103

The New Year's Eve dinner was drawing to a close as everyone ate to their heart's content. Even Xiaoxiao drank four bowls of porridge with pickled vegetables!

However, with everyone working at full capacity, most of the dishes were left untouched, that is, they were brought out as they were, and then returned to the refrigerator as they were.

But Du Heng was very calm. He knew that these were the dishes that would be served next and he was not allowed to leave until he finished them.

This is also what Du's mother has been complaining about. Du's mother's hometown is in the province west of Du Heng's home. The rule there is that they don't cook too many dishes during festivals, and even during the Chinese New Year, there is no difference from ordinary days. If there are guests at home, they will add dishes temporarily and leave no leftovers.

The custom in Du Heng's hometown is to prepare a lot of New Year dishes regardless of whether there are people or not. After one group of people finish eating, the leftovers are put together. When the next group of guests leave, the leftovers are collected again. Finally, when the guests leave, the family starts to eat the leftovers.

One year, Du Heng had so much leftovers that it lasted until the Lantern Festival. Would he make a fuss about this?

Mother Du was very angry about this and said that there was something wrong with the local characteristics of the Du family. Why not cook more dishes? When guests come, they can eat fresh food, and the family can also eat fresh food.

However, Father Du smiled and comforted her, saying that this was a matter of etiquette. If you only cook a few dishes for guests, people will laugh at you.

Du Heng used to think that what Du's mother said made sense, but now he seems to understand Du's father a little. This is indeed a matter of etiquette. Take Du Heng for example. He worked so hard to prepare for this reunion dinner. Although he knew Xuan Yu and the others would not mind, he still wanted to do more.

It seems that if you cook more dishes, your life will be more stable and prosperous.

As Du Heng was cleaning up, he said to Xuan Yu, "Xuan Yu, what do you think, should we cook and eat one meal at a time next year, or should we cook more?"

Xuan Yu was busy putting the dishes on the refrigerator shelf. He thought for a moment and said, "I think it's all right. If you cook one meal and eat it one meal at a time, you'll be busy for every meal. If you cook more, you'll be tired. I hope you can relax a little."

Du Heng's eyes narrowed into two slits as he smiled: "I don't feel tired. I feel very happy when I see everyone eating and drinking well."

After dinner, the fact that the cultivation world is not as good as my hometown became apparent. If it were my hometown, after the reunion dinner, everyone would gather around the TV to watch TV programs. Speaking of the TV programs in my hometown, each channel has its own unique features!

As soon as the TV is turned on, there are singing, dancing, opera and gossip. The whole family gathers around the TV series, talking, laughing, eating snacks and watching the show...

In the world of cultivation, after dinner, Du Heng could only stare at everyone.

Du Heng asked weakly, "Well, can I ask, what programs did you have when you stayed up all night in previous years? Or let me ask it another way, what did you do when you stayed up all night in the past?"

Chonghua sat cross-legged on the chair. He thought for a moment and said, "Should we meditate or go to Beishan for a tour?"

Yun Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "We can practice meditation and learn a few moves together."

Lao Dao said: "Sometimes I play mahjong with Lao Yun and the others, but generally I meditate more."

Jing Nan supported his chin lazily: "Stay up all night? What else can you do? Sleep, of course." Well, this guy fell asleep.

Feng Gui thought for a moment and said, "I can meditate, or go to Beishan to inspect, or play mahjong with them."

Xuan Yu confessed honestly: "...sleep."

Xiaoxiao: “Chirp, chirp~~” Du Heng didn’t understand what he was saying, and his remarks could be ignored.

Look, what a boring and barren New Year's Eve! Du Heng sighed: "In our hometown, New Year's Eve is the most relaxing time for the family. Everyone will get together to talk and laugh, drink tea, eat and watch TV shows."

Looking at the sky, there are still two hours before the New Year's bell rings. What should I do with so much time? Maybe I should meditate with everyone?

Feng Gui said: "What does it mean to watch the show?"

Du Heng explained: "It's just singing and dancing and stuff like that."

Feng Gui asked, "What's so good about this? Do you like this?"

Du Heng nodded: "Isn't this just to kill time? It's better than everyone just sitting there."

Feng Gui clapped his hands and said, "This is easy. Yun Zheng, go and order some puppets."

Du Heng was surprised. The puppet also has the ability to sing and dance? As expected of the richest man in the village, he knows how to enjoy himself! !

While Yun Zheng was ordering the puppets, Du Heng asked, "You just said you were going to inspect Beishan. Are you going to inspect again this year? Does the inspection take a long time?"

