had them last year, and I'm already sick of them."
"You're bragging again. Your family earned so few work points this year. You definitely didn't buy them because you can't afford White Rabbit candies."
"That's not true!"
The children gathered together, showing off the things their families had bought. The children whose families hadn't bought much could only stand by and listen, looking very awkward and constrained.
Ji Zhaoxi and Qin Du ran to the back of the house to play. There was a large open space there.
Qin Du pulled out a long, tightly rolled double-bang firecracker from who knows where, and Ji Zhaoxi immediately lit up with joy.
"Brother Qin Du, when did you buy this?"
Qin Du smiled. "I bought it in the county town the day before yesterday."
He thought she would like it.
Qin Du held the matches, while Ji Zhaoxi stood beside him, eager to try. "Brother Qin Du, I kind of want to light it too."
"Okay."
Qin Du struck a match and held her hand as they gripped the matchstick together.
Ji Zhaoxi was both scared and excited to play. She looked at him nervously. "Brother Qin Du, you have to grab me and run together later."
Qin Du patted her head and replied, "Don't be afraid."
The two approached the fuse on the ground. Qin Du held her hand to light it, and the fuse immediately sparked, burning rapidly toward the base.
Qin Du immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulled her back several steps, and tightly covered her ears.
"Bang—Boom!"
The double-bang firecracker exploded, shaking the ground with a deafening crack. The air was instantly filled with the smell of gunpowder, and shredded red paper drifted down over their heads like snow.
Ji Zhaoxi pulled excitedly at Qin Du. Her voice was completely drowned out by the sound of the firecrackers, but her face was filled with uncontrollable joy.
Qin Du looked down at her, his eyes brimming with undisguised affection. His eardrums were ringing from the blast, and he couldn't hear her voice; he could only see her bright, sparkling eyes.
Her lips parted and closed, slightly flushed from excitement, making them look even redder and softer.
The emotions Qin Du had been suppressing in his heart exploded completely, just like that firecracker.
He liked her.
He would never feel this way about anyone else in his life.
He would remember this scene for the rest of his life. He didn't dare hope that he could stay by her side forever, but this moment belonged only to the two of them.
More firecrackers sounded not far away, and a few children were running toward them, following the noise.
Ji Zhaoxi looked up at him. Her face was flushed, whether from joy or the cold, and her eyes were incredibly moist.
She gently tugged at Qin Du's clothes. Qin Du lowered his head, looking at her with indulgence. As Ji Zhaoxi looked into his eyes, she suddenly had the illusion that no matter what she did to him, he would forgive her.
Ji Zhaoxi's heart pounded wildly. Under his gentle gaze, she reached up and covered his eyes.
Qin Du's vision instantly went black. The whole world suddenly fell silent, save for a deafening heartbeat—he couldn't tell if it was his or hers.
Right after, a sweet, fresh breath drew near, and in the next second, a soft touch pressed against his lips.
Qin Du completely froze. Even his breathing stopped for a moment. He could feel her slightly trembling breath and the lingering sweetness on her lips.
"Wasn't the noise coming from over here just now? Why don't I see anything?"
"Let's look around some more."
"I'm out of candy, who will give me one?"
The surroundings were filled with the cold wind and the smell of sulfur. Red paper scraps were scattered sparsely on the ground. Qin Du opened his eyes, but the girl who had just been standing in front of him was already nowhere to be seen.
Ji Zhuxin was inside the house preparing red envelopes when she saw Ji Zhaoxi rush in like a firecracker and dive straight under the covers.
Ji Zhuxin looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong? Weren't you just out playing together? Are you done playing already?"
Ji Zhaoxi gave a muffled reply from under the blanket. "I'm sleepy."
Ji Zhuxin looked at her helplessly. "Every time I ask you to stay up for the New Year, you're always sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. I'm going out now."
"Okay—"
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Ji Zhaoxi finally poked her head out.
Her face was frighteningly red, and she was startled by her own boldness.
But the way he looked at her back then, giving her so many things and treating her so well—wasn't that just tempting her to kiss him?
A delayed sense of shame almost made Ji Zhaoxi break down. She hugged her blanket and rolled back and forth on the bed.
Ji Zhuxin took the red envelopes and went to Qin Du's house.
"Qin Du, come here, take this red envelope."
Qin Du was about to refuse, but Ji Zhuxin quickly stuffed it into his hands. "You can't refuse a New Year's red envelope. Your mother must have told you that, right?"
She smiled at Qin's mother again. "It's going to be lively all night tonight."
Listening to the sound of firecrackers outside, Qin's mother's eyes were full of smiles.
"The firecrackers shatter with sound, bringing peace year after year."
It wasn't until dawn the next day that Ji Zhuxin returned to her room to sleep.
She looked at Ji Zhaoxi's carelessly tossed jacket. As she folded it to put it away in the wardrobe, she suddenly felt a thick stack of something in the pocket.
Ji Zhuxin pulled it out and discovered a remarkably thick red envelope. She opened it to take a peek and was instantly stunned.
Could that boy have stuffed every single cent he had ever earned into this? She absolutely could not accept it.
She immediately woke Ji Zhaoxi. "Xixi, is the red envelope in your pocket from Qin Du?"
Ji Zhaoxi groggily opened her eyes. "Red envelope? What red envelope?"
Ji Zhuxin sighed. "Never mind, it's nothing. Go back to sleep."
She stared at the red envelope, finding it increasingly troublesome.
What was she supposed to do about this?
If it were just a few dollars, it wouldn't be a big deal, but this was so much money...
Was this supposed to be a bride price or just New Year's lucky money?
