Chapter 139: Celebrating the New Year (Part 2)

"Zhiqiang, Yang Zhiqiang, where have you been? It's time to make dumplings. Come back quickly and help me make them!"

Yang Zhiqiang had not been hiding in Shi Yue's house for long when Old Lady Yang came to call for help.

"Hey, Mom, I'm at Shi Yue's house. I'll be back soon." Yang Zhiqiang responded to the outside and stood up. "Well, Shi Yue, I'll be back first."

Shi Yue also stood up from the sofa: "Well, let's go back and make dumplings. My family is almost ready to make dumplings too. I'll get up and get ready."

On New Year’s Eve, every family makes dumplings, and no one is exempt.

After Yang Zhiqiang left, Shi Yue got busy, starting with clearing the table. He'd prepared a huge table of dishes, and even though he and Shi Qiushui were stuffed, there was still quite a bit left. He rolled up his sleeves and called out.

"Xiao Qiu, bring me two clean plates. I'll make some soup with the leftovers and put them on the plates so we can eat them tomorrow."

"Okay." Shi Qiu Shui responded, slid down from the sofa, and hurried to the kitchen to get a plate for Shi Yue.

Shi Yue quickly put away the leftovers, washed the dirty plates and bowls, and started preparing to make dumplings.

Shi Yue was going to make dumplings with chives and shrimp today. Since the winter solstice, Shi Yue's family had made dumplings several times, always with cabbage and pork. It had to be that way, since other vegetables were hard to come by in winter, and cabbage was the most plentiful. But Shi Qiu Shui had gotten tired of the cabbage and pork filling after having eaten it so many times. This time, for the New Year dumplings, Shi Yue wanted to try something new. Coincidentally, he came across someone selling fresh chives at the market yesterday, so he decided to make dumplings with chives and shrimp.

The leeks had not been picked yet after they were bought. Shi Yue took the leeks out of the plastic bag and greeted Shi Qiu Shui.

"Daughter, come here and help dad pick some leeks."

Shi Qiushui responded decisively, "Okay!"

Not to mention, although the little girl can be naughty sometimes, she is still very diligent. When Shi Yue asks her to do something, she agrees very readily.

Shi Qiushui carried a small stool to the kitchen door and said, "Dad, I'm here."

"Hmm." Shi Yue pointed to a handful of chives on the ground and said, "Pick them first while I melt the prawns."

The prawns used to make dumplings are employee benefits distributed by the machinery factory this year. The factory has performed well this year, and the prawns distributed are of good quality, each one is as big as an adult's palm.

As Shi Yue melted the shrimp, he sighed, "The shrimp the factory sent me are really good. It's a pity they're frozen. If they were alive, shrimp this big would be perfect for braised shrimp in oil."

Shi Qiushui, who was picking leeks, raised his head and licked his lips: "Braised prawns?"

Shi Yue turned around and asked, "Why, do you want to eat braised prawns?"

Shi Qiushui chuckled: "Yeah."

Shi Yue: "Then I'll go to the market tomorrow to see if there are any fresh live shrimps. These frozen ones won't taste good when fried."

Shi Qiushui: "Yeah!"

Shi Yue: "Oh, that's not right. Tomorrow is the first day of the new year, and the vegetable market probably won't be open. Let's wait until the day after tomorrow, when the vegetable market opens."

Shi Qiushui: "Okay!"

"Xiaoqiu, Xiaoqiu, come out and play!"

Shi Yue was chatting with Shi Qiu Shui when they suddenly heard a child shouting outside the house. Shi Yue went to the kitchen window and looked out, only to see Li Xi and the Guo twins standing at the door.

Shi Yue turned his head and said, "Xiao Qiu, your friends are here to see you."

Shi Qiushui's eyes widened: "Huh? Who's looking for me?"

She stood up and craned her neck to look outside.

Shi Yue: "It's Li Xi and the Guo family's twins. They probably want to go out and play with you."

"Hmm..." Shi Qiu Shui frowned and hesitated for a moment. She really wanted to go out and play with Li Xi and the others, but she had not finished the work assigned to her by her father.

Shi Yue noticed the confusion on Shi Qiushui's face. He smiled, rubbed Shi Qiushui's head, and said, "If you want to go out and play, go out and play. I'll pick the vegetables."

