Chapter 155: Nannan's Facial Mask

Only then did Yanyan realize she had made a slip of the tongue. By now, Xu Cheng was no longer Nannan’s brother-in-law; he had nothing to do with her anymore.

"What brother-in-law? What is this little girl thinking? It was bought for you by an older sister’s classmate, a very nice older brother! Because your older sister helped him make money!" she said with a casual smile, looking at Nannan.

Nannan nodded, not fully understanding, and happily hugged the little toy tiger as she went out to play.

Dong Yanyan started folding the quilts and tidying up the room.

It was going to be a busy day. In the afternoon, they had to go to her maternal grandmother's grave to offer sacrifices and deliver the memorial lanterns. Her grandmother’s grave was located deep in the mountains, requiring them to pass through two villages at the foot of the hills to get there. To arrive before dark, her parents packed up the incense, candles, paper money, and the handmade lanterns, getting ready to leave in the afternoon.

"Mom, I want to go too," Dong Yanyan said.

"Yanyan, stay home and watch your little sister. Your dad and I will be back as soon as possible," her mother replied.

"Mom, please just let me go. I'm rarely home anymore, and who knows when I'll get another chance to visit Grandma," Dong Yanyan said with a smile, a slight ache pulling at her heart. After she got married, she was constantly busy with the wedding, buying a house, and having children; she rarely even had the chance to visit home, let alone tend to her grandmother's grave. While she still had time, she wanted to visit her as often as possible.

"Alright then, come along," her dad looked at her and said to her mother.

Her mother thought for a moment and nodded. "Very well. With the year coming to an end, it's only right to go pay your respects to your grandmother."

"Dad, what about me?" Nannan pouted her little lips, looking very unhappy.

"You go stay at Grandma's place for a little while, and Dad will pick you up as soon as we get back," her dad said as he picked Nannan up, turning back to tell her mother, "Lock the door properly, and don't forget to bring everything we need!"

***

In the countryside at this time of year, once the Lesser New Year had passed, every single day felt like the New Year. Walking along the village paths, one could see groups of three or five mischievous boys letting off firecrackers everywhere. Sometimes, a careless step would be enough to startle someone. The small river was covered in a thick layer of ice, and many children were skating on ice sleds. These sleds were low to the ground, slightly larger than a small stool. The legs of the stool were fitted with ice blades or iron strips to make them glide smoothly across the ice. Propelling the sled required two pointed sticks, which were pushed against the ice or snow to send the sled flying forward rapidly.

Children without sleds would simply snap off a long willow branch by the riverside, place one foot on the branch, and push hard with the other foot behind them, speeding along just as fast.

Nannan was timid, so her dad had welded two iron rings to the front of her sled and tied a rope to them. Dong Yanyan pulled the rope to drag Nannan along the village path, while Nannan sat on the sled, chirping and squealing with delight.

When Dong Yanyan grew tired of running, she found a slope, gave Nannan's sled a push, and let it slide down on its own. Nannan grabbed the sides of the sled tightly, shrieking in fright, while Dong Yanyan burst into hearty laughter.

Li Juan came walking from the opposite direction wearing a woolen overcoat. As soon as she saw Yanyan, she began to show off. "Doesn't this coat look great? My mom bought it for me!"

With her poise and bearing, wearing such a textured coat gave her a truly mature, sophisticated aura!

"Not bad, it's awesome!" Dong Yanyan smiled.

"Of course! It cost over two hundred yuan! That trench coat of yours is quite pretty too! Is it newly bought as well? How much was it?" Li Juan asked, patting her shoulder.

Dong Yanyan smiled sweetly. "I honestly don't know how much it cost. My boyfriend bought it—don't tell anyone!"

"Your boyfriend treats you so well!" Li Juan said with envy.

"Naturally! He wouldn't dare treat me otherwise!" Dong Yanyan boasted shamelessly.

"I've noticed you're starting to talk more and more like me," Li Juan said, resting her arm on Yanyan's shoulder and lifting her chin with a smile.

Dong Yanyan slapped her hand away with a look of disgust. "Ugh, gross. Who's like a tomboy like you? I am very ladylike, thank you very much!"

"Big Sister, are you going to keep playing with me or not?" Nannan dragged her sled up from the foot of the slope, slipping every three steps, and looked at Dong Yanyan with dissatisfaction.

"Come here, Nannan, Sister Juan will play with you!" Li Juan scooped her up, placed her on the sled, and took off running. Dong Yanyan chased breathlessly behind them, and Nannan laughed gleefully.

A child's happiness was just that simple; Dong Yanyan almost felt envious of her. If only she had time-traveled a bit more thoroughly and become a child Nannan's age, how wonderful that would have been! But on second thought, she didn't have the patience to grow up year by year all over again. Things were just right as they were—seventeen was the perfect age!

The three of them ran from the east end of the village to the west end, stopping by the small river at the village entrance. Sitting back-to-back on the sleds, they watched the massive, tangerine-orange sun slowly sink behind the mountains.

"Yanyan, don't you wish we were still Nannan's age? Carefree day after day," Li Juan said with a hint of sentimentality.

Dong Yanyan smiled. "I think right now is just right. Seventeen or eighteen is like the morning sun at eight or nine o'clock, bright and glorious—there's no comparing these little brats to that."

***

There was no New Year's Eve in the Lunar New Year of 1998. On the twenty-ninth, Dong Yanyan woke up unusually early to help her dad paste the Spring Festival couplets. Her mother had already prepared the wheat-flour paste in the kitchen; theoretically, the paste was even edible.

"Nannan, try some, it's quite tasty!" Dong Yanyan held out her hand, flicking a bit of the paste, and smiled at Nannan.

Nannan wrinkled her little nose in disgust and pouted. "I won't eat it! It's dirty!"

"Come on, taste it! Just a taste!" Dong Yanyan sprang forward, caught her, and smeared the paste all over her face. Seeing Nannan's little mouth droop as if she were about to cry—and knowing it was bad luck to make a child cry right before the New Year—she quickly coaxed her, "Nannan, Sister is giving you a facial mask! Haven't you seen Sister do those masks usually? Your skin gets so good afterward!"

Half-convinced, Nannan went back out to play. A short while later, her mother walked in and scolded her irritably, "Look at what you've done to Nannan's face! The flour paste has dried all over her skin, and she refuses to wash it off, claiming she's doing a facial mask! Go take a look right now!"

Dong Yanyan put on her coat and went outside. When she saw Nannan's scrunched-up little face, she nearly choked on her own laughter!

"Nannan, we have to wash it off now. Once it's washed, your little face will be white and smooth again!" She dragged Nannan into the kitchen, drew some warm water, and washed her face clean. Nannan touched her cheeks and felt how truly smooth they were, then trotted happily off to her room to look in the mirror.

"Yanyan, get back here and brush the paste for me! All you do all day is tease your little sister! Acting just like a monkey!" her dad shouted from the inner room.

Hearing this, Dong Yanyan protested indignantly, "Dad! It's almost the New Year, and you're calling me a monkey. What if I actually shrink down and turn into a monkey?!"

"Then you should eat more meat! Oh! The pork I'm stewing is almost done! Take this pair of couplets and paste them on the front gate—make sure you don't hang them upside down!" With that, her dad dropped the couplets and bolted toward the kitchen.