Chapter 322 - Preparing for the Exam (1/2)

With a head full of imaginary black lines, Yu Xiaocao gave Big Gray a warning glare, and then gave the little guy a few more dumplings. Little Black licked his little master’s hands with gratitude, ‘Little Master, you’re the best! Little Black loves you the most!!’ After that, he gobbled up his dumplings for fear that his father would steal them away again.

Big Gray wanted to do the same thing and rob Little White’s dumplings. However, Little White wasn’t as easy to deal with as Little Black. Not only was he unable snatch the dumplings, but he also ended up being bitten on the face by Little White, leaving a row of teeth marks. Big Gray looked threateningly at his ‘unfilial son’, ‘If master wasn’t next to us, I would have smacked you silly! You dared to fight with your father. Just wait!!’

Little White unhurriedly finished his dumplings, and didn’t even spare his father a glance, ‘If you dared to bully me, Master won’t let you drink the tasty water. Humph!!’

Seeing that Xiaocao had gone out the door of the west room, Little White strode out proudly behind her and ignored Big Gray, who was scratching the floor with his claws. When Big Gray turned his head to look at Little Black’s bowl, the little guy immediately stuffed the last two dumplings into his mouth and then rushed out of the room at the fastest speed. Big Gray was full of complaints within his heart, ‘Master, why don’t I get anything good to eat, and yet I’m always being ordered to work?’

In the main room, Madam Zhao, her son, and Heizi had already finished eating the dumplings. Old Yu teased the cute Little Doudou and asked him to do the New Year’s greetings, “Doudou, if you wish Grandfather a happy New Year, then you can get a red envelope!”

Under the guidance of his older brothers and sisters, Doudou kneeled down with slight difficulty, lowered his head onto the kang bed several times, and said some auspicious words, “May Grandfather have a happy New Year, and live a long and healthy life!”

In the past, before they had divided the family, the younger generations also kowtowed to the Old Yu couple as New Year greetings. After Yu Hai’s family separated from the family, the children just had to bow with their hands clasped in front of themselves. It didn’t matter how they did the New Year greetings, as long as they were able to express their sincerely.

After Little Doudou received the red envelope from his paternal grandfather, he was encouraged by his older siblings to open it. Little Shitou said with a grin, “Doudou, why don’t you count to see how many copper coins you received as lucky money?”

Little Doudou had learned how to count, so it wasn’t hard for him, “One, two, three… ten coins. There’s a total of ten copper coins!”

Madam Zhao took the red envelope from her son’s hands and prepared to give it back to the old man, “Father, it’s too much. The child would be happy with just one copper coin.”

In her opinion, her father-in-law relied on her second brother-in-law’s family for all the basic necessities of his life. There were so many children, so if he gave ten copper coins to each, that would be at least eighty to ninety copper coins. Didn’t it all come from her second brother-in-law? Today, she didn’t bring the kids over for New Year greetings with the intention of getting lucky money. She wasn’t as greedy as her sister-in-law, Madam Li, who would destroy all the affection between relatives for the sake of a little money.

Old Yu looked at her, took the red envelope, and then put it back into the hands of his aggrieved grandson. He said, “Take it. Everyone gets one! Don’t worry, I have money. Your second brother-in-law gives me some pocket money every month, but I usually don’t have anything to spend it on.” After saying that, he also gave Heizi a red envelope.

Little Doudou’s face lit up with happiness. His small hands were full after receiving red envelopes from his second uncle, second aunt, oldest aunt, and oldest uncle. Madam Zhao felt slightly embarrassed, so she decided to go back after briefly chatting with them. Old Yu thought about it, and then said to Madam Liu, “Second Son’s wife, are there any more dumplings in the kitchen? Let Third Son’s wife take a bowl of dumplings back for her husband.” He got divorced, but Third Son was still a descendant of his Yu Family!

Madam Liu didn’t say anything and went to the kitchen to get a bowl of dumplings. She placed it in a small bamboo basket, covered it with a cotton cloth, and then handed it to Madam Zhao. Seeing this, Heizi wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.

After sending off Madam Zhao and the kids, the Yu Family soon welcomed another group of people who came to give New Year greetings. Zhou Shanhu, who had a good relationship with Yu Xiaocao, was in the front, while her older brother, Zhou Shaohua, followed behind her. There were also the Qian Family’s Qian Wen, Qian Wu, and Qian Yafeng. The three families lived close by and frequently interacted with each other, so the children had a good relationship.

Qian Wen, who would turn fourteen after the New Year, had already grown up to be a graceful and beautiful young man. He was also preparing for the county-level exams in February. He usually worked very hard, and before the school suspended classes, he rarely came back for breaks and stayed at the academy to study. The academy had suspended classes due to the disaster year, so he stayed at home and studied hard. As a result, it had been a long time since Xiaocao had seen this youth.

Yu Xiaocao took out snacks to entertain her friends. Zhou Shanhu widened her eyes and exclaimed in surprise, “Stir-fried pumpkin seeds, stir-fried peanuts, maltose candy, sesame candy, peanut candy… Xiaocao, you have such a rich variety of snacks at home. And this, it’s the seeds of the sunflower that you guys planted in your backyard, right?”

With a smile, Yu Xiaocao nodded and said, “Yes! I sautéed it with salt and pepper. Have a taste and see if it’s good!”

Zhou Shanhu didn’t act courteous and grabbed a handful of the seeds. She followed Xiaocao, placed a sunflower seed in her mouth, and bit on the shell. Then she clumsily took out the unshelled seed and savored it in her mouth. She nodded and said, “It’s quite tasty! The things brought back from the western hemisphere taste quite good! You guys should quickly try it!”

The children excitedly ate the candies, melon seeds, and peanuts as they happily chatted. Before long, the family welcomed another group of visitors for the New Year. Among the group was Uncle Shuanzhu’s daughters, Liu Huifang and Liu Yingzi, and second son, Tiedan’er. That Zheng Xiaocui, who always wanted to get closer to the young royal prince, also came.