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Chapter 446: The First Day of the New Year
Chapter 446: The First Day of the New Year
The first rays of the New Year's sun pierced through the gaps in the curtains, and only then did Zhou Chenglei open his eyes.
The night before, he and Jiang Xia had felt the baby's first movements, and they were both excited, unable to sleep.
Even Jiang Xia, who usually fell asleep the moment she lay down, couldn't sleep.
Zhou Chenglei, with his abundant energy, was even more restless.
Later, fearing that she wouldn't get enough rest, he kissed her for a long time to soothe her to sleep.
But he, still excited and sleepless, played with the baby.
However, the baby didn't respond anymore.
Zhou Chenglei glanced at his wife, who was still sleeping soundly in his embrace, and didn't move.
He was afraid that any movement might wake her.
Jiang Xia lay flat, her neck resting on his arm, her head slightly on the pillow, tilted to the side, her forehead against his jaw, and her breath softly brushing his neck. She was in a deep slumber.
Zhou Chenglei slept on his side, his long arm avoiding the baby, embracing her. The arm she rested on was bent, and his smaller arm and large palm covered her.
Their legs were intertwined, and he held her entire body in his embrace.
One of Jiang Xia's hands lightly rested on his arm, while the other weakly held his wrist.
Surrounded by him, breathing in his crisp, ocean-like aura, she slept peacefully.
She showed no signs of waking up until nine o'clock.
On the first day of the New Year, with nothing to do, Zhou Chenglei stayed still, accompanying her in sleep, waiting for her to sleep to her heart's content.
Now, Jiang Xia slept with her head on his arm all night.
Zhou Chenglei could sleep in one position without moving until dawn.
But Jiang Xia was different; she was always moving, turning over in her sleep.
Sometimes she slept on her left side, sometimes on her right, and sometimes flat on her back.
At times, she would bury her face in his shoulder, and other times, her back would stick to his chest.
When it was hot, she would kick the covers off, and when it was cold, she would snuggle into the blanket, curling up in his embrace.
This resulted in Zhou Chenglei waking up in a different position every day, always holding her in a unique pose.
At the beginning of their relationship, he would wake up whenever she moved.
But now, he had gotten used to it and wouldn't wake up.
Even in his sleep, he would instinctively hold, embrace, and protect her, allowing her to find the most comfortable sleeping position in his arms.
Zhou Chenglei gazed at Jiang Xia's serene sleeping face, thinking about the little moments of her sleep.
Unknowingly, time passed.
Zhou Chenglei woke up at seven, while Jiang Xia opened her eyes at nine-thirty.
She was still a bit groggy and rubbed her eyes, asking, "What time is it?"
"It's still early," he said, gently pulling her hand down to prevent her from rubbing her eyes, and then his hand naturally slid in to kiss her.
...
Thus, the couple began the first day of the New Year in a loving manner.
By the time Jiang Xia came downstairs, it was almost eleven-thirty, and she could skip breakfast and go straight to lunch.
On the first day of the New Year, the Zhou family had a tradition of eating vegetarian meals. Zhou Mu was at the well, washing vegetables.
Jiang Xia felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Mom, what are you cooking? I'll do it."
Zhou Chenglei was still upstairs washing the bedsheets.
Zhou Mu smiled and said, "No need, you go ahead and eat breakfast. It's warming up in the pot. There's not much cooking to do today since we're having a vegetarian meal. Do you have this custom in your family? My family didn't, but we adopted it after I married into the Zhou family."
The Zhou family only ate vegetarian meals on the first day of the New Year out of the entire year.
Moreover, on this day, they wouldn't use knives, sweep the floor, or take baths.
Jiang Xia wasn't sure if her family had this custom, but she smiled and said, "Vegetarian food is delicious. I'll make some tasty vegetarian dishes."
Jiang Xia went to the kitchen, ate a wheat and bean pancake made by Zhou Mu, and drank a bowl of lotus seed, lily, and yam porridge. Then she started preparing lunch.
Even though it was a vegetarian meal, Jiang Xia planned to make a sumptuous spread of vegetarian dishes.
Five people, six dishes, ushering in a new year with the number six for good luck.
Jiang Xia took charge of the kitchen, with Zhou Mu assisting, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law prepared lunch together.
Zhou Chenglei soon joined them to help.
After Zhou Mu cleaned all the ingredients, she left the couple to work in the kitchen.
She went to the neighboring kitchen to prepare a dish called Luohan Zhai, a family tradition for the New Year, which Zhou Fu loved.
Jiang Xia stir-fried a dish called He Tang Yue Se, while Zhou Chenglei fried sweet potato balls and stir-fried wood ear mushrooms. He also made a garlic sauteed cabbage and stir-fried shredded potatoes.
Wen Wan sat by the window, watching the couple happily chatting and cooking together in the kitchen.
This was the kind of married life she yearned for.
She turned to look at Zhou Guohua, lying in bed nursing his injury, and felt a surge of frustration.
All because of his injury, she was being scolded by his mother every day!
And she was even called a jinx!
Hmph, if it weren't for her warning him about the accident a couple of years ago, his son would be disabled now.
A jinx indeed!
As the dishes were almost ready, Zhou Mu sent Zhou Zhou to fetch his grandfather for lunch.
Zhou Zhou responded and ran out.
Jiang Xia asked, "Where did Dad go?"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "He probably went to watch others play cards."
Zhou Mu said, "He's either at the grocery store or Uncle Gui's place. Those are the only two places in the village where people play cards during the New Year."
The family had woken up late that day, having slept in the night before, and with nothing much to do, they enjoyed a rare leisurely morning. Zhou Fu slept until half past ten before getting up and going to the village to watch others play poker and mahjong.
During the New Year, many villagers who worked in other cities returned home, and they often gathered to play cards and mahjong.
Zhou Fu neither played cards nor mahjong because Zhou Mu disliked it, and he didn't enjoy it either.
But on the first day of the New Year, there were no visits to relatives or fishing trips, so he would go and watch others play cards and chat with the villagers.
Zhou Zhou had only been gone for a short while when he returned with Zhou Fu.
Zhou Mu asked, "Where did you go? It's almost time for lunch, and you didn't come back."
Zhou Fu laughed and said, "I'm back now. I went to Uncle Gui's place to watch people play mahjong. My luck was good today, and my in-laws kept me there longer than expected."
Zhou Mu glared at him, "Did you play cards?"
Zhou Chenglei also looked at Zhou Fu.
Zhou Fu laughed, "No, my in-laws lost several rounds, so they asked me to help them draw cards. They said I've been lucky lately and am the luckiest in the production team, so I helped them draw a few times, and indeed, my luck brought them some wins."
Others noticed this and also asked Zhou Fu to help them draw cards, making him quite popular.
However, Zhou Fu only helped Li Xiuxian's father, as they were in-laws.
Zhou Fu washed his hands and helped bring the food to the table, "Let's eat quickly. My in-laws asked me to go over and help them after the meal."
Zhou Mu carried the bowls and chopsticks inside and immediately objected, "What's there to help with? Don't get addicted! You're not even playing yourself!"
Zhou Fu carried the rice cooker inside and assured her, "I won't. I promised you I wouldn't do things I shouldn't. I'll just help him draw cards; I don't know how to play."
Zhou Mu trusted Zhou Fu, as he had always kept his promises to her for decades.
Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia also brought in two dishes.
In the upstairs room next door, Wen Wan overheard their conversation and smiled to herself, thinking of something.
She wondered if Jiang Xia's father would feel embarrassed knowing he had an in-law who had been caught gambling.
Tomorrow was the day she would return to her parents' home, wasn't it?
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(End of Chapter)
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