Chapter 350 - 347: The First Day

Chapter 350: Chapter 347: The First Day

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Xia was woken up by a piercing barrage of firecrackers. He had gone to bed rather late last night. Grabbing his phone to check the time, he saw it wasn’t even seven o’clock yet. No wonder he felt so sleep-deprived.

Remembering he had to go back to his hometown to visit relatives today, he lay in his warm bed with his eyes closed for about two more minutes. Then, gritting his teeth, he broke the seal of his blankets and quickly scrambled out of bed.

At times like this, he couldn’t help but miss his days in the Imperial Capital. The houses there had central heating, keeping the rooms at a perfectly comfortable temperature. It could even get hot under the covers, so getting out of bed was never a struggle.

After putting on the new clothes his girlfriend had bought him a few days ago, Jiang Xia pushed open his bedroom door and walked out. He found his mom in the kitchen kneading dough. As was tradition, they were probably having tangyuan today.

"Mom, morning."

"You’re up? I was going to wake you in a little while," Xia Shanshan said, turning to glance at him with a gentle smile.

"I wanted to sleep in, but the firecrackers woke me up," Jiang Xia said with a helpless expression, unable to stifle a yawn.

"Well then, go wash up. We’ll eat soon. Brown sugar, peanut, walnut, and sesame filling for the tangyuan. You’ll have some, right?"

Jiang Xia nodded. This was his mom’s secret recipe, one she said her own mother had taught her. She made this filling for every holiday and festival, so he had been eating it ever since he was a child.

’Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve had tangyuan handmade by Mom. I really miss it.’

While washing up, Jiang Xia used his phone to send Happy New Year messages to his friends and family. He then checked his company’s group chat, which was just as peaceful. If the app had a red envelope feature, the chat would probably be a lot more lively.

Too bad the timing wasn’t right. As the boss, he couldn’t even send New Year’s red envelopes to his own employees.

He scrolled through the group chat for a while before eating the tangyuan. The brown sugar filling was delicious in the first one, filling by the second, and cloyingly sweet by the third.

After breakfast, once the kitchen was cleaned up, it was time to head back to their hometown to visit relatives, tend to the graves, and pay respects to their ancestors. This was another family tradition.

The trip took up the better part of the day. The family of three didn’t return home until after four in the afternoon, looking a bit weary. Immediately, Xia Shanshan started preparing dinner. Yesterday, they had agreed with their in-laws and god-relatives that they would eat here tonight and also discuss a specific date for the engagement banquet.

Around five o’clock, his mother-in-law’s family arrived. Jiang Xia knew they had also just gotten back from their hometown.

In his past life, after he and Lin Yanwan got married, their routine was to visit his family’s hometown on the first day of the New Year and her family’s on the second. The timing was a bit conflicted now, but it wasn’t a major issue.

A little while later, Li Weiya arrived, bringing a pre-cooked chicken soup and steamed pork, as well as a platter of poached chicken that would go perfectly with rice. This way, they wouldn’t have to prepare as many dishes for dinner.

The three mothers bustled about in the kitchen while Jiang Wende and Lin Gaoyuan set the dining table. The younger generation snacked on melon seeds, watched TV, chatted, laughed, and played on their phones.

Ever since making things official with Shen Ying last night, Wang Ming found himself envying Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan. He wondered when he and Shen Ying would be able to interact as a couple in a setting like this.

"Old Wang, where’s Shen Ying?" Jiang Xia asked in a low voice.

Wang Ming answered, "She’s still at her hometown. She probably won’t be back until late."

"Does her mom know about you two yet?"

Wang Ming shook his head.

"So when are you planning to meet the parents?"

"She said there’s no rush," Wang Ming said, pursing his lips. ’Even though I’m pretty anxious, I know it’s no use rushing things.’

’After all, they had only just started dating. Meeting the parents would have to wait until their relationship had stabilized a bit.’

"That’s good. Take it slow. Your relationship is official now anyway, so there’s no rush to meet the parents. You can take some time to prepare, make a good impression on your future in-laws, and maybe if her parents are happy, they’ll approve of you right away," Jiang Xia said with a smile.

"That’s what I was thinking, too."

Wang Ming nodded. "Hey, Old Jiang, how did you and Yanwan meet her parents?"

"Brother Wang Ming, I know this one!" Xiao Man, who had been engrossed in *Cat and Mouse*, suddenly jumped into the conversation.

"Then you tell me, Xiao Man," Wang Ming said with a smile, unwrapping a White Rabbit candy and popping it into her mouth.

"It was last year during the blackout! Big Bro-in-law was taking my sister home, and Mom and I were waiting for her downstairs. Then, when Big Bro-in-law saw my mom, he just called her ’Mom’! Xiao Man remembers it super clearly, you know~" the little girl said, lifting her chin proudly.

A blackout?

Wang Ming paused for a moment, the search engine in his brain rapidly pulling up memories related to a blackout. He recalled a time last year in high school, after evening self-study, when the entire city had lost power. He had gotten separated from Jiang Xia in the crowd, and Jiang Xia had ended up walking Lin Yanwan home.

’According to Old Jiang, that was the first time he’d ever really interacted with Lin Yanwan, right? And he called his future mother-in-law "Mom" the very first time he met her?’

’That move was on another level. He knew he could never pull that off. He’d probably get beaten up by her parents, and his impression score would plummet to zero.’

"You’re a fucking legend," Wang Ming said, giving him a thumbs-up in utter admiration.

Jiang Xia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. At that time, he had only been reborn for two days. After calling his mother-in-law "Mom" for eight years in his previous life, he couldn’t break the habit. It was all just a beautiful misunderstanding.

Fortunately, he had saved Xiao Man from a dog that day and also walked his girlfriend home in the dark. Thanks to these helpful acts, his mother-in-law’s impression of him had been quite good.

"I really wouldn’t recommend you try it," Jiang Xia said seriously.

Wang Ming rolled his eyes. "Learn it? My ass. Anyone who tries that is just asking for a death wish, okay?"

’He would just stick to dating Shen Ying honestly. The best approach was to wait for her to tell her family she had a boyfriend, then find an opportunity to visit, and make a good impression.’

Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan exchanged a light smile.

The two of them were different from other people. Others had to go through the whole dating phase, but they had been reborn with their affection meters already maxed out. At most, their situation was like a married couple who had a falling out and were now reconciling. Once they resolved their issues, their relationship deepened beyond what it was in their past life, and everything simply fell into place.

By the time they sat down for dinner, it was already past seven. It had to be said, Xia Shanshan’s cooking was superb, earning endless praise from the other two families.

During the meal, the three families returned to the topic of the engagement. After getting input from the two main parties involved, they decided to move the engagement banquet up to the fifth day of the New Year. By that time, everyone would mostly be done with visiting relatives, so it would be easy enough to have lunch at a hotel.

As for the engagement ceremony itself, they would keep it simple. Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan didn’t have much time to prepare anyway. After all, it was more symbolic than practical—just a chance to make an appearance in front of friends and family, and that would be that.

However, Jiang Xia did request that they not reveal he was the boss of Qitian Animation Company. He figured that once his identity was exposed, all sorts of troubles would follow, and he hated dealing with trouble.

The parents naturally understood the principle of not flaunting one’s wealth.

Speaking of which, the kid had kept both sets of parents completely in the dark. If he hadn’t confessed himself, they would probably still have no idea.