Since Zhou Jiren, Feng Yunzhang, and Zhang Baoli are not spending the New Year in Qingzhou Town, Beisitian doesn’t have to think about returning any gifts. She can deal with that after they return. On New Year’s Eve, Luo Er’s family got up early, even Luo Anping rolled up his sleeves ready to help. There was a lot to do today. Fortunately, Mrs. Qin’s eyes were better, and now she was healthy and a main force at home. Working with Beisitian, she didn’t find it too overwhelming. In the morning, Beisitian mixed various fillings and set them aside. She also cut the lotus root into connected slices and hollowed out the middle of the green peppers, setting everything aside. After preparing the fillings, they started making meatballs. The minced beef fillings were mixed with chopped green onions, some minced garlic, ginger, and scallion, and a drizzle of sesame oil. Just looking at them, they smelled delicious! Beisitian bought a drum of soybean oil herself, and Zhang Baoli gifted another. Even so, watching her pour so much oil into the pan to fry the meatballs made Mrs. Qin frown with distress. Seeing this, Beisitian laughed and said, "Mom, from now on we’ll always use soybean oil." The lard made from pig fat is unhealthy and doesn’t taste good, naturally not as healthy or tasty as vegetable oil. Even though Beisitian said this, Mrs. Qin still felt distressed and decided to busy herself with other tasks. Luo Anguo watched the three of them, two adults and one child, bustling in and out, and the aroma wafting throughout the house brought a satisfied expression to his face. He hadn’t seen such a scene for many years. If his leg would ever heal, and he could join, life would be complete. After frying the beef meatballs, they put the lotus root with pork stuffing in the pan to fry, and also filled the green peppers with meat stuffing and steamed them in the pot. At noon, Beisitian made winter melon meatball soup, and all four of them were quite satisfied with it. They were busy until evening, having finished almost everything they needed to do, just waiting for the night to keep vigil. In principle, even if families have separated, if there are elders at home, they should spend the vigil together. However, after that incident, Luo Anguo was completely disappointed in his mother and used the excuse of inconvenience not to go. For dinner, Beisitian stir-fried a dish of oilseed lettuce and served the stewed chicken soup, spread on the kang table. The table full of good dishes made all four people smile. In recent years, Luo Er’s family had too little in the way of rich food, so Beisitian made mostly meat dishes this time. After dinner, Mrs. Qin and Beisitian sat around the kang table to make dumplings. Customs vary by region; in Kao Village here, people eat dumplings at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Some places eat them in the morning. In her past life, Beisitian ate dumplings in the morning. Following local customs, Beisitian naturally wouldn’t intentionally change anything. Once the dumplings were ready, they waited until the firecrackers at midnight to cook them. Luo Anping was the most excited; he hadn’t experienced such a happy New Year for many years. When Beisitian returned from the town, she had bought him small firecrackers. His left pocket was full of firecrackers, the right pocket had matches, and wherever he walked, he lit one and threw it on the ground. It was such fun! At midnight, the village was filled with the sound of loud firecrackers instead of a clock bell, and Luo Anping joined in the fun outside, setting off firecrackers, while Beisitian was in the outer room cooking dumplings. Everyone was dressed in new cotton-padded jackets, showcasing the new year’s vibrancy! The four of them enjoyed the delicious dumplings fully satisfied and soon couldn’t resist sleepiness, preparing to go to bed. Although they went to bed, the lights couldn’t be turned off. It’s a tradition; on New Year’s Eve, the lights should stay on all night. Because dumplings are eaten at midnight here, people usually catch up on sleep in the morning on the first day of the new year. Nearing eleven or so, people began to gradually come out and move around. At around eleven, Luo Anguo and Mrs. Qin also woke up. After dressing, Beisitian had already prepared a simple meal. Lunch would be at Uncle’s house, so after having a little something, Mrs. Qin began to get things ready. Mrs. Qin had a faint expression on her face. Every time she went over, she usually came back full of anger. She was truly reluctant to go. Luo Anguo was not in high spirits either, but he had to go, as there was still his old mother. Mrs. Qin took two marinated pig’s trotters, a package of pastries, about ten eggs, and several pounds of pork. She wouldn’t skimp on any courtesy, but seeing these good things being eaten by Qin Hongmei and Old Mrs. Luo, she felt it was a waste. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