1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 228 Under the pomegranate tree, a serene and elegant figure cutting paper with scissors.
"You're tired."

Lin Xiyu comforted her, "Rest more, and your legs won't be so swollen anymore."

You'll be alright too.

Her cousin held her hand and comforted her, saying, "You'll recover and have a beautiful baby."

"Uh-huh."

Lin Xiyu and her cousin exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

-

Grandma Hu is 85 years old this year. Her body is obviously not as strong as before. In winter, when the roads are slippery due to snow, she fell and sprained her leg. She had to stay in bed for half a year before she fully recovered.

The person happiest about Lin Xiyu's departure is none other than the elderly woman herself.

In 2001, my country officially launched its intangible cultural heritage protection work, marking the beginning of the "Chinese National Folk Culture Protection Project," which involved systematic surveys and registrations. Kunqu Opera became the first project to be included.

On October 17, 2003, the conference adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, established the first "Cultural Heritage Day" in 2006, and promulgated the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Intangible Cultural Heritage" in 2011, establishing a four-level list system.

Grandma Hu also heard about the intangible cultural heritage and sincerely hopes that Jinan's spring water culture paper-cutting can also be selected as an intangible cultural heritage project and become a symbolic folk art of Jinan.

As Grandma Hu's personally taught disciple, Lin Xiyu naturally had an unshirkable responsibility to do everything in her power to help the old lady fulfill her wish.

To apply for intangible cultural heritage status, one must first have original and eye-catching works.

Grandma Hu is skilled at paper cutting, especially in depicting flowers, landscapes, birds, and animals.

Lin Xiyu and the elderly woman discussed bringing paper-cutting to life by incorporating historical figures from Jinan and using paper-cutting to depict the stories of famous figures and scholars, such as the "Er'an Culture".

Grandma Hu agreed with her suggestion and designed the pattern herself. Lin Xiyu assisted her while she calmly practiced her paper-cutting skills.

Under the pomegranate tree at the old house, you could often see her holding scissors, her figure serene and elegant.

Gu Bin silently stayed by her side, his eyes filled with utter doting affection.

-

Qinglong Back Street.

After leaving Grandma Hu's house, Lin Xiyu remembered that her maternal grandmother loved braised chicken, so she specially bought a freshly cooked braised chicken from a braised meat shop on Furong Street.

Grandma eats braised chicken with wine, so she also bought a bottle of Baotu Spring Special Brew on the way and took it to Grandma's house to cook lunch for her.

Nana, the adopted daughter of my uncle, is 9 years old and attends Qinglong Street Primary School.

Even during summer school break, she didn't stay idle; she helped her aunt sell clothes at the small commodities market.

The small commodities market was close to home, and her aunt didn't want her daughter to eat takeout every day. Since Lin Xiyu was cooking at her maternal grandmother's house, she let her come home for a free meal.

When Lin Xiyu arrived, Nana had just returned from the small commodity market. The two entered the door one after the other.

"Grandma, Sister Xiyu bought you roast chicken again."

After entering the house and finding no one in the living room, Nana ran off to the backyard.

Grandma was sitting under the pomegranate tree, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan. When she heard the shout, she smiled and tried to stand up from her stool.

After sitting for a while, her legs went a little numb, and she swayed a few times, almost losing her balance.

"Grandma, be careful!"

Nana was shocked and rushed over to help her.

"I'm too old, I'm no longer useful."

Grandma sighed deeply, "There's no way to deny getting old anymore."

"Grandma, have you finished your Brain Gold? I'll buy you more if you do."

Lin Xiyu followed closely behind, and together with Nana, they helped her back into the house, one on each side.

"It's not finished, there's still more than half a bottle left."

Grandma was frugal and drank very little; she would always delay drinking a month's worth of her usual amount for several days.

"I remember buying it on the 11th of last month, right?"

Lin Xiyu knew perfectly well: "You should have finished drinking it by now. Did you drink less again? It won't work if you don't drink enough. Don't reduce the amount yourself."

"No reduction."

Grandma chuckled twice, trying to brush it off: "I just drank it according to the instructions, about half a cup a day."

Grandma couldn't bear to drink it.

Nana is young and honest: "I saw it. Every time it's not enough. They say it's a small cup, but it's just the bottom of the cup. It doesn't even reach the bottom line."

"Grandma, is that right?"

Lin Xiyu revealed an expression of "I knew it," and glared at the old woman, feigning displeasure.

Is that true?

Grandma laughed awkwardly, trying to justify herself: "Maybe my eyes were blurry and I couldn't see clearly."

"Your eyes aren't blurry."

Lin Xiyu laughed in exasperation: "You're pretending not to know what's going on. From now on, this matter will be handled by Nana. Nana will be responsible for keeping an eye on Grandma every day and making sure she drinks enough."

