Chapter 68: A New Year

  With Zhao Xiaobao around, Song Jie felt that time passed exceptionally quickly. The little dumpling was just too lovable, and it didn't even cry no matter how much he teased it.

  The atmosphere of the Spring Festival is getting thicker, and family members are actively preparing for it every day, except for sticking couplets. This year's economy is relatively affluent, so the grade should be naturally improved.

  Song Jie has nothing to do every day, so she teaches Zhao Xiaobao. Xiaobao is extremely intelligent and learns everything quickly. Song Jie secretly feels fortunate in her heart that Grandfather took Xiaobao in. Otherwise, with Xiaobao's intelligence, it would be easy for him to go astray and learn bad things later on.

  The footsteps of the New Year are approaching step by step. The family, who had made a fortune, discussed it and decided to stop doing business. Originally, there was only one more batch left, and the market was already filled with pirated Spring Festival couplets. Their own Spring Festival couplets didn't make much profit, and they had almost sold out. If they were to restock, they would probably end up with inventory that couldn't be sold.

  People who have been busy for more than half a month can finally take a breather, and their homes are filled with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, just waiting to celebrate the New Year.

  The big cleanup at home has just ended, and a guest has arrived at home.

  Song Jie was somewhat perplexed, why did Wang Yiran's father come to her home? Shouldn't it be Grandpa Wang? As far as she knew, Wang Kun, Wang Yiran's dad, had never been to their house before.

  Zhao's father and Old Man Wang had been good friends for many years, but he had only met his son a few times. As soon as he saw Wang Kun, Zhao's father immediately guessed the purpose of his visit and warmly invited him into the house.

  After the two men had exchanged pleasantries and sat down, Mr. Zhao poured a cup of tea for Wang Kun: "Since you've come, just sit back and relax. What's with the formalities? Your father and I are old friends; he's never been so polite to me."

  "How can I compare with my father? This time I came to thank you for taking care of Yi Ran, his grades have improved a lot. It's all because of your good teaching. Isn't it right to give the teacher some New Year's gifts?" Wang Kun said respectfully.

  Song Jie suddenly realized that it was to give a gift to Teacher Xie. She had forgotten the extent of people's respect for teachers nowadays, which is almost comparable to their own fathers.

  It wasn't until then that she realized some of her thoughts hadn't changed, still lingering in the past. Was it because she didn't feel a sense of belonging here? But today's events were something everyone knew about, and it was better not to forget them.

  Time won't stand still for anyone, and I should make some changes too. If not, I'll just be dragging things out and will definitely make mistakes.

  Mr. Zhao sat up straight and politely declined several times before finally accepting the gift. It was clear that this was a very normal thing to do.

  After this incident, Song Jie reflected on herself and realized that her indifferent attitude towards things was not good. It's most important to fully integrate into this world as soon as possible.

  In the following days, Song Jie was like a changed person, helping with household chores every day and being extremely sweet-tongued. Everyone in the family exclaimed that Nini had finally grown up.

  This year's festive atmosphere is thicker than last year. On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together, it was really lively.

  A few kids were making a ruckus, Zhao Jing was still as proud and arrogant as ever, seeing others having so much fun, even if she wanted to join in, she pretended to be disdainful.

  Song Jie loved to tease her. Every time she ran past her with a toy, the little girl's eyes would widen in anger, almost spitting fire. But Zhao Jing was still stubborn and refused to admit that she was jealous, so she could only follow suit and pretend to be angry.

  The adults sat around the stove, drinking tea and gossiping. Under the stove, several sweet potatoes were being baked, and the children would run over to check on them every now and then, only to return in disappointment each time.

  The fireworks in the square never stopped, standing in a small courtyard. Looking up at the sky, there are bursts of fireworks from time to time.

  "Boom" red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, pink, like beautiful flowers, also like a meteor shower, illuminating the night sky as bright as day.

  At this moment, everyone stood in the palm-sized courtyard, gazing at the magnificent view of the sky, and no one made a sound, for fear of breaking the beautiful scenery.

  Song Jie gazed up at the sky and then looked at her loved ones beside her, when suddenly a sentence popped into her mind: May this life be peaceful and serene, may the years go by quietly.

  I wonder if our distant relatives are also enjoying the joy of the year at this moment.

  At this moment, Song Jie suddenly found herself missing her good friend Xiao Yannier very much. She wondered if Xiao Yannier still wore the Ah Fu pendant she had given her around her neck?

  Another old year is going to pass, and a new year has arrived.

  Song Jie is already 6 years old, and has grown up another year. This year her height increased by a big margin, and her round apple face became pointed at the chin, vaguely showing the outline of a young girl.

  Zhao Juan returned to school on the sixteenth of January and started a new round of studies. The family business was still handled by Zhao Tong, but he increased his frequency of visiting his sister at school.

  Song Jie secretly thought, and didn't know when her little uncle would be able to win Yu Qian over. Her little uncle was getting on in years, after all. Nowadays people are too innocent, can they be satisfied with just seeing each other occasionally? It seems like she needs to help stir up the flames.

