As the end of the year approached, the festive spirit of Chinese New Year grew stronger in the countryside.
Unlike in the city, people in the countryside embraced the New Year with the most enthusiastic hearts.
It was now the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, with only ten days left until the New Year. The villagers had all started preparing their New Year goods.
"Yaoyao, have your elder brothers said when they'll be back? They've been gone for so long, they should be back by now with the New Year coming."
Shen Mama's voice drifted from the kitchen. Shen Yao, who was practicing rolling over with the two little ones, quickly responded to her mother's words.
"They said so. Eldest brother mentioned a couple of days ago that they'd be back these days. Also, elder sister-in-law's parents are coming, and I've already had someone tidy up the rooms."
Upon hearing her daughter's reply from the kitchen, Shen Mama's mood immediately improved. The hand mixing glutinous rice also became lighter.
"That's good. Once your elder brother and the others are back, our family will truly be reunited," Shen Mama said.
Hearing Shen Mama's murmurs, Shen Yao couldn't help but smile. She then said to Tuanzi and Jiaozi,
"Babies, your grandma misses your maternal uncle and aunt."
Upon hearing their mother call their names, Tuanzi and Jiaozi flailed their little hands and feet even more joyfully.
Then, in a moment of exuberant misfortune, the two little ones lost their balance. The bodies they had just managed to roll over with, immediately tumbled back with a plop.
After rolling back, the two little ones were not to be outdone, stubbornly puffing out their little bottoms and trying to roll to the left.
Ever since they learned to roll over, lying down was no longer enough for them.
They would flip over at the slightest provocation, and then couldn't flip back.
They would strain with all their might until they were exhausted and lying on their bellies.
Fearing that they might have trouble breathing if they rolled over and couldn't roll back, and worried about accidents, no one dared to leave their side.
After lying there for a while, Shen Yao picked them up and placed them back in the rocking chair.
Normally, Old Master Mo and the butler would be watching them at this time. However, a few days ago, Mo Chen had returned to Kyoto to handle affairs.
Old Master Mo and the butler had also gone back, saying they needed to sort out some family matters before returning here for the New Year.
As she was thinking, the doorbell suddenly rang. Shen Yao faintly heard the sound.
"Coming," Jiang Qingqing, wearing slippers, immediately ran out to open the door.
A moment later, Shen Yao saw a big black rat suddenly dart in through the doorway and rush towards her with quick movements.
Shen Yao acted swiftly, grabbed the big black rat, and then kicked it away.
With a "bang," the big black rat fell to the ground, unable to get up.
At this moment, Shen Yao realized that this was no big black rat at all, but clearly her unruly son.
"Mother, why did you kick me!" Mo Xuan, clutching his kicked backside, spoke with great resentment, though his gaze remained fixed on the two little ones in the rocking chair.
"Why are you back?" Shen Yao looked at him, puzzled.
Hadn't the filming for the crew finished yet? They had agreed not to come back for the New Year, so why was he suddenly back?
"My scenes were finished, so the director let us go, telling us to go home and have a good New Year," Mo Xuan said, slowly getting up from the ground.
As he answered Shen Yao's question, he ambled over to the rocking chair.
Shen Yao raised an eyebrow, realizing that this fellow had gone to great lengths to get home for the New Year.
She had called the director, who had said that Mo Xuan and Xiao Jun had quite a few scenes, and they wouldn't be able to finish them in a short time.
How long had it been? Yet they had finished so quickly?
"Tuanzi, Jiaozi, do you still remember your brother? Brother has brought you a lot of toys this time. Come on, be good, say 'brother'."
Xiao Jun, following Jiang Qingqing from behind, entered and immediately heard Mo Xuan say these words to the two little ones.
"Hmph, shameless! Why should they call you brother first? If they call anyone, it should be me. I'm their elder brother!"
After speaking, Xiao Jun also immediately squeezed himself next to Mo Xuan. Upon seeing the two little ones, he immediately started playfully teasing them.
"Go away. These are my mother's younger siblings. If you want younger siblings, get your mother to have some for you..."
Before he could finish the word "you," Shen Yao slapped him on the head. "Can you even speak? If you can't speak, then shut your mouth for me!"
The sharp "snap" made even Jiang Qingqing wince.
Mo Xuan also knew he had said the wrong thing and quickly glanced cautiously at Xiao Jun before reluctantly saying, "Alright, alright, I'll share my younger siblings with you, half and half. But, I'm telling you, I'm the closest to them!"
Xiao Jun: ...
Damn it, this idiot. He wasn't even going to argue with him!
Shen Mama heard the commotion and poked her head out of the kitchen. Seeing that it was Mo Xuan and Xiao Jun, she immediately said with a smile, "Oh, Mo Xuan and Xiao Jun are back too? Perfect, it will be livelier for the New Year like this!"
"Grandma!" Mo Xuan.
"Auntie... Grandma!"
Xiao Jun had originally wanted to call Shen Mama "Auntie," but then he thought the address was incorrect and he didn't know how to address her, so he could only follow Mo Xuan and call her Grandma.
Shen Mama: Shocked! The dead memories suddenly attacked me!
It was now the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month, and every household was already preparing their New Year's goods. Shen Yao's family was preparing to make zongzi today.
They were making the large meat zongzi that was most favored in their region!
The "large" here was truly large in the traditional sense!
While zongzi elsewhere might weigh at most a few ounces, the large meat zongzi here was different; they could weigh anywhere from a few pounds to dozens of pounds!
Since their in-laws were all coming to their place for the New Year this year, these large meat zongzi were usually only made during the New Year or at weddings.
They were meant for married women to bring back to their maiden homes, and also for maiden families to prepare for their married daughters.
Shen Mama specially went to the mountains to find the zongzi leaves used for making large meat zongzi. The leaves were also very large, as wide as two adult men's palms put together, and as long as a forearm.
Nowadays, very few people cultivated these zongzi leaves, so finding them required a great deal of effort.
The most common types of large meat zongzi were red bean zongzi, green bean zongzi, and plum bean zongzi, or alternatively, grey water zongzi.
Shen Yao's favorite was the plum bean zongzi.
"Yaoyao, go call your second and third brothers back. Have your father find some red and blue grass from the back mountain, and go pick some Jiaolou from Uncle Tang's house."
These were some of the ingredients needed for making meat zongzi. They were all wild. Red and blue grass was used for coloring, and Jiaolou was Shen Father's favorite.
"Okay, I'll go call them now."
After speaking, Shen Yao instructed Mo Xuan and Xiao Jun to take good care of the little ones.
The two were more than happy to take on this task, nodding repeatedly to indicate that they would take good care of them.