"okay."

Nana grinned, showing her little tiger teeth, and readily agreed.

"So good..."

Lin Xiyu patted her head approvingly and turned to go to the kitchen.

-

For lunch, we ate steamed buns as the main dish and cooked millet porridge.

Lin Xiyu cooked two more dishes, including chicken and wine, making it a very lavish meal.

Before eating, Grandma picked up her chopsticks and first put a chicken leg on each of the two sisters' plates.

"Grandma, you don't need to give it to me, you can eat it yourself."

Lin Xiyu and Nana spoke almost at the same time, and put the chicken leg back into her bowl.

"Grandma can't eat two chicken drumsticks."

Grandma was very pleased to see her two sensible and well-behaved younger relatives.

"Nana is still growing, let her eat one for Grandma."

Following her grandmother's wishes, Lin Xiyu put a chicken leg back on her younger sister's plate.

"whee."

Nana glanced at her grandmother, and seeing that her grandmother did not object, she readily accepted her sister's kindness.

"Grandma, I'll have a drink with you."

Lin Xiyu poured wine for her grandmother and then poured herself a glass as well.

"it is good."

With someone to drink and talk with to relieve her boredom, Grandma was overjoyed; the creases at the corners of her eyes crinkled into chrysanthemums with laughter.

Seeing her grandmother smiling happily, Lin Xiyu was genuinely happy too.

"Sister, can you teach me English?"

Seeing her sister smiling and seeming easy to talk to, Nana's mind started to wander.

"Okay."

Lin Xiyu was in a good mood and readily agreed.

“Nana said before that English was too difficult and she couldn’t keep up, but your aunt couldn’t afford it and didn’t enroll her in any training classes.”

Grandma had a lot of complaints about her aunt's actions: "She only graduated from junior high school and suffered from a lack of education. She's still not very bright. In this day and age, how can you get by without studying hard? For us ordinary people's children, only by studying hard can we change our destiny. When we grow up, we can't rely on anyone else but ourselves."

Grandma is right.

Lin Xiyu agreed with her grandmother's statement and nodded in agreement with a smile.

"My mom works hard to earn money, I don't blame her."

Nana was very sensible and defended her aunt.

How much does it cost to attend a training course?

Lin Xiyu felt gratified for her aunt.

This daughter was definitely worth raising!

"600 per semester."

Nana, munching on a chicken leg, whispered, "They also have them during summer vacation, and it's about the same price."

"How many classes does 600 have?" Lin Xiyu asked in detail.

"Twelve lessons."

Nana has classmates who attend training courses and know a lot about it.

"Twelve lessons for 600 yuan?"

Lin Xiyu looked surprised: "50 yuan for a class, that's really not cheap."

"Ah."

Nana's eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

"Those who can attend training classes are all children from wealthy families; they have money and can afford it."

Grandma couldn't bear to see it and became even more dissatisfied with her aunt: "Although our family isn't well-off, we can't let the child suffer."

"I'll teach Nana from now on."

Lin Xiyu soothed her grandmother, saying, "I'm just lazing around at home anyway, so I can tutor Nana a bit. It's not a bad idea."

"Thank you sister."

When Nana saw that her sister had agreed, her eyes crinkled into crescent moons with a smile.

"Are you really not going to work?"

Grandma knew she was on unpaid leave, but she didn't know the inside story.

Lin Xiyu didn't want her family to worry, so she didn't tell them the truth. She only said that Gu Bin wanted her to return to Jinan to recuperate properly for the sake of her health.

"Not going up."

When Lin Xiyu saw that her grandmother had brought up the matter again, she casually replied, "I'm too busy at work, there are too many trivial things, it's not good for my recovery."

"If we're not going to do it, then we're not going to do it."

Grandma was more concerned about her health: "Take good care of yourself at home. Getting well is the most important thing."

Lin Xiyu smiled and echoed, "Gu Bin said the same thing."

"Xiaobin is a good person, and he's good to you too."

Grandma smiled with satisfaction and said, "You are a lucky person, unlike your cousin who is 29 and still doesn't have a boyfriend. I'm almost in my grave, and I still have to worry about her all the time. There's never a moment of peace for me."

"Sister Leilei knows what she's doing."

Lin Xiyu defended her cousin, saying, "She'll definitely find a good partner. These days, as long as you have money, what kind of man can't you find? The older ones are all taken, but there are still younger ones. She can find someone three or four years younger than her."

"A woman three years older than her husband is like a gold brick."

Nana chuckled as she munched on her chicken leg, then suddenly interjected with a bite.

"You see, even Nana agrees with me."

Lin Xiyu gave her cousin an approving look.

"Stop trying to fool me by teaming up with the two of you."

