Chapter 94: Happy New Year, Happy New Year

Chu Yue popped a few dumplings into her mouth one after another, then scooped a few more into a small bowl and handed it to Lu Yuanbao.
“Eat a few to pad your stomach.”

Then she scooped some freshly made black sesame glutinous rice balls.
“Sister Chen, these sesame rice balls were all made by Yuanbao himself. Take some home and enjoy.”

“Oh my, tangyuan! Then I won’t be shy.”
Chen Fengying chuckled.
“Your Yuanbao really is such a good kid—always helping you out with everything. Unlike my Dazhuang, who doesn’t even want to sweep the floor. He’s already run off again today to set off firecrackers.”

Though she grumbled with her mouth, her face lit up with affection as she talked about her son.

She glanced around the room and asked,
“It’s already New Year’s Eve. Why hasn’t Commander Lu come back yet? My husband said the soldiers’ training is over and today is a rest day.”

“He’ll be back. Probably just delayed on the road, so he’s running a bit late,” Chu Yue said with a smile.

And speak of the devil—he appeared.

Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was the connection between them, but right as Chu Yue finished speaking, the sound of the courtyard gate opening came from outside. Chu Yue and Chen Fengying, along with Lu Yuanbao (whose mouth was stuffed with a dumpling), all turned to see Lu Zhanlin stepping through the door in full military uniform.

Chu Yue’s eyes sparkled slightly—so subtly that even she didn’t notice.

Chen Fengying chuckled behind her hand.
“Commander Lu is home! Your whole family’s together now, so I won’t disturb your reunion. Chu girl, thanks for the tangyuan. See you next year!”

“See you next year.”

Chu Yue walked her to the gate. Lu Zhanlin gave Chen Fengying a nod, then closed the courtyard door.

He took off his military cap and stepped into the house, explaining,
“The weather was freezing yesterday. One section of the mountain road was icy and the truck tires got stuck. They still haven’t gotten the vehicle out—so that delayed me.”

“Then how did you get back?”

Lu Zhanlin replied with a perfectly straight face,
“I got out and walked.”

Chu Yue looked down at his shoes, seeing traces of frost. That stretch of mountain road couldn’t have been easy to hike—climbing up in such weather must’ve been rough.

But Lu Zhanlin didn’t mention it at all. He walked straight into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and said,
“You’ve been busy all day. Let me take over what’s left.”

Most of the New Year’s Eve dinner prep was already more than halfway done—what remained was mostly cleaning and organizing. On the surface, it seemed simple, but it was still tedious work.

When Lu Zhanlin stepped into the kitchen, Chu Yue was a bit concerned. He was a battalion commander after all—could he really handle kitchen work? She hadn’t expected him to help much, just hoped he wouldn’t make a mess she’d have to clean up later.

But unexpectedly… Lu Zhanlin handled it all with impressive ease.

“Are you making spring pancakes?” he asked.

The thin pancakes were already prepared, but the fillings weren’t ready yet. Lu Zhanlin scanned the kitchen, grabbed the bean sprouts, chives, and softened glass noodles, and stir-fried them together. Before that, he even scrambled the eggs, ready to mix them in later.

Yesterday, he had butchered some ribs. Chu Yue marinated them and coated them in glutinous rice—clearly preparing steamed sticky rice pork ribs, which just needed to be steamed over high heat.

Also ready to go into the steamer: Eight Treasure Rice and stuffed pork meatballs.

Whatever ingredients Chu Yue had prepped, Lu Zhanlin somehow always knew what she intended to make. It was as if he could read her mind, seamlessly picking up each step with calm precision.

Chu Yue was a little shocked. She hadn’t expected that this man—so capable on the battlefield—could also navigate a kitchen like a seasoned hand.

Later on, even when Chu Yue tried to help again, Lu Zhanlin stopped her.

“You’ve done enough. Just rest now.”

He added,
“In the days ahead, there won’t be many times when I can be home to take care of the family. Most of the time, you’ll be handling everything on your own, and I know that’s hard on you. Since I’m here now, let me do more while I can.”

Listening to those words, Chu Yue raised her hand—but then slowly lowered it again.

In the depths of the winter night, a gentle warmth spread through her chest.

As night fell, a few firecracker bangs could still be heard outside—this time, they were real firecrackers, crackling loudly in the air.

The steaming hot New Year’s Eve dinner was served on the table. There were tender and juicy steamed pork ribs with rice flour, sweet and glutinous eight-treasure rice, thick-cut slices of boiled pork belly, beautifully arranged crystal pork skin jelly, and glossy, flavorful braised dishes. The main highlight, which had been simmering the longest, was a hearty potato and pork rib stew, rich in flavor and incredibly appetizing.

There were also fried small fish, dumplings, spring pancakes… the entire table was overflowing with dishes.

For a New Year’s dinner for just three people, this was truly a feast.

Lu Yuanbao was stunned—he had never seen so many delicious foods all at once and couldn’t even decide what to eat first.

Lu Zhanlin was the last to sit down. Chu Yue looked over at him and gave a faint smile, a lively gleam in her eyes.

She asked gently,

“Can you drink alcohol? Would that violate any regulations?”

Lu Zhanlin replied,

“Normally I can’t, but having a little today is fine.”

Hearing that he could drink, Chu Yue became even happier. She had already extracted the liquid from the fermented rice mash—it had become a cloudy, sweet-sour rice wine, now stored in a glass bottle, which she brought out joyfully.

Lu Zhanlin recognized it at a glance and asked with surprise,

“You… can drink?”

Not only could Chu Yue drink, she had once been a bit of a drinker. It was only because of the dangers of the apocalypse that she had gradually quit drinking, fearing it would dull her alertness.

But today was a special day—it was okay to break that rule.

She softly said,

“Mm… I can drink a little. Rice wine isn’t strong, it doesn’t get you drunk.”

“Alright, let’s have a little then.”

Lu Zhanlin got up and fetched two cups from the kitchen—one for himself, one for Chu Yue. As for Lu Yuanbao, he was still too young, and although he watched curiously with wide eyes, he wasn’t allowed to drink.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of firecrackers exploded outside again.

Lu Zhanlin looked at his wife and child before him. This was the first true reunion New Year’s Eve he’d had in his ten years of military service.

There were so many words pressing at the bottom of his heart, things he wanted to say to Chu Yue, to Lu Yuanbao.

But when he finally opened his mouth, all those thoughts were distilled into one simple sentence:

“Happy New Year. Let’s have better and better days together as a family in the new year.”

Chu Yue smiled brightly and continued,

“Happy New Year! May we all stay safe, healthy, and make lots of money!”

After she finished, she nudged Lu Yuanbao.

Lu Yuanbao quickly realized it was his turn.

“Happy New Year… I’ll be a good boy and listen!”

Hearing his innocent little voice, both Lu Zhanlin and Chu Yue couldn’t help but smile.

The two adults raised their cups. Yuanbao didn’t have a wine cup, so he picked up a small soup bowl instead and joined in the toast.

“Cheers! [(￣▽￣)*]”

“Happy New Year!

“Happy New Year.”