Reborn 73 years later, he takes his mother-in-law hunting in the mountains.

Chapter 409 Lunar New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner

Lu Yao glanced at Jiang Jianhai but remained silent.

I thought to myself, once my cousin-in-law comes to the winery, I'll make her kick that bastard son of yours.

After they left, I saw Mom still sitting in front of the stove, staring at the fire in a daze.

I know she was hurt by the lack of family affection.

I pulled up a small stool and sat down next to her, placing my hand on her knees:

"Mom, true friendship is revealed in times of trouble. Don't blame me for testing them, but not all relatives are worth keeping in touch with. It's better to stay away from people who will only take advantage of you."

Jiang Guizhi sighed:

"Silly son, I'm not angry with you, you did nothing wrong. I'm just heartbroken that my own brother is such a greedy and despicable person. I don't want to associate with him anymore, Mom will listen to you!"

Lu Yao smiled and nodded.

He took out another twenty-odd yuan from his pocket and gave it to her:

"Mom, it's Chinese New Year. Give red envelopes to whoever comes to wish you a Happy New Year. I don't mind."

Then he told Chunyan about how he had secretly given her ten yuan.

Jiang Guizhi smiled and tapped her son's head:

"You, you're good or bad, all the time. Alright, from now on you'll be in charge of everything at home."

Seeing his mother smile, Lu Yao felt relieved.

He is not blindly filial, but he cannot be unfilial either.

My mother is a country woman, with limited knowledge and short-sightedness. She likes to deceive herself, but after all, she is the mother who gave birth to me.

We cannot allow her to make mistakes.

Lu Yao turned back and started cooking again.

Braised pork, shredded roe deer meat.

I stewed a fish and a chicken.

Celery stir-fried with shredded potatoes, and another common cold dish.

Jiang Guizhi has never had such a fat year in all these years.

Watching her busy son and smelling the aroma of food filling the house, she gradually forgot her unhappiness.

I chopped up all the dumpling filling for tonight's dumplings.

"Hey kid, call your sister back for dinner. After dinner, take a nap so you can stay up all night to welcome the New Year."

"Okay, I'll go call them."

Lu Yao took a bowl of braised pork from the pot and went to Grandpa Zuo's house.

He ran into Zhang Shulan drawing water from the well in the courtyard and asked Lu Yao through the cane:

"Hey kid, where are you going?"

"Looking for Xiaoqian, she's in the east courtyard."

"What are you carrying? It's steaming hot!"

"Get some meat for Grandpa Zuo."

"Oh my goodness, how generous! Could you give Second Aunt some meat too?"

"Here's a piece of jerky for you..."

Lu Yao cursed and went out to the east courtyard.

Zhang Shulan cursed:

"Any kind of meat will do, just give me some!"

Lu Yao went to Grandpa Zuo's house.

Grandpa Zuo also cooks the reunion dinner.

I stir-fried potato slices and stewed some wolf meat.

There were only two dishes.

This is much better than last year.

Last year during Chinese New Year, we couldn't even get enough potatoes.

The grandfather and grandson ate only two cornbread buns and didn't stay up to welcome the New Year; they went to bed early.

This year, not only was there more wolf meat, but Lu Yao also provided a lot of firecrackers.

Zuo Xiaoying and Lu Xiaoqian are currently on the kang (heated brick bed) taking apart the firecrackers and arranging them in a formation.

Lu Yao brought over the pork, and the room was immediately filled with its aroma.

Grandpa Zuo was so happy his beard trembled:

"You country bumpkin, no need. Oh dear, look at you, Grandpa hasn't even eaten this wolf meat yet."

"Wolf meat isn't as delicious as pork, so please eat it and don't be shy. I've come to find Xiaoqian to go home for dinner."

When Lu Xiaoqian heard her brother was coming, she got out of bed, put on her shoes, and turned to Zuo Xiaoying, saying:

"Want to come to my house for dinner?"

Zuo Xiaoying was interested in going, but after looking at her grandfather, she shook her head and said:

"I'm not going, I have to eat with Grandpa."

Lu Yao praised, "Xiao Ying is so sensible. Go play after you finish eating."

Grandpa Zuo is a very well-behaved and self-disciplined person.

Even if Lu Yao asked him to go over and eat, he wouldn't.

That's why I brought him the meat.

On the way back, Grandpa Zuo took out the bottle of Moutai that Lu Yao had given him:

"Tuwazi, I couldn't bear to drink this wine, you can take it and drink it."

