Revisiting the Gu family.
Tonight was her first time celebrating the New Year with her family, an occasion of great significance. Luo Ge, who usually went to bed early, persevered and stayed up late.
However, she couldn't help but doze off repeatedly.
"Don't force yourself. Take a rest first, and I'll stay up till midnight and wake you up. It'll be the same," said Gu Jinchen, seeing her drowsy state. He pulled her shawl closer and said, "Be good."
Hearing his words, Luo Ge rubbed her eyes and said, "Then you must remember to wake me up."
"Sure, we'll also set off firecrackers at midnight. It'll be lively, and I won't let you miss it."
With his reassurance, Luo Ge stopped resisting and fell asleep leaning against him.
Seeing this scene, the little cubs in the courtyard quietly lowered their voices.
Looking at Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen, they giggled and covered their mouths.
......After a nap, Luo Ge was awakened by the booming sounds of firecrackers.
Round after round of firecrackers went off, creating a lively atmosphere. She could even hear the noisy laughter of children from nearby houses watching the fireworks.
"Awake?"
Luo Ge nodded, "Let's go set off firecrackers too."
They had to join in the festivity, or else it wouldn't feel the same.
"Okay."
"Uncle, can we set them off now?"
The children had been waiting outside, and upon seeing Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen, they eagerly asked, unable to wait any longer.
"Yes, be careful."
"Got it."
As soon as Gu Jinchen approved, the little cubs rushed over, lit the firecrackers, and ran back, laughing merrily at the crackling sounds.
With the firecrackers' boom, another year passed.
A new year arrived, filled with anticipation and a fresh start.
"Happy New Year," Luo Ge turned to the man beside her and said with a smile.
"Happy New Year," he replied.
....The next day, everyone in the family woke up early.
They prepared some pastries and snacks at the entrance of the house, waiting for the children from the village to come and give their New Year's greetings.
This was their local custom. As members of the same clan in the village, the children would gather on the first day of the New Year to visit each family and offer their greetings.
Each family would prepare food and snacks to distribute to them, wishing each other good fortune.
This year was no exception.
"Uncle Gu, Auntie Gu, Happy New Year."
Upon seeing Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen, a group of little cubs sweetly greeted them.
"Hey, hey, Happy New Year to you all."
Luo Ge smiled at the children and handed out the prepared red envelopes, pastries, and snacks one by one.
"Take them all."
"Thank you, Uncle Gu and Auntie Gu."
"Thank you."
The well-mannered and sweet group of children was truly endearing.
"Older Baby and Second Baby, let's go."
They even invited Older Baby and Second Baby to join their group as they left.
Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen didn't stop them, allowing them to have fun together.
"Come back soon and don't wander off," they only reminded the two mischievous ones.
"Okay!"
It was the first time Older Baby and Second Baby had such an experience, going out with their friends to offer New Year's greetings.
The two little ones had sparkling eyes, clearly excited and eager.
When they returned, they were still as joyful, evidently having had a wonderful first-time experience joining their friends in offering New Year's greetings.
Traditionally, families would visit relatives starting from the second day of the New Year.
However, Luo Ge and Gu Jinchen didn't have any close relatives, only the clan members in the village. So they didn't need to go visiting.
They only needed to visit the homes of those they were close with and offer their greetings.
As such, they spent the New Year together as a family at home.
But being together as a family and celebrating the New Year happily was truly blissful.
...........Just like that, the short few days of the New Year holiday passed by.
................
After the New Year, the small workshop and the restaurant reopened on the sixth day.
Luo Ge had prepared some crabs and taught them how to make crab meat congee at the restaurant.
After they had mastered the technique, and she observed the customers' positive reactions for a few days, she stopped going to the restaurant since it was running smoothly.
With her third pregnancy, she needed to rest well at home.
....Time flew by quickly, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
March was the season of blooming peach blossoms.
The peach trees in the manor had blossomed, covering the entire grove in flowers.
Originally, Luo Ge had planned to go see them with Qin Mianmian.
However, Qin Mianmian was now in her final month of pregnancy, and Luo Ge's own body had become increasingly heavy, so they couldn't make the trip.
Instead, when Uncle Song and others went to the manor, they picked some branches with flowers and brought them back, arranging them in a vase.
Luo Ge placed some at home and planned to send a vase to Qin Mianmian later.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
After arranging the flowers in the vase, Luo Ge turned to Gu Jinchen beside her.
Gu Jinchen was only looking at her, not paying attention to what she was holding. When he heard her question, he nodded without even looking.
"It's beautiful."
Whatever his wife did would be beautiful in his eyes.
Noticing his indifference, Luo Ge frowned and chided him.
"You didn't even look."
Hearing her words, Gu Jinchen rubbed his nose and turned to glance at the vase.
"I looked, it's indeed beautiful. They will surely love it."
His little wife had put in so much effort, and he would not dare say that Li Qiao wouldn't like it.
Of course, Luo Ge was unaware of Gu Jinchen's inner thoughts.
Hearing his words, she looked at the vase again. She felt she had arranged it quite well, and with the fragrance of peach blossoms in the room, it felt quite nice.
Qin Mianmian had been looking forward to seeing the peach blossoms for a long time, so she should like it, right?
"Then let's go. We'll take it to Mian Mian," she said, turning to him.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jinchen frowned and helped her sit on the bed.
"I'll take it over. You stay at home and rest."
Now in her eighth month of pregnancy, due to the multiple fetuses, her belly looked as big as Qin Mianmian's in her final month.
He couldn't let her wander around.
"But I haven't seen or spoken to Mian Mian for a long time.
Our houses are not far apart. We'll just go for a little while and come back, okay?"
Due to their physical conditions, the men at home had been strict about not letting them go out unnecessarily. They could only walk around the courtyard most days.
It had been half a month since she last saw Qin Mianmian.
Now that Luo Ge could see that Mian Mian was about to give birth, she felt that as a good friend, she should go and visit her.
Upon hearing her words, Gu Jinchen frowned.
"Your body is not in good condition, my dear. Let's go visit her another time, shall we?"
With the way he was controlling the situation, if they waited until later, Mian Mian might have already delivered her baby.
And by then, Luo Ge's body would likely be even more cumbersome, making it even more difficult for her to go out.
Thinking about this, she explained to him.
"My body is still manageable now, and the baby is not being fussy. Please allow me to go and visit her."
"If we delay further, my body will become more cumbersome, and it will be even harder for me to go out."
"In the village, Wang Sister-In-Law and Mian Mian are the only friends of a similar age that I can converse with.
If my body becomes more cumbersome later on, I'm afraid I won't be able to attend to her during her confinement period, and I haven't even visited her now.
As a friend, it would be quite awkward."
Hearing her explanation, the frown on Gu Jinchen's face eased slightly.
Since Qin Mianmian was pregnant before Luo Ge, she had often given Luo Ge advice and guidance.
Even when she was eight months pregnant, Qin Mianmian would still come and keep his wife company.
They were indeed fortunate to have found friends they could converse with.
For a friend not to visit his wife under these circumstances would indeed be difficult to justify.
And it was true that her body would become more cumbersome later, making it harder for her to go out.
He had to admit that his wife's reasoning made sense.
Thinking this, he relented.
"Alright, we'll go and come back. The weather is still cool today, so it's not good to linger outside for too long."
Upon hearing his words, Luo Ge's eyes brightened, and she obediently nodded.
"Okay! I'll follow my husband's instructions."
