While eating dumplings, An Qingbai said to Zhuang Zhimeng, "Zhizhi, this is the first time I've ever had tofu dumplings. It's quite novel, and they taste pretty good."

"I've had them before and thought they were pretty good, so this time I made tofu dumplings."

Zhuang Zhimeng then looked at Jiang Yanxia and Su Mengmeng, "How did you two enjoy the food? I didn't ask you last night."

Su Mengmeng commented: "It's alright, not bad, and the combination tastes quite good."

Jiang Yanxia liked it: "I like to eat it, I think it's great! It goes especially well with Laba garlic!"

It seems they were all quite satisfied, so Zhuang Zhimeng's efforts weren't in vain.

"Wow, Zhimeng, I found a coin in my food!"

"I put a coin in each of the ten dumplings. Let's see who can find it."

"Zhizhi, I'll have one too."

Zhuang Zhimeng also ate one herself.

Su Mengmeng saw that everyone else had gotten a coin, but he hadn't, and he got anxious.

"I don't believe it. How come you all got to eat them? I'm sure I can't be that unlucky." He said, speeding up his eating of dumplings.

Finally, when there was only one dumpling left on the plate, I got to eat it and immediately became smug: "I told you, my luck wasn't that bad!"

Zhuang Zhimeng and the other two covered their mouths and chuckled, because there was only one coin left that hadn't appeared, and if he didn't get to eat it, there wouldn't be any dumplings with coins in them.

After finishing their dumplings, the four of them went outside to set off firecrackers, specifically double-bang firecrackers, which An Qingbai had brought to Zhuang Zhimeng.

"Qingbai, Meng, you two go ahead and set off the fireworks! Xiazi and I will just watch."

"Okay, then Zhizhi, stand at a safe distance so you don't get hit."

"good!"

Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia both stood a little further away.

An Qingbai and Su Mengmeng waited for them to stand in place before they started setting off firecrackers, first the double-bang firecrackers and then the regular firecrackers.

The sound of firecrackers going off in the village continued one after another, the crackling and popping sounds lasting for a long time before finally subsiding.

If you don't sweep the floor on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, firecracker debris will be scattered everywhere, so you can only leave it in the yard. Zhuang Zhimeng will clean it up when she has time later.

The dogs found a new source of fun, rolling around in the firecracker debris. It took Zhuang Zhimeng and the others a lot of effort to drag the dogs back inside.

After removing the firecracker debris from the dogs, Zhuang Zhimeng sent them back to their kennels to prevent them from getting covered in firecracker debris again, as it was too cold to bathe them in such weather.

Then Zhuang Zhimeng laid out snacks on the table, along with tea, and warmed up the frozen pears, persimmons, and oranges. The group listened to the radio, ate sunflower seeds, and chatted while listening.

In the afternoon, Zhuang Zhimeng and a few others went ice skating on the river. They slid and slid, and An Qingbai specially borrowed an ice sled.

It is a human-pulled ice sled, which requires one person to run in front and pull the person sitting behind to slide on the ice.

Zhuang Zhimeng was quite curious about the ice sleds, and after discussing it, the group decided to try sliding on the ice sleds first.

"Zhizhi, you and Yanxia sit down first. Mengmeng and I will pull you up first, and then you can pull us up."

"Okay, let's hurry up. Look, there are so many people playing on the ice. It must be a lot of fun."

Zhuang Zhimeng couldn't wait to sit on the back of the ice sled. An Qingbai put the rope around himself and, knowing that Zhuang Zhimeng wanted to experience it, started running without wasting any time.

Seeing that the others had already started playing, Su Mengmeng and Jiang Yanxia also prepared to set off, but they had only run a few steps when the ice sled overturned.

"Haha!" Jiang Yanxia was amused. What could she possibly expect him to do?

Although Jiang Yanxia fell, she wasn't in much pain because she was wearing thick clothes, but it startled Su Mengmeng.

"Xiazi, are you alright?"

"I'm really impressed with you. You lost your balance after only two steps? Look at Brother An, he's almost back, and we haven't even started yet!"

"Hehe, this isn't the first time I've lost control of my strength. Sit tight, and just you wait and see this time!"

"Then I'll trust you one more time!"

"Don't worry, it'll be perfectly fine!"

Jiang Yanxia sat back on the ice sled.

Having learned from her first experience, Su Mengmeng actually managed to run this time, and Jiang Yanxia finally got to experience the fun of ice sledding.

After running back and forth, Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia came to pull An Qingbai and Su Mengmeng.

They were boys, so they were definitely heavier. Zhuang Zhimeng was alright; she had the stamina and could run. Jiang Yanxia, ​​on the other hand, ran very slowly, like she was taking a stroll.

Su Mengmeng also encouraged her: "It's okay, let's not compare ourselves to them, it's good to just keep moving forward slowly!"

"Shut up, I'm sure I can do it!"

Jiang Yanxia's competitive spirit kicked in, and she actually started running. However, she lacked stamina and slowed down after running for a while. She would run for a while again, and then continue running like this until she finally made it back.

Then the group just slid around on the ice, sometimes running a few steps and slipping.

Su Mengmeng got excited and said, "I'll show you a figure skating performance!"

He slid left and right, then ran a few steps and tried to spin around, but he misjudged the sprint distance and almost fell flat on his face. He quickly squatted down to steady himself, which amused everyone around him, who burst out laughing.

Jiang Yanxia burst into laughter along with everyone around her: "Brother Meng, you're hilarious!"

Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai also burst into laughter.

Su Mengmeng blushed with embarrassment, feeling ashamed to face anyone. How could she have made such a mistake?

Seeing that he blushed, the others stopped laughing at him and continued skating on the ice. Su Mengmeng also skated normally and stopped doing fancy tricks.

However, they'll probably never forget what just happened; they can only laugh it off to themselves.

After the first year of junior high, we entered the second year.

Shi Meiling started getting busy when she saw that it was almost time. Her eldest and second sons had gone back to their parents' homes with their wives. Today, An Qingbai and his brother were helping out.

Seeing that there was still some time before lunchtime, Zhuang Zhimeng set off from home, carrying gifts, mainly to see if there was anyone she could help with.

Shi Meiling guessed that Zhuang Zhimeng would arrive early, so she asked An Qingbai to pick her up. "Third brother, go pick up Zhimeng. She might be here soon!"

"good!"

An Qingbai agreed, washed his hands, and went out.

Just as I reached the door, I ran into Zhuang Zhimeng.

"Zhizhi, you're here! I was just about to come pick you up!"

An Qingbai took the gifts from her hands and led her home.

"I want to come over early to help my aunt cook."

"No need, my mother has almost finished cooking and is just waiting for you! It's just the few of us eating today, plus my younger brother. My older brothers have taken their children to my sister-in-law's house."

"Then I should do something too, right?"

"You don't need to do any work. They are very happy to have you here. Otherwise, why would my mother cook so many dishes, and even made your favorite fish? It shows how much she likes you!"