Chonghua said, "It won't take too long. An hour is more than enough to go back and forth. There is a sage temple on the top of Beishan Mountain. Every year during the New Year, we burn incense to the sage. If we don't burn incense tonight, we have to go early tomorrow morning."

Only then did Du Heng realize that there was such a thing on the mountain behind his house.

Xuan Yu looked at Du Heng deeply and said, "It's snowing today, so we won't go up the mountain. When the snow stops tomorrow, we will go up the mountain to burn incense. You don't have to go. The mountain road is difficult to walk on."

What else could Du Heng say? He could only nod regretfully: "Okay!"

At this time, Yun Zheng led the puppets into the yard. Some of these puppets had stringed instruments and some were dressed in silk and satin. It was like a live concert in Xuan Yu's yard.

The walls around the courtyard lit up with spiritual lights, and the courtyard was clearly illuminated. Du Heng and his friends moved from the kitchen to the corridor, and some moved chairs, and some sat on the ground. Soon, eight people sat in the corridor, and even Xiao Wonton and Da Hun Dun squeezed in to watch the excitement.

Du Heng sat on the chair. There was a formation under the eaves, so even though it was snowing outside, he didn't feel cold. Besides, he was holding a warm Xiaoxiao in his arms.

Suddenly, the sound of a string being plucked was like the sound of cracking ice. It was hard to tell which puppet spoke first, but Du Heng heard a female voice that sounded like the cry of an oriole, and that female voice seemed to explode in his mind. He felt his heart slowly calm down, and the puppet in front of him seemed to have become a vivid person. A picture unfolded in front of his eyes, and he was immersed in the story unconsciously.

The graceful female voice whispered a story. At the beginning of the story, there was a staggering man walking alone in the snow. Du Heng couldn't see his face clearly, he only saw the man traveling under the stars and in the wind and rain.

The man climbed over the mountains, crossed the stream, and passed through the thorny woods, and finally came to a small house in the woods. He had two pets, one was a skinny, fluffy yellow bird that looked a bit like a slim version of Xiaoxiao. The other was a skinny fox dog. Du Heng identified it for a long time and finally determined that it was a fox.

Seeing the man coming back, the two spirit pets came out of the dilapidated house and rubbed against the man's arms.

The man lived a poor life. He was a casual cultivator who was not well-known. He could not stand the rules and regulations of the big sect, and he was too embarrassed to go out with other casual cultivators to cheat and deceive. He usually relied on teaming up with his companions to go to the ruins to find treasures and earn some spirit stones.

Whenever he earned some spirit stones, he would go to the town to exchange them for some elixirs. The two spirit pets at home were too weak. The yellow bird had insufficient spirit energy and its feathers had not grown out. The fox, due to malnutrition, looked like a wild dog with its hair standing up.

Even if he bought the best tonic pills, he couldn't keep them smooth and shiny. It was expensive to keep a pet, not to mention he had two? Fortunately, the two pets didn't mind, they had a good relationship, and even though they were poor, they lived happily.

Du Heng looked at the man sitting on the doorstep. He took out a bunch of meatballs from his arms and handed them to the bird and the fox. The fox and the bird were affectionate, sharing the small meatballs one by one, and the man propped up his chin and looked at them and smiled.

Although it was an ordinary scene, Du Heng felt his eyes moisten slightly. He thought he could understand the man's feelings. The simple life became warmer because of the person he cared about. Although the spirit pet could not speak or transform, it was the man's family and his concern.

Under the lamp, the man carefully took out a jade bottle and poured out two pills from it. He said, "I bought you a medium-quality Peiyuan Pill, one for each of you. After eating this, you will get better. I have agreed with them that we will go to Hunyuan Realm in two days. Not many people go there, and I am sure I will find a lot of treasures. I will buy you more and better pills then."

Du Heng couldn't see the man's face clearly. He only saw the gentle smile on the man's lips when he said this.

Du Heng thought that this man must be very gentle. He was so kind to his spirit pet, so he must have a soft heart.

The three of them lived and ate together in a simple house in the mountains, practiced together while waving their arms in the morning sun, and went to the mountains to find spiritual plants to exchange for spiritual stones. It was noisy but extremely comfortable until a few days later, when the man was about to set off for the ruins.

The man walked out of the door in the morning dew. The little pets wanted to follow him, but he found them one by one from the road and chased them back home.

The man left, leaving his back to the little animals at home. Every day, the two little animals would take turns standing on the path up the mountain and staring at the mountain road...

