After setting a daily food allowance for the children, Pei Yuezhi went back to the kitchen to check on them.

In the kitchen, Liu Yuanyuan, Grandma Liu, and Liang Zhenzhen worked efficiently and quickly.

"Yueyue, are the candied hawthorns ready?" Liu Yuanyuan asked as soon as she saw Pei Yuezhi come in.

Pei Yuezhi said proudly, "Of course it's good. It's made exceptionally well, with a thin, crispy glass-like crust. It's delicious."

"Then I'll go eat after I finish my meal. We're about to start eating, so you can call someone to get the bowls."

The 23rd is the Little New Year in northern China, so we cooked a lot of dishes because there's only one week left until the New Year.

Everyone has been in high spirits these past few days.

Just as I brought all the dishes out, it started snowing again outside.

Inside the house, a large group of people were eating a lively meal while watching the heavy snow falling outside.

If it weren't so cold outside in winter, I would really like to go out to eat.

As a northerner, I still feel extra happy every time I see heavy snow.

However, the climate in ancient times was different from that of modern times; summers in those times were not as hot as they are today.

However, winters there were colder than in modern times, and snowfall was more frequent.

The good thing is that the temperature on snowy days is a little warmer than usual.

There were charcoal braziers and stoves inside, so apart from the bed being a bit cold, it was a very warm winter.

Pei Yuezhi loves the Chinese New Year, but she doesn't get a holiday too early. So today, the Little New Year, is also the first day of the holiday. The thought of not having to work for many days to come makes her even happier.

After dinner, Pei Yuezhi and Liu Yuanyuan sat around the stove in the courtyard, brewing tea and watching the children build snowmen. The pace was so leisurely and relaxing.

......

After the 23rd, the 24th is the house cleaning day. Although the house was already very clean, we still did a thorough cleaning.

By the 25th of the lunar month, it's time to officially start preparing food for the New Year.

Making tofu by grinding grain was a complicated process, and the mill was always crowded. So the family decided to skip it.

Twenty-six, boil meat. Liu Yuanyuan was a little confused about what "boil meat" meant.

Pei's father said he was cutting pork, but we've already prepared everything, so we don't need to do that.

However, Pei Yuezhi still felt that they should make a menu first, then prepare all the meat they needed, blanch it, boil it, and then freeze it outside to avoid too much trouble on the day.

Everyone agreed, and then they prepared all the meat they needed, such as pork hocks and pig trotters, in advance.

On the 27th, the New Year's chicken is slaughtered. In some places, it's customary to go to the market, which is easy to understand; every household starts slaughtering chickens. However, Pei Yue's family didn't raise chickens, so they went to the market instead.

With the New Year approaching, Pei Yuezhi gave everyone one tael of silver, allowing them to freely purchase whatever they wanted at the market.

Pei Yunzhi took care of the three children, and kept all the money he could not spend as his own private savings.

It's Chinese New Year.

As for Pei Yuezhi, she went shopping with Liu Yuanyuan. This ancient New Year's market was as lively as it could possibly be, with bright red lanterns and colorful decorations.

The two had been hesitant about whether to buy things in a physical shopping mall, but now they realized that coming to the market was the wisest decision they could have made.

This is an annual event, after all, but there were so many people at this event.

The two held each other tightly, carefully avoiding getting separated.

Pei Yuezhi bought red hair accessories for all the girls in her family, as it's essential for a festive New Year. She also bought red hair ties for the men in the family.

I bought lanterns, red paper, and all sorts of decorative items; I was so happy.

The market not only has local vendors, but also acrobatic troupes, peddlers from other places, and various small performances. It is said that there will be even more fun things to do on New Year's Eve.

Pei Yuezhi and Liu Yuanyuan excitedly strolled around for a long time, and bought some rare items from some out-of-town peddlers.

The two hand mirrors are much clearer than bronze mirrors. I also bought some small toys for the two little girls so that Fan Mu can use them to pass the time.

When the two of them finished shopping and went home, their families were already home.

Grandma Liu joked, "I thought you two had gotten lost. It's taken you so long to come back."

"It's not that it's going to get lost, but it's just so much fun. Everything is so festive, and I had a great time."

As Pei Yuezhi spoke, she took out all the things she had bought.

Everyone spontaneously bought some small gifts to give to each other, and they were all very happy exchanging gifts.

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and the streets have been bustling with people these past few days. Some families that are well-off are now setting off firecrackers, which are the noisiest things to do.

On the 28th, let the dough rise.

On the 29th, steam buns were made.

This is easier to understand. On the night of the 28th, Pei Yuezhi prepared a lot of dough, planning to steam some buns on the 29th.

Once these two things are over, it will be Lunar New Year's Eve, which everyone has been looking forward to for so long.

Seeing that every household has already started hanging lanterns and pasting Spring Festival couplets, the atmosphere is full of the festive spirit of the New Year.

"It's a pity there's no Spring Festival Gala this year. Although I don't watch it much, it feels like something's missing without the sound," Pei Yuezhi thought to herself as she lay there in a daze.

I'm not going to think about it too much. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so I need to get up early.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Pei Yuezhi was awakened by the sound of firecrackers. When she opened her eyes, it was still not dawn. Were people already up eating breakfast?

At Pei Yue's house, apart from children playing with firecrackers, people usually set off firecrackers before meals. Although I don't quite understand why, it's always been like this.

Since I've been woken up, I might as well get up and have breakfast.

This year's family reunion dinner will consist of eight cold dishes and eight hot dishes, totaling sixteen dishes. The menu is already prepared.

The cold dishes included smoked fish, pork skin jelly, shredded chicken, home-style cold dishes, garlic pork belly, stir-fried beans with shredded vegetables, and desserts like ginger milk curd and snacks bought at the market.

Many things were prepared in advance; otherwise, everyone would have been extremely busy that day.

Hot dishes include braised lion's head meatballs, braised pork trotters, sweet and sour carp, roasted lamb chops, stuffed tofu, chicken stew with mushrooms, braised pork knuckle with rock sugar, and a pickled radish and old duck soup.

Although there were more dishes, most of them were ones that had been prepared before. Liang Zhenzhen and Grandma Liu cooked at Liu's house, while he and Liu Yuanyuan cooked at their own house.

After assigning tasks, everyone can work separately to avoid the kitchen becoming too busy.

Fortunately, I had already left a lot of seasonings with Liu Yuanyuan.

As they started cooking, Pei Yunzhi helped out.

Pei's father then began writing couplets, and with his three children, he hung lanterns and pasted couplets and the character "福" (fortune).

The whole house was suddenly bustling with activity.