Sun Jiaming watched as Chen Fengjiao sat down beside him. He found her smile a little frightening—not truly frightening, perhaps, but fake. It was unbearable.
’He’d never gotten this kind of treatnt on his previous visits. When had Chen Fengjiao ever been so warm toward him?’
Sun Jiaming wanted to shift away from Chen Fengjiao, but he thought it would be impolite and worried she might read too much into it, so he held back. He knew she must want to ask him for sothing.
"Jia Ming, dear, Auntie wants to talk to you about sothing."
Chen Fengjiao smiled, thinking to herself, ’Sun Jiaming will never turn down.’
"Brother Jia Ming, co over here and help peel so garlic. I’ll need it in a minute."
Just as Sun Jiaming was about to open his mouth, Gu’er suddenly called out.
Gu’er had been stir-frying. As she was washing the wok, she saw Chen Fengjiao sit down next to Sun Jiaming. She knew her mother hadn’t given up and was about to make her move. She also knew Sun Jiaming was no fool; on the contrary, he was sharp enough not to agree to her mother’s sches. But Gu’er didn’t want her mother to say it out loud. She didn’t want Chen Fengjiao to lose face, nor did she want to put Sun Jiaming in an awkward position.
"Alright, coming!"
Sun Jiaming replied as he stood up, saying to Chen Fengjiao, "Auntie, I’m going to help Gu’er peel garlic."
Watching Sun Jiaming walk into the kitchen, Chen Fengjiao seethed. ’That Gu’er, she’s doing this on purpose so I can’t speak!’
"Mom, she did that on purpose! She just can’t stand to see happy. If things work out between and Brother Li, she’d be his sister-in-law—a relative—and she definitely doesn’t want that. She wants to have her cake and eat it too! She already has Sun Jiaming, but she still wants to keep her hooks in Brother Li. What kind of sister does that?"
Lin Sui’er sat down next to Chen Fengjiao and hugged her arm, her face a mask of indignation as she spoke.
Lin Zheng frowned as he watched his mother and sister. ’What are they talking about? What did Eldest Sister do now? She’s so nice, so why is Second Sister always picking on her?’
"Alright, that’s enough. Your eldest sister didn’t an it like that. She just thinks you’re still young and should be focusing on your studies. There are plenty of good n out there; you’ll be able to marry whoever you want in the future. Your dad is coming ho tomorrow, and if he finds out you’re at the bottom of your class again, he’ll definitely lose his temper."
Although Chen Fengjiao had said similar things, she didn’t like hearing them from her daughter. Besides, just thinking about her daughter’s grades gave her a headache.
"It’ll be fine as long as you don’t tell Dad, Mom. Besides, it’s the New Year. He can’t scold now, can he? If he really does start yelling at , you have to stick up for ."
Lin Sui’er hugged Chen Fengjiao’s arm, shaking it back and forth.
"Alright, alright, stop shaking it! You win. The New Year is a ti for good fortune, so I won’t let your dad scold you. But you need to start putting in so effort yourself. Look at Xiao Zheng. His teacher is always praising him. He hasn’t even started elentary school, yet he already knows pinyin, recognizes a lot of characters, and can do addition and subtraction. He’ll have no problem when he starts school. You should learn from your younger brother and stop making your mother worry all the ti."
Chen Fengjiao was very proud when she spoke of her son’s accomplishnts.
"Eldest Sister taught . She’s amazing!"
Lin Zheng’s face bead with pride—pride in his achievents, and pride in his eldest sister.
"It’s always ’Eldest Sister this, Eldest Sister that.’ You ungrateful little thing. It’s as if your mother does nothing for you," Chen Fengjiao grumbled. She wanted her son to give her so credit, too.
"Exactly! I helped you too," Lin Sui’er chid in, equally dissatisfied. This little brother of hers only had eyes for Lin Gu’er now.
