Chapter 143 - End of Main Text

Fortunately, my uncle and aunt, along with Qin Suyun and others, came to help; otherwise, the skylight would have been blown open.

After lunch, everyone rested for less than an hour before more guests started arriving.

That day, Lin Chuntao and her colleagues were busy until 9 PM, when the moon was already high in the sky, before they had almost finished their work.

The meat and rice noodles were almost sold out. Fortunately, Pei Ying brought over the pig's head meat this afternoon. He cleaned it, and Lin Chuntao braised it. Pei Ying also prepared the chicken and pork bones. Only after the pig's head meat was braised did they start making the broth.

After dinner, Lin Chuntao planned to take Qin Suyun and the others home first.

Seeing that she hadn't finished her work, Qin Suyun waved her hand and said, "Go ahead and get busy. It's not far for us to go back. We'll come back tomorrow."

Lin Chuntao felt she would be busy for the next two days, so she didn't stand on ceremony.

Just as they were about to take them to the street, Pei Jing arrived in a carriage. Qin Suyun and her entourage boarded the carriage, and Lin Chuntao turned and went back inside.

The aunts and uncles were washing the dishes and wiping the table; Xu Sheng and Xu Huan were exhausted.

Lin Chuntao said, "Judging from this situation, we'll need to hire two more people to wash the dishes and clean up the shop."

Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, and knowing that hiring people would cost money, the eldest aunt said, "Chuntao, if you're too busy, we'll come and help. Why spend that money again?"

Lin Chuntao looked at her uncle and aunt and said, "You still have things to do at home. Helping out for a couple of days is fine, but if you keep doing this, the family won't be able to keep up."

The eldest aunt said, "There's nothing much going on at home right now, so we'll do it for now, and you can find someone else to do it when it's time to prepare for spring planting."

Seeing that her aunt and the others insisted, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then I'll keep looking and see who's right for me."

It was a bit tiring after a busy day, but the tiredness here was much more worthwhile than working in the fields. Every bowl served brought in more than ten coins. What I earned in just one day was more than I could save in a year of farming.

Furthermore, since Lin Chuntao had previously promised them 20%, how could they accept her money without a clear conscience? They were thinking that if the shop needed help, they should prioritize this area and help Lin Chuntao out first.

Everyone helped clean up the shop, tidying up the tables and chairs. After cleaning, Lin Chuntao went to get a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote a written agreement in black and white, putting the verbal agreement into practice. Twenty percent of the noodle shop's income would be given to her uncle's family.

Lin Chuntao didn't know what the future held for this shop, nor was she sure who the noodle shop would end up with, or whether the sisters would remain together. Therefore, she wrote the agreement very carefully.

If the sisters separate in the future, and the noodle shop also splits up, then how to give Shengsheng and Huanhuan money will have to be discussed again.

Hearing Lin Chuntao's words and looking at the contract, one could tell that Lin Chuntao was sincerely giving them the money, and that once it was written down, she wouldn't renege on the debt.

It's still unknown how long Xu Sheng and Xu Huan will work for them. They can't just assume that they'll get their share of the profits for as many years as Lin Chuntao's shop has been open.

Lin Chuntao gave the written agreement to her aunt, who smiled and put it away.

Lin Chuntao and the others still had to go home. Lin Chunxing and Xu Huan were also tired. Lin Chuntao told them to rest early, and they prepared to go home first.

Lin Chunxing took out all the money she had received that day and gave it to Lin Chuntao to take home.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You've been busy all day, aren't you going to count them?"

Lin Chunxing smiled helplessly, "Count them and tell me tomorrow. I'm too tired and want to sleep."

Lin Chuntao took the cloth bag and said, "You should wash up and go to bed now. We'll head back first. You don't need to get up so early tomorrow; sleep in a little longer."

The group agreed, and Lin Chuntao went to fetch the mule cart. Only then did everyone hurriedly go home.

Lin Chuntao and the others saw their uncles off at the gate of the courtyard before returning home. There were many things to do at home, so Lin Chunhe didn't go today, and Lin Duo'er also couldn't go because she had to learn a new needlework technique from Madam Fan. The two sisters waited from dusk until dark, but Lin Chuntao and the others didn't come back.

The two sisters were getting sleepy when Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying finally returned.

As soon as they saw the person enter, Lin Chunhe and Lin Chuntao asked each other in unison if they had eaten.

