Chapter 18: A New Year

Chapter 18: A New Year

In the cookhouse, Chen Youyan lifted the wooden pot lid and used a spatula to scrape the fish where it touched the bottom of the pot.

As soon as the lid was lifted, a cloud of white steam mixed with the aroma of fish rushed out through the gap.

Chen Youyan squinted and leaned back slightly, blinking against the steam. Once he felt the fish was loose enough, he quickly replaced the lid and set the spatula across the rim.

"Tap, tap..."

Footsteps deliberately lightened sounded from outside the door. Chen Youyan glanced sideways and saw that it was indeed Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan.

Seeing him look over, the two paused mid-step, then gave him sheepish grins.

Chen Youyan: "..."

To be fair, it was understandable that An Geer couldn't sit still in the house because he was craving food, but Xue Geer shouldn't be like that.

But then Chen Youyan figured An Geer must have wheedled him into coming along, since Xue Geer had always doted on An Geer.

Seeing the two little ones show up again, Wang Xiuxiu and the others couldn't help but laugh. In the end, Gu Daniu was the one who told the two little ones to sit by Gu Wen near the fire and peel garlic.

Though who knew if three kids peeling together would even use up all that garlic, peeling garlic first couldn't hurt.

Gu Wen gave each of the two little boys a tap on the head, then reached over and fed two thin sticks of firewood into the stove.

Seeing how seriously the two were peeling, especially how Yin Hongxue would periodically look around the cookhouse looking thoroughly content, Gu Wen smiled, puzzled.

He couldn't figure out what was so different about waiting in the kitchen versus the main hall. It was all just sitting around waiting either way—and in the main hall, they could even snack on winter pears and green tangerines—so why insist on the kitchen?

As the smells in the cookhouse grew richer and more layered, dusk slowly settled over Xiaohe Village.

In the blue-black sky, stars were already faintly twinkling alongside the pale yellow moon.

Beneath the night sky, wisps of white smoke curled up from every chimney, and a rich mix of smells drifted through Xiaohe Village, wrapping the whole place up.

In the Gu family's main hall:

"The last dish—braised square pork in sauce!" Gu Wen carried a ceramic basin, scurrying in with quick little steps. "All done!"

"Wow!" Gu Muan exclaimed, waving his spoon in enthusiastic support.

On the large round table, a whole red-braised carp sat right in the center.

Starting from the fish's mouth and going clockwise around the table were:

Steamed eggs with shrimp, dried wild mushrooms stewed with chicken pieces, red-date sticky rice cakes, duck stew with pickled radish, stir-fried pork belly with dried wild mushrooms, braised square pork in sauce, meatball soup with radish and winter melon, cabbage, chicken, and frozen tofu stew, and a refreshing cold shredded radish salad.

For the staple, there were gold-ingot dumplings stuffed with pork, cabbage, and dried wild mushrooms.

The main hall's wooden door was shut tight, keeping the cold wind out. Four oil lamps and two charcoal braziers had been lit in the room.

Amid the endless rising steam and mouthwatering smells, Yin Hongxue's cheeks flushed with excitement, and his eyes felt hot and wet.

He couldn't quite put it into words—just that his chest felt tight and full, yet warm and cozy at the same time.

If he had to describe it, it was like the day his father first held him and fed him sugar painting.

Or like the night his father spent eight qian on medicine for him, and after drinking it and rubbing on the medicinal oil, he lay tucked under the covers.

The gold-ingot dumplings were plump and packed full—one bite and your mouth was full of rich meaty flavor.

But perhaps because it was too delicious, a single tear slipped from the corner of his eye like a wisp of steam, landing on his clothes, which were stuffed with fresh cotton, vanishing just as quickly.

Gu Chaoning turned his head slightly to look over.

Yin Hongxue hurriedly lowered his head, panicking that Gu Chaoning might catch him crying on such a happy day.

But unexpectedly, Gu Chaoning smiled and said, "The gold ingots must be that good, huh? Got our Xue Geer's eyes all red, and he still won't put his dumpling down."

Yin Hongxue opened his mouth to mumble a retort, when Gu Chaoning popped a shrimp coated in golden egg crumbs into his mouth.

"Alright, eat up. Chaoning Ge already blew on it to cool it down for you."

Then he turned back around.

Yin Hongxue chewed the savory, springy shrimp and instinctively glanced over at Gu Chaoning.

Maybe the steam from the food had hidden his earlier slip, because Gu Chaoning seemed perfectly normal, as if he hadn't noticed the tears at all.

That thought let Yin Hongxue breathe a sigh of relief.

He cautiously raised his head and glanced around at everyone. Seeing everyone acting as usual, he finally relaxed completely.

Chen Youyan noticed him looking over and scooped a meatball into his bowl with a soup ladle.

"Xue Geer, try this meatball. Your father heard of a trick from town—they add crushed ice to it."

Yin Hongxue used a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other, working together to pick up the round meatball and take a bite.

Sure enough, it was tender and delicate.

Yin Hongxue squinted his eyes in satisfaction and smiled. "Father, the meatballs are delicious!"

Hearing this, Gu Muan, who still had egg custard in his mouth, waved his hand urgently. "Father, An wants to eat too!"

The meatballs were tender and delicate, and Gu Muan could indeed eat them, so Chen Youyan scooped out another one, blew on it to cool it, and fed it to Gu Muan.

Gu Muan waited impatiently, craning his neck eagerly while Chen Youyan cooled it.

The moment the meatball came over, he opened his mouth wide—but before it even reached his lips, the saliva that had been building up spilled out first.

