The Lunar New Year atmosphere is no longer as lively as it had been in the past. Regardless, it was still considered bustling to someone who’s never celebrated this occasion before, like Xuan Mo.

As soon as Xuan Mo’s mother divorced, she decided to head back to stay with her parents. Xuan Mo’s maternal grandparents had been on vacation at a coastal city for a prolonged period of time. Apparently they head out to travel often and lived happily, hence were incredibly healthy. This year however, they learnt that their daughter had left the Lu family and was heading back to “celebrate”?

Both her grandparents had houses back in the rural side of H city. Since they were heading back, they evidently hoped to spend the new year happily at the countryside. When it was nearing the 30th, Xuan Mo started packing with Xuan Mo as they prepared to spend the new year with her maternal grandparents at the country side.  

Naturally, Xuan Mo was curious. From her memories, new year meant having reunion dinners, receiving red packets, sometimes watching in dismal when she saw her brother and his friends head out to play, call Yi Hai Lan, and the sentence he’d always say to her was to wish her happy Lunar New Year and ask her to look out for her health.

She probably won’t have figured that this year, Yi Hai Lan would be the one calling looking at his phone is dismal.

The train ticket they bought was 4am; it was already 8am when they reached her grandparents’ place. No one was there to pick them up, not her grandparents, first uncle and second uncle nor their wives. Apparently they’d head out to visit their relatives in the neighbouring villages.

Bith her uncles stayed at Mashan* Town, so her elder cousins also lived and studied there, and were welcoming towards Xuan Mo when she visited.

* 马山镇 = horse mountain town

Her elder cousin (male) was three years her senior, and was currently in his third year in high school. Her elder cousin (female) was two years older and was in her second year in high school.

Xuan Mo’s mother went to unpack their things first in the room she and Xuan Mo was staying in. Ma Yue and Ma Ting Ting volunteered to bring Xuan Mo around to take a look at the place.

Xuan Mo’s mother had always been very busy so she’s never brought Xuan Mo back to celebrate new year. After marrying Lu Jia Hua, in order to nurture their father-daughter relationship, her mother had no choice but to stay in the city to celebrate new year with them. This time, Xuan Mo’s mother finally had the chance to bring her back.

To Ma Yue and Ma Ting Ting, there wasn’t much to see in this small town, but they still brought Xuan Mo around to see the market place where the entire street was filled with sellers selling new year goods, children running all over the place as they played with firecrackers, and the sound of squawking chicken and duck; everyone was deep in the spirit of celebration.

Ma Yue bought a box of firecrackers and played with it with Ma Ting Ting as they walked, chatting in their hometown dialect. Once in a while, they’d switch to mandarin and ask Xuan Mo some questions, but they were mostly about where she studied, what’s there to eat at H city, what’s fun at H city and the likes.

Evidently, they travelled to the city often to play. Their father was a contractor, so to a certain extent, they fared better, economically, than some of the children that grew up in the city even.

They walked past the market, and made a round around the lake in town. It was in the middle of winter so it wasn’t fun to spin around in the fields.

“Let’s go to the internet cafe.” Ma Yue suggested.

Ma Ting Ting immediately agreed.

Xuan Mo sighed internally, was internet cafe the only fun thing they could think of…