When Lin Han returned for dinner that evening, his face was unusually grim. "Gongliang's wife has gone too far. Wangdi is just a little girl, and she dared to kick her. What kind of mother does that?"
He had gone to see Wangdi earlier—the child was curled up in bed, whimpering in pain, her cries heartbreaking.
Nan Sheng glanced at Lin Han, thinking to herself that his own two children hadn’t been treated much better before. "Let’s eat. Don’t you have to return to the military base later? If you feel sorry for Wangdi, take extra care of her these next few days."
From now on, if she heard Yuying hitting her child again, she wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. There was a difference between disciplining a child and beating them half to death.
Lin Han nodded. Since Li Gongliang wasn’t home, he would naturally look after the child more. But Nan Sheng couldn’t help thinking that if he had truly cared for his children from the start, things wouldn’t have come to this.
At the root of it all, wasn’t it just favoritism toward sons over daughters?
Soon, New Year’s Eve arrived. Lin Han had finally managed to get a day off and was in high spirits as he made a suggestion.
"Darling, let’s take the kids to the military base for the New Year’s Eve dinner tonight. It’ll be lively with so many people around."
Both children looked eagerly at Nan Sheng, their eyes pleading—they wanted to celebrate the New Year with the soldiers too. Seeing this, Nan Sheng immediately agreed, refusing to be the buzzkill parent.
"Sure, why not? I’ve never visited the military base before. Should we bring any food?"
Lin Han said it wasn’t necessary. "We’ll head over after lunch. At the canteen, we can make dumplings and tangyuan together, and we can even bring back a couple of pounds of them afterward."
The kitchen staff would prepare the main dishes for the New Year’s Eve feast, but letting everyone participate in making dumplings and tangyuan was meant to ease the soldiers’ homesickness. After some thought, Nan Sheng decided to fry extra sugar cakes to bring along, so Lin Han could share them with his men.
In the morning, the family had a simple meal of noodles before starting preparations for lunch. Nan Sheng first drafted the menu: twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu, braised fish, stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured meat, red-braised pork, shrimp stir-fried with greens, sweet and sour pork, and finally, pork stomach and chicken soup!
Eight dishes for four people might have been a bit extravagant, but the New Year was all about good fortune. It was better to have leftovers than to run out—after all, abundance symbolized prosperity for the year ahead!
By the time the family finished cooking, it was already 2 p.m.
The portions were kept small. During the meal, Lin Han had a small cup of liquor in front of him, while Nan Sheng and the children drank bottled soda.
The four of them raised their glasses together, their faces filled with joy and cheer. The entire house was filled with the warmth of happiness.
"Cheers!"
Meanwhile, in Huaishan Town, the scene was entirely different.
The Nan family’s table was also laden with dishes—chicken, fish, meat, and vegetables—but the elderly couple couldn’t muster any happiness. It had been nearly three months since they’d last seen their daughter.
Mingli quickly served them more food. "Mom, Dad, didn’t Sis write in her letter? She’s just busy with work in Rongcheng. She’ll definitely come back next year. Besides, if we have time, we can always visit her."
Zhong Yanyan’s eyes reddened. "You make it sound so easy. Rongcheng is so far away—how are we supposed to get there? Seeing her in the future will be so difficult."
Nan Jingyu downed a cup of liquor in silence before making up his mind. "Old dear, if our daughter can’t come back next winter, we’ll go to her. It’s not like we can’t afford the train tickets."
Now that the family lacked nothing and their son was earning money, they could visit their daughter in Rongcheng if they missed her. The cost of the trip was nothing to worry about!
Hearing this, Zhong Yanyan finally brightened up, and the family began eating.
The atmosphere in the Lin household was even gloomier than the Nan family’s—there wasn’t a trace of New Year’s cheer to be found.
The elderly couple had asked everyone to come over for dinner in the evening, but Third Brother Lin, thick-skinned and unwilling to endure his wife’s cold shoulder at home, had already brought his daughter to the old house ahead of time.
Of course, Sun Qian wasn’t happy about this. She followed right after him, and with Lin Xue and her two children also present, the house was packed with people waiting to be served—yet no one lifted a finger to help.
Fan Shuting, not wanting to ruin the holiday mood, took it upon herself to cook, occasionally asking her daughter to lend a hand.
Lin Xue was no less troublesome. She blamed her parents for her inability to return to her in-laws’ home, crying and making a scene every other day, leaving the household in constant turmoil.
When the meal was finally ready, Third Brother Lin was about to share a drink with Lin Guozheng when Sun Qian suddenly knocked the cup out of his hand. It clattered to the floor.
She snapped, "What are you drinking for? Don’t you know your limits? If you get drunk, no one’s going to take care of you!"
Ever since her mother’s death, Sun Qian had been consumed by guilt, and her resentment toward Third Brother Lin had only grown.
Third Brother Lin, understanding her grief, chose not to argue and simply picked up the cup, dropping the matter of drinking altogether.
But while he could tolerate her behavior, others couldn’t. Lin Xue, for one, couldn’t hold back from standing up for her brother. "Third Sister-in-law, it’s New Year’s Eve, and Mom and Dad are right here. How can you throw a tantrum like this? Where are your manners?"
Sun Qian had long disliked Lin Xue, and now she seized the chance to berate her. If the Lin family was unhappy, so much the better for her.
"My mother’s dead—what use do I have for manners? If you hadn’t come begging for food back then, would my family have gone hungry? Would my mother’s health have declined?
"Your in-laws kicked you out, and yet you have the nerve to lecture me? You’re nothing but a jinx—any man who marries you is doomed! Now that you’re back, the Lin family is suffering too. Who knows? Maybe my mother died because of your bad luck!"
Their shouting match grew so heated that Lin Guozheng finally slammed his cup down in anger. At this, both Sun Qian and Lin Xue quieted, not daring to push further.
"Get out, all of you! Third Brother Lin, take your wife and child home. And Lin Xue, you’re going back to your in-laws tomorrow—no coming back unless you’re divorced!"
Sun Qian stormed into the kitchen, grabbing a basin and taking half the food with her before leaving. As for Lin Xue, she could only retreat to the west room with her children, sobbing.
Eldest Brother Lin, hearing the commotion, came over to invite his parents to eat at his place, but Lin Guozheng and Fan Shuting refused.
"Go back and have your meal. Don’t come over tonight either—let us old folks have some peace."
Once everyone had left, Fan Shuting sighed. "I wonder how Second Brother’s family is doing."
Lin Han had always been somewhat overlooked, but on this special day, Fan Shuting couldn’t help but worry about him too. After all, aside from Eldest Brother Lin, he was the most filial of them all.
"Second Brother can take care of himself. Stop worrying!"
Right now, Lin Guozheng was far more concerned about Lin Xue. Her mother-in-law’s stance was firm—Lin Xue was not to return, or she would kill herself.
Lin Guozheng couldn’t help but think that if his second daughter-in-law were here, she’d know what to do. But she and Lin Xue had never gotten along. Even if they wrote to her, she wouldn’t lift a finger to help…