The little boy's greedy expression made everyone watching burst into laughter, especially Gu Wen, who laughed the loudest as the father.

But his laughter didn't last long before Wang Xiuxiu gave him a thump.

"Still laughing! Hurry up and wipe our An Geer's mouth!"

It was just as well that Wang Xiuxiu wasn't sitting next to her precious grandson—otherwise, who would need this foolish son of hers?

The New Year's Eve feast was prepared in abundance, so finishing everything was impossible. In particular, no matter how fragrant the fish in the center was, some had to be left over—this symbolized abundance year after year.

The remaining dishes didn't need to be stored away; they could just stay on the table. After the meal, they would stay up for the New Year, and if hungry in the middle of the night, they could simply reheat and eat.

So the large round table was carried to a corner, and the Gu family sat around the charcoal braziers.

As the night deepened, the cold wind grew stronger. The wooden door rattled, and gusts of cold air seeped through the cracks into the warm main hall.

Fortunately, there were two charcoal braziers.

Before long, the rattling wooden door was pushed open, and Gu Wen walked in carrying another newly lit brazier.

A gust of cold wind blew in through the wide-open door, and Gu Muan and Yin Hongxue, who had been sitting comfortably, couldn't help but pull their necks in.

Sitting through the New Year vigil was colder than mealtime, so Gu Wen had gone to the kitchen to light another brazier.

Chen Youyan, a step behind Gu Wen, came in carrying an armful of dried fruits and snacks.

The cold wind that had just been shut out blew in again through the wide-open door, but this time Gu Chaoning was already waiting by the door. The moment Chen Youyan stepped in, he shut it.

The wooden door rattled again as the wind pushed through its tiny gaps, trying to sneak into the warm main hall.

Gu Chaoning turned around and dragged a wooden chair over to block the door, and only then did the door finally stop rattling.

With a mason and a carpenter in the family, they had all the furniture they could want.

Earlier, Gu Wen had found sitting through the vigil too boring, so he'd bought a wire mesh from the blacksmith's shop in town and set it on a wooden frame over the brazier.

He'd also made a clay pot himself, filling it with wild mountain tea, dried dates, dried osmanthus, and things like that. The tea brewed from it was warm and tasty.

On the rest of the wire mesh, they piled mountain walnuts, green tangerines, peanuts, dried dates, dried persimmons, and such. Roasted until warm, crispy, and sweet, they were perfect for nibbling on during the vigil, which made the time fly by.

The mountain walnuts had been cracked open before being placed on the wire mesh, and the fragrance of the dried fruits wafted out in little wisps from the gaps.

The green tangerines were already fragrant, and as they sat on the mesh, their fresh scent grew even stronger.

The peanuts, still in their skins, were heaped together, with the ones at the bottom browning first.

The dried dates and dried persimmons were already sweet, and after roasting, they oozed syrupy juice.

Wang Xiuxiu picked up a green tangerine whose skin was glistening with moisture from the roasting, peeled it, and shared it with her little grandson, one segment for each, the two of them happily munching away.

Gu Daniu loved roasted peanuts. Keeping an eye on the color of the skins, he quickly scooped them into a bamboo basket, while Gu Wen, quick as a wink, picked out the ones that looked good from his dad's basket.

Yin Hongxue had never imagined that the New Year vigil could be so full of variety. Who knew the coldest winter day could feel this comfortable and joyful?

His curious gaze fell on the darkest-colored mountain walnuts, and a bamboo clip reached in and gently picked one out.

Chen Youyan reached over and passed it to Gu Wen beside him.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss! Hot, hot, hot!"

After taking it, Gu Wen tossed the walnut back and forth between his hands to cool it down, hissing and wincing, then peeled off the hard shell.

As soon as the inner kernel was exposed, Gu Wen smiled and reached out to place it in Yin Hongxue's palm.

Chen Youyan's voice followed: "I saw Xue Geer eyeing that mountain walnut for a while—you want to eat it, huh? If you want some, just ask your dad."

Gu Wen also smiled and said, "That's right, the walnuts are burning hot, so don't touch them yourself, Xue Geer."

Though the walnut kernel wasn't as hot as the shell, it still gave off a steady warmth in Yin Hongxue's palm. The unique aroma of dried fruits, along with the faint toasted fragrance, kept flooding his senses.

He took a bite—truly fragrant and crispy.

Seeing Yin Hongxue enjoying it, Gu Chaoning handed him half of the walnuts Gu Wen had cracked for him.

The tea in the clay pot was drunk and refilled, refilled and drunk again. The fresh cold water added would boil anew, and besides the original ingredients, two segments of green tangerine that Gu Muan had mischievously tossed in were bobbing up and down.

The green tangerine was nearly boiled to mush, its orange flesh tumbling in the rolling water.

Gu Wen was looking at it a bit dejectedly when a sudden "tap" sound snapped him back to his senses.

Gu Wen looked up at Chen Youyan, who walked out of the inner room with slow, gentle steps, and asked, "Are they all asleep?"

Chen Youyan's expression was also a bit weary, and he nodded.

Now only the four adults remained in the main hall.

The vigil had to last until daylight, and the three children were too young to stay up.

Not only was Chen Youyan drowsy, but Wang Xiuxiu and Gu Daniu were also looking a bit wilted. The fruit peels and shells not yet burned out in the brazier occasionally let out a sizzle or a crackle, and the four adults chatted in low voices to stave off sleepiness.

At some point, the quiet little river village suddenly burst with the first crackling sound of firecrackers, followed by a second, a third, a fourth...

The new year had arrived.