Chapter 127 A Lively New Year: Three families celebrated the New Year together; many people, a lively atmosphere. ...

"Mom, what kind of minced meat is this? It smells so good."

"The celery and pork dish you love, and the other one is the chive and egg dish your sisters love."

"Did Mianmian move out? I haven't seen her."

A while ago, the army was evaluating outstanding personnel at the end of the year. Chen Mubai called home to let them know, and then didn't have time to come back for the next two months.

When I got back, I found the house was much emptier; my sister and her pet cats and dogs were gone.

Lin Huijun added a little more scallion and ginger water to the celery and pork dumpling filling, and stirred it vigorously in one direction with chopsticks.

"You've been so busy with work, I forgot to tell you. Mianmian's house is finished being renovated, and they've moved out."

"Your grandparents' yard is all repaired, and everyone has moved to the new house." Lin Huijun herself was also a little unaccustomed to it. She was used to the lively atmosphere and cooking was like eating from a communal pot every day.

Suddenly, everyone moved away, leaving her and her husband alone in the house again.

Fortunately, they're not far apart, so I can visit my daughter or parents anytime I miss them.

Chen Mubai sat on a small stool in front of the stove, carefully peeling garlic for his mother.

The peeled garlic cloves are neatly arranged on the table, like rows of soldiers standing in formation, with the smaller ones at the front.

Lin Huijun glanced at her son's masterpiece and couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you trying to arrange the garlic in a line?"

Chen Mubai's eyebrows and eyes are very similar to Chen Yongliang's, except for a pair of shallow dimples at the corners of his lips, which he inherited from Lin Huijun.

When he's not smiling, he's a cold, scholarly type; when he smiles, he's as gentle and kind as the older brother next door.

"After being in the army for so long, I just let it go like that," Chen Mubai said with a smile.

Looking at her son's handsome appearance, Lin Huijun seemed to recall her youth through the reflection of time.

“When your father was your age, you were already born,” Lin Huijun said gently.

At that time, they were first-time parents and were so busy that sometimes they couldn't even get a hot meal.

When the twin daughters were born, the house became even more lively.

Chen Mubai still remembers helping his mother take care of his two younger sisters when he was a child, while she was cooking.

It's called taking care of them, but really it just means sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) watching my younger sister sleep. If she wakes up, I just talk to her and make sure she doesn't crawl around.

“Mianmian was much more lively than Hehe back then, and she cried much louder.” Once, Chen Mubai had a headache from all the crying, and when he had no other choice, he moved Chen Mianmian to sit opposite Chen Muhe.

She looked at the person who looked exactly like her and was dressed exactly the same, and curiously reached out to touch her sister, finally stopping her crying.

When Lin Huijun returned from working in the fields, she saw Chen Mian laughing heartlessly, and Chen Muhe sitting in the corner of the kang like a mushroom, pouting and silently shedding tears.

"Mianmian is getting married this year, I don't know if I'll be able to hold my granddaughter next year." Lin Huijun mixed the dumpling filling and then took out the dough that had been resting in the bowl and started kneading it.

She was already imagining what her granddaughter would look like. "I saw an expert on TV the other day saying that twin genes can be inherited. Maybe Mianmian can give birth to twins too."

Chen Mubai: "You're in such a hurry. They just got married. Shouldn't they have a couple of years to enjoy their time as a couple?"

"How can I not be anxious? You're almost twenty-six and still don't have a boyfriend..."

Chen Mubai's smile froze. He had been careless; this attack was actually aimed at him.

"Well, I see you're almost done preparing. I'll call Mianmian and ask her to come back for dumplings."

Chen Mubai got up and tried to slip away, but Lin Huijun grabbed his clothes and said, "Why are you running away? You always run away whenever this comes up."

“If you keep hiding in the army and don’t come out, I’ll go to your leader and ask him to solve your personal problems.”

Lin Huijun was really anxious this time. Her eldest daughter had been married for almost half a year, her younger daughter was at least showing some signs of a relationship, but her son had been in the army for several years and was still single.

“Look at the people around you who are younger than you. Hongmei’s child is almost a year old. And look at you.” Lin Huijun was annoyed that her son was so clueless about love and romance.

She remembered that when her son was in school, many girls pursued him, so why didn't he ever have any romantic interest in her?

Chen Mubai said innocently, "I think it's fine as it is now. If I can't meet the right person, I can't just grab someone off the street and get married."

"Aren't there any women in your unit normally?"

"Yes, there are many girls among nurses, performing arts soldiers, or communications soldiers," Chen Mubai said, listing them off with familiarity.

"So you didn't get a single call?" Lin Huijun asked.

"No, we are all comrades-in-arms."

"Let's not talk about this anymore, Mom. I really need to call Mianmian, or it will be too late."

Taking advantage of his mother's deep thought, Chen Mubai quietly pulled out a corner of his clothes and slipped to the door.

Lin Huijun said helplessly, "Alright, then go next door later and call your grandma and the others over. I've made a lot, so it'll be more lively if everyone eats together."

…

"Why did you all decide to come here for Chinese New Year this year? I haven't even packed my things."

Yu Xiaoyue, dressed in a thick cotton coat and wearing a woolen hat, looked in surprise at the group of people who had suddenly appeared in the living room.

Yes, you read that right, it's a group of people.

The Chen family has five members, the Lin family has five members, and Ji Yu makes a total of eleven people.

Lin Huijun spoke on behalf of the family: "I was worried that you would be busy taking care of your children and wouldn't have time to prepare any New Year's goods, so I brought the ingredients directly to your home to prepare them."

