But Xiao Changyi didn’t put up the couplets by himself; he waited for An Jing to do it together.
This was their home, and it needed to be decorated by the two of them together.
The two of them pasted couplets on the home’s seven doors, and once these red papers with black characters were up, the whole house looked different, exceedingly festive.
An Jing stood in the courtyard, looking at everything, feeling particularly good, and said with a smile, "Husband, it’s New Year."
Xiao Changyi stood beside An Jing, not looking at the house’s decorations, his cold gaze fixed upon her all the time, his eyes growing softer and softer. Hearing An Jing’s words, he responded softly, "Hmm."
An Jing turned her head to see her husband watching her, which made her smile bloom like a flower immediately.
While other families had already started to set off firecrackers and have their New Year’s Eve dinner, An Jing and Xiao Changyi hadn’t yet dined, nor were they in a hurry. The New Year’s Eve dinner had already been cooked, and the dishes were kept warm in the pot.
They were just taking a bath.
After the bath and putting on new clothes, An Jing and Xiao Changyi began to set off firecrackers and eat the New Year’s Eve dinner.
Since it was the New Year, despite An Jing’s poor tolerance for alcohol, she still had a small cup with Xiao Changyi.
On New Year’s Eve here, there was a tradition of staying up all night to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one, gathered around the stove to keep watch.
It wasn’t until daylight the next day that An Jing and Xiao Changyi went to bed to sleep.
On the fourth day of the first month, An Fu came calling, inviting An Jing and Xiao Changyi to his home for a meal.
Out of respect for Shi Xiaolan, An Jing and Xiao Changyi went, but An Jing found the meal rather uncomfortable.
The reason being, at the dinner table, Yun Dame kept serving dishes to Shi Xiaolan, urging her to eat more, saying that she mustn’t starve her precious grandson.
An Jing did notice that every time Yun Dame said such things, Shi Xiaolan would force a smile but her lips would subtly purse, clearly conveying bitterness. If it turned out to be a girl, what then?
Moreover, An Jing also noticed at the dinner table that An Hegui and An Fu also really hoped Shi Xiaolan would have a boy.
An Jing knew that Yun Dame, An Hegui, and An Fu were good people, but there was one thing she found particularly off-putting: their belief that only a boy could be considered a proper heir.
Shi Xiaolan wasn’t suffering from depression now, but living in such an environment, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t in the future. This worried An Jing about Shi Xiaolan.
So, on the way home, An Jing said to Xiao Changyi, "Husband, let’s help Xiao Lan."
"How do you want to help?"
"They all hope so much for Xiao Lan to have a boy, and I can’t change that mindset, but we can help Xiao Lan to leave here for a while. Aren’t we about to open a rice shop? We’ll definitely need help by then, so we can ask Brother An Fu to help out at the rice shop, and have Xiao Lan go with him. Our shop will be in the county, so far from An Village, and Yun Dame and the others won’t be able to keep running that far to Xiao Lan just to harp on about the baby being a boy. If Xiao Lan hears less of their nagging, her mood might not be so bad."
Sighing, An Jing continued, "No matter if Xiao Lan’s child turns out to be a boy or a girl, for these next few months, if we can make her life a bit easier, then let’s do so. She’s really pitiful, with no one in her maternal family, just me as a friend. She didn’t complain to me today, but I could tell; she’s really struggling."
Xiao Changyi had no objections to An Jing’s plan to help Shi Xiaolan and nodded in agreement.