The First Day of the New Year.
Nature did not smile upon them.
Heavy rain poured down.
Children wearing new clothes had no way to go out and show off.
The rain was too heavy, it would soak the new clothes. At this time, good clothes would fade after just a few washes if not properly laundered.
Thus, wealthy households often made new clothes every season and festive occasion, because the old clothes had severely faded, standing out at a glance.
On this day, a downpour of rain.
Exceptionally heavy rain.
Mom frowned slightly as she looked at the heavy rain.
If the weather was bad on the first day, the whole year would not bode well.
Because of the heavy rain, no one came to visit, and Father did not go out either.
But this did not stop Elder Brother, as nothing could deter a young man of his age.
The rain hammered down, like celestial beings pouring water from the Heavens.
On a rainy day, Young Lord Zi was particularly restless.
He disliked heavy rain.
Disliked the sight of raindrops splashing mud and flower petals when hitting the ground.
Disliked the countless veils of rain.
Jiang Mianmian had rarely seen such heavy rain, too.
But she liked it when Father held her to watch the rain.
She stretched out her hand to catch a few raindrops. The rain stung slightly when it hit her palm, leaving a tingling sensation.
After a while, Father caught her hand and brought it back.
Father wiped her small hand dry with his clothes, then warmed it against his face.
The winter rain was especially chilly.
Her little hands were red and freezing.
Father and Mom were different - he would let Mianmian experience such things.
If it were Mom who saw her stretch out her hand, she would likely give her a light tap first, to stop her from being reckless.
Some of Father's habits were also a little different. For instance, he did not mind wiping Mianmian's hand with a brand new piece of clothing.
This was perhaps the trace of a person's life experience.
Jiang Yu and Jiang Feng had been through hardships, so they could not change, but Jiang Changtian hoped his little daughter could be a little more uninhibited.
Jiang Changtian held his little daughter and watched the rain, while also observing the young lad, Young Lord Zi, standing nearby.
Jiang Changtian had also inquired about this person - he never dared to underestimate anyone.
Not even a child.
Young Lord Zi spoke words of wisdom, his utterances always coming true. It was said that the people around him rarely dared to speak to him directly.
Brother Yehang said those were just baseless rumors, that he was simply an exceptionally intelligent student, so wise beyond his years, hence those legends.
Jiang Changtian found it difficult to open his heart and trust others.
He also did not particularly like Young Lord Zi.
Young Lord Zi's eyes were too penetrating, as if he could see through Jiang Changtian's most private thoughts with a single glance.
He did not understand why this child was staying at his home, and always felt as if his innermost thoughts would be exposed.
He rarely spoke to Young Lord Zi, and Young Lord Zi likewise seldom spoke to him.
Fortunately, Sister Xia was sincerely warm and hospitable.
Jiang Changtian did not interact much with Young Lord Zi daily, but he felt at ease having him stay at their home.
Today, on the first day of the New Year, the torrential downpour forced them to stay together.
Under one roof.
Jiang Changtian still did not wish to talk to him.
Neither did Young Lord Zi.
Only that when he saw Mr. Jiang warming Jiang Xiaogui's frozen red hands against his face, smiling in an endearing way, he felt a tinge of envy.
Suddenly, Young Lord Zi's expression turned desolate as he watched the curtain of rain.
Although Mr. Jiang was unwell, quite severely in fact, he had medicine.
But Zi Congheng did not.
Jiang Yu noticed Father and Young Lord Zi standing together, both looking solemn, as if they had something to say. Thoughtfully, she carried her younger sister away.
"Come, let's cook with your sister. It's the first day of the New Year; your sister will demonstrate her culinary skills and guarantee everyone will find it delicious." Jiang Yu declared confidently.
Jiang Mianmian watched as her elder sister carried her with one hand while holding a bag of dried mushrooms in the other...
Was her sister planning to chase everyone away on the first day of the New Year?
In the kitchen, Jiang Yu considerately shooed their mother away.
"Mom, it's the New Year today, you should rest. I'll take care of it."
Qin Luoxia wanted to carry her youngest daughter away.
But the little one also chimed in, "Mianmian will help sister, we'll cook together."
She was worried that the whole family would end up bedridden if she did not supervise her sister.
Jiang Yu worked swiftly, chopping vegetables quickly.
