frightfiction Chapter 1341 Worry
Chapter 1341 Worry
By 10:30, there was no room left at home.
Besides Liu Meilan's family and the three Fu brothers and their wives, some children are sleeping on the floor here. The others will go home one after another in the evening. They will come back to wish everyone a Happy New Year tomorrow morning.
Many northerners make dumplings at night, but the Fu family felt that dumplings made that way didn't taste good, so they would all come over the next day to make them together.
The nanny had also gone home for the Chinese New Year. Liu Meilan got up early and made dumplings with her aunt, second aunt, mother-in-law, uncle, second uncle, and Fu Chen.
Liu Meilan is skillful and is mainly responsible for rolling out the dumpling wrappers. Holding the dumpling wrapper in one hand and pushing the rolling pin with the other, she quickly makes a round dumpling wrapper that is thicker in the middle and thinner at the sides.
My aunt praised, "Meilan's dumpling wrappers are especially easy to wrap."
Upon hearing the praise, Liu Meilan reacted quickly, "It's mainly because my aunt kneads the dough very well, it's just the right consistency, not too soft or too hard, it's exceptionally good. Every year, my second aunt prepares the filling, and I can eat two bowls of dumplings like this."
When Ms. Yuan heard her daughter-in-law praising her two sisters-in-law, she realized that compared to them, she really couldn't do any of the work—she couldn't knead dough, prepare fillings, or roll out dough wrappers.
"Sigh, compared to you, I can't do anything," Ms. Yuan said wistfully. "I'm just benefiting from your success."
Liu Meilan smiled sweetly, "Mom, that's because you're so good at your job. You've put all your energy into your career. Why don't you start, you sing the lead, and we can sing together?"
Aunt smiled and urged, "That's right, I like 'Memories Can Only Be Remembered,' and I can sing a few lines too."
My second aunt also quickly requested a song, "I like 'I Just Like You,' Mei Lan, it's in Cantonese, can you sing it?"
Ms. Yuan was quite pleased to hear that her profession was being discussed. "Okay, making dumplings is rather boring. Let's sing while we work. First, let's sing 'Memories Can Only Be Remembered,' 'Time flies and never returns, memories can only be remembered...'"
Ms. Yuan is a veritable encyclopedia of songs, and my aunt also loves to sing and can sing. With Ms. Yuan leading the way, the two of them, one high and one low, get along quite well.
After the song ended, Liu Meilan clapped, "Mom, you sang so beautifully. Come on, let me sing 'I Just Like You,' which my second aunt requested. The sorrow lingers, the melancholy won't dissipate, why am I so empty..."
Liu Meilan's singing voice is quite pleasant, but she's not very tone-deaf. While she's mostly in tune, something just doesn't feel right.
Aunt laughed heartily, "Third sister-in-law, you're good at singing, but your daughter-in-law isn't so good at it."
Ms. Yuan shook her head and chuckled, "What a waste of such a beautiful voice."
When Madam Fu returned from her walk, she heard everyone laughing, came over, and asked, "I just heard you singing, are you going to continue?"
Liu Meilan looked up while rolling out dough. "Grandma, we're singing. Do you know any songs?"
Madam Fu nodded, quite proudly, "Of course I can. I'm not good at pop songs, but when we went to the countryside, I learned a lot of folk songs from the locals. They were very interesting."
"Grandma, can you sing for us?" Liu Meilan blinked, her face full of anticipation.
"Alright, today I'll let you hear some of the songs we liked back then." Old Madam Fu smiled, "Oh, mountains to mountains, cliffs to cliffs, bees come from deep in the mountains to gather nectar..."
After the old lady finished singing, the four of them were very surprised. "Mom, I didn't expect your voice to still be so good! This song, 'Midu Mountain Song,' is really beautiful."
"I'm getting old!" Madam Fu shook her head. "Back then, I sang and danced with the local girls. I never imagined that more than sixty years would have passed in the blink of an eye."
The old man's eyes were filled with reluctance to let go of past memories. In this world, time is both the fairest and the cruelest thing.
It won't stop for anyone, nor will it prolong its life for anyone. Live life to the fullest and seize the moment.
Grandpa Fu, accompanied by his three sons, returned from his walk, washed his hands, and joined in making dumplings. There were many people in the family, and not enough dumplings to go around. Encouraged by Liu Meilan, they also sang their favorite songs.
When the children got up, the other women came over, and they started cooking dumplings.
The lamb dumplings are incredibly delicious; you can only find them here. Back home, you might not be able to find such tasty lamb dumplings.
After the meal, it's time to exchange New Year's greetings.
The elderly people in the family were at home, and Uncle Fu was at home, waiting for others to come and offer New Year's greetings. Uncle Fu's second brother took some of the younger members of the family to visit and offer New Year's greetings to acquaintances.
The house was almost always occupied all morning.
As for the younger children, they went to blow up the dog bowls again.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, those whose maternal homes were nearby would bring their children and go back to their maternal homes.
Xu Huizhen didn't go back this year; she stayed at the old house with Liu Meilan.
"Meilan, how are things at my parents' home?" Xu Huizhen has to start working on duty in her third year of junior high school, and the holiday is too short to go back to her parents' home. She can only choose to come back again during the May Day holiday.
Liu Meilan chuckled, "The Xu family is doing quite well. Last year, the average income from pearl farming was 500,000 yuan, and they are living a very good life now. The children's education is also good, so there's no need to worry."
Xu Huizhen already knew about it from chatting with her family, but she was still very happy to hear it from Liu Meilan in person.
This income is extremely high, even in Beijing. Compared to before, Liu Meilan led the development of Sifang Island, enabling the island's people to become wealthy and live a good life, something they never dared to dream of before.
“Every time I go back, I can feel the atmosphere of the island; it’s truly extraordinary.” Xu Huizhen smiled. “Thank you so much.”
Liu Meilan waved her hand, "No need to thank me, it's what I should do, and I've also made a lot of money."
"By the way, how's Xiaoyu doing?" Xu Huizhen asked. "I called her last week, and she said she's trying to conceive and is planning for her third child. You should talk to her and tell her that health is important and she shouldn't harm her body for the sake of having a baby."
Liu Meilan shook her head and chuckled, "Xiaoyu is very opinionated, I can't persuade her. But don't worry, the medical conditions there are good, so she can take good care of her body to the greatest extent possible."
"Sigh!" Xu Huizhen sighed. "It's fortunate that Xiaoyu doesn't go into politics. For someone like me with a child, it's very difficult to balance work and family."
Liu Meilan smiled and said, "It's no wonder Xiaoyu wants to have more children. The Ye family has a huge business empire, with numerous industries not only in China but also in Southeast Asia, Europe, and several mines in Africa. Ye Qiang is also investing a lot now. If there's only one child, the risk is too great."
"Even if a child grows up safely, there's no guarantee that the child will be able to shoulder the responsibilities of the family. Outstanding children are random; having more children means at least one of them will be good. There's also a deeper factor, stemming from the clan culture of the South."
“With so many children, when a man reaches middle age and the children have grown up, he will have to consider the feelings of his children before he can do anything. It’s a kind of protection. In short, Xiaoyu is very thoughtful. As long as she wants to, I will support her.”