Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
After she told everyone that Lin Qingqing and Feng Fuman would be coming to celebrate the New Year together, no one objected.
The Chen siblings had a good relationship with Feng Fuman, and although Jing Yuan and Jing Xuan were not close to Lin Qingqing, they were still acquaintances they often saw in their previous life. For them, people who were considered friends in their past life were very precious.
“In that case, I’ll invite Qin Qian as well,” Jing Xuan said.
Qin Qian was Jing Xuan’s subordinate in his previous life, and in this life he worked for the two brothers, Jing Yuan and Jing Xuan. It could be said that their relationship was quite deep, and inviting him to the gathering was a pleasure for both of them.
Having lived a life pursuing everything, they had realized that sometimes, the bonds between people were far more important than material possessions. Perhaps for someone like Xiu Lingfei, who coveted past status and power, it was the bonds of friendship that mattered most in this life.
Jiang Shining’s huge double-door refrigerator was crammed full of all sorts of things, and Chen Ruozhi laughed when she opened it.
“What are you laughing at?” Jing Yuan asked, quite curiously.
Chen Ruozhi pointed to the refrigerator, which was full of food.
“Back when I was in Country M, I had friends from Country C who invited me to their homes during the Chinese New Year,” Chen Ruozhi said nostalgically. “I remember their refrigerator was always packed full. She said that when she was there, the refrigerator was always empty. It was only during the Chinese New Year, when her family came, that the refrigerator would be so full.”
Chen Ruozhi looked at Jing Yuan and smiled gently.
“So for her, seeing the refrigerator full brings a sense of happiness,” she said. “I didn’t understand it then, but now I finally understand.”
As siblings with low needs, Chen Tanliang and Chen Ruozhi were the kind of people who could live on cheap fast food every day. Chen Tanliang ate in the army, while Chen Ruozhi would at most heat up frozen food in the microwave. The refrigerator was always empty, and to her it was like a decoration, occasionally used to store leftovers.
But now, everything was different.
Chen Ruozhi turned around and gently closed the refrigerator.
“I was initially very skeptical about our ‘reconstituted’ family,” she said. “But in the past few months, I’ve felt something I’ve never felt before; this is what a real home feels like.”
Every day, they had simple yet warm and natural chats, and warm meals began to appear on the table. When Chen Ruozhi woke up, she would always find Guoguo secretly climbing into her bed and snuggling in her arms. Even their arguments and bickering felt like home.
In Chen Ruozhi’s memory, Chen Tanliang would only smile when he was looking at her. But when Chen Ruozhi secretly glanced at him, Chen Tanliang was mostly frowning and looking serious.
Now, without realizing it, Chen Tanliang’s brows had relaxed, and for the first time, she saw a relaxed light in her brother’s eyes.
This was home.
Chu Jingyuan stared at Chen Ruozhi for a while, then he stretched out his arms.
“Come here, girl,” he said.
Chen Ruozhi smiled, stepped forward, and gently leaned against Chu Jingyuan’s chest. Jing Yuan patted her shoulder.
“Reconstituted family with someone else doesn’t seem like a happy thing,” he said, “but I am honored.”
“Me too.” Chen Ruozhi smiled gently. “Sometimes I think, if I had a few more brothers back then, would life have been more interesting?”
“Thank goodness you only have one brother, otherwise I would really go crazy,” Jing Yuan said. Chen Ruozhi laughed.
The two let go of each other, and Chu Jingyuan reached out and ruffled her hair.
“The good days are just beginning, you’ll get used to it gradually.”
Chen Ruozhi nodded slightly.
A series of clattering sounds came from upstairs. Chu Jingyuan looked up and pointed to the ceiling.
“Your brother and Jing Xuan are cleaning upstairs right now,” he said. “I heard you can’t cook. Would you like to learn from me?”
“Of course!” Chen Ruozhi said, “I’ve always been curious why an emperor can cook.”