Grandma laughed and scolded, "I don't know this principle. This applies to other people, but your cousin, forget it. With her personality and temper, she's not one to tolerate others. If she finds someone older, they can be more accommodating to her. If she finds someone young and immature, they'll argue every three days and fight every two days, making a fuss all the time. It's better not to get married at all."

"My cousin probably thinks the same way."

Lin Xiyu nodded seriously.

"Just take her side."

Grandma laughed in exasperation and tapped her head with her chopsticks.

"Ouch."

Lin Xiyu pretended to be in a lot of pain, covering her forehead and whining, "It hurts so much! Grandma hit me, she doesn't love me anymore, am I still your favorite granddaughter?"

Pretend, keep pretending!

Grandma could see through her little scheme, so she picked up her chopsticks and pretended to tap her again.

"I don't care, I have to be Grandma's favorite granddaughter."

This time, Lin Xiyu was smarter. She dodged aside and grabbed the old lady's arm at the same time.

Grandma paused, her hand holding the chopsticks still, and was both amused and exasperated by her sudden action.

"hey-hey."

Nana was happily munching on a chicken leg.

-

Grandma is getting old and doesn't sleep much at night, so she has to take a nap during the day.

After lunch, Lin Xiyu helped her to bed to rest. The grandmother and granddaughter chatted for a while before the grandmother became sleepy and dozed off, leaning against the headboard and closing her eyes.

Lin Xiyu helped her grandmother lie down, carefully tucked her in, and sat on the edge of the bed, scrutinizing her kind face.

She was sent to her maternal grandmother's house by her mother when she was 8 years old. Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. She is now 28 years old, and her maternal grandmother is in her eighties.

Looking back now, how young she looked and how youthful she was at 66!

If only I could have taken more photos of Grandma back then.

Unfortunately, she was too young to understand and was always naughty, which made her grandmother angry and prevented her from cherishing that most precious time.

-

"Buzz."

The phone vibrated slightly, pulling her back to reality. Seeing that it was an unfamiliar number, she hesitated for a moment, frowned, and then answered the call.

"Hello, are you Lin Xiyu? I'm from the JN City Children's Palace."

The other party was very polite, introducing themselves and explaining their purpose right away.

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

When Lin Xiyu heard that foreign teenagers were coming to learn and exchange ideas and visit the paper-cutting art, and asked her to teach the skills on behalf of Grandma Hu, she agreed without hesitation.

The two agreed on a time, and the other party hung up the phone, satisfied.

"Sister, are you going out?"

When Nana heard her sister on the phone, as if she was about to go out, she quietly put the English book she had just taken out of her schoolbag back in.

I have something to do this afternoon, I'll tutor you in English tomorrow.

Lin Xiyu smiled sheepishly, took her backpack off the clothes rack, and slung it over her shoulder.

"Okay."

Nana's eyes lit up, and she obediently agreed.

What do you want to eat for lunch tomorrow?

Lin Xiyu affectionately pinched her cheek: "Sister came to buy groceries."

Eggplant noodles.

Nana, remembering that her grandmother liked eggplant noodles, blurted it out unconsciously.

"Okay, let's have eggplant noodles tomorrow."

Lin Xiyu didn't think much of it and agreed with a smile.

The two sisters left home together. Lin Xiyu first took Nana to the small commodities market, and then hailed a taxi to go to the Youth Palace.

-

Grandma Hu used to teach paper cutting to children at the JN City Children's Palace. She taught for a long time, and the ten little apprentices she took in back then have all grown up now.

The apprentices all have their own pursuits. Most of them went to university, and some have already graduated and started working, scattered all over the country.

Lin Xiyu also accompanied Grandma Hu to various activities at the Children's Palace. Due to the popularity of the documentary "Spring Water Family", she is considered one of the more famous disciples of Grandma Hu.

The delegation visiting the Children's Palace for study and exchange consisted of a group of middle school students from Europe, numbering over a hundred.

The staff at the Children's Palace took it very seriously and called Grandma Hu, hoping to invite her to attend the event in person.

Grandma Hu is old and has difficulty moving around, so she recommended her favorite apprentice to them.

Under Grandma Hu's tutelage, Lin Xiyu's paper-cutting skills have improved rapidly, and she has already mastered the old lady's true skills, making her the best candidate to stand in for her.

Grandma Hu valued her highly, and Lin Xiyu did not disappoint her. Not only did she possess superb paper-cutting skills, but her fluent English also won unanimous praise from foreign friends.

A pair of scissors connects things, a paper cutting conveys feelings.

The craft has been passed down for hundreds of years, and the charm of Jinan City leaps from the paper.

The exchange and learning activity concluded successfully. The head of the Children's Palace personally attended the event and warmly invited her to continue carrying out public welfare activities in place of Grandma Hu, teaching paper-cutting to teenagers who are passionate about folk culture.