  It's not possible to rely solely on one's own efforts, but rather it's necessary to rely on the help of one's own mother. Song Jie vaguely felt that after Yu Qian had dinner at their home before the new year, all the elderly people in the family were very satisfied and seemed to hope for development between them.

  It's another weekend, Zhao Juan is resting at home. The coursework in college is also very heavy, even at home she often can't put down her books.

  Song Jie was a bit bored on the side, Xiao Bao left on the weekend, Wang Yiran also had something to do on the weekend and couldn't come, leaving her alone with Xiao Li by her side feeling extremely depressed.

  Song Jie thought about it and realized that she was indeed very idle. Every day was either spent sleeping or eating, and it seemed like things were heading in a certain direction. This couldn't continue any longer.

  She thought she should do something meaningful, such as the lifelong matter of her younger uncle that she had been thinking about recently. She rolled her big eyes and saw Zhao Juan writing hastily beside her, and a good idea came to mind.

  Song Jie borrowed flowers to offer Buddha with both hands holding a plate of sliced apples, carefully walking towards Zhao Juan.

  "Mom, Nini has brought you an apple. You've been busy all morning, hurry up and eat the apple." Given Song Jie's consistent diligence recently, Zhao Juan didn't suspect anything at all, and thought it was her darling daughter showing concern for her.

  "Nini is so well-behaved, she even knows to bring food for mommy. Come, give me a kiss." She hugged the little kid and covered her face with kisses.

  Song Jie rolled her eyes and didn't dare to wipe her face. If she showed a disgusted expression, her silly old mom would definitely apply more makeup on her, so it's better not to wipe it off.

  "Mom, eat." Song Jie handed a piece of apple to her mother's mouth with a flattering smile.

  Zhao Juan took the apple and gobbled it up in two bites, making Song Jie's teeth ache a little. But she couldn't let her efforts go to waste, so she continued with renewed enthusiasm.

  "Mom, when can Yu Qian Auntie come to our house? I miss her so much." Song Jie said with her eyes wide open.

  "You still remember Aunt Yu Qian, I thought you had forgotten. Aunt Yu Qian is very busy and doesn't allow people to disturb her easily." Zhao Juan coaxed the child.

  Cut, she thought she was three years old, Song Jie secretly scolded in her heart: "Not only do I think of her, but my little uncle also thinks of her." Continue to fool around.

  "What? Your little uncle... how did you know?" Zhao Juan was fooled.

  "I just knew that one day I found my little uncle writing in the room, and as soon as I went in, he hid the words. Later, when he wasn't around, I sneaked in and flipped them out, and on it was Aunt Yu Qian's name. Mom, don't tell my little uncle that I rummaged through his things, okay? He'll definitely spank me." It's really true, not made up.

  Zhao Juan was shocked in her heart. She knew that Zhao Tong had a good impression of Qian, and every time her younger brother went to school with ulterior motives, she also knew. It's just that she didn't expect Zhao Tong to have already developed deep feelings for Qian.

  She originally let the situation develop on its own, hoping to go with the flow. In her heart, there was also a hidden fear that in the end, the two people couldn't be together and her friends and family would get hurt. So she always had an ostrich mentality, unwilling to delve deeper into it.

  It's all out in the open now. Zhao Juan was a bit at a loss, things had developed too quickly, beyond her expectations. Perhaps she could no longer just stand by and watch.

  Yu Qian is a good girl, she always knew that if she became her brother's sister-in-law, it would be the best. Since her brother likes the girl so much, why not give him a push?

  Seeing Zhao Jiao determined to match Yu Qian and Zhao Tong together, Song Jie put her mind at ease. The apple she gave wasn't wasted, and it wasn't in vain that she had saved it without eating it herself.

  Zhao Juan is a man of action, and as soon as she hears the wind, it's raining. As soon as she thinks about being a matchmaker, her heart is excited to jump out. Before that, she had some worries, still affected by the previous failed marriage, making her pessimistic about love. Now that she has walked out, she immediately wants to succeed.

  Song Jie shook her head, really can't stand it, but why did she like her own mother's temper so much? Hehe.

  Zhao Juan also had no experience, sitting in front of the desk for a long time, scratching her head and couldn't think of a good way. Should she let Zhao Tong write a love letter? Or should she help deliver the message herself?

  Zhao Juan unknowingly spoke out her thoughts, Song Jie's face turned black, can you be any more old-fashioned...

  "Mom, let's go watch a movie, I heard the movies at the cinema are better than those shown in the park, is that true?" Song Jie quickly offered options, not wanting her mom to be stuck on one idea.

  "Ding Dong" Zhao Juan's eyes lit up, the indicator light on her head flashed suddenly. Wasn't it obvious? She was really stupid to death, a movie theater wasn't the best choice, but that's what she would do!

  Song Jie, who was pointing at her opponent, was elegantly ignored by Hua Lili...