"Second Sister, you got the math wrong last ti you helped , and I didn’t even say anything! My teacher scolded and asked who taught . I was too embarrassed to say it was you," Lin Zheng retorted, clearly unhappy.
"I... I just misread it, okay? You little brat, why are you asking for help with such a simple problem anyway? Hmph! If you’re so smart, don’t co asking for help ever again."
Lin Sui’er flew into a rage out of embarrassnt. When Lin Zheng had asked her for help, she had only given the problem a casual glance before giving him an answer. She hadn’t expected to misread it; it wasn’t intentional.
"Fine by ! I’ll ask Eldest Sister, or Mom, or Dad. They’ll teach ."
Lin Zheng didn’t care. It wasn’t like his second sister ever paid him much mind anyway.
"Mom, look at him! He has no respect for as his sister," Lin Sui’er whined to Chen Fengjiao.
"That’s enough. How old are you, still fighting with your little brother? Xiao Zheng, you can’t speak to your sister like that again."
In the end, Chen Fengjiao lightly scolded her son.
"I’m going to help Eldest Sister peel garlic, too."
Lin Zheng was upset. ’I didn’t do anything wrong, so why did Mom scold ? Second Sister is always bad-mouthing Eldest Sister, but Mom never says anything to her. Mom’s being unfair, and I don’t want to listen anymore.’
"What are you doing in here?"
Gu’er asked Lin Zheng as she continued to stir-fry.
"Eldest Sister, I’ll help you peel garlic too!"
Lin Zheng smiled and glanced at the garlic next to Sun Jiaming. Sun Jiaming had already peeled a huge pile. The boy’s mouth fell open. ’We won’t be able to finish all that in a week, will we?’
"Brother Jia Ming, why’d you peel so much garlic?"
Lin Zheng had no idea what Sun Jiaming was up to.
"Heh. I guess I got carried away."
Sun Jiaming chuckled. He knew Gu’er hadn’t actually called him in to peel garlic, but since he didn’t want to go back to the living room, he had just kept at it.
"Alright, that’s enough garlic to last us for days. You two can stop peeling. Xiao Zheng, how about I make your favorite double-fried sweet and sour pork, and so sweet and sour tenderloin for you?"
Gu’er watched the man and the boy, her heart filled with joy.
"Yay! Eldest Sister is the best!"
Lin Zheng’s delight shone in his eyes.
"Then why don’t you help get the plates and chopsticks? In a little while, you and Brother Jia Ming can carry the dishes out together."
Gu’er gave Lin Zheng a task.
Gu’er cooked a table full of dishes. It was the New Year, after all, so the al had to be lavish.
When it was ti to eat, Sun Jiaming and Chen Fengjiao drank baijiu, while Gu’er and the younger ones had soda.
With Lin Shan not at ho, Chen Fengjiao was the sole elder, so she was the first to raise her glass, offering words of thanks and good wishes for the new year.
She went first, followed by Gu’er, Sun Jiaming, Sui’er, and finally Lin Zheng. Despite his young age, Lin Zheng spoke with surprising clarity, and his words made everyone chuckle.
Since no one brought up any unpleasant topics, the al was quite enjoyable.
After they finished eating and cleaning up, they rested for a bit before starting to make dumplings.
The dumplings were filled with pork and pickled cabbage. Winters were harsh in this region and fresh greens were scarce, so many families would make their own pickled cabbage. Co winter, it beca a staple ingredient, used in everything from dumplings and savory pies to pork bone stew, the hearty "pig-killing dish," and noodles. There were countless ways to prepare it.
Gu’er was no exception. She finely chopped a head of pickled cabbage and mixed it in with the ground pork filling.
The atmosphere while they made the dumplings was cheerful. Everyone pitched in except for Lin Sui’er—even Lin Zheng gave it a try. He wasn’t very good at it, so Gu’er patiently taught him. The little guy was a serious student, and before he knew it, his face was dusted with flour, making for a comical sight.
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