After saying that, the two sisters laughed and said together, "We ate."

Lin Chuntao said, "Why didn't you go to sleep earlier? Why are you waiting until now?"

Lin Duo'er smiled and said, "We're curious about how much money we made today."

Speaking of money, Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "We haven't counted the money we received today yet. It's all in this cloth bag. Let's get some hemp rope, count it, and string it together."

Lin Duo'er stared wide-eyed at the large half-full cloth bag in Lin Chuntao's hand, and quickly ran to get the hemp rope.

Lin Chuntao placed the cloth bag containing the copper coins on the table, Lin Chunhe took a cup and poured two cups of water, and Lin Duo'er also brought over the hemp rope. The four of them sat around the table and began counting the money, one string at a time, until they had more than six strings.

All the ingredients prepared yesterday were sold out, which was within Lin Chuntao's expectations, but Pei Ying and Lin Chunhe were stunned and widened their eyes in surprise.

"Sister, you earned so much today!" Lin Chunhe couldn't help but exclaim. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "This is the total for today. We haven't even deducted the money spent on groceries yet. To calculate the profit, we have to deduct the money spent on groceries."

"How much would we have to cut off?" Lin Duo'er asked curiously.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I haven't calculated it in detail yet. Let's calculate it by deducting half."

"Sister, even if we cut off half, we'll still make a lot of money."

Lin Chuntao nodded. Even if you take half off, the number is still a lot.

Looking at the large sum of money, Lin Chunhe imagined the shop must be extremely busy today, and asked, "Sister, are you all able to manage?"

Lin Chuntao said, "My uncle and aunt went to help, and your sister Ayun also came with some people. They are still managing."

Lin Chunhe: "My uncles will help out for a few days, but my second sister and the others will need to find more people to manage the rest, right?"

"Yes, we'll need at least two or three more people to help with the dishes and cleaning."

Seeing Lin Chunhe's worried expression, Lin Chuntao gently patted her head.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of these things. We're already very busy with things at home, and it's late tonight. Go to sleep. We have to go to the shop tomorrow. You can cook for your sister."

Lin Chunhe nodded and took Lin Duo'er back to her room to sleep.

Business was good at the shop. Lin Chuntao and her team were busy until the end of the sixth day of the new year. The opening event of the new shop was finally over, but because of the trial run in the past few days, the taste of the soup noodles and braised meat had already spread throughout the county. Business was still good at the shop. The eldest aunt and the third aunt went to the shop to help. Now everyone is skilled and they are still able to keep up with the work.

Lin Chuntao rested for two days, then went into the mountains to cut down a lot of oak trees, which she left to dry in the front yard.

In her spare time, Pei Ying also went to the river to collect a lot of pretty stones and built a small flower bed in the yard. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Let's plant some vegetables first, and then plant flowers after the New Year."

Pei Ying smiled upon hearing this, "Do you want to plant them now? I'll go get the seeds."

Lin Chuntao said, "I'll take care of it later, you can rest."

As December approaches, the village and the county town gradually begin to feel the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year.

In the county town, there are more and more vendors selling couplets, paper-cut window decorations, chickens, ducks, geese, and live pigs.

Qin Suyun had previously mentioned that she would slaughter a pig this year and had asked Lin Chuntao to help her see if there were any live pigs for sale. With her family's affairs almost settled, the villagers were also gradually preparing to slaughter their pigs. Lin Chuntao bought two pigs in the neighboring village, each weighing only about 200 jin (100 kg). When she rushed back and put them in the pigpen, she felt that they were much smaller than the pigs at home.

She had a lot of corn at home that was almost dried out, so she ground it into flour to feed the pigs.

Lin Chuntao thought that feeding the pigs cornmeal would make them gain a few more pounds, so she planned to slaughter them closer to the New Year. However, the villagers started doing so after the tenth day of the first lunar month, and for several days in a row, they ate pig-slaughtering meals outside every day.

This year, many families in the village did not have to pay grain, and some families were exempted from part of the tax. They had a lot of surplus grain at home, and they could slaughter pigs for meat. With grain and meat, everyone was satisfied.

Like Grandma's family and Aunt Guizhi, they all took time to go to the county town to buy cloth and make new clothes and shoes for the New Year.

Although she had made several sets of clothes this year, wearing new clothes for the New Year is a tradition, so Lin Chuntao still went and had two sets made by herself.