“In this life, I was a gang leader in the US,” Jing Yuan said. “Those people’s cooking skills were absolutely terrible… I’d rather give them a whole bag of bullets than eat their food. You know, Chen Tanliang and I ran into each other once?”
“He didn’t tell me, but I could sense the tense atmosphere between you two,” Chen Ruozhi said with a smile.
Jing Yuan spread his hands. “Is there anything more disgusting than becoming brothers with your enemy?”
“Disgusting? I heard that.” Just then, a voice came from the stairwell.
Chen Tanliang came downstairs and looked at Jing Yuan.
“Are you talking badly about me to my sister?” Chen Tanliang raised his eyebrows.
Jing Yuan simply reached out and put his arm around Chen Ruozhi’s shoulder.
“Our sister,” he emphasized.
Chen Tanliang glared at him, and just then Jing Xuan walked down from behind Chen Tanliang, so Chen Tanliang also reached out and put his arm around Jing Xuan’s neck.
“Our brother,” he retorted.
The two glared at each other for a while, then suddenly realized it was pointless; their actions were simply too childish.
So the two eldest sons snorted coldly at the same time and went to do their work. But even doing work wasn’t peaceful.
“Chu Jingyuan, throw me a bottle of beer.”
Jing Yuan opened the refrigerator, removed his fingers from the canned beer, and took out a beer bottle.
Then he threw it at Chen Tanliang’s head.
Chen Tanliang caught the oncoming bottle with lightning-fast reflexes. He looked expressionlessly at Chu Jingyuan, who was glaring at him defiantly, then bit off the cap with his teeth and drank the beer.
Just when Jing Yuan in the kitchen had almost forgotten about it, he heard Chen Tanliang say calmly, “I’ve finished drinking, thank you.”
A gust of wind came immediately, and Jing Yuan grabbed the bottle with lightning speed.
The two snorted again and continued working as if nothing had happened.
A month ago, Chen Ruozhi and Chu Jingxuan would have been terrified of the two of them, but now they didn’t even glance at them.
The day before Lunar New Year’s Eve, everyone finally cleaned and tidied the villa.
On New Year’s Eve, the sound of firecrackers rang out continuously in the neighborhood. Because of the time restrictions for setting off the firecrackers, by 1 p.m., the sound of firecrackers outside was incessant, as if the ground was trembling.
Chen Tanliang sat on the sofa, his eyes closed, listening to the deafening roar. For a moment, he felt transported back to the battlefield of his previous life. Smoke billowing, the ground scorched to the ground. Soldiers cowered in trenches, their dark blue uniforms stained with mud and blood. They tucked their wills and black-and-white photos of their families inside their helmets, clutching their rifles and awaiting the order to advance…
“Chen Tanliang, what’s wrong?”
Suddenly, Chu Jingyuan’s voice entered his brain, and Chen Tanliang opened his eyes. He was back in the villa.
He smiled.
“Peace and prosperity are truly wonderful.”
Chu Jingyuan was taken aback. The two often exchanged cold laughs and mockery, but this was the first time Chen Tanliang had shown Chu Jingyuan such a genuine and harmless smile.
“Does the sound of firecrackers remind you of the battlefield?” Chu Jingyuan said knowingly.
“Actually, it’s alright. I know it’s the sound of firecrackers.” Chen Tanliang looked at him. “It’s just a bit like gunshots. You can tell the difference after listening to it for a while.”
Jing Yuan nodded.
“And you?” Chen Tanliang said, “Your era must have been one of cold weapons.”
“Use a sword to kill. Some new recruits had nightmares after killing someone until they got used to it. But I didn’t, I never did.” Jing Yuan said indifferently, “Even after I killed my half-brother, I never had nightmares. I’m a cold-blooded bast**d, I’ve always known that.”
“You’re not a cold-blooded bast**d.” Chen Tanliang stared at Chu Jingyuan. “You’ve just been forced to go through too many cruel things, and you’ve just gotten used to it. So you’re not a bastard.”
“Then what am I?” Chu Jingyuan raised his eyebrows.