Time passed day by day, and finally one day, the man appeared on the mountain path. The man was back! With him came a wilted little green snake the size of a chopstick.

The man was in dishevelled clothes and covered in wounds. He scratched his hair and smiled innocently: "I'm sorry, I didn't find the spiritual treasure. But I brought back a little friend for everyone!"

Seeing the little snake in the man's hand, the yellow chicken and the fox were immediately furious. They rushed forward and pecked the green snake out of the man's hand, tearing and biting it.

The scene suddenly came to an end. Du Heng turned around and saw Feng Gui frowning: "I don't want to watch this anymore."

Du Heng said: "It looks good, keep going."

Feng Gui put his hands in his pockets and rejected the idea outright: "No! Sing something cheerful."

The women's melodious voices quickly attracted everyone's attention. Du Heng turned his head to look at Feng Gui. For some reason, he always felt that Feng Gui's eyes were full of loneliness. Could it be that the man had something to do with him?

Du Heng looked at Jing Nan again, only to see Jing Nan holding Wonton and sleeping soundly with his head tilted back. Jing Daxianer was amazing, he could even fall asleep in such a weird position?

Du Heng turned around to ask Xuan Yu, but he saw Xuan Yu dozing off with his head down. Du Heng looked around the courtyard. Xuan Yu actually fell asleep to such a beautiful song and such a beautiful dance? ?

As a result, after a while, Du Heng fell asleep little by little to the puppet's melodious singing.

104

He had a dream. In the dream, he was on the road with something in his arms. It was foggy all around, and a voice in the fog spoke to him: "Qingheng, where are you going?"

Du Heng opened his mouth subconsciously. He wanted to speak, but his voice seemed to be suppressed and he couldn't utter a word.

He got so anxious that his hands shook and the things in his arms fell to the ground, and then Du Heng woke up.

He met Xiaoxiao's confused eyes. It turned out that he had dropped Xiaoxiao on the ground when he was taking a nap. Du Heng reached out and picked Xiaoxiao up from the ground embarrassedly. He patted the snow off Xiaoxiao's body and said, "Sorry, my hand is slippery!"

Xiaoxiao was so considerate. He rubbed Du Heng's palm, and then nestled steadily in Du Heng's arms.

Xuan Yu opened his eyes without knowing when. He looked at the puppets still singing and dancing in the courtyard and asked Du Heng, "Are you feeling sleepy? If so, take a bath and go to sleep."

He has already figured out Du Heng's biological clock. Du Heng is the type of person who goes to bed early and gets up early. He can fall asleep as soon as he falls into bed. It would be too difficult for him to ask him to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year.

Hearing the word "bath", Jing Nan miraculously woke up: "Hey? Take a bath? Let's go together! Feng Gui, tell your puppets to stop for a while, let's go to your house to take a bath."

Du Heng: ...He has a bathhouse at home, okay?

But when it comes to bathing environment, Feng Guijia is of course better! So a group of people set off to Feng Guijia's Lingquan with some snacks.

When Du Heng soaked in the warm spring water, he felt that his tiredness flew away. He looked to the left and saw Yun Zheng and his strong muscles, and to the right and saw Feng Gui Jingnan's strong abdominal muscles.

Du Heng looked down at his belly. Sorry, his belly was as soft as Xiaoxiao's. He seemed to have gained weight after living a comfortable life in the village...

Snowflakes were flying outside the spiritual spring, and the spring was warm inside. Du Heng sat on the top step, pouring bath beans on himself. Just as he was about to pour the bath beans behind him, someone took the bath beans from him.

Du Heng turned around in surprise, only to see Xuan Yu appear behind him. Xuan Yu was standing on the next step, but even so, his line of sight was level with Du Heng's.

Du Heng smiled when he saw Xuan Yu. Xuan Yu was going to rub his back again. Xuan Yu was really a good person. Every time he took a bath at home, Xuan Yu would help him make bath beans and rub his back.

Xuan Yu's voice was a little low, and he said slowly: "Turn sideways."

Du Heng obediently turned sideways to reveal his fair back: "I was worried that I couldn't reach the shoulder blades, thank you Xuan Yu." There was no way, his arms were short, and Du Heng could not reach his shoulder blades and back every time.

Xuan Yu was serious. It must be because the water temperature was too high. His cheeks and the roots behind his ears were slightly red. Xuan Yu's palm was slightly curled up, holding a slippery bath bean the size of a fingernail.

