After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sat together in the main house to stay up late.
People gathered around the fire, chatting and looking at the twinkling stars outside the open door, enjoying this moment of peace and contentment, praying for the same in the coming year.
The children fell asleep past midnight, and Qin Yao asked Song Yu's family and Yin Le and Ah Wang to take them home first, while she and Liu Ji stayed back with the others at the old house to usher in the New Year.
As the horizon gradually turned pale, with the sound of roosters crowing and the break of dawn, the New Year arrived.
After having breakfast at the old house, Qin Yao and her husband returned home to catch up on sleep.
From the first day of the first month to the fifth day, the village was lively, with families visiting relatives, until the eighth day when industries gradually resumed work, and the festive atmosphere slowly faded.
