Chapter 33: New Year’s Eve Dinner

“This piece of meat is tender; don’t take it carelessly. I kept this one for Grandma Sun; her teeth aren’t good,” Lu Qiniang said.

She sent Erya to deliver a piece of lamb to Granny Sun.

At the Li Zheng family’s house, Hu Shenyi, the head of the Zhang family, and other families they frequently interacted with, as well as those who were particularly poor, Lu Qiniang had arranged for some provisions to be sent.

Although there was only half a jin of meat, it was still her sincere gesture.

“I’m not going; let Sanya go,” Erya said. “I’ll go to Hu Shenyi’s house; I need to talk to Dujuan.”

With that, she grabbed the meat and dashed out.

“You child, what’s wrong with going to Grandma Sun’s house?” Lu Qiniang called after her.

“I don’t want to go!” Erya’s voice came from outside.

She didn’t like people who were always complaining.

When Grandma Sun saw someone, she would definitely hold them and start crying about her troubles. During the New Year’s holiday, who would want to listen to her nagging?

Daya said, “Mother, I’ll go. I’ll check on her and see if she needs any help.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

At the evening’s New Year’s Eve dinner, the table was filled with a large plate of lamb stir-fried with scallions and a big bowl of lamb offal soup.

Lu Qiniang stood by, waiting for her medicine to cool. She smiled and said, “You don’t have to wait for me; go ahead and eat. Eat while it’s hot. I have to wait until after I take my medicine before I can eat, and I can’t eat lamb anyway.”

But still, everyone waited for her, and no one moved their chopsticks.

Lu Qiniang, in a hurry, picked up a bowl of medicine and drank it all in one go. The heat made her stick out her tongue. “It’s so hot it almost killed me.”

“Mother, isn’t it bitter?” Erya asked.

She remembered how bitter the medicine had been when she was sick, so bitter that even now, just thinking about it, she could still taste it in her mouth.

“It’s not bitter; hurry and eat,” Lu Qiniang said, picking up her chopsticks. “Ah, my memory, I forgot to tell Daya to leave some food aside.”

It was medicine she had to drink, so even though it was bitter, she tricked herself into believing it wasn’t and drank it anyway.

“Mother, I’ve already set it aside,” Daya said softly. “Don’t worry, I served the dishes and dumplings first and placed them for Father.”

Xiao Yan paused for a moment, then quickly understood. The “father” she referred to was not him, but the late Zhang Heyao.

They were paying tribute to Zhang Heyao.

“That’s good, that’s good. Eat, eat! After dinner, I’ll go burn paper for your father, have a good chat with him, and ask him to bless you all with health and safety and for you to marry a good husband. You can’t just call him Father for nothing, right? He has to bless you…”

Lu Qiniang rambled on, serving her daughters some food.

“Eat, eat until you’re full. Enjoy this meal, a good meal with meat.”

During the New Year, everyone had to be happy.

Daya had specially made a big bowl of dumplings filled with a bit of scallion and pork. Lu Qiniang picked through the dumplings and divided them among Xiao Yan and the three daughters, keeping only six for herself.

“That’s enough, enough. Hu Shenyi said not to eat too much. With this medicine, I’m not even hungry. He said if things go well, in three to four months, and if not, six months, I’ll be back to my old self! Finally, I can get rid of this extra weight, but it’s so expensive…”

“After the New Year, may Mother have good luck and make a fortune!” Erya said.

Sanya echoed her, and the whole room was filled with joy.

After the meal, Lu Qiniang mysteriously opened the chest and, like performing a magic trick, pulled out a plate of red bean cakes, a plate of melon seeds, and… a small bundle of firecrackers.

“The red bean cakes were given by someone; the melon seeds and firecrackers I bought earlier and have been hiding, waiting for the New Year.”

Erya and Sanya jumped for joy again.

“Wait, what did you forget?” Lu Qiniang called out to the two daughters about to go outside to set off firecrackers.

“What, Mother, is there something else good?”

“There’s still the fruit!” Lu Qiniang said, her eyes sparkling. “Songyan sent us the fruit, and you little greedy cats forgot about it! If I had known, I wouldn’t have mentioned it and would have eaten it secretly myself.”

