The Yao family was bustling all afternoon.
Tonight’s Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner would be shared not just among their own family, but also Aunt Song Zhujun’s family was coming over.
In order to show respect for their relatives, the whole family started to get busy from one in the afternoon, even Xu Qingfan who was setting off firecrackers at the door to scare the dog bowl was called back to wash and pick vegetables.
Watching the delight in the eyes of the family preparing the food inside the house, Xu Qingfan suddenly had a bit of an understanding of where the festive atmosphere really came from.
A rich festive atmosphere firstly required a group of people like his grandparents who give without complaint, and secondly the most important, those worthy of their dedication.
As for why the festive atmosphere seemed to fade away as years went by, it was probably because there were fewer and fewer people worth giving to selflessly.
After four in the afternoon, the eldest uncle and Xu’s father drove to Shahe Village, providing a special car service to bring Aunt Song and her whole family over for the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner.
Xu Qingfan had not been to Shahe Village since he missed the bride pick-up on his wedding day, so he followed along in the passenger seat.
When a BMW and a Crown car drove into the village at the same time, it indeed attracted a lot of lively gossip from the villagers.
After parking the car, the eldest uncle personally went to the passenger’s side to open the door for Song Zhujun, walking with her waist in arm along the cement road back to the village, truly attracting countless eyes.
As for the famous big businessman known far and wide, the villagers had heard a thing or two about him. Many gossipy naysayers could have scoffed at the age difference between him and his younger wife, but after Yao Jianjun got married, he seemed to age backward, and the two walking together looked perfectly matched, no longer giving these monsters a chance to object.
"The big boss is different, smoking such fine cigarettes!"
"Huazi cigarettes are really satisfying!"
"I don’t smoke much normally, just took them out because I was visiting Zhujun’s home." Yao Jianjun laughed and waved, taking turns with Xu’s father to hand out cigarettes before leaving with a smile.
Xu Qingfan followed behind, watching his aunt secretly twist Yao Jianjun’s waist, he couldn’t help but get goosebumps again.
[Hiss~ Zhujun, I give props to the eldest uncle for that!] He couldn’t help but reflect on himself, thinking if he had learned from Yao Jianjun in his past life, maybe he wouldn’t have died as a novice.
Auntie’s conditions were not bad in the village; she lived in a three-story self-built house.
Xu Qingfan followed behind and entered the door, where a large family sat ready in the living room, waiting for the new son-in-law to visit.
As he entered the house, he faced a century-old problem: [What do I call Auntie’s parents, her older brother, her younger brother? Even the rocking car didn’t teach me that!]
"Ahem... uh... hello everyone, hello everyone." Xu Qingfan nodded slightly, his face wearing an awkward yet polite smile.
However, obviously the adults in the house weren’t focused on him, and after a perfunctory "That’s Xiao Fan, indeed the nephew resembles the uncle," they stopped paying attention to him.
Xu Qingfan was pleased with his leisure, his gaze attracted by the certificates plastered on the wall, as well as his aunt’s undergraduate graduation photo from her younger days.
[Zhongkai Agricultural University, it seems like it’s a second-tier university. Auntie is really amazing to obtain her PhD!] Xu Qingfan, who had mixed in the scientific research circle in his past life, knew this very well.
Many key universities, when recruiting graduate students, would often deliberately mark down those whose undergraduate education wasn’t from traditional prestigious institutions during the interview stage.
Even some lesser first-tier universities, in order to snatch students from those prestigious schools, would deliberately lower scores during the written exams to create adjustment spots to pick up students from 985 and 211 universities.
Of course, this was understandable, just as one of the leading scholars at the institute during his undergraduate days said — faced with two graduate students who scored the same on the written exam, one from an ordinary second-tier university and the other from a 985 university, when assigning research topics, the former would follow the instructor’s requirements step by step, while the latter would add their own ideas on top of that.
It was a bit of a digression, but Xu Qingfan pulled his gaze back, finally settling on the people conversing inside the room.
"Hey, do you know who Skin Snake’s cousin is?" Suddenly, a seven or eight-year-old kid approached him to strike up a conversation.
"I don’t know, who is it?" Xu Qingfan was bored anyway, and responded casually.
He couldn’t remember the plot from The Adventures of Little Carp, an anime from several years ago.
"It’s a giant manta!" The kid answered proudly.
"Oh." Xu Qingfan nodded.
"Then do you know why Skin Snake wants to eat his cousin?" The kid asked again.
Xu Qingfan ignored him, listening to the adults’ conversation in the house. But the kid, undeterred, tugged at his clothes and loudly insisted, "Tell me, tell me, do you know why Skin Snake wants to eat his cousin!"
"Song Bingxiong, do you have any manners?" The next second, a feather duster landed on his bottom; the kid named Song Bingxiong was disciplined on the spot by his mother.
"Sorry about that, this little stinker can’t sit still since he was young." The woman apologized to Xu Qingfan with a smile while spanking her son with the feather duster.
Xu Qingfan didn’t dare to put on airs and immediately stood up, waving his hand and saying, "Auntie, it’s okay, it’s good for kids to be active and smart. My mom always says I can’t stay still."
"Auntie, mom hit me, wuwuwu~"
"You deserve it, who made you fail every exam at the end of the term, your Brother Fan here always ranks first in his grade!" Song Zhujun scolded with a stern face.
The kid felt unloved, even his usually most doting aunt was not taking his side. He glared back at Xu Qingfan, thinking: [Doesn’t even know who Skin Snake’s cousin is, must’ve been studying sh*t!]