Early on New Year's Eve, Xu Genshan and Liu Fang went to town again. There was still half a day of business to do this year, while the rest of the people stayed at home to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner.

During the Lunar New Year, families begin to showcase their culinary skills, with frying meatballs being the most important.

These fried meatballs aren't just for our own consumption; when people come to pay their New Year's visits, we pack some for them to take back with them. So, just by looking at these meatballs, you can tell how this family is doing this year.

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As soon as breakfast was finished, the Xu family members started to get to work. Old Man Xu led the men to hang lanterns, paste couplets, and put up paper-cuts, while Old Woman Xu led the women to get busy in the kitchen.

This year, the Xu family was especially lively. Old Master Hu and Lu Sheng were picked up by Old Master Xu early in the morning, hoping to celebrate the New Year together and have a good time.

Moreover, Xu Genshu and Huang Si'an got married on the eve of the Lunar New Year. He couldn't wait to marry Huang Si'an and didn't want her to spend the New Year alone in the house anymore.

As a new bride, Huang Si'an was initially a little nervous, but the atmosphere in the Xu family was so pleasant that she gradually relaxed and stopped being so tense.

What's more, with Fu Man'er always following her around, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all in her new home.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Fu Man'er was originally following Xu Yi to put up the "Fu" character, but when they got to the kitchen, she went in with her mouth watering.

The new kitchen is very large, with a long cutting board in the middle and four stoves at the back, two large and two small. Today, we're frying meatballs and making New Year's Eve dinner, so all four stoves are in use.

The large stove was used to fry meatballs, while the small stove was used to simmer soups and steam vegetables.

"Little glutton, come here." Ma Hong waved to her, and Fu Man'er ran over and got a small bowl of meatballs. "Be careful, it's hot, eat slowly."

Although they weren't fresh out of the pot, they were still hot, and I was worried that the little girl would be so tempted that she would pick them up and eat them right away.

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"I know, you can't rush things." Fu Man'er held the bowl, smelling the aroma of the meatballs wafting from it.

The kitchen smelled so many different aromas—chicken soup, steamed vegetables, meatballs—that she suddenly realized pasting up the "Fu" character (福, meaning good fortune) was pointless; the kitchen was much more interesting.

So when Xu Yi finished pasting the "Fu" character on the kitchen door and called for people, Fu Man'er didn't want to leave.

Holding onto the doorframe, she handed over the bowl, saying, "Brother, eat these meatballs, they're delicious."

Xu Yi frowned as he looked at her mouth, where there was a noticeable ring of grease. "Eat less."

He didn't know if it was because he was wearing more clothes in winter or because the girl was wearing more clothes, but he felt that Fu Man'er was getting rounder and rounder.

Like now, he can't even see Fu Man'er's neck anymore. If this continues, things will get out of control.

"Hmph, fine, you don't want to eat, but you're complaining that I'm fat." Fu Man'er could tell what Xu Yi was thinking just by looking at his expression.

She angrily withdrew her hand, sat with her back to Xu Yi, leaving him with a round, chubby back view.

Xu Yi shook his head helplessly, "I'll go put up the posters in the backyard. I'll come to the backyard after I've eaten."

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"I'm not going to look for you," Fu Man'er muttered to herself. Hearing Xu Yi's footsteps as he left, she turned around and made a face at his back.

In previous years, the Xu family could only fry some vegetable balls, which wasted a lot of oil and flour.

This year, there are many more fried foods, including vegetable balls, radish balls, meat balls, and tofu balls.

In addition, some dried tofu and fried soybeans were also fried. In short, there were several large basins on the cutting board in the middle of the kitchen.

Ma Hong carried the last bowl of meatballs upstairs, looking at these golden, glistening meatballs.

He exclaimed, "Even today, it feels like a dream."

"Ouch, Mom, why did you pinch me?" She had just spoken when she felt a pain in her arm; it was Old Mrs. Xu who had pinched her.

"Look at that pot of yours, it's going to catch fire even if you're dreaming about it." Old Mrs. Xu had only been gone for a short while when she came back and saw the big oil pot smoking.

"Oh my goodness!" Ma Hong exclaimed, having forgotten that the fire in the stove was burning brightly.

Huang Si'an ran over to help her pull out the firewood, and then opened the window to ventilate the room.