He evenly smeared the bath beans on Du Heng's back and asked calmly: "The bath beans are almost gone, why don't you change a new one?"

Du Heng smiled and said while lifting his long hair: "There is only a little bit left, we can't waste it. I quite like the smell of this bath bean." After the bath, he looked like a big orange.

Xuan Yu responded: "Okay."

Xuan Yu held the bath beans in his hand and rubbed them on Du Heng's back twice, leaving Du Heng's back covered with snow-white foam. The bath beans slowly melted in Xuan Yu's palms, and finally Xuan Yu flattened his palms and rubbed the last bit of bath beans on Du Heng's body.

Du Heng exuded a strong orange scent. His back was covered with foam. Xuan Yu reached out and rubbed his back in the foam. His back was smooth and greasy. Xuan Yu spread the foam evenly: "It should be spread evenly. I rinsed it."

Jing Nan and Feng Gui were talking to each other. Jing Nan picked up a bath bean and said to Feng Gui in a frivolous way, "Come on, turn around, I'll rub your back for you."

Feng Gui said helplessly: "Jing Nan, you smile like a brothel owner." Jing Nan slapped the bath bean on Feng Gui's back, and the bath bean was flattened: "If I am a brothel owner, you are the girl in the building, turn around."

Xuan Yu scooped up a spoonful of spiritual spring water and poured it on Du Heng's back. The warm spring water washed the foam into the spiritual spring, and the foam quickly dissipated. Du Heng's back of the hand soon became white and smooth.

However, Xuan Yu took out a piece of loofah with the pulp embedded in the cloth, and he placed the side with the pulp towards Du Heng's back.

Du Heng bared his teeth and said, "Ahhh, be gentler, be gentler!!"

Xuan Yu's hands were too strong, and my back would feel hot every time he rubbed it. I could only blame Du Heng for being too harsh on me, and he always chose something different when rubbing my back. I don't know where he found this old loofah, but he turned it into a bath cloth. Of course, this thing is really effective.

Xuan Yu eased his strength: "How about this?" Du Heng felt more comfortable: "Yeah, that's fine."

The skin that Xuan Yu had just rubbed had turned red. Seeing Du Heng's back, Jing Nan sighed again: "Hurry up and build your foundation and form your elixir. We all have pure bodies, but you are the only one who wants to rub my back."

Du Heng's whiteness was not at the same level as Jing Nan's. Jing Nan's skin was as smooth and warm as jade, and no mud could be rubbed off. Du Heng had not yet reached this level.

Feng Gui's mouth twitched: "If I had known that you were rubbing mud in my spiritual spring, I wouldn't have let you in."

Feng Gui, who was obsessed with mysophobia, had already climbed to the shore. He wanted to wait until Du Heng had rubbed and washed the mud before continuing to come down. Otherwise, he felt that he would be stained by Du Heng's mud.

Yun Zheng and Lao Dao were happily soaking in the spiritual spring, with only their heads sticking out of the water. Chonghua was chewing something in his mouth while soaking his water, and he sighed, "It would be nice if every New Year's Eve stay could be like this in the future."

Xiaoxiao secretly took a piece of egg yolk pastry and nodded while croaking: "Chirp!" Life in the village is so wonderful with Du Heng around.

After everyone had soaked enough in the spiritual spring, they returned to Xuan Yu's living room one by one. After a period of rest, everyone felt that they could eat more food, but at this time, they didn't want to eat big fish and meat, but wanted to eat something simple.

Especially Xiaoxiao, he drank a few bowls of white porridge at night, although it was delicious with pickled vegetables, but it was not enough to satisfy hunger. Xiaoxiao hummed and moaned around Du Heng's legs, and he opened his mouth and fluttered his wings, which clearly meant that he wanted to eat something.

Du Heng hugged Xiaoxiao and asked Jingnan: "Is Xiaoxiao's body okay? Can she eat now?"

Jing Nan looked at Xiao Xiao and said, "It should be fine, but you still have to be careful not to eat anything too greasy. Don't let him eat spicy chicken feet or duck necks. Noodles and soups are fine."

What's more, when Xiaoxiao was soaking in the spiritual spring just now, she secretly ate several snacks!

Du Heng thought for a moment and asked, "Xiaoxiao, do you want chicken noodle soup?"

At this time, as long as there is something delicious, Xiaoxiao will accept it! Xiaoxiao immediately drooled: "Chiu!"

Smoke was coming out of the chimney again, and the puppets in the courtyard were singing and dancing, but no one was watching in the corridor. Everyone gathered in the kitchen and watched Du Heng make noodles.