Shi Qiushui: "Well, then, Dad, am I going out to play?"

She was still very eager to go out and play.

"Go ahead." Shi Yue waved his hand.

After getting Shi Yue's nod, Shi Qiu Shui put down the leeks in his hand, wiped his hands, and ran out happily.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Shi Qiu Shui jumped out, and the two pigtails on her head swayed up and down with her movements.

"Come on, Xiaoqiu, there were firecrackers outside just now, let's go pick them up quickly."

When a string of small firecrackers is lit, there will always be a few that misfire. Once the string is finished, these individual firecrackers that have not been ignited become the most interesting toys for children.

The twins from the Guo family, one sniffing and the other rubbing their hands, also said, "Sister Xiaoqiu, hurry up, or else if you're late you won't be able to grab it."

Even though they were just leftover small firecrackers, the kids were all fighting over them.

Shi Qiushui said excitedly: "Let's go!"

She was about to walk out of the door with Li Xi when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to call Zhao Ran. She stopped and said, "Wait, we forgot to call Zhao Ran. I'll go call Zhao Ran."

After saying that, she rushed out like a gust of wind.

"Zhao Ran, Zhao Ran! Come out and play!"

Shi Qiu Shui was small in stature but had a loud voice, and Zhao Ran, who was in the room, was quickly called out by her.

Because today is New Year's Eve, Zhao Ran was also dressed in a festive red sweater and red trousers by Aunt Lu. In addition, his little face was red from the heat in the house, and when he suddenly came out, he really looked like a little red envelope, just like Shi Qiu Shui's twins.

Shi Qiushui: "Zhao Ran, come out and play, let's go pick up firecrackers!"

Zhao Ran: "Okay! Wait for me to put on some clothes!"

Zhao Ran went back into the house, but Aunt Lu opened the door curtain and came out. She greeted them warmly: "Xiao Qiu and you guys, come in and stay for a while."

Shi Qiushui had a sweet smile on her face, shook her head and said, "Grandma Lu, we're not going in. We're going to pick up firecrackers later!"

"Oh." Aunt Lu nodded and said, "You can have fun, but be careful and don't hurt yourself!"

Shi Qiushui: "Yeah, we know."

At this time, Zhao Ran changed his clothes and walked out of the house. He said to Aunt Lu, "Grandma, let's go out and play."

Aunt Lu smiled kindly and said, "Go ahead. If you get cold playing, come back."

"Um!"

Zhao Ran came out, and all the children in the yard gathered. Shi Qiu Shui led the children into the alley. The yard opposite theirs had just set off firecrackers, and the ground at the door was covered with red paper fragments from the burst firecrackers. Shi Qiu Shui squatted on the ground, carefully looking for the intact firecrackers.

She was lucky today. After squatting for a while, she saw an unexploded firecracker among the scraps of paper on the ground. She picked it up and shouted in surprise: "I found one!"

"I picked one up too!"

Li Xi and Shi Qiu Shui shouted one after the other. The two little girls looked at each other in surprise and laughed.

The two twins of the Guo family saw that Li Xi and Shi Qiu Shui had picked up firecrackers, and they instantly became motivated and squatted on the ground to search carefully.

After searching for a while, the two children each held up a firecracker and shouted, "I found it!" "I picked it up too!"

"Hey, what are you guys looking for at the door?"

Niu Xiaobei, who came out to use the toilet wrapped in a cotton jacket, looked at the children squatting at the door and asked curiously.

Shi Qiushui looked up: "Brother Xiaobei? We are picking up firecrackers."

Niu Xiaobei said "Oh" and asked, "How are your collection going? How many have you picked up?"

Shi Qiu Shui spread out her hands and looked at Niu Xiaobei. She was really lucky today. In just a short while, she had picked up several small firecrackers.

Niu Xiaobei took a glance and said, "Oh, you guys are no match for me. You've only picked up a few. When I was your age, I could pick up several boxes in one night!"

"Hmph." Shi Qiushui put his hands on his hips and said unconvincedly, "You're just bragging!"

Niu Xiaobei: "Hey, who's bragging?"

He wiped his nose and said, "If you don't believe me, go ask the people in our alley. They all know how powerful I am!"