Jiang Mianmian noticed that the family's dishes were either a hodgepodge stew in one pot or steamed vegetables.
Suddenly, she realized there was no stir-frying.
She thought that when the God of Time-travelers looked up to the sky and shouted "Oil up!", stir-frying would have been invented.
But then she realized there were no iron woks in the house.
Without an iron wok, stir-fries lacked soul.
So they would need to first smelt iron, then make a wok~~
Jiang Mianmian pondered and decided it was too difficult.
Forget it.
Act as if she had never said anything.
Not everyone was an engineering student, she had been delusional.
Before traveling back in time, she had to memorize the periodic table for a week.
Now, after time-traveling, she was supposed to forge iron, make woks, and build ships by hand?
Let others who could actually do things handle it.
With that thought, Jiang Mianmian felt reassured.
She obediently sat and watched her elder sister cook.
It seemed her sister had a natural talent for cooking.
Her cooking looked proper.
Her sister had a clear grasp of the nuances of various flavors.
When Mom sprinkled a handful of seasoning, it was based on experience, but when her sister did it, she could truly taste the difference in flavors.
The dishes cooked by Mom were of a normal standard - adding some wild chives would make them fragrant and enhance the flavors.
But her sister's cooking seemed to have a subtle difference.
The kitchen was filled with an fragrant haze.
Outside under the eaves, after standing with their legs growing numb, Mr. Jiang and Young Lord Zi finally broke the silence.
It was the first day of the New Year.
Jiang Changtian recalled the young lord's wise words.
He suddenly asked, "Do you think your father will win?"
Zi Congheng fell silent for a moment before replying, "No."
Upon uttering those words, he was stunned himself.
Jiang Changtian was also stunned.
In fact, he had initially felt the atmosphere was too awkward.
For the first time, he found himself at a loss for words with someone else.
It was as if something inside warned him against speaking casually.
But he suddenly spoke up, only to receive such an answer.
Hei Ta, standing behind them, was also stunned. He looked at the heavy rain outside - it was pouring so heavily that he could not even see where the entrance was, just a hazy white expanse.
Zi Congheng watched the downpour, in that fleeting moment, he saw many dead people.
Father was dead too.
Also in heavy rain, the rain was very heavy.
Father's eyes were wide open, staring directly towards the Capital City.
He never made it back, until his demise.
Zi Congheng suddenly felt very cold.
Bone-chillingly cold.
He should not have spoken so casually, especially not today.
He tightly sealed his lips shut.
Feeling slightly regretful.
The raindrops splashed onto his face, it seemed like he was crying.
Jiang Changtian patted the boy's shoulder. If Zi Luzao rebelled and was defeated, being a blatant traitor, his fate would not be much better either.
But this life never gave him a choice from the beginning.
He just wanted his family to have enough food and clothing.
He didn't think too much about it.
"Someone will win, right?"
Jiang Changtian's hand rested on the child's shoulder.
He actually wasn't good at touching people, especially strangers.
Zi Congheng fell silent.
Suddenly he looked up at the man beside him.
He saw a man with long hair, dressed in white, smiling falsely at him.
An image of a man in a yellow robe, also smiling falsely, appeared in his mind.
He was dazed.
Suddenly a big arm grabbed him, lifting his body off the ground, and all the images disappeared.
He heard a scolding voice in his ear: "Can't get rained on, you'll get sick, tsk tsk tsk, our little bug must be healthy and live a long life."
He was picked up by Qin Lady.
Qin Lady took him into the kitchen.
She put him down next to Jiang Xiaogui.
The two sat in front of the stove.
Jiang Mianmian noticed the little brat was gone for a while and his eyes seemed red, had he been crying?
Missing family during the New Year?
She took a piece of candied fruit from her pocket and stuffed it straight into his mouth, saying, "It's sweet, eat it."
Zi Congheng was caught off guard as she stuffed his mouth, and his tears burst out immediately. Jiang Xiaogui was so dirty, her hands had just grabbed the firewood off the ground, and the candied fruit was also directly put in her pocket, which even had little ants in it, o(╥﹏╥)o.
The candied fruit was so sweet, but so dirty!!
The young cub Jiang Mianmian shook her head, indeed no child could escape the sweet candy rule, one piece of candy and he was settled, don't cry anymore, when you grow up there will be more candy, and then you won't even want to eat it.
