They finally got everything settled. The whole family wandered around the bright, clean house in awe, amazed by how comfortable it was. They were also starting to understand just how well-off Jing Shu really was. Living somewhere this spotless made them feel embarrassed about how dirty they were, so Jing Pan cheerfully asked Wei Zheng to fetch a few kettles of hot water so everyone could wash up properly.
Jing Shu was happy too.
Li Zhu, with his usual shifty eyes, said, "Hey Jing Shu, since we're all settled, when are we gonna visit your mom at the villa? It's been ages since we last met. I bet your grandparents miss me."
Jing Shu couldn't help but laugh. "Miss you? I'm not so sure about that. But when the Paternal Eldest Uncle dropped by earlier, grandparents were real happy. They even said he came all that way bringing half a pig, and he knew Grandpa loved pig ears with his wine, so he specially saved some for him. Said he was really thoughtful. Grandparents seem to think pretty highly of him. What about you, Paternal Second Uncle, what'd you bring them this time?"
He scratched his head awkwardly. "If my liquor shop hadn't been shut down, I'd have brought a few good bottles, no question."
"Tsk tsk, sure. And before the apocalypse, how come you never brought any good liquor for New Year's? You always showed up with that cheap stuff that costs two yuan a bottle. Grandparents gave out over a thousand in lucky money every year, but you never spent a dime extra."
Jing Zhao dropped her head. She used to think her mother favored sons over daughters and treated her unfairly, so she'd grown cold toward her family. But now, with the world in ruins, she realized the only people she could really count on were her own kin. Her husband's side? Completely useless. But she'd already made her mistake. She'd distanced herself from her family, and now there was no going back.
The plan had been set long ago. This year, everyone would celebrate at the grandparents' place. The villa wasn't even part of the plan, and no one would set foot inside it. The scheming Li Zhu was completely dumbfounded.
Once Grandpa Jing finished his errands, he came over smiling, carrying the Spring Festival couplets he'd written himself, along with paper cuttings, Chinese knots, and door gods.
Before, there used to be a strict order to everything—cleaning on one day, putting up couplets the next, marinating meat after that. Now, nobody bothered with that kind of formality. They just did it all at once. The Jing household gradually filled with warmth and laughter.
That afternoon, Su Lanzhi and Jing An came back from work, and Wu You'ai dragged herself in with drooping eyelids. She sighed. "Looks like I'll be off for a while. My mentor's going home for the holidays."
A bit of a shame, really.
"Well, good. You can finally get some rest."
Jing Pan had been busy running between the cafeteria and the house. Once she set out plates of sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and nougat, she headed to the villa kitchen to help. Everyone praised how good the nougat was, only to find out Jing Shu had made it herself these past few days. The Li Zhuang tried sneaking a few pieces, but his wife caught him and snapped, "Eat all you want here, but if you dare take even one piece home, you can sleep outside."
"So stingy," Li Zhu muttered, frowning. He didn't even want the candy that badly. But if he went home empty-handed, his mother would nag him to death.
"Well, we're eating dinner here tonight anyway. There's bound to be leftovers, right? I'll just take a little then," he said, still scheming.
Meanwhile, Jing Shu, Grandma Jing, and Jing Pan were busy preparing the New Year's feast at the villa. Well, to be fair, it was mostly Grandma and Jing Pan working hard. Jing Shu was cooking and snacking at the same time, eating half the food before it even made it to the table.
The glutinous rice lotus roots that had been simmering all afternoon were nearly gone too. Jing Shu had drunk almost all the sweet soup, and if the Paternal Third Aunt hadn't stopped her, saying they still needed it for cooking, she probably would've finished it all.
"Burp~"
Jing Shu let out a satisfied burp. It had been so long since she'd felt that comfortably full.
"Grandma, there are too many people this year. We can't fit everyone at one table, and there's no space for two. Why don't we just eat separately?"
Grandma Jing hesitated. "That's not really proper, is it? Nobody eats separately for New Year's."
Well, she couldn't exactly say what she was thinking out loud.
Jing Shu coughed lightly, eyes glinting. "Grandma, you've no idea how sneaky Paternal Second Uncle is. The moment he sees food, he starts thinking about how to stash some to take home for his whole family."
Of course Grandma knew about that.
"Fine then, we'll do separate portions. I wanna see if that bastard still dares to snatch food from someone else's plate."
There were a lot of people tonight—not just Jing An's side of the family, but also Su Lanzhi's eldest brother and his family.
Once everyone squeezed into the hundred-square-meter house, even two tables weren't enough. Thankfully, they'd already decided to portion everything. The food was packed neatly into lunch boxes, and Jing Shu carried them out from the insulated container, handing one to each person.
When the boxes were opened, a rich aroma filled the air. The top layer was all meat: cured pork, ribs, meatballs, chicken, lamb, all kinds of good stuff. Beneath that were stir-fried dried goods, and at the bottom was a ball of sticky rice topped with sesame seeds. There weren't many fresh vegetables, but to families who thought having rice alone was a luxury, this was an absolute feast.
For Jing Shu, this was the liveliest New Year's she'd had since her rebirth.
In the bedroom, the kids were shouting and laughing. The living room, balcony, kitchen—every corner was packed with people.
The TV was playing the Spring Festival Gala, full of government speeches and cheerful messages to the public.
Nobody left even a grain of rice uneaten. Ever since they'd started eating Spirit Spring food, everyone's appetite had grown. Jing Pan's family and the others hadn't eaten this well in ages, and they weren't about to waste a bite. By the end, every lunch box was spotless.
Jing Lai poured everyone a cup of rich rose milk tea, with chewy pumpkin and sweet potato balls inside. The taste hit right in the heart. Even the Li Zhuang, who usually hoarded food, couldn't bring himself to save any. He'd meant to, but before he knew it, he'd eaten every last bite.
"Everyone mark your bowls. We'll keep using the same ones for the next few days, and even after we go back, until they wear out," said Jing Lai.
Jing Shu, deadpan, thought, "Seriously? That's a bit much, isn't it?"
No one moved to exercise after dinner. Everyone just slumped on the sofa, too full to move, except Jing An, who got up to clean.
After a long pause, Li Zhu finally spoke. "Once the New Year's over, Li Yun will be turning thirty. Time really flies."
"Yeah, it sure does."
"I wanna get him a job in the city. Even temporary work's fine."
Grandpa Jing lit his old pipe, claiming it was to 'freshen the air.' He nodded. "Then go do it."
The uncle fell silent.
After a while, he tried again. "We've got some rations saved up, but I don't know who to talk to. Grandpa, do you have any connections?"
Grandpa Jing shook his head. "Nope. Our kids all found their own work. I've got no clue about that stuff."
"Then could you at least introduce us to someone?"
Grandpa nodded toward Jing Shu. "Granddaughter, why don't you explain the rules to your Paternal Second Uncle and cousin?"
The chatting died down after that, because everyone had work to get back to. Lately, Jing Shu's mood hadn't been great either. Nothing seemed to go smoothly, not even her father's affairs. She sighed softly.
Sometimes she really wondered—how could she make herself feel a little better again?