Since Ji Yu "married" herself off, Yu Xiaoyue has only had herself and her husband left at home. Now that they have a little daughter, there are only three of them.

As the year drew to a close, she recovered well and let Aunt Liu go home for the New Year as well.

They hadn't really thought about having a proper New Year's Eve dinner; they were just planning to have a simple meal later.

"That won't do. You should go back inside and rest. Just wait for the food to be ready." Lin Huijun pushed Yu Xiaoyue back into the house and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook.

Ji Feng is playing interactive games with his daughter.

The remaining ten people simply set up two mahjong tables in the living room, with two extra people.

Lin Huijun glanced at her mother and sister-in-law, who had already secured a favorable position at the mahjong table; she could clearly not count on them.

She then turned to her younger brother, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and said, "Junhui, come and help me."

Lin Junhui went out with the caravan that bought Hemuti and traveled around. His whole demeanor became much more composed, and he spoke and acted with more confidence.

Someone who was spoiled at home and couldn't even tell the difference between food and cooking has actually learned to cook a few simple dishes.

Lin Junhui, who rarely comes back, was just about to relax with his wife by playing mahjong when his older sister called him back. Overwhelmed by their blood ties, he had no choice but to get up and give up his seat.

Lin Qiaofang was still in school and didn't know how to play mahjong, but she automatically followed her aunt into the kitchen to help.

The Ji family's kitchen is quite large, with two stoves and a cabinet with a pressure cooker and a stew pot on it.

As the head chef for the evening, Lin Huijun took stock of the various ingredients they brought and had a general idea in mind.

Lin Junhui was assigned to wash the vegetables, while Lin Qiaofang, who was good at knife skills, was responsible for chopping them.

There were many people today, and she was worried there wouldn't be enough to eat, so she steamed dozens of buns in advance and brought them over, planning to steam another pot of zenggao (steamed rice cake) as a dessert.

For meat dishes, we plan to make sweet and sour shrimp, boiled fish fillets, salt and pepper pork ribs, braised pork trotters, Sichuan-style chicken, four-happiness meatballs, cabbage and pork rolls, spicy chicken cubes, shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, and pork stew with vermicelli.

In addition to ten meat dishes, there are also ten vegetarian dishes: preserved egg and tofu, mixed shredded vegetables, cucumber in a straw raincoat, osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root, sesame sauce cold noodles, cold aspic, spinach and peanuts with aged vinegar, stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, green peppers, and green peppers, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy, and stewed cabbage and tofu.

To save time, Lin Huijun had prepared everything at home in advance, such as the four-happiness meatballs and shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, which were ready-made and only needed to be heated in a pan.

The cucumbers were also pickled in advance; they could be eaten simply by arranging them on a plate.

The osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root was also stewed a day in advance; the longer it sat for a while, the more flavorful it became.

Cold dishes such as preserved egg tofu, mixed shredded vegetables, and cold noodles are simply chopped and topped with a uniform dressing.

These tasks were all left to Lin Qiaofang to handle.

After washing the vegetables, Lin Junhui squatted down to remove the shrimp veins from the shrimp, while Lin Huijun used soy sauce, vinegar, and ketchup to make a sweet and sour sauce.

Once the ribs are marinated, you can fry them together. Sprinkle the fried ribs with salt and pepper, and they will be crispy yet chewy, making them a perfect snack with drinks.

After the shrimp are coated in batter and deep-fried, the prepared sauce is boiled and evenly coated on each shrimp, resulting in a bright color and a sweet and sour taste.

Yu Xiaoyue went back to her room and lay down for a while, but she couldn't stay in bed any longer, so she came out to the living room to join in the fun.

She is still in the recovery period and cannot sit or stand for long periods of time. She can't play mahjong, so she can only take a stroll every now and then to enjoy watching the game.

After watching a game of mahjong, she followed the aroma wafting through the air and made her way to the kitchen.

"Huijun, what are you making right now? Is it hot and sour noodles? I can smell the spiciness."

Yu Xiaoyue hasn't eaten a single spicy dish since giving birth, and she's been craving it terribly.

Especially the numbing and spicy hot and sour noodles; just thinking about them makes my mouth water.

Lin Huijun laughed at her friend's silliness: "Who eats hot and sour noodles during the Lunar New Year? I made boiled fish slices."

Stir-fry the hot pot base until fragrant, add an appropriate amount of water, add bean sprouts and greens, cook until done, remove and place in a stainless steel bowl as a base.

Continue cooking the fish fillets in the pot until done. Remove the fish fillets and place them on top of the bean sprouts and greens. Pour in the broth, then drizzle with hot oil to release the aroma.

“Knowing you like sweet potato noodles, I specially added some vermicelli to it,” Lin Huijun said.

"This...can I eat this?" Yu Xiaoyue hesitated. She had been eating nutritious meals for a long time and was just waiting for the New Year.

"Just taking a bite or two to taste it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

When they were young, they could get out of bed the day after giving birth, and they ate whatever was available at home. There weren't so many rules and regulations like there are now.

Back then, eating two poached eggs with brown sugar every day was considered very nutritious.

"How about I sneak a bite now, so Ji Feng doesn't see me and scold me again?" Yu Xiaoyue glanced cautiously at the doorway, afraid of being caught red-handed by her husband.

Lin Huijun glanced at her younger brother, Lin Junhui, who received the signal and immediately got up and went to stand guard at the kitchen door, his tall figure blocking the view completely.

"Eat quickly, there will be other delicious food later."