On the day Lin Chuntao received her new clothes, Qin Suyun and Pei's mother came to the house to bring them New Year's gifts and new clothes for the New Year, including two sets for each of her younger sisters.

Lin Chuntao said, "Mother, it's fine if you make some for me and Pei Ying, but I've already made some for my sisters."

Looking at her, Pei's mother said, "You silly child, if you do it for them, it won't stop me from doing it."

"Then I will thank Mother on behalf of my sisters."

"Don't be so polite with me," said Madam Pei. Qin Suyun smiled beside her, and then Lin Chuntao asked, "Ayun, when does your restaurant start its day off?"

Qin Suyun said, "We'll drive until the 24th, and then we'll take a break on the 25th."

Lin Chuntao: That's perfect. We'll slaughter pigs on the 25th. Come early then.

"no problem."

As Pei's mother was saying this, she went to check on the pigs. Lin Chuntao led them to the pigpen. In the afternoon, the three pigs were all lying inside snoring. Lin Chuntao pointed to the two newly bought pigs, and Qin Suyun smiled and said, "They don't look particularly small."

Lin Chuntao said, "I've been grinding cornmeal to feed them recently, and they should weigh about 240 to 250 jin by the time they're slaughtered."

Hearing that she was feeding the pigs with grain, Pei's mother glanced at her in surprise. Lin Chuntao met Pei's mother's gaze and said, "This year's corn harvest is quite good, and meat is more expensive than grain."

Pei's mother smiled and asked Lin Chuntao, "After the New Year, are you going to sell some corn to buy some rice?"

"Okay, I'll get it done after the New Year."

On their way back, Pei's mother said to Qin Suyun, "Let's go to the grain store later to buy some rice and flour, and take it to your sister-in-law and the others on the day the pig is slaughtered."

Qin Suyun: "Okay, will Dad go on the day the pig is slaughtered?"

Pei's mother said, "He has nothing to do at home, so he will definitely go."

Qin Suyun smiled upon hearing this. Pei's mother pursed her lips. She saw that Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao had such a good relationship. One was her eldest daughter-in-law, and the other was her youngest daughter-in-law. She also felt indebted to Pei Ying. Whether it was making clothes or buying grain, she had not kept it from Qin Suyun. Qin Suyun did not care about these things, but she was also afraid that Qin Suyun would have some thoughts.

She pondered for a moment and said to Qin Suyun, "Ayun, don't feel bad about me arranging these things for Chuntao and the others. I love both of them, but I feel guilty thinking about how your older brother and Chuntao arranged their marriage and life on their own. Especially with your older brother's personality, I don't know what I would do if it weren't for Chuntao."

Seeing the worry in Pei's mother's eyes, Qin Suyun smiled and said, "Mother, what are you thinking? I won't have any ulterior motives about how you treat my elder brother and the others. Besides, you can rest assured about my relationship with Chun Tao."

Looking at Qin Suyun, Pei's mother thought about how close Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao were, like sisters. Sometimes she couldn't quite understand how the two of them could be so close.

She also mentioned it to Pei's father, who said, "This is probably fate; it's destined that we will become a close family."

After returning to the county town, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went straight to the grain shop.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chai Xingyu and his men came and took away Liu Tan's new sauce, which officially went on sale on the sixteenth.

Lin Chuntao went to check and found that Chai Xingyu was still doing a tasting at the shop entrance. The shop was crowded with people, and they couldn't even get in.

After watching for a while and seeing that many people were satisfied with the product and that many were buying it, she didn't go into the shop. Instead, she went back to find Lin Chunxing to discuss the shop's closing date.

Lin Chuntao planned to work until the 24th, and then start resting on the 25th after finishing the cleaning. However, Lin Chunxing was reluctant to rest, feeling that she would lose a lot of money if she rested for a day.

Lin Chuntao said, "We've worked hard all year, and now we have new clothes, a new house, a shop, and we've saved up quite a bit of money. You can never earn enough money! And isn't the point of making money to be able to rest whenever you want?"

Lin Chunxing felt that Lin Chuntao's words made a lot of sense, but she still couldn't let it go.

Seeing her reluctant look, Lin Chuntao said, "Rest early and let your aunt and the others go back to take care of their family matters. We also need to prepare for the New Year. If you really can't bear to part with it, put up a notice at the door a few days in advance that you can make some meat sauce to sell. That way, even when we're resting, people who want to eat soup noodles can still get some."

