A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 318 New Year's Eve Remembering Old Friends

The firecrackers mark the end of the twelfth lunar month and mark the end of winter and spring. People bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, and thousands of families gather together to celebrate the coming of the new year.

Starting from the morning hour on New Year's Eve, the sound of firecrackers began to ring out in An County, and the thick snow on the ground was melted by the sound of driving away beasts in the new year.

In Taozhu Village, smoke rises from every household and the fragrance wafts in the air. The simple meals of everyday life are only enjoyed during the Chinese New Year. The Fu family is much more lively than usual. In addition to Si Yao who stayed to celebrate the New Year, the father and son of the Wu family are also reunited here.

People in Taozhu Village have different surnames because their ancestors fled from the north during the famine and settled here, so they don't have many relatives in An County. Wu Awei's mother was a beggar in An County who lost both her parents and was helpless. Awei's grandparents took pity on her for being bullied at such a young age, so they brought her back home. When she grew up, she became the daughter-in-law of the Wu family.

However, God has no pity on the poor. Ah Wei's mother finally got a family again but died of heavy bleeding during childbirth. Not long after, the old couple of the Wu family also died of illness, leaving only the father and son to depend on each other. Aunt Liang sympathized with the father and son. In addition to mending their clothes and beddings, she would also invite them to the Fu family every New Year, which gradually became a habit for the two families over the years.

After lunch, Aunt Liang started to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner in the kitchen. Fu Qingli was also writing couplets in the main hall. The Wu family father and son were responsible for pasting couplets and hanging mahogany for the two families. Si Yao wanted to go into the kitchen to help but was driven out by Aunt Liang. With nothing to do, she had to go back to Fu Qingli to watch him write couplets.

Although Fu Qingli is as gentle as the moon, the words he writes are as vigorous as pine and cypress, with bold and unrestrained strokes and a sense of pride.

"Your hands are used to cure diseases and save lives. How can I let you grind ink for me?" Seeing Si Yao grinding ink for him, Fu Qingli stopped writing and smiled at her gently.

"Does a doctor cease to be a human being just because he can cure illnesses?" Si Yao smiled helplessly and shook his head and asked back.

"Qingli, are you going to write couplets this year?" Just as Fu Qingli was about to explain to Si Yao with a smile on her face, a voice suddenly came from outside.

Before Fu Qingli could reply, several old men walked into the hall with grins on their faces. They smiled at Fu Qingli in a reserved and awkward manner and said, "I'm writing right now. Take a look. Qingli's handwriting is still the best!"

Fu Qingli was the only educated person in Taozhu Village, so even though they loved to gossip and ridicule Fu Qingli's experience, in the past, the couplets for every family during the New Year and funerals were all written by Fu Qingli. Later, he became blind and had to stop writing, so the villagers had to pay someone else to write for him.

This year, seeing that Fu Qingli's eyes had been cured, they all shamelessly came to ask for couplets. Although Aunt Liang couldn't stand the snobbish faces of these mean people, after all, they lived in the same village and it was New Year's Day, so she didn't say much. However, when she returned to the kitchen, she couldn't help but whisper a few bad words.

Fu Qingli was a gentle person who never liked to make enemies. They were all elders from the same village, and even though he had been ridiculed by them when he was blind in the past, since they came to him to ask for couplets, he couldn't refuse them, so he agreed.

Si Yao had been in Taozhu Village for several months, and naturally she had heard Aunt Liang and A Wei complain about the harshness of some villagers in the village. Seeing the shifty look in the eyes of the people in front of her, she did not have a good impression of them. Seeing Fu Qingli willingly agreed to write couplets for them regardless of past grudges, she admired his generosity and magnanimity.

The old men knew that the beautiful girl beside Fu Qingli was the great doctor, and they wanted to say a few words to her, but seeing the girl's cold expression, they were already feeling guilty and did not dare to speak.

After returning from the Wu family after pasting the couplets, the Wu family father and son were surprised to see the old men coming and all showed contempt. Wu Da didn't want to be falsely polite with these people, so he turned around and went to the kitchen to help. Ah Wei had done business after all, and his words were not as clumsy as his father's, so he walked into the house with a swagger and said with a fake smile:

"Oh, uncles, haven't you come to ask for couplets for three years?"

"Isn't this Awei? Didn't you go to the city to do business today?"

"You're asking this question. No matter how good the business is, shouldn't I go home to spend the New Year with my father?"

"That's right, Ah Wei, you've been running around the city all year round, so you must have made a lot of money, right?"

"You have to earn more. Ah Wei will be sixteen after the Chinese New Year, and it's almost time for him to get married."

As soon as they saw Ah Wei, they started to tease each other, but Ah Wei ignored them and continued to smile at the old man:

"Uncle Agui, I just passed by your house and the smell of meat wafted out of your kitchen. Aunt Agui is frying meat dumplings again, right? You came here empty-handed to ask for couplets, so why didn't you bring some meat dumplings for my brother Qingli to taste?"

"Uh...it's just been fried. It wasn't out of the pan when I came. They will definitely be sent over later when it's done." When asked by Awei, those people all felt embarrassed. The old man Wang Agui glanced at Awei with some dissatisfaction before explaining to Fu Qingli with a smile.

Fu Qingli didn't say anything, but just smiled and continued to write the couplet with his head down.

Seeing these people looking like guilty thieves, Awei felt very proud and walked out of the main room to find his father.

An hour later, Fu Qingli finished writing the couplets of all sizes needed by the five people. After the old men happily left with the couplets, the Wu family father and son also posted the couplets and paper paintings in and outside the courtyard. At the same time, the hot oil sizzled in the kitchen, and the fragrant smell of fried fish wafted out, making Ah Wei salivate and rush to the kitchen.

The old man Wang Agui really fulfilled his promise and came to the Fu family again with a plate of meat dumplings. Aunt Liang naturally did not let him go back empty-handed, and served him a plate of golden and crispy fried fish for him to take back. The Fu family was so frank and not caring that Wang Agui felt a little embarrassed. After chatting for a few words, he left in a hurry.

"Have you seen Si Yao?" After Fu Qingli put away the pens and ink in the room, he did not find Si Yao, so he asked A Wei who was sitting at the kitchen door and wolfing down fried fish.

"Master is outside." Awei pointed outside the yard and replied.

"Eat less since it's just out of the pot. Be careful not to get a sore throat." After Fu Qingli gave Awei instructions, he turned and walked out of the yard.

Before leaving the farmyard, I saw Si Yao's cold figure standing alone by the river in the distance. Although it was early spring, the snow was still heavy. Her slender figure looked lonely and desolate in the white snow.

"Why are you standing outside in such a cold weather?" Fu Qingli hesitated for a moment, then came to Si Yao and asked with concern.

"In memory of an old friend." Si Yao turned her head to look at Fu Qingli, then looked at the stream flowing under her feet again and said lightly.

Two years have passed. On New Year's Eve, she still remembers the late Hui Feng in her mind. She remembers his hatred and anger in front of the prince that night, his fearlessness in the face of death after the assassination attempt failed, and his resolute eyes in prison...

Fu Qingli looked at Si Yao worriedly, but when she didn't speak again, he didn't ask any more questions and just stood quietly beside her.