Chapter 1373 - 897: New Year’s Day
Afternoon.
The two women were already awake, curled up in the warm bed. They lingered for a long time before finally stepping out of their rooms.
On New Year’s Day, they absolutely didn’t want to move.
After all, there was no need to visit relatives, and no parents to supervise them. As for friends, no one sought them out during the holiday.
"So sleepy."
"Yeah, absolutely don’t want to get up."
"I’m hungry."
"Me too....."
The two women exchanged glances; on New Year’s Day, there wasn’t any food. As for the Old Jiang couple, they were visiting relatives as well.
"Knock knock knock!!!"
As the two women stood there, a rapid knocking rang out. The next second, a familiar voice sounded outside the door.
"It’s midday, still sleeping?"
"Not eating?"
"Open the door!"
The two women: "..."
Soon, the door opened. Jiang Nian rushed in, carrying a bunch of things, and started giving orders.
"Xiao Song, put the vegetables in the fridge."
"Xu Qianqian, lend a hand and stick up the couplets."
The two women stared for a while, seeing him in such a hurry. They had no choice but to get moving, starting to divide the tasks and get to work.
Song Xiyun went into the kitchen and washed the fruits as well.
"Hey, are you going to cook?"
"Yes, just throwing something together." Jiang Nian paused, "If you’re not busy, cook the rice."
"Oh, okay."
"What’s the point of sticking couplets?" Xu Qianqian complained, feeling tired as soon as she started working, "We’re just staying for a couple of days."
Jiang Nian was speechless, "Stop whining."
"What did you say!!" Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth, angrily, "You do it yourself then, I’m not sticking them!"
Despite saying that, she didn’t leave.
For lunch, they made six dishes, cooking on two stoves at once. Jiang Nian skillfully managed it all.
One dish was boiled, one stir-fried.
Braised fish, oil-braised shrimp, stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots, chicken feet with soybeans, vegetables with taro, beef ribs corn soup.
Jiang Nian handled the fish, Xiao Song cut the bamboo shoots. Xu Qianqian busied herself for a while, sneaking a freshly cooked shrimp.
Her knack for stealth was showcased perfectly.
After an hour of busy work, the dishes were set on the table. Jiang Nian brought drinks and cold dishes, peanuts from across the door.
"Let’s dig in!"
"Why didn’t you go visit relatives?" Xu Qianqian tried a bite of fish and squinted her eyes happily.
The flavor was fresh, fragrant, and tender, unlike restaurant meals.
"That’s quite a question, if I went, what would you eat?" Jiang Nian put on a brave front, but actually, his parents didn’t bring him along.
They felt embarrassed, worried he’d cause trouble.
"Besides, growing up, it doesn’t feel like a holiday anymore. Cousins are starting families, fewer people gather."
Hearing this, the two women nodded in agreement.
"It’s like that when you grow up."
"No longer the main character, relatives only ask about school. Lots of conflicts arise among them, sometimes causing people not to come."
"Let’s not talk about this, let’s eat."
Including the cold dishes, there were eight plates in total. The portion was slightly large for three people, but they ate most of it.
"So full."
"Don’t want to move." Xu Qianqian was quite happy eating, even drank a little wine, getting dizzy after a walk.
She ended up sleeping until it was dark.
The living room lights were off, casting an ambient gloom. Only the TV was on, playing last night’s Spring Festival Gala rerun.
Song Xiyun sat cross-legged on the sofa, engrossed in gaming on her phone.
"Hmm?"
She heard a noise, turned to see Xu Qianqian rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Awake?"
"Mm."
Xu Qianqian stretched lazily, "Feels quite cozy at home, slept all the way till evening."
"By the way, where did he go?"
Song Xiyun put down her phone, "He went to deliver something, will be back soon. He said we’re making dumplings tonight."
"Dumplings?" Xu Qianqian was puzzled.
....
Jiang Nian greeted Old Liu for the New Year, then bought dumpling skins and dipping sauces, and returned home to start dividing the work.
"Where’s the meat grinder? Take it out and wash it."
By skipping the dough preparation process, the dumpling making went much faster, starting as soon as the filling was mixed.
"How do we wrap them?" Xu Qianqian was clueless.
Song Xiyun pinched two wrappers, looking quite adept, "Just fold like this, then seal, add a few pleats."
Jiang Nian grabbed a few peanuts, wrapping them in dumplings as good luck signs.
"Whoever’s lucky will get one."
"Didn’t put any marks on them, right?" Xu Qianqian was sharp-eyed, but mainly understood Jiang Nian’s playful nature.
"Nope, see for yourself."
The two women scrutinized for a while, indeed finding no marks. They nodded and let Jiang Nian lay the dumplings down.
The three of them spent half a day and ended up with a pot of dumplings, each unique, varying widely in appearance.
"So ugly."
"What do you know, as long as they’re edible."
"Mm....."
Song Xiyun seemed distracted, scanning the plate in search of the peanut dumpling.
"Did either of you get that dumpling?"
"Nope." Xu Qianqian said, "I suspect he secretly hid it, it’s not in the pot at all."
"Don’t talk nonsense." Jiang Nian said while reaching for the dry dumplings plate, the other half was dumplings in soup.
"Huh?"
He opened up a dumpling, revealing peanuts inside, "What can I say, did I put it in the pot or not?"
"You!! You cheated!" Xu Qianqian was stunned, unable to spot any mark, yet he managed to find it.
The later half was filled with arguing, but they ended up enjoying dumplings anyway.
In Zhen Nan, there’s no custom of eating dumplings on New Year’s Day; people generally visit or host relatives.
Those who stay home usually heat leftover dishes.
So, the three making dumplings together was somewhat ceremonial.
Finally, Jiang Nian sipped a bit of beer, "Being able to celebrate with you guys made the trip home worthwhile."
"Saying that, aren’t you worried Aunt Li will be upset?" Xu Qianqian rolled her eyes, not believing him.