Lin Chunxing chuckled, "No, let's all rest then. Let everyone think about what they want to eat. The guests will come back when we open after the New Year."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then it's settled. After cleaning up the shop on the night of the 24th, we'll lock the door and come back. On the 25th, we'll slaughter the pig. After we're done, we'll calculate the money the shop has earned and give it to my uncle and the others."

"good."

Lin Chunxing agreed, and on the 23rd, she posted a notice in front of the shop that it would be closed on the 25th, so that people would not make a wasted trip.

As for Aunt Guizhi and the others who did the housework, Lin Chuntao had invited them to sit and chat for a while beforehand. They would have ten days off, during which they would still receive wages. Everyone could choose any ten days, but because the work required manpower—drying the soybean paste and steaming the beans every day—at least two or three people were needed. During the rest period, those who worked would receive three days' wages for each day they worked.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yun looked up at Lin Chuntao and asked uncertainly, "Wife, for three days, twenty coins a day means sixty coins?"

Lin Chuntao nodded. "That's right."

"Sixty coins for one day of work over ten days!" Everyone present was stunned. Aunt Guizhi and the eldest grandma were the first to work, and then six more people came in. Two of them were called "aunties" by Lin Chuntao, and the other two were younger women whom Lin Chuntao called "sisters-in-law."

Everyone was probably speechless with astonishment when they heard this.

They were already happy to be able to work and earn money in the village. After they came here to work, many people in the village were extremely envious. It was already shocking enough that Lin Chuntao let them rest and paid them during the New Year. If others knew that they were paid 60 coins a day for working during this period, they would probably be so envious that their eyes would pop out.

Meng Yun swallowed hard. She had met many employers before, but this was the first time she had encountered someone like Lin Chuntao.

"Wife, does everyone have one?"

Lin Chuntao nodded, "Yes, you need to register with Madam Meng about which ten days you will be off, and then discuss and decide in advance who can come back to work during the break and how many days they will work."

After finishing speaking, Lin Chuntao looked at Meng Yun and said, "Mrs. Meng, let me know after you've registered."

Meng Yun nodded.

Sixty coins a day—anyone would be willing to do it for the money.

But after thinking about it and discussing it, the three of them worked together, which resulted in four groups. If it was ten days, they wouldn't work on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, so each group would work two days.

They quickly discussed and finalized the list, and Meng Yun gave it to Lin Chuntao.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, many people slaughter pigs. In the county town, many families will also contribute by buying a pig together from two or three households to slaughter and divide the meat. Many people will also carry the slaughtered pig meat to the county town to sell, and fewer people will come to Helan Shop to buy meat.

Every year is the same, and Helan also posted a notice in advance that the holiday would begin on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, sweep away the dust.

Every household in the village cleaned their homes thoroughly, inside and out, and everyone carried their dirty clothes and shoes to the river to wash them.

Lin Chuntao and the others were exhausted after cleaning up. They had to slaughter a pig the next day, so Lin Chuntao postponed washing the clothes for a day.

On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the sisters slept until dawn.

After washing up, Lin Chuntao quickly prepared the dough to rise, planning to steam buns or meat buns later. After preparing the dough, she quickly soaked the rice.

Pei Ying dug a fire hole outside the courtyard to prepare boiling water for scalding the pig bristles.

To slaughter three pigs, Lin Chuntao asked Lin Changzong and her uncle to help her hold the pigs down. Everyone arrived before sunrise.

Qin Suyun and the others arrived quickly; their uncle and the others had just entered the house when Qin Suyun and the others arrived in their mule cart.

The mule cart was also carrying several sacks of things. Lin Chuntao looked at Qin Suyun and asked, "What are these?"

Qin Suyun smiled and said, "Mother bought rice and flour, and today the mule cart was empty, so she brought over a few bags."

Lin Chuntao recalled the day when Pei's mother asked her if she wanted to sell some corn to buy rice. She said she would do it after the New Year, and the old lady went to buy it.

She looked at Pei's mother and said, "Mother, really, I just bought a lot of rice and flour a few days ago."

Pei's mother said, "If you bought it, just keep it and eat it slowly. It's not like you can't finish it."

Lin Chuntao: "We will buy these. How can we let you spend money so often?"

