Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl-Chapter 154 - 87: Paying New Year’s Calls (Part 1)

Liu Sanshun and his brother both had faces like their sister, Liu Xiaomei—round and smooth. But while this face was quite cute on Mei, it was somewhat comical on her brothers. Paired with their short, stout builds, if they were to put on women’s clothes, they could probably pass as Mei’s sisters.

The two youths were also mischievous. Once at the table and after a few words, they cast aside their reserve and began a drinking contest with Qingmu and Zhang Huai. Yang Family had snatched Zheng Changhe’s bowl, forbidding him from drinking any more, so he could only watch the younger ones carouse with envy. Juhua whispered with Liu Xiaomei, chatting about ordinary yet endlessly interesting topics. Mingled with their conversation was the sound of Little Shitou and Gou Dan yelling as they played rock-paper-scissors. Zhang Yang watched from the side with a smile. The room was indeed very lively.

The revelry continued until nearly midnight. The little children were still full of energy, and Yang Family even cooked some noodles with pig’s cheek meat and green vegetables, giving them another meal. Juhua, however, couldn’t stay awake any longer; her eyelids were fighting to stay open.

Zhang Huai glanced over and saw Juhua struggling to keep her eyes open, giving noncommittal replies to Liu Xiaomei as her head started to nod. He quickly stood up and said to the others, "We should head back. We can come back tomorrow to offer New Year’s greetings. I’m getting sleepy myself. If I don’t get some sleep now, I won’t be able to get up tomorrow."

Liu Sanshun came to his senses and shouted, "Oh no! We’ve stayed out too late. My mom’s going to nag me to death when I get home. Sishun, Mei! Let’s go!"

This drew a round of laughter, and the group hurried off. From far away, they could still hear Liu Sishun belting out a tune—it was hard to tell if it was a song or from an opera—that sounded strangely eerie in the snowy night.

’That’s another one with too much energy,’ Juhua thought. She really couldn’t hold on any longer. Forgetting about the tradition of staying up to see the new year in, she went straight to bed and fell asleep.

The first day of the new year was for villagers to exchange greetings with one another. Visits to distant relatives were generally not made on this day; those trips were saved for the second day.

Qingmu and Zhang Huai went early to offer New Year’s greetings to their teacher, as Qingmu also wanted to invite him over for lunch. He had originally wanted to invite the teacher for the New Year’s Eve dinner, but the village chief had already called for him. The teacher was very busy; all the children in the village were his students, so during the New Year, he would likely be eating his way from one house to the next.

The visits went on and on, with almost no rest. Meals were also eaten piecemeal—a bite at this house, a bite at that one. Usually, if they arrived at a house just as the family was eating, they would be pulled in to have a drink of wine and a few bites of food. It turned out there was no single, fixed place for a meal.

And so, not only did Qingmu fail to invite the teacher, but he also didn’t make it home for lunch himself. He had ended up drinking wine and eating dishes at no fewer than five or six houses, then had another meal at Zhang Huai’s home. It was the same for Zheng Changhe.

Many people also came to the Zheng Family’s home to offer greetings, but they all left after a short while. Why? None of the men were home, only a group of girls. Who would feel comfortable staying?

The boys went from house to house visiting each other, but the girls didn’t. If they wanted to hang out, they would go to a home where there were other girls. That was why Meizi and the others had gathered at Juhua’s house.

Perhaps it was because they had gotten along well the couple of times they’d hung out, or perhaps because the Zheng Family household was small and quiet. In any case, they knew Juhua didn’t like going to other people’s houses, so they took the initiative to come find her.

Even though the village girls were poor, they still dressed in vibrant reds and greens for the New Year. The clothes might be a mix of new and old, and made only of cotton, but they were festive. Even Liu Xiaomei had changed into a scallion-green, lightly worn outer jacket over her padded coat, which made her rosy face look especially flushed.

Several new girls had joined the group. There were Lanzi’s two younger sisters, Zhuzi and Lin Zi, who had just returned from their second aunt’s house where they had stayed until the New Year. There were also Shorty Zhou’s two daughters, Xiu and Cui, who were both very quiet girls. Yan, of course, was there too. Her hair was the most beautifully styled of all. Seeing the intricate braids coiled on top of her head, with the rest of her hair draped over her shoulders, Juhua was filled with admiration!

When these young girls got together, it was a completely different scene from the gathering of married women a few days prior. They compared clothes, looked at shoes, and chatted about who was getting married, which family’s new bride was pretty, and what new dishes they had recently learned to cook. Their chirping voices, some clear and crisp, others soft and sweet, made Yang Family’s heart bloom with joy—she had never had so many little girls visit her home before!

Yang Family said to them cheerfully, "You all go on and play. I’ll call you when it’s time to eat. I just need to heat up these dishes; they were all cooked on New Year’s Eve."

Everyone was delighted, and their laughter nearly blew the thatched roof off the house. They all gathered around the foot stove. Those who couldn’t find a spot squeezed in next to the others, so no one was cold. They cracked melon seeds, ate peanuts, and chatted idly.