Chapter 104 New Year 3
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. Early in the morning, everything outside the house was white. It had snowed heavily overnight, and the snow on the ground was knee-deep.
The two brothers Lu Jie and Lu Zheng, together with their third uncle, were already shoveling snow in the yard.
Shen brought breakfast to Ah Si's room, watched her finish eating, and told her to stay in the room because the road outside was slippery. Ah Si's belly was already very big now, and when she had nothing to do, Shen Zhen and her sister would accompany her to take a walk on the path at the foot of the mountain and breathe the outside air.
It was inevitable that he would feel bored being locked up in the room, so Shen Zhi handed the brother and sister he brought back to Ah Si and asked them to chat with Ah Si.
Ah Si was now overflowing with maternal love. She learned that the two children had no names and only knew her last name was Lan. Ah Si racked her brains to name the two siblings using the few characters she knew. The older brother was named Lan Tian and the younger sister was named Lan Xue. The two siblings liked their new names very much.
Lan Xue has stopped taking medicine now, and the roundworms were expelled a few days ago. Now her stomach doesn't hurt anymore, and her complexion is much better. Lan Tian is very grateful to the Shen family, and rushes to work every day, which makes Shen feel distressed.
After Shen asked Shen Zhen and her sister, she adopted the two children as her adopted sons and daughters. Shen Zhi even proposed to send Lan Tian to a school for enlightenment after the New Year. The child is already seven years old and is obviously a smart child. Others in the family agreed with this proposal.
In the afternoon, everyone started preparing for tonight’s New Year’s Eve dinner.
Shen Zhi and his third uncle kneaded the dough to make dumplings. Shen and Shen Zhi worked together to prepare the dishes for the evening. Since there were many people this year, the portions were large and were prepared according to the standard for two tables.
The braised fish, which represents abundance every year, is indispensable. Peas and corn kernels are fried to perfection. Other dishes include: pepper and salt spareribs, braised pork, braised lion's head, Beijing-style pork shreds, cold-mixed jelly, stewed vegetable platter, preserved vegetable and pork, chicken stewed with mushrooms, enoki mushroom and fat beef rolls, lettuce with oyster sauce, spareribs and lotus root soup, and a lamb rib hot pot. There are many side dishes for this hot pot, and the small shelves next to it are filled with dishes, such as duck blood, bean curd, beef tripe, fat beef rolls, lamb rolls, prawns, crab sticks, various meatballs, and vegetables. All of them were ordered by Shen Zhi in the space. Everyone present is used to it and never asks where they come from. There are also two desserts, one is snow mountain blue mud made with yam and blueberry sauce, and the other is red bean and yam cake.
While cooking, Third Uncle took Lu Jie and Lu Zheng to post couplets in the front and back yards.
As soon as they said dinner was served, everyone sat down with a smile on their faces. The two little guys carefully helped Ah Si to the dining room. Ah Si's blind grandmother also came, but she didn't need anyone to help her, she walked by herself. Since coming to Shitou Village, Shen Zhi often helped her with acupuncture and applied medicine to her eyes. Now her eyes can basically see clearly, and Ah Si likes this niece from the bottom of her heart. The third uncle brought two jars of wine from the cellar. Shen Zhi took out some wild fruits from the cellar and squeezed them into juice, and poured a glass for each person at the table of women and children.
Before anyone started eating, they heard a knock on the door.
"Who is knocking on the door at this time? I'll go and see." Shen Zhi got up and opened the door.
When the door was opened, several untidy bearded men were standing outside. They were none other than Zhan Xiao and his group, including Shen Changzhou. Looking at their dusty appearance, they must have traveled all the way back at dawn.
They were very self-aware and knew that they were dirty and smelly, so they quickly went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Shen Zhi returned to the restaurant and told everyone that Zhan Xiao and his friends were back. She asked Brother Lu Jie to quickly find some clean clothes for them and send them over. Ah Si knew that Shen Changzhou was back and wanted to go back to his room to find clothes for him, but was stopped by Shen Zhi. Finally, Ah Si told Lan Tian where the clothes were, and Lan Tian went to find them and sent them over. Shen Zhi also took out the clothes she had made for Zhan Xiao and asked Lan Tian to send them over.
Soon, the group showered, changed their clothes, and came to the restaurant to sit down. There was a floor heating in the restaurant, so it was warm as soon as they came in, instantly blowing away their fatigue from the journey.
Looking at the table full of food and wine, everyone felt that the journey was worth it. Everyone drank good wine and ate delicious food, it was so lively.
The female guests also enjoyed the meal very much, especially Lan Tian and Lan Xue. In their memories, they were always displaced and never had a full meal. They didn't expect that they were so lucky now. They not only had a stepmother, but also a sister, uncle, uncle and aunt. Now they can eat so many delicious foods. Lan Tian was afraid that these were all illusions, and when he woke up from the dream, there would be nothing.
Lan Tian raised his small cup of juice and toasted everyone like a little adult, saying blessings. Everyone accepted his blessing very kindly and said some more blessings to him. Lan Tian felt warm in his heart, and he could feel that everyone treated him sincerely.
Shen cooked the dumplings and served a bowl to everyone, saying, "Today, there are four dumplings with copper coins in them. Whoever eats them will have good luck and great wealth in the coming year."
"Really? There is such a saying? Let me try it first," Lu Zheng said as he picked up a dumpling and took a bite. "Ouch, my teeth are about to break. It's a copper coin. I actually ate a copper coin. Looks like I'm going to make a fortune next year." Lu Zheng excitedly showed the half-exposed copper coin in front of everyone.
"Let me try too," Cao Rumo ate all the dumplings in his bowl without spending a penny, and sighed silently.
"I ate it, it's so good." Ah Si shouted happily, Shen Changzhou looked at her lovingly while sitting at the men's table. Ah Si blushed and made a face at him when she found out.
The next person to get the copper coins was Zhan Xiao. He looked at Shen Zhi proudly.
Shen Zhi rolled his eyes in annoyance. What's there to be proud of? It must be my mother who made the mark on purpose.
The last one to eat was Zhan Qi. This kid was really a tiger. He used so much force to eat that his front teeth broke. The others lowered their heads and held back their laughter.
After dinner, Shen and Shen Zhen cleared the dishes, while Shen Changzhou carefully helped Ah Si back to his room. Shen Zhi also went with Lan Tian and Lan Xue to set off firecrackers. Zhan Xiao looked unhappy. It was not easy for her to come back, and she even went with those little brats. Setting off firecrackers required company. Wouldn't it be better to let Zhan Liu accompany the two of them to set off firecrackers?
Soon, Zhan Xiao found out that he was wrong. It wasn't Shen Zhi who played with the two kids, it was the two kids who played with her. She loved playing but was not good at it. She covered her ears and squinted her eyes to light the firecrackers carefully. If there was any noise outside, she would run away in fear before her sparks touched the firecrackers. The two kids looked at her with disgust.
Zhan Xiao sent the two children away and took her hand to accompany her to set off firecrackers. Perhaps because there was someone around, Shen Zhi became braver and was more adept at playing.