He said proudly, "My mother gave me fifty cents to buy myself some firecrackers. I was able to play with them from New Year's Eve to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and still had fifty cents left to buy some instant noodles. It was all thanks to my sharp eyes that I was able to pick up firecrackers!"

As he spoke, Niu Xiaobei pointed his toes to the right of Shi Qiushui and said, "Look, there's a small whip right next to you, didn't you notice it?"

He looked at Shi Qiu Shui smugly, with a look of "I discovered something you didn't notice."

Shi Qiushui: ...

She pouted angrily and said, "Brother Xiaobei, you are so childish."

Niu Xiaobei leaned back and said in disbelief, "What? What did you say about me? I'm childish?!"

He stretched out his big hand, ruthlessly rubbed Shi Qiushui's chubby little face and said, "You little brat, are you looking down on me for being childish?"

Shi Qiushui bared his teeth and screamed, "Let me go, let me go! You're a college student, and you're still arguing with an elementary school student like me. How childish!"

Niu Xiaobei:......

Niu Xiaobei began to doubt himself after hearing what Shi Qiu Shui said. Is he really that naive?

In other words, no one else can hear what he is thinking, otherwise he would definitely nod.

Niu Xiaobei doubted himself for a while and felt that he was a bit childish. He let go of Shi Qiushui, patted Shi Qiushui on the head and said, "Okay, I won't play with you anymore. Go pick up your firecrackers. I'm going to the toilet."

Shi Qiu Shui hummed twice, rubbed her little face, and continued to pick up firecrackers with Zhao Ran and the others.

After a while, Niu Xiaobei, who had just returned from the toilet, saw the children still squatting at the door looking for firecrackers. His eyes rolled and he suddenly had a bad idea.

He coughed twice, and after the children all looked at him, he said, "What's the fun in picking up firecrackers like this? You have to set them off!"

Shi Qiu Shui wrinkled his nose. The bad guy Xiaobei is back again. How annoying.

She stood up and said loudly, "Of course we will release them. We will put them together!"

Niu Xiaobei: "Well, what's the point of doing that? If you ask me, these little whips should be set off one by one, and thrown into the toilet, into the pit, and then the inside..."

"Niu Xiaobei, what nonsense are you talking about with Xiaoqiu and the others, you little bastard!"

Ma Yulan's loud voice suddenly rang out, and then Niu Xiaobei felt a numbness in his ears. He turned around and saw his own mother pinching his ears with an angry look on her face.

Niu Xiaobei immediately got scared. He cried out "Ouch, ouch!" and said, "Mom, don't, don't twist my ears. It hurts. It really hurts. I feel like my ears are going to fall off!"

Ma Yulan: "Humph, I don't care whether your ears fell off or not. First, explain to me what nonsense you were talking about with Xiaoqiu and the others just now."

Ma Yulan originally wanted to go out to get some water, but as soon as she walked out of her house, she heard Niu Xiaobei fooling around with some kids. How could she tolerate this?

She twisted Niu Xiaobei's ear and said, "Did I not beat you enough when you used firecrackers to blow up the manure pit? That's why you still wanted to trick Xiaoqiu and the others into blowing up the manure pit?"

Niu Xiaobei: "No, no, no, Mom, you misunderstood, really misunderstood. I was just joking with Xiaoqiu and the others. It was really just a joke. Xiaoqiu, am I right?"

He kept winking at Shi Qiu Shui, hoping that Shi Qiu Shui could take his hint and say something nice for him.

Shi Qiu Shui did receive his hint, but Shi Qiu Shui would not cooperate with him!

Shi Qiushui's eyes rolled around, and he started to complain: "Grandma Ma, Brother Xiaobei wasn't kidding. He just told us that blowing up the toilet is fun!"

Ma Yulan smiled kindly and said, "Xiao Qiu, your brother Xiaobei is confused. Don't listen to his nonsense. I will take him back and teach him a lesson."

Ma Yulan twisted Niu Xiaobei's ear and walked home. Niu Xiaobei was dragged along while he turned back and glared at Shi Qiu Shui who was complaining about him.

"Lie le le—"

Shi Qiu Shui gave Niu Xiaobei a grimace in response.

