New Year's Eve arrived quickly.

Zhang Hongyan started preparing the ingredients for tonight's New Year's Eve dinner early in the morning, and Xia Heping was also woken up early by his wife to help out.

After Xia Qingqing got up, she heard a series of clanging and banging sounds coming from the kitchen. She wrapped her cotton coat tighter and went into the kitchen.

Zhang Hongyan glanced at her sleepy daughter and pointed towards the main room: "Get up! There are eggs on the table. Have some to tide you over. Mom will cook something delicious for you at noon."

Xia Qingqing couldn't help but yawn before replying softly, "Okay, Mom and Dad, do you need me to help you cook?"

“No need, go to the main room to warm yourself by the fire. Your dad and I are fine here,” Zhang Hongyan said, waving her hand at her daughter as she continued working.

Xia Heping, who was standing next to him, was chopping meat with both hands, saying, "Yes, you should go inside and rest. Your mother and I can finish this work."

"Okay, call me anytime if you need help. I'll go wake Gou Dan up first," Xia Qingqing said after a quick wash.

It snowed last night, and there were obvious signs that the yard had been swept. You can guess that Xia Heping must have gotten up early this morning to sweep the snow.

Looking at the snowdrifts piled up on the edge, Xia Qingqing suddenly grinned mischievously.

She grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, rolled it into a snowball slightly smaller than her fist, and quietly pushed open Gou Dan's door.

At that moment, Gou Dan was sleeping soundly on the bed, completely unaware of the danger that was about to befall him.

Xia Qingqing quietly lifted his blanket and shoved the snowball into his neck.

"3, 2, 1," Xia Qingqing counted down in her mind.

The next second, Gou Dan suddenly jumped up from the bed, shouting, "Ahhh, what is that? It's so cold!"

"Hahaha," Xia Qingqing laughed heartily beside her.

Teasing kids is so much fun! You can still tease your little brother while he's still young, because it won't be as fun when he grows up.

With a dark expression, Gou Dan picked up the snowball from under the blanket, held it up in front of Xia Qingqing, and angrily asked, "Sis, this must be your handiwork, right? Hmph, I'm angry, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Seeing that she was turning her face away and refusing to look at her, Xia Qingqing quickly apologized with a smile: "I know I was wrong, I just wanted to joke with you. I packed this snowball very tightly, it definitely won't fall apart inside your clothes."

If snowballs were scattered inside your clothes, that would be truly refreshing; Xia Qingqing knew exactly how to handle that.

"It's cold too. I was sleeping soundly when you suddenly came and almost scared me to death. I thought I had fallen into an ice cave," Gou Dan said resentfully to his childish older sister.

"Don't be angry, I've prepared a big New Year's red envelope for you. Can you forgive me for the sake of the red envelope?" Xia Qingqing used her ultimate move.

Sure enough, upon hearing the words "lucky money envelope," Gou Dan's expression visibly improved, and a slight smile even appeared on his lips.

Dog Egg gave a haughty snort: "Seeing how sincere you are, I'll reluctantly forgive you. Where's the red envelope?"

His reaction was exactly what Xia Qingqing had expected. She smiled and said, "I'll give it to you after we finish our New Year's Eve dinner. Now hurry up and wash up, it's time for breakfast."

Gou Dan pouted. He thought he could get it now, but it would be the same after dinner, so he wasn't in a hurry.

The family had a simple lunch, which was simple but included fish and meat, with four or five dishes that were far too much to finish in one meal.

After lunch, snowflakes began to fall again, and gradually the snow fell heavier and heavier, soon covering the ground with another layer of snow.

Dog Egg couldn't stay still, so he dragged Xia Qingqing to have a snowball fight. Xia Qingqing reluctantly played with him for a while, but then she couldn't stand the cold anymore and went back inside to warm herself by the fire.

Without his older sister to play with, Gou Dan couldn't stay in the house at all, and he ran out as soon as he turned around.

Seeing this from the kitchen, Zhang Hongyan laughed and said, "Gou Dan has probably gone to play with that kid Hongjun again. He was always restless back in the village, always wandering around with Da Niu and the others. He's really not afraid of the cold at all."

Xia Heping kept working with his hands while naturally replying to his wife: "Isn't that how all kids are? Besides, boys are naturally more robust. They can warm up after running around for a bit, so what's there to feel cold about?"

“Speaking of which, Gou Dan will be 11 years old after the New Year. Time really flies,” Zhang Hongyan said with emotion.

After giving birth to her daughter, she couldn't conceive for over ten years and thought she would only have one daughter in her life. However, she became pregnant just two years after moving out of the Xia family's old house, which made her and her husband very happy.

Zhang Hongyan felt that the reason she couldn't conceive while living in the old house was probably because she was in a bad mood every day. After separating from the family, her mood improved and she immediately became pregnant.

Xia Heping nodded in deep agreement: "That's right, in a few years we'll both be grandparents."

......

The Xia family's New Year's Eve dinner was very lavish, with ten dishes on the table, symbolizing perfection.

Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping, the two matriarchs, each shared their thoughts on the past year.

Then, Xia Qingqing and Gou Dan, the two children, shared their achievements of the year and their expectations for the coming year.

Finally, Zhang Hongyan cleared her throat and summarized: "Our family's life is getting better year by year, which is inseparable from the efforts of each and every one of us. I hope everyone will continue to work hard in the coming year."

"Great, my wife is absolutely right. Let's keep up the good work next year and take our lives to the next level," Xia Heping said, leading the applause.

Seeing this, Xia Qingqing and Gou Dan quickly joined in clapping and cheering, "Mom is the best~".

Faced with the flattery from the man and the two children, Zhang Hongyan felt inexplicably embarrassed and said with a blush, "Alright, alright, stop teasing me and hurry up and eat, or the food will get cold."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Gou Dan unceremoniously picked up a meatball and started munching on it.

He had a snowball fight with Tian Hongjun and the neighborhood kids that afternoon, and he was starving by now.

Xia Heping picked up a piece of fish and put it into Zhang Hongyan's bowl, saying with tender eyes, "Wife, you've worked hard today, have some fish to nourish yourself."

Zhang Hongyan gave the man a coquettish look, then picked up a piece of meat and put it in his bowl: "You're tired today too, eat more meat."

Xia Qingqing caught a glimpse of the interaction between the two out of the corner of her eye, and a maternal smile of adoration for their pairing appeared on her face.

Since coming to Beijing, her dad has become increasingly eloquent, often making her mom beam with joy. It's really great.

After dinner, it was time for Dog Egg's most anticipated part: receiving lucky money.