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"Be careful, everyone, it's the New Year," Old Mrs. Xu said, her face darkening.

"Mother, I understand, don't worry," Ma Hong said with a smile. She had forgotten about it earlier, but thankfully nothing bad happened.

Xu Genshan and his wife returned around noon. After a simple lunch, the Xu family began preparing for their actual New Year's Eve dinner.

Liu Fang is a skilled cook, so she will be in charge of the cooking, and the others will assist her.

When the last dish was ready, the others helped clean up the kitchen.

With a large family, we put two tables together and set out two meals so that everyone could have some.

When the dishes were served, Xu Genshan took a long string of firecrackers and placed it at the door, where the firecrackers crackled and popped.

After everything was ready, the whole family sat down at the dining table.

Today's dishes were exceptionally plentiful, the table was piled high with food, and Old Man Xu looked at the large table of dishes.

My eyes suddenly welled up with tears. I never thought that at my age, I would still be able to see this scene today.

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"Old man, what are you daydreaming about? Say something!" Old Mrs. Xu reached out and nudged her husband.

"Huh? What did you say?" Old Xu looked at everyone blankly.

Xu Genzhu smiled and said, "Dad, it's the New Year, and as the head of the family, you have to say something."

"Speak." Old Xu rubbed his hands together, his cheeks flushed slightly in the candlelight, as if he had drunk too much.

A dozen pairs of eyes stared at him. After rubbing his hands together for a while, Old Man Xu finally spoke.

"Actually, there's not much to say. As long as our family and our family are doing better and better, that's enough."

"You two have a harmonious relationship, and your children grow up healthy. I don't ask for great wealth or status in this life. I just want our family to live happily."

“Your mother and I aren’t very capable, and we haven’t been able to give you a good life. Everyone had a hard time in the past, but that’s nothing. As long as our family works together and is willing to work hard, our family’s life will definitely get better.”

Old Xu spoke from the bottom of his heart, and when he finished speaking, everyone was still staring at him.

Grandma Xu blinked. "You old man, you said you had nothing to say, but you've said it perfectly well."

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Everyone came to their senses and agreed that Old Xu was right. Amidst the praise, he even raised his glass for a drink.

Grandma Xu snatched his cup away. "Eat, everyone eat. The food will get cold soon."

"It's the New Year, are you even going to let me have a drink?" Old Xu could only mutter this question to himself.

The New Year's Eve dinner lasted a long time, and there was still a lot of food left on the table. After Liu Fang and everyone else cleaned up, they all started to find their own fun.

Old Master Hu couldn't wait any longer. He hadn't had a drink for several days, so he grabbed Old Man Xu, brought two small jugs of wine, and went to a room to enjoy some.

Today is Chinese New Year, so Xu Yi and Lu Sheng turned a blind eye to the situation.

The adults sat in the main room, chatting and warming themselves by the fire, while the children, who weren't afraid of the cold, were already playing wildly in the courtyard.

The large red lanterns in the courtyard hung high, and could be clearly seen even at night.

It snowed again during the day, and the children took fireworks and set them off in the courtyard.

First, a couple of brilliant fireworks burst into bloom in the darkness, and then, as if summoned, other houses soon followed suit, with colorful fireworks shooting into the sky.

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The dazzling display illuminated the night sky, and the children's cheers soared out with the fireworks.

After the fireworks ended, the children were still reluctant to go inside, and with Fu Man'er's help, a new round of snowball fights began.

"Oh, Man'er, be careful." It was the first time Huang Si'an had seen her have a snowball fight. She was so small and looked fragile, so Huang Si'an was worried for her.

But she soon realized that her worries were unnecessary. Fu Man'er was now even fiercer than the boys when it came to snowball fights, and Xu Wen was almost no match for her.

Huang Si'an was dumbfounded when she saw her rubbing Xu Wen, who was much taller than her, to the ground.

"My goodness, how come Man'er is so fierce? Even boys are no match for her," Ma Hong said casually.

For a moment, Old Mrs. Xu, Xu Genshan, and Liu Fang, who were in the house, all fell into deep thought as they looked at Fu Man'er's imposing appearance.

Will their Man'er always be this fierce?

It took ten years to find the answer to this question. Will Fu Man'er still be so fierce ten years from now?

The answer is definitely no, she won't be that bold; she'll only be even bolder!