"Stop talking about those things we don’t need," said Old Master Lian.

"Am I wrong in my guesses? I kept it conservative," Lady Zhou squinted at Old Master Lian and said, "That Old Fourth, all heartless and vengeful, not close to us. Wu Lang, Manman, and those kids, they all side with their maternal grandfather’s family. Even sending us a little something makes them strain every nerve."

"I told you not to talk, yet you keep nagging," Old Master Lian said irritably.

Lady Zhou snorted, and then fell silent.

"Oh..." Old Master Lian sighed deeply, "Second one, your mouth has no guard, truly worrisome."

The candle on the candlestick had nearly burned out, flickering intensely. Lady Zhou glanced at Old Master Lian once more before blowing out the candle without a word.

The room plunged into darkness.

"Why’d you blow out the light, I’m still sitting here," Old Master Lian protested.

"Sit in the dark," Lady Zhou said, "The candle costs money, do you still think you’re a wealthy landlord with that little money in your pocket?"

Lady Zhou took off her clothes and got into bed. Old Master Lian sat sulkingly for a while before lying down as well.

Lady Zhou fell asleep quickly with the sound of gentle snoring, but Old Master Lian tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

"...Old Zhang’s family, so fierce... sigh..."

"Fierce," a common term among farmstead folks, describes someone with a violent, ruthless temperament.

...

After slaughtering the New Year’s pig, it’s time for the Minor New Year. On this day, there’s a Kitchen God festival, and people eat malt sugar, especially offering malt sugar to the Kitchen God. Malt sugar is sweet and sticky. This is so that the Kitchen God will "report good things to heaven and bring blessings back home."

Ultimately, the malt sugar ends up in the bellies of children.

This year, Lady Zhang herself made malt sugar, and Lian Manman and the others, especially Xiao Qi, ate to their hearts’ content.

After the Minor New Year, the atmosphere of the New Year becomes more intense. Chickens and ducks for the New Year feast must be slaughtered and frozen in advance, as killing is generally avoided during the first month. Houses and yards are thoroughly cleaned, and bedding washed and aired, to welcome the New Year fresh and clean.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. As soon as they opened their eyes in the morning, Wu Lang and Xiao Qi went to the door and set off a string of firecrackers before having breakfast.

Breakfast on New Year’s Eve is usually simple, as is the case in Lian Manman’s family. After breakfast, while Wu Lang and Xiao Qi went to study with Mr. Loo, Lian Shouxin, Lady Zhang, Lian Zhizhi, and Lian Manman got busy preparing the family’s reunion lunch.

In Liaodong Prefecture, it is customary and important to have fried meatballs as part of the reunion meal. Typically, families make a large batch of meatballs to last throughout the month, enjoying them in various ways like steaming, stewing, and stir-frying.

This year, Lian Manman’s family prepared even more varieties of fried meatballs. In addition to several kinds of vegetable, meat, and sweet meatballs, Han Zhong’s Wife also made small snacks like "cat ears" using glutinous rice flour, and Lady Zhang fried many tofu puffs. The fried tofu puffs are delicious whether stir-fried or stewed.

Lian Manman also suggested making some Sachima. Sachima is not complicated to make, just involving eggs and flour, allowing the dough to ferment naturally, then rolling it into thin sheets, cutting into thin noodles, and frying in hot oil. After removing from the oil, they are mixed with a syrup made from malt sugar, and dry fruits like walnuts, peanuts, melon seeds, sesame seeds, and shredded candied rose are sprinkled in before being pressed into a mold. Once cooled, it’s cut into small pieces and ready to eat.

To make Sachima light and crispy, the quality and ratio of eggs are crucial.

The finished Sachima is wrapped in edible rice paper and can be stored for a while during this season. Lian Manman and Lian Zhizhi wrapped some Sachima as gifts for others.

Because there were many things to fry, two pots of hot oil were burning in the kitchen to fry simultaneously. As for other reunion meal dishes, Lian Manman’s family also added new ones besides the usual ones everyone makes. These included Han Zhong’s Wife’s specialty dishes, as well as new recipes Lady Zhang learned from a cookbook.

After the reunion meal, the family gathered together for tea and laughter, listening to Mr. Loo’s tales. In the late afternoon, as Lady Zhang was going to prepare the dumpling filling with Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman for dinner, Lian Shouli arrived.

Lian Shouli was there to deliver a message from Old Master Lian, inviting Lian Shouxin’s family to join them for dumplings that evening. However, eating dumplings was a minor matter.

"...You’ll surely welcome the gods home yourself. Father says we’ll honor the ancestral tablets early; you’re still in time to welcome the gods."

Upon hearing Lian Shouli’s words, the family all looked at Lian Shouxin.

"...I’ve already spoken with Grandpa," Lian Shouxin quickly said.

"Oh," the family nodded but continued to look at Lian Shouxin.

"Third Brother," Lian Shouxin said to Lian Shouli, "I had already discussed it with our father. Today, none of us are going over there. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to give New Year’s greetings to father and mother, and visit the graves together as well."

Lian Shouxin was resolute in his stance. After Lian Shouli went back, no one from the old house came over again.

On New Year’s Eve, a heavy snow began to fall.

......********......

Bringing you the second update, asking for votes.

*****

Book Recommendation

Title: "Jade Carving"

Author: Sitting Sip of Icy Water

Summary: The story of a jade carver’s hard work and struggles. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)