“Mother, Mother—”

“Alright, alright, stop hugging me. I’ll go cut the fruit. Tsk tsk, that’s a precious thing.”

“How is Songyan so kind?” Erya asked as she watched Lu Qiniang place the fruit on the table, holding a knife and preparing to cut it. “Wait a minute, I remember last year during the New Year, he went to Zhili to deliver something to Fifth Young Master, didn’t he?”

Last year was the first time Fifth Young Master went to Zhili to pay respects to his teacher, and he spent the New Year there without coming back.

Madam Wei was thoughtful and had specifically sent Songyan to deliver something.

In fact, Songyan was supposed to go along, but for some reason, Fifth Young Master left him behind at the residence.

“Maybe he didn’t go this year,” Lu Qiniang said. “Ah, this precious thing, I don’t even know how to cut it. Will it release juice? I hope I don’t ruin it.”

“It’s fine, just cut it,” Xiao Yan, who had been mostly silent, said.

“Alright, alright, how could I forget about you? You’ve definitely eaten this before.” Lu Qiniang swiftly took the knife and divided the fruit into four portions.

After dividing a piece for each of her daughters, Lu Qiniang took the last piece and split it in half, then directly shoved one half into Xiao Yan’s mouth.

Xiao Yan: “…I’ve had this before.”

“You’ve had it, but now there’s none left, right?” Lu Qiniang stuffed the remaining piece into her own mouth. “Not bad, it’s really sweet. During the New Year, everything should be sweet, so the whole year will be sweet and joyful.”

Xiao Yan thought that this fruit was even sweeter than the ones he had eaten before.

After finishing, Lu Qiniang slapped her thigh.

“My mind, how could I forget to leave some for your father to try before I ate?” Lu Qiniang exclaimed.

Xiao Yan suddenly felt that the fruit in his mouth wasn’t as sweet anymore.

It felt as if he had eaten someone else’s portion.

It didn’t belong to him.

Erya repeatedly praised how delicious the fruit was.

Sanya also licked her fingers, still savoring the taste, and said, “It’s delicious. When Mother has money, she’ll buy some for us.”

“If we sell you, we can buy one,” Erya said sarcastically. “This thing might cost several taels, or even a dozen or more, maybe even tens of taels for one!”

“It’s delicious, but it can’t be that expensive! Second Sister, you’re lying!” Sanya didn’t believe her.

“How can it not be? Things sold to rich people are priced high. If they’re too cheap, they’d feel embarrassed,” Erya said. “It’s all about that feeling of being above others. Ah, how wonderful to be in a rich family. Even someone like Songyan, serving near the master, can get a share.”

“Just because someone else is rich doesn’t mean they’ll give you anything,” Lu Qiniang shot her a glare. “Stop dreaming about things falling from the sky. I see you and the boy from next door, Tiezhu, getting along well. Maybe I’ll set you two up.”

“Mother, I don’t want to!” Erya protested. “It’s New Year’s, say something to make me happy!”

Lu Qiniang didn’t bother to respond.

Erya, noticing Xiao Yan’s gaze on her, shifted her frustration onto him. “What’s wrong with aiming high? Who doesn’t want to aim high? He even shut the door on me once!”

Lu Qiniang pretended to kick her. “Go on, go set off your firecrackers.”

Erya stuck out her tongue and pulled Sanya outside.

“Daya, leave it; don’t worry about cleaning up. Go outside with your sisters and set off firecrackers. I’ll burn paper for your father, and then I’ll clean up.”

Daya smiled without saying a word, but after Lu Qiniang went out, she quietly began tidying up.

After nearly half an hour of busy work, the family finally settled down and gathered together to stay up for the New Year.

They cracked melon seeds, snacked, and talked about the past and the future.

“Mother, where’s our New Year’s money?” Erya asked, her face all smiles.

“I’ve prepared it already. There isn’t much, but we can’t have none at all. We have to follow the rules!”

Lu Qiniang got up to find it, wrapping two coins for each of them in red paper.

Just then, a knock on the door suddenly echoed from outside.