"Really?"

"Of course it’s true, Mom will work very, very hard to earn money to support you."

"Mom, I’ll help you with the chores too."

"Me too, Mom, I’ll help wash the dishes and sweep the floor."

"Mom, our family is getting better, we can eat meat every day. If Dad were still alive, it would be even better." Erqiang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

Thinking of their father who passed away less than a year ago, Da Qiang, Ya Ya, and Sanqiang fell silent as well.

Sanqiang sniffed, sobbing, "Mom, I miss Dad."

"Mom, I miss Dad too."

"Mom, is Dad really not coming back? Are we never going to see Dad again?" Ya Ya cried too.

"Wow, I miss Dad, I want Dad to come back, I don’t want Dad to die." Sanqiang cried out.

Three-year-old Sanqiang initially didn’t know what death meant and didn’t feel sad about Dad’s passing, but later, after he and his sister were often mocked by village kids for not having a father, little Sanqiang gradually understood that Dad dying meant he went away, to a far, far place, never to be seen again.

Dad dying meant being without a dad.

Whenever Sanqiang thought of Dad being gone, that he’d never see Dad again, he found the table of delicious food lost its appeal.

All he wanted now was Dad.

With Ya Ya and Sanqiang sobbing, Da Qiang and Erqiang couldn’t help but cry too.

The four children cried so heartbreakingly that Yuan Chun couldn’t help but have tears in her eyes.

Though she could work hard to earn money and provide a good living environment for the children, striving to be a good mother, there were things she couldn’t do; she could not replace their father in their hearts.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. In a few days, Mom will take you back to the village to offer incense to Dad and burn some paper money and flowers." Yuan Chun patted the most tearful Sanqiang and Erqiang.

"Mom, today is New Year, aren’t we not supposed to cry?" Da Qiang suddenly suppressed his sobs, "Mom, I’m sorry, we... we just couldn’t help but cry."

Being slightly older, Da Qiang knew more than his younger siblings about traditions like only laughing and not crying during New Year.

Crying was considered unlucky.

They ran a shop, and it was most taboo to have any unlucky things happen.

Thus, they couldn’t cry, or it might bring bad luck for the coming year.

Thinking this, Da Qiang quickly comforted his three younger siblings, and before long, laughter echoed again in the hall.

The children were forgetful and soon set Dad’s matters aside, focusing solely on the delicious food.

After the meal, Yuan Chun handed out the big red envelopes she’d prepared in advance to the children, "These are New Year’s money from Mom, you can use them to buy things you like, no need to give them back to Mom."

She hadn’t put much money inside, just one yuan in each envelope.

But to the children, one yuan was a small fortune.

During those times, ten cents could buy twenty fruit candies, one yuan could buy a lot of treats.

The next day, after breakfast, the four children took their New Year’s money and went to a newly opened general store nearby to buy things.

Yuan Chun rarely gave herself a three-day break.

For these days, she went nowhere, just stayed home eating and sleeping, catching up with some rest.

On the fourth day of the New Year, Yuan Chun took the four children back to the village, to Chen Dagang’s grave on the hill behind the village, burning a burlap sack full of paper money.

The four children knelt on the ground, holding back their tears, only sobbing a bit.