Chapter 2199 - Preparing for Lunar New Year Together
“I can do the same!” Little Yichen proceeded to flex his arm muscles. “Put a drawing of me at the entranceway! I want to become a threshold guardian, too!”
“You?!”
His brother snorted in disdain. “With your short arms and legs, are you even fit to become a threshold guardian?! Yuchi Jingde and Qin Qiong are marshals under Li Shimin for goodness’s sake! This tradition came about after the latter succeeded the throne. Because he killed countless people, he was unable to sleep well and would always have nightmares haunting him. His courtiers proposed to have the two generals to stand guard outside his chamber, and he managed to sleep well at night ever since. Later, he ordered artisans to draw the two generals on papers and paste them at all palace doors.”
“Youyou… are you a walking encyclopedia? You’re so knowledgeable!”
The younger one shot back in disdain, “Of course! I’m no simpleton like you.”
While the two, little fellows were bickering, their mother finished writing the couplet and proceeded to show off her work. “I’m done writing!”
Surprise colored Mu Yazhe’s eyes when he took a gander at the couplet.
The handwriting was clear, pretty, yet graceful. The calligraphy piece was indeed beautifully written.
The older twin gaped in shock and dumbly cried, “Your handwriting looks pretty good, mommy!”
Yun Shishi, however, suddenly felt lost again. “What should we write for the bedroom then?”
“‘May the lovebirds live happily together forever, and may all marital couples be blessed with conjugal bliss’!” rattled off Youyou once more.
The couple exchanged looks and hung their heads down in embarrassment, feeling ashamed that their cultural level could not even be compared to a child…
The spring couplets were all done, but they were only to be put up on the doors the next day, which was Lunar New Year’s Eve.
Youyou then brought a stack of red papers and two pairs of scissors over, saying that he wanted to do some Chinese paper-cutting.
Feeling curious, his older brother excitedly got him to teach him the craft.
The boy had always been good with handicraft work. In fact, he used to make all the festive paper-cuttings himself, and his work was in no way inferior to those bought outside.
Their father’s curiosity and interest were piqued, while watching the little ones cutting the papers here and there. He, therefore, picked up a piece of red paper and a pair of scissors and tried following them. Alas, his paper-cutting turned out to be a complete mess.
Yun Shishi could no longer resist chuckling as she witnessed this from the side.
Upon seeing how poor their father was at handicraft work, Youyou sniggered behind his hands while his older brother mercilessly mocked the man, “Daddy’s so stupid!”
He shot his older son a disgruntled look and snorted all righteously. “Well, I don’t have anyone teaching me!”
“I’ll teach you, then!”
His younger son then abandoned his twin to sit on his lap and did some personal one-to-one coaching for him!
Paper-cutting was an intriguing craft.
With a fold of the red paper and a snip of the scissors here and there, Youyou eventually unfolded the finished piece to reveal a neat and perfect Chinese character of the word ‘fortune’!
Mu Yazhe turned his attention to learn the craft seriously. Under his son’s guidance, he managed to pick up the basic skills of paper-cutting, and his cuttings looked somewhat okay now.
The boy nodded in satisfaction and gave his appraisal. “You’ve improved a little.”
After pasting the paper-cuttings on the windows, doors, and walls, the house was immediately filled with a festive atmosphere.
As the man carried his older son in his arms and stared at the clear glass windows with the red paper-cuttings pasted on them, an involuntary smile spread on his face.
So this is how it feels to celebrate the Lunar New Year. How heartwarming it is.
He used to spend most of his Lunar New Year in the office, and by the time he knocked off from work, Little Yichen was already fast asleep. On the rare occasions that he was off from work, he would spend the day accompanying the boy, though they only played chess and some other games at most due to them not having many hobbies and interests. That was how the father and son spent their New Year in the past.