146: Relatives visiting!

By the time they finished their phone calls, it was already twelve o'clock.

As soon as the clock struck twelve, fireworks suddenly exploded outside.

Hearing the sound, Yang Mi excitedly ran to the balcony, watching the sky full of fireworks outside the window.

If she were back in Yanjing, she wouldn't be able to see so many fireworks.

She hadn't expected that here on the edge of a small county town, every household would be setting off fireworks.

"Old Chen, it's so beautiful!" Yang Mi said with a smile as she watched the fireworks outside, unable to help herself from sighing in admiration.

"It really is beautiful." Chen Le nodded. However, these fireworks were becoming a rarer sight with each passing year; in the future, the festive atmosphere of New Year's Eve would grow thin, and fewer people would set off fireworks.

At that moment, Chen Le's phone received a string of messages from Wang Baoqiang and the others.

The messages were all New Year's greetings.

Yang Mi took a glance and teased with a smile on her face, "Old Chen, you really are a busy man! With so many people messaging you, I bet you can't even keep up with the replies, right?"

Hearing this, Chen Le really wanted to roll his eyes.

Just then, Yang Mi's phone also rang; she similarly had many people sending her New Year's greetings.

"Alright, we're both in the same boat," Chen Le said with a laugh.

The two of them quietly watched the fireworks for a while longer before returning to their rooms to prepare for bed.

The next morning arrived, and Chen Le woke up early.

According to the local customs, one shouldn't wake up too late on The first day of the Lunar New Year.

Furthermore, they had to eat vegetarian today, and they couldn't clean or visit relatives; visiting relatives could only be done after the second day of the Lunar New Year.

So they had nothing to do today, and from early morning, they were just basking in the sun in the courtyard.

As Yang Mi was experiencing this leisurely life, her phone suddenly rang.

She saw it was a call, and it was from her mother.

When she answered the call, Mother Yang's voice came through the phone.

"Mi Mi, how did it feel spending the New Year at Little Le's house yesterday?" Mother Yang asked with a smile.

"Mom, I feel great! There are more fireworks here than in Yanjing; they were going off all night long!" Yang Mi shared her feelings about yesterday's New Year celebration with her mother excitedly.

Even though it was her first time spending New Year at Chen Le's home, she didn't feel uncomfortable or afraid.

She felt it was much more fun here than at her own home, especially with Chen Le around.

She felt that as long as Old Chen was there, she would be happy spending New Year anywhere.

"Mi Mi, are you going with Little Le and the others to visit relatives today?" Mother Yang asked concernedly.

"No, Mom. The customs here are different from ours; they don't visit relatives on The first day of the Lunar New Year," Yang Mi explained to her mother.

"I see! Indeed, customs vary from place to place," Mother Yang understood, not being too surprised.

"Yeah, I'm still sunbathing right now. It's much warmer here than in Yanjing." Like a little girl, Yang Mi kept sharing the feelings she had never experienced before.

It was mainly because it was her first time not spending New Year at home; although she wasn't afraid, she still wanted to chat more with her family.

Soon, The first day of the Lunar New Year passed in such a lazy state.

On the second day, relatives began arriving at Chen Le's home.

The people who came were his Youngest Uncle and some distant relatives.

They gathered to play cards, which was one of the few forms of entertainment for Chen Le's family in this era.

When they saw Chen Le walk out, they immediately shouted with smiles, "Little Le, I heard you've made a fortune and even brought back a beautiful girlfriend!"

Hearing this, Chen Le also nodded with a smile.

"I haven't made a fortune, just earned a bit of money. I haven't even bought a car yet."

Chen Le didn't tell them exactly how much he had earned; after all, one shouldn't flaunt their wealth.

"I see!" They nodded and said nothing more.

They indeed hadn't seen Chen Le buy a car.

Since Chen Le didn't say, they had no idea exactly how much money he had made.

Afterward, they continued chatting, talking about how their own sons were doing, or which family's daughter was of age and thinking about acting as a matchmaker.

As they chatted, they suddenly brought up Chen NiNi.

"Jianping! Isn't your Nini almost twenty?" They looked at Youngest Uncle and said with a smile.

Youngest Uncle's expression stiffened, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "My Nini is still in university; it's still early for that."

Seeing this, Chen Le's brow furrowed slightly.

Chen NiNi wasn't even twenty yet, and they were already thinking about finding a match for her.

However, such situations were indeed very common in their area, so it wasn't easy for him to say anything.

He could only see how Youngest Uncle would handle it.

Youngest Uncle's thinking wasn't old-fashioned; he preferred to let Chen NiNi find someone she liked herself.

After all, Chen NiNi was his only daughter, and he doted on her immensely.

Seeing the situation, Chen Le didn't stay there.

He went back into the room where Father Chen was preparing tea and snacks.

"Oh, Little Le, why aren't you outside chatting with your cousins?" Father Chen asked, somewhat surprised.

"Dad, we don't have much to talk about." Chen Le knew who Father Chen was referring to—his distant cousins whom he basically had no contact with except for seeing them once a year during New Year.

Mainly, they were quite young, still in middle or high school. How could he, a man in his twenties, play along with them?

Chen Le went upstairs, and Yang Mi was already up.

However, she was too embarrassed to go downstairs.

Because she didn't know any of the people downstairs.

Seeing this, Chen Le pulled her to the balcony and told her what to call these relatives and how close or distant they were.

Yang Mi listened and nodded.

At lunch, the crowd of relatives occupied two tables. Yang Mi sat next to Chen Le, and next to her was Chen NiNi.

At their table sat the relatives they knew well, while the other table was for the more distant relatives.

"Little Le, your girlfriend is so beautiful!" a middle-aged woman praised with a smile.

She was one of Chen Le's aunts, and they had a good relationship, mainly because the two families lived close to each other in the same county.

They usually kept in touch.

If they were further away, in this era, relatives who were too far apart definitely wouldn't have much contact.

After all, traveling back and forth was inconvenient.

After the meal, other relatives came over to greet Chen Le and take a look at Yang Mi while they were at it.

When a younger generation brought a girl home, they would all be very concerned; it was hard to say what they were thinking.

Maybe it was because he hadn't reached that age yet.

But Chen Le really disliked this, always feeling like the two of them were like monkeys in a zoo.

He couldn't even stay quietly if he wanted to.

Over the next few days, Father Chen and Mother Chen went to visit relatives, while Chen Le stayed home to accompany Yang Mi.

Chen Le was very happy they went to visit relatives because that meant no one would disturb their world for two.

He had been back for several days, but he hadn't dared to do anything for fear of being overheard.

Now he could finally let go and relax.

And so, during the day, Father Chen and Mother Chen went to visit relatives.

They played at home, and no other relatives came to his house to disturb them.

At night, they were on their best behavior.

This continued until the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, when almost all the relative visits were finished, and they finally stopped.