Chapter 157 - 157

Chapter 157 Family Photo of 1979In the two days before the Lunar New Year, apart from Liang Dan and Little Girl, all the men werethoroughly arranged by Mother Yun.The group cleaned the yard and house thoroughly.Yun Ting and Yun Xu, siblings, also had to go with their mother, Yun, to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to help carry things.Before the year ended, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was bustling with activity every day. The three of them squeezed in, but when they saw the eldest sister, Yun Shu, they didn't even have time to say a word.When they got back, Yun Ting quietly discussed it with her mother, "Mom, didn't I say that I know some people who can get a lot of things? Let's not bother competing with them. What do you need? I'll get it for you."Yun Ting had mentioned it before, but Mother Yun was worried about safety and didn't agree.Seeing how determined her daughter was, she decided to let her have her way.Yun Ting then got to work, bringing home quite a lot of things. She had already filled the house with food a few days earlier, enough for the New Year.They also got a lot of chicken, duck, goose, pork, mutton, and beef.This year's New Year was naturally very lavish. Their maternal grandparents had passed away long ago, and they weren't very close to other people on that side, so they didn't have any relatives to visit during the New Year."Mom, where's the red paper you bought? I'll write the couplets.""Second sister, you can even write couplets?"Yun Ting took out her brush and ink, making preparations, and glanced at her younger brother, saying, "You underestimate your sister, don't you? Open your eyes wide and see for yourself later."Mother Yun took out the red paper she had bought and curiously came over to wait and see.Yun Ting spread the red paper out on the table in the main room, dipped his brush in the ink, and looked up to see the whole family gathered around the table discussing something. He shook his head with amusement.She steadied her pen and wrote "A New Beginning" stroke by stroke, the fragrance of ink mingling with the chatter of her family in the warm house."Ink dipped in the east wind writes of the changing year, red window trimmings hope for a bountiful year… What a fine couplet." Father Yun's tone was full of pride."Little sister, your calligraphy is quite good!""My aunt is the best! I want to be as good as her when I grow up!" the little girl exclaimed."Oh... then little girl, you'd better work hard."Suddenly, Yun Xu held up the crooked "福" (Fu, meaning good fortune) character she had just cut out and leaned over: "Second sister, look! Doesn't it look like a freshly steamed bun?"She couldn't help but laugh out loud, "All you ever think about is eating." The brush left a small ink dot on the paper, like a lively little mark added to the brand new year of 1979."My uncle is such a glutton, hehe..."" Little girl is the one..."The two, one big and one small, chatted away, making the room very lively.Mother Yun's paper-cut window decorations were exceptionally beautiful, even Yun Ting was amazed when she saw them."Mom cuts it so well. Look at this 'Fu' character, how upright it is! The carp looks like it's about to jump out.""Then I won't be modest. Putting everything else aside, when it comes to paper-cutting, no one in Family Compound can surpass me yet."As Mother Yun spoke, she held a pair of gleaming silver scissors between her fingertips, and the red paper in her hand resembled an obedient cloud.First, cut out a few fine, hair-like window lattice patterns, then cut out the carp in circles, its scales layered upon each other. With a flick of the scissors, even the small fins near the gills seemed to come alive.The New Year's Eve dinner was prepared by Yun Ting and her mother Yun, with Liang Dan also coming in to help out.Three women make a drama. The three of them chatted and worked together, making the whole kitchen lively with their laughter."Mom, our family has had a real reunion this year. Shall we go to the photo studio tomorrow to take a family photo?""Sure! Call your older sister too."After the family had a lively New Year's Eve dinner, Yun Xu, having somehow gotten hold of firecrackers and sky rockets, took Little Girl to play in the yard.Yun Xu held the paper tube, lit it, and with a "whoosh," a spark shot into the night sky, exploding into a tiny silver flower in the darkness. This made Little Girl jump up and down, shouting, "Uncle, light another one! Light another one!"Yun Xu ordered a few more, which made Little Girl shout excitedly.Yun Ting leaned against the door frame, smiling as she watched them.My second brother's voice rang in my ears, "Why don't you come and play together?""That's too childish, not fun."Having witnessed the dazzling fireworks of later generations, she had no interest in these kinds of fireworks."My little sister has grown up…" Yun Huai patted her head as if expressing his feelings.The next day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, after breakfast, people started coming to visit and chat.It wasn't until the afternoon that the whole family finally had some free time to go to a photo studio to have their picture taken.Yun Shu and his family of four also went, and the whole family walked towards the photo studio at the street corner.The photo studio owner looked up sharply and saw such a large group of people. He thought they were there to cause trouble.The lens cap in his hand fell to the table with a "clatter," and he quickly stood up: "Gentlemen... are you here to take pictures?"Father Yun smiled and offered a cigarette: "Boss, let's take a family photo for good luck in the New Year."The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, scratched his head and laughed, "Hey, I thought something was wrong. With this commotion, I thought they were coming to..." Before he could finish speaking, the little girl held up the sugar figurine she had just bought and shouted, "Grandpa, I want to stand at the very front!" This made everyone in the room laugh.The boss was delighted and quickly brought over a small stool: "Please sit down, please sit down. A family photo is more lively when there are many people. I'll make sure the photo is bright and clear for you!"The boss brought over stools of varying heights and directed the seating arrangement: the tallest stool in the middle was for Father Yun. Mother Yun, Little girl and Xiao Rui Xiao Zhi sat in the front, his eldest brother and sister-in-law stood to the left of their parents, and his eldest sister and brother-in-law stood to the right. Yun HuaiYun Ting Yun Xu stood behind her parents in three places.The boss hurriedly called out, "Kids, sit tight! Everyone, look at the camera and smile!""Click..." The photo was taken.The three children, still holding the sugar figurines they hadn't finished eating, became the most vibrant little embellishment in the family photo.The five siblings took a picture together, Yun Zhao and his wife took a picture with their little girl, Yun Shu and his family of four took a picture, and then the five siblings took a picture with their parents.They asked the elderly couple to take another picture separately, but Mother Yun, feeling it was too expensive, absolutely refused.Yun Ting thought to herself, "This summer, I'll go to Shanghai, get a camera, and then I can take pictures however I want."The siblings all wanted to pay, but in the end,Yun Zhao, as the eldest brother, managed to stop them."The photos will take a week to develop. Keep this receipt safe; you can bring it to pick up the photos later," the shopkeeper said with a smile.Since they were already out, Yun Ting suggested that the family go see a movie."You guys go ahead, your dad and I will go back.""No way, Mom, it's not like we're short of money for your movie tickets. Come on, come on... it's on me." Yun Ting didn't give her a chance to refuse and took her arm and left."Sigh, you child really are..."The whole family walked to the cinema in a grand procession.This time, my brother-in-law Jiang Dong went ahead and bought the tickets first.There were also posters outside the cinema for the movie "Little Flower".Yun Ting watched this movie in his later years. It tells the story of three siblings during the war. The movie is touching, the visuals are beautiful, and the theme song "Ronghua" is also widely known. It allows you to feel the family affection and love in that special era.Although I had seen it before, I still enjoyed watching it again.The simple cinema was quite crowded, but most of the people there were young couples; very few came as a large family like theirs.This movie is really good; even the three childrenwatched it very attentively.