"No, if you're going to give it to me, give me the one you brewed yourself. I don't like drinking this stuff."

I drank more than a pound of liquor at Grandpa Zuo's house.

Grandpa Zuo didn't have much either, only about three jin (1.5 kg) saved up.

Ding Dahu also pre-ordered a pound.

Lu Yao took the girl home.

Lunch is served promptly at 1 p.m.

The family of three sat around the kang table.

Jiang Guizhi placed a bowl of meat and a pair of chopsticks on the windowsill.

Lu Xiaoqian asked, "Mom, what's going on?"

"This is for your dad. He hasn't eaten meat for so many years. He finally gets to eat something good, but he's gone. If his soul is still here, he can come back and have a bite."

Xiaoqian said sadly, "Then why not put it on the table? I want Dad to eat with us."

Jiang Guizhi shook her head: "The elders said that people have yang energy, and ghosts dare not approach. If he comes back, he can walk by the window and eat him."

Lu Yao looked at the windowsill.

She thought to herself, "I've been reborn, I wonder if my dad will be reborn too?"

If he went back to when he was seventeen, I wouldn't even exist yet.

Maybe he's chasing after his mother in another parallel world.

My mother was very beautiful when she was young, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to give birth to such a handsome me and such a cute Xiaoqian!

The meal was very enjoyable.

Jiang Guizhi and Xiaoqian each drank a cup of liquor.

Xiaoqian's face flushed red from drinking, and she said she would never drink again.

After finishing eating, he curled up on the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to sleep.

She promised to wash the dishes, but she hasn't.

Lu Yao didn't let his mother get out of bed, but let her sleep next to Xiao Qian.

Then I washed the dishes, put on my coat, and went out.

He's wide awake and doesn't want to sleep.

I'm going to visit the Ding family for a while.

There wasn't a soul on the street.

At this time, whether rich or poor, everyone has to prepare something nice at home for a family reunion dinner.

Lu Yao strolled along and arrived at the Ding family's door.

The gate was not closed.

Ding Dahu's philosophy is to leave the door open all day and all night on New Year's Eve.

It's convenient for our ancestors to come home and visit.

Whether our ancestors can return is unknown, but Lu Yao has arrived.

Just pull the lever at the door and it opens.

The door wasn't locked.

In fact, back then, people rarely locked their doors during the day.

The houses are all built on the ground and can be opened with a single pull.

Unlike later on, when everyone lived in apartment buildings, people no longer visited each other's homes.

When I get home, I lock the door, and I have to knock for anyone who comes.

Lu Yao walked through the steaming kitchen.

The smell of this food indicates that the cooking has just been completed.

Sure enough, the people inside had just started eating.

Ding Dahu also poured some baijiu for the women.

Just as I suggested we have a match, Lu Yao walked in:

"It's so lively!"

The four people in the room immediately became excited:

"Perfect timing, you come too, let's eat together."

Xie Chunfang got off the bed to make room for Lu Yao to sit on the kang (heated brick bed).

Ding Mei and Yuan Shumei moved to either side, trying to get Lu Yao to sit next to them.

Ding Dahu turned around and looked for a cup on the floor table.

There weren't many wine glasses, so I just grabbed a thermos lid for myself and gave the glass to Lu Yao.

Lu Yao got onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat between Ding Mei and Yuan Shumei, facing Ding Dahu.

The five people raised their glasses in celebration.

Lu Yao had just finished drinking with his mother and younger sister at home, and drank two ounces of liquor.

At this moment, I became excited:

"Come on, let's drink until we drop to celebrate the ever-improving future!"

Ding Dahu nodded: "Okay, let's each say one sentence, then drink! I wish Tuwazi great success in his career and that his official position rises higher and higher!"

Ding Mei smiled and said, "I wish Dad a long life, stepmother to become more and more beautiful, Shumei to recover soon, and Tuwazi to become stronger and stronger."

Yuan Shumei also offered her blessings to everyone.

When it was Xie Chunfang's turn, she raised her glass, her face turning bright red.

It wasn't good to imitate others, and she didn't have any words in her head, so she awkwardly wiggled her butt and accidentally let out a fart. Tiger Girl, who was lying behind her, jumped up and looked around for the source of the fart.

Ding Dahu cursed, "If you can't speak, then don't speak! What are you spouting nonsense for? We're all eating!"