Qin Suyun pulled Lin Chuntao aside and said with a smile, "Your mother loves her son so much, so don't be polite with her. I won't be polite at all."

Hearing Qin Suyun's words, Lin Chuntao smiled helplessly. The group unloaded the rice and flour from the mule cart and carried it into the house.

As the sun rose, Pei Ying and the others tied up the pigs and took them out. Before long, the squeals of the pigs echoed throughout the entire village.

The men were outside scraping pig hair and cutting meat, while Lin Chuntao and the others were inside washing and picking vegetables.

One of the three pigs belonged to Qin Suyun and her family. When Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying to divide the meat, she first divided the family's meat. The meat was brought in and placed on the straw. Lin Chuntao picked out a few pieces, such as shoulder meat and neck meat. She quickly chopped them into small pieces, washed them, and put them in a large pot to stew. This was all for the villagers to eat when they invited them to a pig-slaughtering feast that evening.

Once that was done, Lin Chuntao let her aunt and the others start cutting the food for lunch.

For lunch, we usually eat stir-fried pork, stir-fried pork liver, pickled cabbage and pig's blood, and blood tofu.

After all the pigs were prepared, Qin Suyun suggested making braised pig's head or something, and insisted on bringing their pig's head to braise as well. Lin Chuntao said, "If you want to braise, I'll just use these two. You can leave this one for now."

Qin Suyun refused, and Lin Chuntao didn't stand on ceremony with her, so she braised two more pig heads.

After lunch, everyone rested for a while. Everyone chopped meat into minced meat, and Lin Chuntao mixed the minced meat with spicy spices. A group of people sat in the yard making sausages.

Qin Suyun knew how to make steamed buns. She sat down with Lin Chunxing and the others to make them. After Grandma and Aunt Guizhi had been busy for a while, they sat under the eaves chatting with Pei's mother and father.

Pei Jing was probably the most uncomfortable. He couldn't find anything to talk about with the old man, and he wasn't very good at doing these kinds of chores.

Pei Ying was preparing to rub salt onto the meat to marinate it when he found an opportunity.

Are you trying to sprinkle salt on it?

Upon hearing this, Pei Ying looked up at him, noticing that everyone outside, adults and children, were doing their own things, but he seemed to be doing nothing. She then gave a faint "hmm".

Pei Jing said, "Let me sprinkle it for you."

He then picked up the salt shaker and asked, "How much should I sprinkle?"

"Keep spilling, I'll tell you when you've had enough."

When Pei's father didn't see Pei Jing for a while, he wanted to go and see what he was doing. But after looking around, he found Pei Jing working with Pei Ying, so he silently went back to sit down.

Looking at the lively courtyard, he felt a little reluctant to spend the New Year with Pei Ying and the others.

But it seems unlikely this year, so I simply didn't bring it up.

Lin Chuntao and the others worked until the afternoon, and the meat was cooked, filling the air with the aroma of braised meat.

Qin Suyun and Lin Chuntao were preparing to cook, while Lin Chunxing took Lin Chunhe to the village to invite people over for dinner.

It's relatively easy to invite people to a pig-killing feast. It's a matter of eating at your house today and at my house tomorrow. Everyone will come if you invite them. Besides, they came to eat when Lin Chuntao moved. I still remember all the different flavors and they make my mouth water.

After the pig-slaughtering feast, the old and young sat chatting until dusk before dispersing.

Qin Suyun and her group only took a small portion of the pig's meat to eat during the New Year; the rest was marinated together with Lin Chuntao's and the others'.

After they left, only my uncle and aunt remained at home.

During the day, she was busy making food, such as sausages and buns, and hadn't rendered the lard yet. Now that the fire was idle after the meal, Lin Chuntao started rendering the lard.

You don't need to keep an eye on the charcoal in the stove; just go over and stir the pot occasionally.

After the shop opened, Lin Chuntao kept accounts. In the past twenty-four days, after deducting the cost of ingredients, she had made a lot of money. She calculated that if she gave her uncle and the others 20%, it would be 18 taels and 240 coins.

A few days ago, Lin Chuntao went to exchange money and converted all her copper coins into silver.

Lin Chuntao took out copper coins for the small change, and silver coins for the large change.

The children were playing outside, and inside were Lin Chuntao, Lin Chunxing, their uncle and aunt, a total of six people, as well as Xu Huan and Xu Sheng.

When Lin Chuntao said eighteen taels, the room was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard.

