Chapter 221: Chapter 223: Full Moon Preparations
An Guoping looked at An Ning, wanting to cry but having no tears left.
"Sis—"
He drew out the word "Sis," his voice thick with grievance.
"Hey now, don’t cry, don’t cry! It’s my first time, you know? I haven’t quite gotten the hang of it. I’ll get better with a few more tries."
An Guoping clutched his head in terror and shook it firmly. "No!"
"Don’t practice on me!"
Looking for all the world like a wronged young wife, An Guoping sulkily sidled up to Lin Cuihua.
"Mom— just shave it for me— Hey, how come Dad isn’t bald?"
It was only then that An Guoping noticed that An Sancheng still had a crop of short hair this year.
But no matter what, he had hair.
Lin Cuihua was like a max-level player in a starter zone. No matter how low-key she acted, she couldn’t hide her aura. Without even glancing at An Guoping, she said airily, "He wanted to keep some, so I left some."
An Guoping was even more crushed.
"Mom, what about mine...."
"No way. The shortest spots are already bald. It’s beyond saving."
Hearing this, An Guoping touched the top of his head. He could indeed feel his scalp in some places.
For a moment, his gaze grew even more resentful.
An Ning was quite embarrassed too. She tentatively put down the scissors and started backing away.
"I’m going to the bathroom."
With a WHOOSH, she was gone.
Inside the room, An Guoming, who had been watching, roared with laughter.
"Little bro, I’m telling you, this is your moment to shine! You even scared An Ning away."
"AARGH—"
With a yelp, An Guoming jerked his head. Behind him, Lin Cuihua was dumbstruck, and An Guoping’s mood instantly brightened.
An Guoming could only feel a particularly cool strip on the back of his head.
He reached out a trembling hand and touched it.
Bald.
"Mom—"
"What ’Mom’? Who told you to move? Serves you right."
Although Lin Cuihua felt a little guilty, it wasn’t by much.
This was even better. Shaving a head completely was more her style anyway.
This time, An Guoming couldn’t be smug anymore. Instead, it was An Sancheng, standing to the side, who started gloating.
Inside, the joyful gloated, the sorrowful sulked, and the ugly... were ugly. Each wore their mood on their face.
Meanwhile, An Ning, who had run off feeling guilty, really did go to the bathroom. But after coming out, she didn’t go back inside. Instead, she leaned against the base of the wall, bored, tossing a rock to amuse herself.
’This isn’t scientific. I made precise calculations, so how could it still be wrong?’
’This is seriously damaging my status.’
"Hey!"
"Hey—! That’s attempted murder!"
An Ning was startled by Jiang Xia’s "Hey!" and instinctively threw the rock in her hand.
Jiang Xia jumped down from the top of the wall.
A moment later, he climbed back up and casually tossed the rock in his hand back to An Ning.
"Your weapon. Here, take it back."
"No need. You can keep it as a souvenir."
An Ning didn’t take it. Jiang Xia had also been joking; he tossed it aside and sat down on the wall.
"What are you muttering to yourself about over here?"
"Jiang Xia, today is the second day of the second lunar month. Did you get a haircut?"
Jiang Xia rubbed his head and said, "I got mine cut a long time ago. It’s not like I have a maternal uncle."
"But today is Eryue’er, the day the Dragon Raises its Head. Don’t you want to lift your head up high?"
Jiang Xia leaned down, meeting the gaze of An Ning, who was looking up at him.
"Since when were you so superstitious?"
"It’s called ’When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ Got it?"
An Ning was just asking. There was no way she could actually cut Jiang Xia’s hair; Lin Cuihua would kill her.
She just wanted to learn a thing or two about cutting hair.
After a few more words, An Ning stopped her idle chatter with Jiang Xia. There was still a lot to do at home today.
"I’m heading in."
Jiang Xia watched An Ning go inside. He jumped down from the wall, but after taking just three steps, he turned back, bent down, and picked up the rock that An Ning had told him to keep.
’It’s over. I must be losing my mind.’
"WOOF!"
Da Huang, who had appeared out of nowhere, seemed to give Jiang Xia his wholehearted agreement.
"You little rascal, you know how to make fun of me now, do you!"
Jiang Xia chased after Da Huang, and the two of them—one person, one dog—ran off happily.
Next door at Anning’s house, by the time An Ning went inside, the haircuts were mostly finished.
As soon as she entered, An Ning tried to hold back her laughter, but ultimately failed. "I feel like the house is a lot brighter now," she said.
The moment she finished speaking, she was met with two murderous, resentful glares.
An Ning giggled, and when she saw An Sancheng, she asked, "How come Dad isn’t bald?"
An Sancheng smugly patted his own head and said, showing off, "What can I say? Your mom just likes me best."
It was the first time An Ning had seen An Sancheng gloating so cheekily, and she found it hilarious.
"Alright, hurry up and tidy things. We’re about to have guests."
Lin Cuihua had given the order, so even the resentful ones didn’t dare to be resentful anymore.
They grabbed a broom, swept the floor, and cleaned up all the hair.
The room was tidied up until it was spotless.
And just as Lin Cuihua had said, people started arriving soon after.
Leading the group was Uncle An’s wife, followed by two sisters-in-law and several other aunts from the village who were skilled with their hands.
Lin Cuihua enthusiastically welcomed them, ushering everyone inside. She poured them water, brought out sunflower seeds, candy, and satsuma oranges, telling everyone to rest for a bit first.
But the visitors knew their manners. After snacking for a short while, they organized themselves, washed their hands, and started making the red bean buns.
Everyone gathered in the west room. A few people sat on the kang bed-stove, and a few sat below it.
Kneading the dough, dividing it into portions, rolling out the wrappers, and filling the buns.
The finished buns, pristine white and perfectly round, were arranged together. Outside, they were steamed, pot after pot, in a large wok.
An Ning and An Guoping were each in charge of a fire pit, stoking the flames.
When a large pot of buns was done steaming, Lin Cuihua took them out and called for An Guoming and An Sancheng. The two of them used red dye to put a red dot on top of each bean bun.
This marked them as celebratory buns.
Everyone who came for the full moon celebration tomorrow would take at least two of these home.
That day, the chimney of the An family’s house never stopped smoking.
During her fire-stoking duty, An Ning curiously touched the kang.
She felt that if you sprinkled a little Sichuan pepper on it, you could probably roast an An Ning.
The people who came to make buns today didn’t stay for dinner. They all said they would wait for the full moon feast.
Lin Cuihua knew this was the village custom. She insisted a couple of times, but if they weren’t staying, that was that.
The helpers left, but the An family couldn’t rest.
With the full moon celebration tomorrow, there was still too much to do.
During the day, An Sancheng and the men from Uncle An’s family had set up two temporary cooking stoves in the An family’s courtyard and put up a canopy.
They had cleaned everything that needed cleaning. The rest—tables, chairs, stools, food, and drinks—would all be arranged early tomorrow morning.
That night, An Ning laid out three sets of bedding beneath her, which felt like sleeping on a bed on top of the kang.
The next day, before dawn, around four in the morning, the lights in the An family’s house switched on.
The lights at Jiangxia’s house next door came on soon after. Jiang Xia was coming to the An family’s home to lend a hand today.
"Lending a hand" was the local term for helping a family host a celebration.
Early in the morning, Jiang Xia, An Guoming, An Guoqing, An Guoping, and the three older cousins from Uncle An’s family went all over the village. They darted from house to house, and each time they emerged from one, they would be carrying stools, tables, bowls, chopsticks, and the like.
The full moon celebration was about to begin.