After sending off the "annoying" Niu Xiaobei, Shi Qiushui continued to pick up firecrackers with Zhao Ran and the others. As they picked, the sky gradually darkened. The small firecrackers were mixed with the red paper and were difficult to find. Shi Qiushui looked at everyone's harvest and saw that they had made a lot. He waved and said, "That's enough. Let's not pick up any more today. We'll pick them up tomorrow. Now let's go back to the yard and jump rubber rope!"

The twins sniffed, "Sister Qiu, we don't want to jump rope, we want to hopscotch."

Shi Qiushui was a very democratic person. She nodded and said, "Okay, then let's play hopscotch!"

“Okay!”

“I draw houses!”

"Come on, let's guess who will go first, Ding Ke decides!"

The children started playing, and their laughter soon filled the entire yard.

"The Spring Festival Gala has begun——"

"Xiaoqiu is back to watch the Spring Festival Gala—"

When Shi Qiu Shui and the other kids were having fun, Shi Yue opened the door and called for help.

When she heard the Spring Festival Gala was about to begin, Shi Qiushui stopped playing hopscotch and said, "I'm not going to play anymore. I'm going home to watch the Spring Festival Gala!"

The other children saw this and said, "I want to go home and watch the Spring Festival Gala too!" "Yes, I'm going home too!"

Everyone went home. Shi Qiushui followed Shi Yue back to her own home. As soon as she entered the house, she heard cheerful music coming from the TV. She quickly took off her cotton-padded jacket and plopped down on the sofa in front of the TV. As soon as she sat down, she saw four hosts walking onto the stage. The male host Shi Qiushui was most familiar with took the lead and said, "Dear comrades and friends, Happy Chinese New Year - please allow us to represent..."

Seeing that the hosts on TV had already started wishing the audience a happy new year, Shi Qiu Shui turned his head anxiously.

"Dad, Dad, where is the remote? I need to turn up the volume!"

Shi Yue had brought the chopping board and pot out of the kitchen and was sitting at the table rolling out dough. When he heard Shi Qiushui's question, he looked up at the sofa and said, "Remote control? Isn't it right there on the sofa, right next to you? I saw it."

"Where, where?"

Shi Qiushui looked left and right, and suddenly said "Oh!" and said, "I found it!"

She pressed the volume up button on the remote control and turned up the volume of the TV, and was finally satisfied.

Shi Yue was sitting at the table making dumplings when he leaned over to ask, "What's the next show? I didn't hear the host announce it just now. Is it a skit?"

Shi Qiushui: "No, the next one is singing and dancing."

Shi Yue: "Singing and dancing, singing and dancing are boring. When will the skits start?"

Shi Qiushui: "Next one?"

After waiting for a while, the song and dance performance ended. Shi Qiu Shui stared at the TV with shining eyes, but she was disappointed as soon as the beautiful host on TV opened her mouth. The next program was not a skit but a drama performance.

When he heard that it was a drama, Shi Yue was also disappointed.

They were tired of seeing this stuff in the Dayu Dynasty.

Having said that, Shi Qiu Shui and Shi Yue watched without blinking as they waited for the costumed Hua Mulan to come on stage.

The drama performance only lasted three to five minutes before it ended. The next program was finally the skit that Shi Qiu Shui and Shi Yue had been looking forward to.

Shi Yue immediately put down the rolling pin in his hand, ran to sit in front of the TV, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and watched the skit with Shi Qiu Shui.

One program after another was playing on TV, and the hour hand of the wall clock moved slowly towards the middle of twelve.

Shi Qiu Shui's spirits gradually waned from being full of energy at the beginning. As Shi Yue was watching the show, he felt his shoulders sink. He looked down and found that Shi Qiu Shui had fallen asleep.

He chuckled and thought to himself: This kid said he would keep watch until tomorrow morning, but he fell asleep before eleven o'clock.

However, Shi Yue was not woken up by Shi Qiu Shui. He took out his own cotton jacket and covered Shi Qiu Shui with it.

When Shi Qiushui woke up, it was already half past eleven. As midnight approached, every household outside began to set off firecrackers. The crackling sound of firecrackers woke Shi Qiushui from her sleep. She opened her eyes drowsily and took a moment to react before she woke up.

The first thing she did when she woke up was to accuse Shi Yue.

She pouted and said, "Dad, you saw me fall asleep just now, why didn't you call me?"

