He smiled as he approached and greeted, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, happy New Year! Uncle, Young Uncle, you’re looking even sharper in your New Year’s attire this year."
"Haha, good to see you!" was the voice of Grandpa Li.
Grandma Li hurried over to the bullock cart to pick up the arrivals.
Hongji casually handed over the sack of pork he had at hand to his Young Uncle.
"Brother-in-law, such a generous gift!" Unlike his usual remark about the expense, Li Zhihao avoided it and instead went with festive well-wishes, then unceremoniously hoisted the hefty parcel single-handedly and carried it into the house.
Neighbors came out to join in the excitement, their eyes filled with envy at the sight of the gift.
And even more envy followed behind.
Grandma Li headed to the back of the bullock cart to receive more arrivals, her eldest son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter, with Grandpa Li following.
"Grandma, Grandpa! Uncle, Aunt, Younger Aunt, elder cousin, younger cousin, little cousin."
Upon opening the cart, the first sight for the five sisters was Grandma, followed by a chorus of greetings from the various relatives.
"Oh, my dear grandson, dear granddaughter are here!"
"Father, mother, elder brother, sister-in-law, younger brother and his wife." Mrs. Li joined in the calling.
The little maid didn’t know how to address everyone on her next turn, but no one seemed to mind.
Those called out to helped each other down from the bullock cart.
Once everyone was helped down, the group worked together to move the gifts into the house, each person from the welcoming party laden with items.
From an outsider’s view, there was a chicken cage containing several hens that appeared to be both large and plump.
And the boxes, the cardboard cartons, filled to the brim with gifts that were unknown.
In others’ minds, they were surely gifts of food, drink, and clothing; such generous offerings, the likes of which their own families did not have, nor were they as open-handed.
Grandpa and Grandma Li had already grown accustomed to their son-in-law and daughter bringing such substantial gifts.
In the previous years, they hadn’t been able to give much in return, but these last two years saw their own fortunes improve, and their New Year’s shopping became much more generous.
Hongji drove the bullock cart into his father-in-law’s yard and, under the enthusiastic hospitality of the host family, went inside for a cup of tea.
Mrs. Li held her son, and as the group moved inside, her mother took the boy from her arms.
At six months old, the baby chose this moment to keep his eyes wide open, perhaps remembering the face of Grandma Li, as he didn’t cry in her arms, rather looking around curiously with those adorable eyes.
The elder Aunt served food to the visiting children; Ye Shiqi along with her sisters, accompanied by their elder and younger cousins, had tea and snacks.
With their arrival, the house became much livelier with the larger family gathering.
Ye Shiqi examined the sweet in her hand, which appeared to be a type of glutinous rice cake used in the festival; she did not think it was the store-bought kind, but rather something made by the hands of relatives.
She took a bite of the pastry, savoring the sweetness complemented by a fragrant sesame, soft and chewy, and found it rather enjoyable. However, she only tried one piece, sampling a bit of other foods and firmly avoiding anything deep-fried.
After the adults had a chance to chat, the elder aunt and Uncle, along with other relatives, arrived.
After hosting them for a while, those who had to cook were busy once again.
Even though Hongji and Mrs. Li were much better off these past two years, with a cook, maids, and workers at home, they still couldn’t simply be guests at the Li family and pitched in to help prepare a large meal.
Mrs. Li handed her young son to her mother and asked her daughters to help keep an eye on him as well.
The adults gathered to cook meals for several tables, not requiring help from the younger generation.
Ye Shiqi listened to her cousins talking; the older ones had already entered private school. Only in these last two years, as family conditions improved, were they able to attend school, with parents willing to pay for their pens and ink.
In prior years, the children of the elder aunt were thin and sallow, but these past two years brought much improvement; by the sound of it, that cousin had also started attending private school.
The private school they attended was not in the county, but rather established in the town.
Several scholars taught there, and the founder of the school was also a Scholar.
This school with several teachers boasted numerous classrooms, which were really just ordinary mud-brick rooms, each enrolling about a dozen students.
These students were from somewhat better-off families in town, and in the hope of their children learning to read, they spared no expense for their education.
According to her cousins, they were only studying the Four Books and Five Classics; as for the more comprehensive courses on civil and martial arts, only the Xinghe Academy in the county offered instruction.
As students, they of course hoped for progress, but with the county so far away and tuition significantly higher, just being able to attend the private school was their greatest joy.