Jiang Si adopted a "if you can't beat them, join them" mentality and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll listen to you all. Let's make a few more dishes."
After all, the essence of Chinese New Year is joy.
So last night, Third Grandpa and Uncle Zhong finalized the menu!
There would be iron-pot stewed goose, white-cut Wenchang chicken, scallion-and-ginger Hele crab, braised lamb, lemon-spicy shrimp, trotter and kidney bean soup, and stir-fried rice cakes with pork ribs.
Southerners can't celebrate the New Year without fish on the table, so a steamed fish dish was a must.
Add a few vegetable dishes, and that would be about enough.
Today's New Year's Eve dinner was helmed by Uncle Zhong, with Third Grandpa assisting by washing and prepping the ingredients.
Though Jiang Si wasn't a skilled cook, her knife work was decent.
She sliced meat and vegetables swiftly and evenly.
The three of them chatted and laughed, making the work go quickly.
Around 5:30, Uncle Zhong started stir-frying the dishes right on schedule.
Soon, the table was laden with steaming, fragrant dishes.
A little later, Xu Mingjuan brought over a bowl of glistening spicy diced chicken.
Jiang Si didn’t stand on ceremony—these days, she particularly craved spicy and sour flavors.
She accepted the dish and reciprocated with a bowl of trotter soup and some durian she had roasted herself.
"Roasted" might be an overstatement—it was just heated in an iron pan over the stove.
The heated durian had a milder aroma, making it more palatable to most people.
Sure enough, after one bite, Xu Mingjuan’s eyes lit up.
Not long after Xu Mingjuan left, brothers Weidong and Weimin arrived.
"Auntie, this is my mom’s stir-fried pork—adding another dish to your spread."
Jiang Si accepted it with a smile and asked for their preferences before sending them off with a bowl of pork rib rice cakes and some roasted durian.
At the sight of durian, the brothers' expressions turned pained.
But ever since their "punishment" the other day, they no longer dared to speak carelessly.
After all, writing the characters for "durian" a thousand times was no joke.
Just the thought of it was terrifying.
"Thank you, Auntie!" the brothers chorused.
As they turned to leave, Jiang Si stopped them.
She pressed a red envelope into each of their hands. At first, they hesitated.
But when Jiang Si said, "If you don’t take these, I’ll buy you some extra workbooks tomorrow…"
They snatched the envelopes without another word.
Huo Tingzhou returned just then, watching the brothers sprint away like rabbits.
"What’s gotten into them?" he asked, puzzled.
Jiang Si pressed her lips together, her smile sly. "Maybe they’re just extra excited for the New Year."
Then, she looped her arm through his. "The food’s ready. We were just waiting for you to set off the firecrackers."
As if on cue, a burst of crackling firecrackers erupted from the neighborhood.
Jiang Si instinctively covered her ears. "It’s so lively here for the New Year."
"Why do you say that?" Huo Tingzhou asked, guiding her toward the courtyard.
Jiang Si smiled. "Grandpa and Grandma said they didn’t put up spring couplets this year, and they didn’t buy fireworks or firecrackers."
Huo Tingzhou looked surprised. "You called them?"
"Yeah, this afternoon. Since I had time, I went to the communications unit to call and wish them an early New Year."
"But didn’t we already do that the other day?"
"That was then. Today’s different." She pressed a matchbox into his palm. "It’s New Year’s Eve. Calling them will make them happier."
She wasn’t wrong. Grandpa and Grandma Huo had just finished a call from their eldest son in Xinjiang.
The old couple sat in the living room, sighing. "I wonder how Third Son and his family are doing."
The phone rang again immediately.
Though the family couldn’t gather for a reunion this year, the calls from Huo’s eldest brother and Jiang Si lifted their spirits immensely.
"Oh, by the way, your brother said they’re coming back to Beijing for New Year’s next year. Let’s go back and celebrate together then."
Jiang Si smiled. "It’s more fun with more people."
Her due date was October 9th, and twins usually arrived early.
So the babies would likely be born by late September.
By February, they’d be over five months old—old enough to travel by train.
"But it’s too early to plan. We’ll see when the time comes."
"Alright," Huo Tingzhou agreed.
As they stepped outside, Jiang Si covered her ears again.
But instead of the expected explosions, there was only silence.
No whistling rockets, no colorful bursts in the sky.
"Did you get duds?" she asked, listening to the lively pops from neighboring houses.
"Ours aren’t as loud as theirs."
Huo Tingzhou rubbed his nose awkwardly. "They’re not duds."
"Really?" Jiang Si insisted. "Listen to everyone else’s!"
Next door, Teacher Hu’s family began their own firecracker ritual.
Huo Tingzhou had no choice but to confess: due to limited supplies, there were two types of firecrackers on the market.
The ones he bought had less gunpowder.
"It’s about the festive spirit, not the noise," he reasoned.
Jiang Si opened her mouth to reply—
Just then, Weidong and Weimin emerged from their yard.
Unexpectedly, they threw something to the ground.
A series of quick pops followed before Hu Meili called out,
"Once you’re done with the firecrackers, come back and eat!"
Jiang Si blinked. "Did they… just set off firecrackers?"
"Those were snap-and-pops," Huo Tingzhou explained, leading her back inside.
"After those two blew up the outhouse a few times, Hu Meili refuses to buy real firecrackers. Snap-and-pops are the compromise."
Distracted, Jiang Si forgot about the earlier issue.
At the dinner table, Third Grandpa looked at the happy couple with warmth in his eyes.
No formalities were needed among family. After a few festive words, he raised his glass.
"A new year, a fresh start. Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Happy New Year’s Eve!"
Huo Tingzhou turned to Jiang Si. "Which dish would you like? I’ll serve you."
She shook her head. "Don’t worry about me. Help yourself."
"Third Grandpa, Uncle Zhong, please eat up."
"Of course, of course—"
The meal was filled with laughter. Afterward, Huo Tingzhou cleared the dishes.
Jiang Si kept him company, chatting idly.
When they returned to the living room, Third Grandpa pulled out two plump red envelopes.
One for Jiang Si, the other for Huo Tingzhou.
Jiang Si laughed. "Third Grandpa, I’m too old for lucky money!"
"No matter how old you are, you’ll always be our treasure. Take it."
He pressed the red envelope firmly into her hand.
"This New Year's money is meant to ward off evil and ensure safety. It's not just for the two of you—the children should have it too."
As he spoke, he pulled out two plump red envelopes from his pocket.
"This is Great-Grandpa's greeting gift for the two children. You can hold onto it for them for now."
Jiang Si had no choice but to accept it on behalf of the kids.
Huo Tingzhou solemnly took his own share as well.
But the red envelope stayed in his hands for less than two seconds before he handed it over, untouched, to Jiang Si.
The group chatted a while longer in the living room. Jiang Si had originally planned to stay up with them to ring in the New Year.
But she had overestimated her ability to pull an all-nighter.
By the time the clock barely struck nine, she was already struggling to keep her eyes open.
Huo Tingzhou gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "If you're tired, go rest. Your health comes first."
"Exactly, we’ll handle the vigil," Third Uncle chimed in.
Jiang Si didn’t argue with herself.
After a quick warm shower, she got ready for bed.
Just as she was drifting into that hazy state between sleep and wakefulness, she suddenly felt something—or someone—draw near.
Squinting through half-lidded eyes, Jiang Si tried to make out—
