Now that they finally had the chance to visit Lin Lan’s house, they were definitely going to sate their curiosity.
Upon entering the house, they noted that Han Qingsong’s attitude was not enthusiastic and he wasn’t as sweet as they thought towards Lin Lan. They assumed that the rumours of Han Qingsong loving and cherishing his wife were all false.
At this moment, though, they discovered that it was Lin Lan who took money out of her pocket for Han Qingsong. With that, several women began to feel jealous. Looking around the village, it was either the family elders, their husbands or even their mother-in-laws who would handle the finances.
Han Qingsong saw Lin Lan taking out the money for him, so he accepted it.
A gust of cold wind blew Lin Lan’s hair and he naturally raised his hand to brush the strands of hair away from her face. Then, he touched her face with his palm, “It’s cold, so you should go in.”
The women in the room looked at them. This couple was truly sweet and weren’t ashamed at all.
When Lin Lan came in, some people looked at her with ulterior motives, and began to inquire about the affairs between Lin Lan and his wife.
Those who made sarcastic remarks were directly blocked by Dong Huaihua. She was the Director of women’s affairs, so she didn’t tolerate them in the slightest. She had to change their habits to avoid gossiping all day long.
Liu Xiuyun was also present and there were women who often tried to test her, asking insensitive questions such as whether she had a partner, when would she get married and so on.
Lin Lan and Dong Huaihua basically helped her block them off, only talking about the upcoming events and other interesting things.
Those who came without good intentions could feel, after a period of time, that both Lin Lan and Dong Huaihua were not very warm towards them. With that, they made up some reasons to excuse themselves.
After the women with ulterior motives left, Lin Lan took out the melon seeds and other candies, sharing them with the remaining women.
And in the blink of an eye, the gathering ended.
Zhang Caihong said, “There are people walking on stilts at the village behind ours. Do you guys want to go and take a look?”
Dong Huaihua, “Those performers will come to our village at some point so there is no need to go. If you ask me, we should organise a few things ourselves to have a fun time. Liu Chuncai even said that his mouth was itching for a good show, so we can have him perform.”
Lin Lan smiled and said, “Then go ahead and let him. I’ll take a little break in the meantime, so good luck.”
The performances for the first 2 days of the New Year included walking on stilts, performing the traditional Yangko Dance, singing opera, storytelling and playing the erhu.
The people of the countryside didn’t get to enjoy much entertainment on a daily basis, so they were all looking forward to the annual performances during the New Year regardless of the skills showcased.
On the 3rd day of the New Year Celebration, it was tradition to return to everyone’s maternal families respectively.
Generally, this was done so that the daughters of each family could meet each other and reunite easily. The elderly couple at home could also be entertained and have an opportunity to spend time with their daughters who were wedded off and their grandchildren. Basically, it was a win-win situation.