Shi Yue: "Hmm? What do I want you to do?"

Shi Qiushui: "I have to keep watch today!"

Shi Yue: "Well, keeping watch doesn't mean you can't sleep at all. Look, you're awake now. As long as you stay awake past midnight, it's considered keeping watch."

Shi Qiushui tilted his head: "Is that so?"

Shi Yue: "That's right, your dad, could I lie to you?"

He patted Shi Qiushui's little head and said, "Alright, alright, stop thinking about it. Come, eat dumplings. I just cooked them."

While Shi Qiu Shui was asleep, Shi Yue made the remaining dumplings himself. After making the dumplings, he rested for a while. Seeing that it was almost twelve o'clock, he started to cook them. It was just the right time for Shi Qiu Shui to wake up and eat them.

Shi Qiushui: "Well, here I come!"

Although he had just woken up and was still a little groggy, Shi Qiu Shui immediately became active when it came to eating.

She jumped down from the sofa and said, "Dad, let me get the Laba garlic!"

Shi Yue: "No need, just wash your hands and prepare to eat. I've put the Laba garlic on the table."

"Okay!" Shi Qiu Shui went to wash his hands obediently.

After washing his hands, Shi Yue also brought the dumplings to the table. The plump, white dumplings, still emitting hot steam, looked very cute under the light, but Shi Qiushui was not a person who would "tender love" to women. She wielded her chopsticks and ruthlessly picked up a dumpling and put it into her mouth.

"Hmm! Nice!"

Shi Qiushui kept nodding his head and said, "Great, Dad, this shrimp meat is so chewy!"

Shi Yue was also busy eating dumplings. Hearing this, he hummed twice and said, "If it tastes good, eat more."

After eating a few dumplings, Shi Yue put down his bowl. After all, he had already had dinner in the evening and he was not very hungry. He just wanted to eat a few dumplings as a token of his appreciation, for a good omen.

He stood up, glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "It's almost time. I'll hang up the firecrackers and get ready to set them off later."

Hearing this, Shi Qiushui also put down his bowl and chopsticks: "Dad, I want to go with you too!"

Shi Yue: "Okay, okay, let's go together."

Shi Yue and Shi Qiu Shui pushed open the door with firecrackers in their hands, and saw that every household in the yard was ready, and every man was holding a string of firecrackers in his hand, ready to set off.

Shi Yue greeted Yang Zhiqiang who lived next door, and the two of them walked towards the gate side by side with firecrackers in their hands. Shi Qiu Shui went to find her good friend with the small fireworks that Shi Yue bought for her.

Seeing Li Xi and Zhao Ran coming from the backyard, she generously gave them a handful of small flowers: "Li Xi, Zhao Ran, let's play this together!"

The children lit up their little firecrackers, the adults looked up at the time, the streets were filled with the crackling of firecrackers, and suddenly a voice rang out from the crowd: "It's eleven fifty-nine!"

Hearing this shout, the men standing at the gate immediately became anxious. Some looked for lighters, some lit matches. Everyone was ready, and then they heard Ma Yulan's voice saying: "Countdown, countdown, the countdown has started on TV! Ten, nine, eight..."

Following Ma Yulan's voice, everyone in the yard also shouted, "Seven, six, five..."

When the number three was called, Shi Yue pressed the lighter in his hand.

Ma Yulan: "Three, two, one, Happy New Year! Happy New Year everyone!"

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year, everyone!"

New Year's greetings and firecrackers rang out at exactly twelve o'clock.

Shi Qiushui's bright black eyes reflected the light of the fireworks in the sky. She curled her lips and said happily to the people around her: "Happy New Year, Li Xi, Happy New Year, Zhao Ran!"

Li Xi smiled and replied: "Happy New Year!"

Zhao Ran's face, which had never changed, also showed a smile. He said with a smile: "Xiao Qiu, Happy New Year!"

Li Xi looked up at the sky and sighed: "This year has been the happiest year of my life."

Shi Qiushui smiled and said, "This is also the happiest year I've ever had!"

Li Xi held her hand and said, "From now on, we will celebrate the New Year as happily as this year every year!"

Shi Qiushui: "Yeah!"

She smiled brightly and said, "Not just during the Chinese New Year, but from now on, we should be happy and joyful every day!"