Chu Yue ate a few in one breath, and then put a few more in a small bowl and asked Lu Yuanbao to eat them to fill his stomach.

She packed some freshly made sesame dumplings and said, "Sister Chen, these sesame dumplings are all made by my Yuanbao himself. You can take them back and eat them."

"Hey, Tangyuan, I won't be polite. Your Yuanbao is obedient and has been busy with your work. He is not like my Dazhuang, who is unwilling to even sweep the floor and went out to play with firecrackers today."

Chen Fengying complained, but her face was full of smiles when she mentioned her son.

She looked around the room and asked, "It's New Year's Eve today, why hasn't Captain Lu come back yet? My husband said that the training for the new recruits is over and today is a day off."

"He will come back. Maybe he was delayed on the road, so he came back late." Chu Yue explained with a smile.

Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.

Perhaps it was because Chu Yue was thinking about him, as soon as she finished speaking, the sound of a door opening was heard outside the yard. Chu Yue, Chen Fengying, and Lu Yuanbao, who had a dumpling stuffed in his mouth, turned around and saw Lu Zhanlin in a military uniform.

Chu Yue's eyes lit up imperceptibly, without even her noticing.

Chen Fengying covered her mouth and smiled, "Captain Lu is back, your whole family is here, I won't disturb your reunion. Sister Chu, thank you for the glutinous rice dumplings, we'll see you next year."

"See you next year."

Chu Yue sent Chen Fengying out. Lu Zhanlin nodded to Chen Fengying and then closed the gate.

He took off his military cap and walked into the house, explaining, "Yesterday it was cold, and a section of the mountain road was slippery. The car tire got stuck in it, and we haven't gotten out yet, so we lost time."

"Then how did you get back?"

Lu Zhanlin said calmly, "I got off the car and walked back."

Chu Yue looked down at his shoes and saw traces of frost. This section of the mountain road might be difficult to walk on, and it would not be easy for Lu Zhanlin to climb the mountain.

Lu Zhanlin didn't mention any of this, but walked into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves and said, "You've been busy all day, I'll take care of the rest."

In the kitchen, most of the preparations for the New Year’s Eve dinner have been made, and what remains is mostly cleaning and tidying up. Although the task seems simple, it is actually tedious.

When Lu Zhanlin walked into the kitchen, Chu Yue was still a little worried. After all, he was the team leader, so how could he really do the things in the kitchen? She didn't expect Lu Zhanlin to help, but just hoped that he wouldn't make the mess worse and ask her to clean up the mess.

Unexpectedly... Lu Zhanlin actually did it so well.

"Are you going to make a spring roll?"

The thin spring rolls were already ready, but the fillings to be rolled inside them were still not finished. Lu Zhanlin looked around and fried the bean sprouts, leeks, and softened vermicelli together. He did not forget to fry the eggs first and put them in together when the time came.

Chu Yue marinated the ribs that Lu Zhanlin had cut yesterday for a while, and then coated them with a layer of glutinous rice. It looked like steamed ribs with rice flour, and they just needed to be steamed over high heat until cooked.

In addition, eight-treasure rice and knife-cut white meat are also steamed together.

Lu Zhanlin knew what Chu Yue was going to prepare as if he could read her mind. He took one look at the ingredients and followed the subsequent steps smoothly. Everything was so orderly.

Chu Yue was a little surprised. She didn't expect that this man was so good on the battlefield and was also adept in the kitchen.

Later, even if Chu Yue wanted to find something to do, Lu Zhanlin stopped her and told her not to work and just to rest.

Lu Zhanlin said, "In the days ahead, I won't be able to take care of the family much. You will need to take care of it all by yourself most of the time. Thank you for your hard work. Now that I'm here, let me do more."

After hearing these words, Chu Yue put her hand down again, feeling a warmth in the cold winter.

…

At night, you can still hear a few firecrackers outside the house. This time they are real firecrackers, making a bang.

The steaming New Year's Eve dinner was served, including juicy steamed spareribs with rice flour, sweet eight-treasure rice pudding, large chunks of cut white meat, beautiful crystal pork skin jelly, and glossy braised food. Among them, the dish that was simmered for the longest time was the spareribs stewed with potatoes, which was fragrant, soft, tasty and extremely tempting.

There were also fried fish, dumplings, spring rolls...the entire table was filled with them.

For a New Year's Eve dinner for three people, this meal was really sumptuous.

Lu Yuanbao was stunned. He had never seen so many delicious foods before, and he couldn't tell what to eat first.

Lu Zhanlin was the last one to sit down. Chu Yue looked at her and smiled faintly, with a lively light in her eyes.

She asked, "Can you drink? Will it violate discipline?"

Lu Zhanlin said, "Normally you can't, but it's okay to drink a little today."

Chu Yue was even happier when she heard that Lu Zhanlin could drink. She poured out all the wine from the lees, making a bottle of turbid, sweet and sour rice wine. She put it into a glass bottle and took it out happily.

Lu Zhanlin knew what it was at a glance and was a little surprised, "You... can drink?"

Chu Yue not only drinks, but is also a heavy drinker. She loves it very much. However, due to the doctor's criticism and fear of causing harm due to drinking, she gradually quit drinking.

But today is a special day, and I can break the rules.

She said softly, "Well... I drink a little. Rice wine is not strong enough to make you drunk."

"Okay, let's drink a little."

Lu Zhanlin stood up, went into the kitchen and took out two cups, one for him and one for Chu Yue. As for Lu Yuanbao, he was too young, so even though he was staring at her with curiosity, he was not allowed to drink.

Bang!

Bang!

There were explosions outside the house again.

Lu Zhanlin looked at his wife and children in front of him. This was the first real family reunion in his ten years of military service.

He had a lot of things in his heart that he wanted to say to Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao.

But when he actually opened his mouth to speak, it became a simple sentence.

"Happy New Year. May our family live better and better in the new year."

Chu Yue smiled and continued, "Happy New Year, may we all be safe, healthy, and make lots of money!"

After she finished speaking, she pushed Lu Yuanbao.

Lu Yuanbao reacted and it was his turn to speak, "Happy New Year... I will be obedient."

Hearing Lu Yuanbao's innocent words, smiles appeared on the corners of Lu Zhanlin and Chu Yue's mouths.

They both picked up their wine glasses. Lu Yuanbao couldn't drink, so he didn't have a wine glass, so he picked up a small bowl of soup and clinked it with his cups.

"Cheers, []~(￣▽￣)~*"

"Happy New Year, ✿✿ヽ(°▽°)ノ✿"

"Happy New Year."