“A good person pretending to be fierce,” Chen Tanliang said.
Jing Yuan was taken aback, and after a while, he chuckled softly.
“Chen Tanliang, you’re a really interesting person.”
“I’m serious.” Chen Tanliang frowned as he looked at Jing Yuan’s unserious smile.
Jing Yuan smiled even more broadly.
This world is truly amazing. They were raised by the same mother, so why are their personalities so different?
Chen Tanliang looked a little sullen, so Jing Yuan reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
“Since you say I’m a good person, then you should know that a good person isn’t laughing at you, so you don’t need to be angry,” Jing Yuan said, his logic genius being brilliant.
“Sophistry!” Chen Tanliang disagreed.
Jing Yuan then burst into laughter again.
At this moment, Jiang Shining, Chen Ruozhi, and Jing Xuan came out. Jing Xuan was holding two couplets, Chen Ruozhi was holding the horizontal scroll, and Jiang Shining was holding the character “福” (fortune).
“They’re putting up couplets! They’re putting up couplets!” Guoguo ate candy and skipped along behind them.
The couplet read: “Spring breeze and rain nourish the land, flowers bloom across the land; firecrackers fill the air with fragrance, joy fills every household.”
The calligraphy was elegant and unrestrained, displaying the style of a master calligrapher.
“Jing Xuan, did you write this?” Chen Tanliang asked in surprise.
Jing Xuan nodded and smiled gently.
“My skills aren’t very good, please forgive me.”
If Jing Xuan’s calligraphy wasn’t good, then these people were even worse.
The group went outside and excitedly put up the Spring Festival couplets. They couldn’t agree on whether they should be on the right side or not.
After the decorations were finished, Chen Tanliang, who had plenty of experience taking care of girls, took Guoguo to the yard to light firecrackers, making the little girl jump for joy.
Inside, Chen Ruozhi helped pick and wash vegetables, while Jing Yuan, Jing Xuan, and Jiang Shining cooked. With many people arriving later, the three of them needed to work together to keep up. Qin Qian arrived two hours earlier than scheduled, and as if he had a sixth sense, he knew they wouldn’t be able to manage, so he started helping with the cooking as soon as he entered the house.
At 5 p.m., Lin Qingqing and Feng Fuman arrived.
The two were a little reserved at first, but once the first meal of the evening began and the drinks were served, they quickly warmed up to everyone after just one drink.
Jiang Shining picked up her wine glass and smiled.
“Everyone here is connected to each other in some way from our past lives,” she said. “This is a completely different world, but it is a new beginning for all of us.”
She raised her glass.
“My children, my friends— I wish you a Happy New Year first.”
“Happy New Year!”
The cups of everyone clinked together.
Jiang Shining tilted her head back and drank the entire glass of wine in one gulp.
It was as if, with this glass of wine, she had finally said goodbye to her past self.
From then on, she was simply herself.
The author has something to say:
Jiang Shining: The Jiang Shining of the past is dead. Now I am Jiang Niu Hulu[1] Shining!
….
No third update today, please forgive me q3q. I hope for a second update too, I’m your little darling too.
Chinese New Year is such a big holiday in China, it feels like every family is different.
I’m from the North. In my family, we clean the house the day before New Year’s Eve, and then clean it again on the morning of New Year’s Eve. The men cook, and it has to be an even number of dishes, like 8, 10, or 12, for good luck. Then the women put up the Spring Festival couplets.
We eat at 5 PM, then watch the Spring Festival Gala as background music, set off firecrackers at 10 PM, and eat dumplings at midnight.
A friend from the South told me that they eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls) during Chinese New Year, which sounds like a lot of fun. I wonder how everyone else celebrates it at home?
Since I’ve already written this far, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year in advance! -3-
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next
[1] When Niu Hulu (or Niohuru) is added to someone’s name as an internet slang term, it means they have transformed, “leveled up,” or turned savvy and powerful after going through hardships or a comeback.