Xu Sheng and Xu Huan exchanged a glance, their pupils dilating.

This is just the money I earned in one month!

Lin Chuntao said, "This month is the opening of our new shop, and it's also December, so everyone is more willing to eat well, so we've made quite a bit of money."

The eldest aunt was speechless for a long time. She knew that business was good this month because she worked in the shop, but the good business was Lin Chuntao's business. When Lin Chuntao said that she would get 20% of the profits, she felt that two or three taels a month was already extra money that Lin Chuntao gave them. She never expected that Lin Chuntao would take out so much to share with them.

"Chun... Chun Tao, isn't this amount a bit too much?" Aunt asked incoherently. Lin Chun Tao replied, "Aunt, this is the amount we agreed on. Business has been pretty good this month, but there are slow times in the food business, and we might not have this much then."

As Lin Chuntao spoke, she handed the silver to her aunt.

One was a ten-tael silver ingot, and the remaining eight taels were a few pieces of broken silver. In the dim firelight, the eldest aunt stared at the gleaming silver and took it with trembling hands after a long while.

Eighteen taels! Even after years of saving, their family didn't have that much.

"Thank you, Chuntao," said Auntie.

Seeing her aunt's expression and hearing her tone, Lin Chuntao said, "Aunt, please don't say that. You've worked hard for a month. If anyone should thank you, it's me. If we help each other, things will definitely get better and better in the future."

The eldest aunt nodded.

"Yes, it will definitely get better and better!"

The eldest aunt accepted the money and waited until the lard was rendered before they went home.

With the most important task of the twelfth lunar month completed, all that's left is to wait for the New Year.

Lin Chuntao washed clothes, sheets, and duvet covers. She also ground some soybeans to make tofu. Aunt Guizhi and the others made konjac tofu and sent some to Lin Chuntao. Lin Chuntao also sent them some tofu and some freshly made chili sauce.

On the 30th, the whole family got up very early.

The pigs have already been slaughtered; only the two mules and the chickens need to be fed.

After breakfast, the sisters started preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner. They soaked rice and dried vegetables, cooked meat, and slaughtered chickens and geese. Lin Chuntao also made some dumplings and cooked some red beans to make red bean paste filling. Lin Chuntao wanted to eat red bean paste buns.

Lin Duo'er leaned against Lin Chuntao and said coquettishly, "Sister, I still want to eat that sweet steamed bun."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We also have dough that has risen properly; we'll steam it in a bit."

She started early; the food was almost ready before the sun had even set. Lin Chuntao had also bought fireworks, firecrackers, paper-cut window decorations, and couplets.

She made some paste with buckwheat flour and called to Pei Ying and Lin Chunxing to paste up couplets and window decorations.

After the couplets were pasted up, Lin Chuntao cooked longevity vegetables and fried eggs. After all the dishes were on the table, she called Pei Ying to go outside and set off firecrackers.

Hearing the crackling sounds, everyone in the village turned to look.

Someone laughed and said, "Oh my, Chun Tao and the others made it so quickly, are they already eating?"

The person next to them chimed in with a laugh, "Chun Tao and the others bought firecrackers, I wonder if they bought fireworks too?"

"Fireworks aren't cheap; only people in the county town would buy them."

The children only listened to what they wanted to hear, while the adults chatted amongst themselves, and the children only caught the word "fireworks."

In the past, there were many opera troupes in the county town on the second and third days of junior high school, and the children would go to the county town with the adults to play, and they could only watch the opera in the evening. This year, they can watch it in the village.

The clever children exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that they should eat quickly to watch the fireworks.

After setting off the firecrackers, Lin Chuntao led them back to the house to prepare for dinner.

inside the house.

The stove glowed red-hot with charcoal, the table was laden with delicious food, and the air was filled with a rich aroma.

Lin Chuntao glanced at Pei Ying, took out a wine jar and poured two cups, while Lin Chunxing poured herself and her sisters some sweet osmanthus wine.

Everyone took a sip from their cups.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Happy New Year's Eve! Let's eat!"

Lin Duo'er: "Sister, this sweet wine doesn't taste like alcohol."

Lin Chunxing: "It's just sweet water for children, not alcohol."

Lin Duo'er examined the porcelain bottle carefully. Lin Chuntao said, "Eat quickly, all this delicious food will get cold. After we finish eating, let's go set off fireworks!"

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