The noodles were the dragon beard noodles that Du Heng had prepared long ago. The thin noodles were gathered in small handfuls in a wooden box for storage. Each handful was only as big as an adult's fist, but there were countless noodles in it.

Jing Nan walked to the wooden box and picked up a noodle. He was shocked: "It's so thin? It won't melt when it's boiled. When did you cut this noodle? Why didn't we see it?"

They had eaten a lot of noodles made by Du Heng before, but had never seen ones so thin. Jing Nan felt that Du Heng's noodles were so thin that they could be threaded through a needle.

Du Heng smiled and said, "Dragon beard noodles cannot be cooked for too long. Just blanch them until they float up and they are cooked. These noodles are not cut, but pulled. This is the simplest entry-level dragon beard noodles. The really sophisticated noodles have to be fried in oil. I don't like the trouble, so I made it like this since I have a refrigerator to store it. I can just take it out and cook it when I want to eat it."

The water in the pot was already boiling, and Du Heng threw a handful of cleaned cabbage stalks into it. After blanching, the cabbage stalks turned dark green, which was particularly beautiful.

While the cabbage was being blanched, Du Heng took out eight medium-sized bowls. He added golden pork belly and chicken mushroom soup to the bowls, filling up more than half a bowl. Because it was served for dinner, the soup was still warm. After the soup was ready, he took the cabbage out of the pot and placed it on a prepared plate.

At this time, he quickly threw eight balls of dragon beard dough into the wide water in the pot. The dough sank to the bottom of the pot after entering the pot. Du Heng was not in a hurry. He prepared a strainer and long chopsticks and stood by. When the dough floated up, he quickly scooped up the noodles, drained the water and threw them into the large bowl next to him.

The whole process was done very quickly, and Du Heng picked up the noodles from the middle. The noodles were not messy at all when they were placed in the bowl, and were as neat and tidy as the noodles in the wooden box.

Du Heng put two blanched cauliflower stalks in each bowl. Next to the dark green cauliflower stalks lay a braised duck egg cut in half, filling the entire bowl. The noodles were white as jade, the soup was slightly yellow, and the vegetables were emerald green. It was clearly just a bowl of plain noodles without any meat, but it made people salivate.

When Du Heng started to boil water, the puppet outside started to sing a song. When he shouted that the noodles were ready, the puppet's song had not yet finished.

Du Heng said with a smile: "The noodles are ready, come to the stove and serve them yourself!"

The demon cultivator in the kitchen was shaking. He turned around and saw that there were only three bowls left on the stove. Xiaoxiao couldn't wait to move the bowls to the dining table. He squatted on the stove and drank the soup happily.

Xuan Yu helped Du Heng bring the noodles to the table: "Sit down and eat."

Jing Nan drank the chicken soup: "Oh, it smells so good. How can the noodles be so thin?" Feng Gui added chili oil to the bowl: "It should be cooked, right?"

Yun Zheng and Lao Dao ate their noodles in silence, and they picked up all the noodles in the bowl with one chopstick. Seeing that all the noodles were picked up, the two burly men put their chopsticks down tacitly, and then carefully picked up a small chopstick to taste it carefully.

Chonghua had already gulped down half of the noodles: "It's delicious, but I don't feel full, it's just this little."

Du Heng said with a smile: "It was originally meant for everyone to eat as a snack to fill their stomachs. If they have an appetite, they can eat other snacks later."

Jing Nan slurped up a mouthful of noodles: "I don't want to eat other snacks, just this noodles, and order two more bowls. Look at this bowl, it's too small."

Xiaoxiao also chirped in protest behind him. Du Heng looked back and saw that Xiaoxiao's bowl was empty. Xiaoxiao chirped twice, and he felt that he was getting hungrier and hungrier the more he ate.

Du Heng ate the noodles calmly. He said slowly, "Are you really only going to eat noodles? I was thinking of cooking seafood porridge. Are you really only going to eat noodles?"

105

When we heard about seafood porridge, although we had never eaten it before, we all tacitly chose seafood porridge. After all, everything you have never eaten is good, right?

Du Heng drank the soup slowly. This was the reason why he deliberately didn't cook noodles. He also wanted to make more delicious and easy-to-digest food. If everyone was full after eating noodles, they would feel sleepy and take a nap. How could they last until the New Year's bell rang?

Of course, there are no New Year bells here. But at least we can hold on for a while, right?

Needless to say, the soup of the dragon beard noodles was very good. Du Heng used pig stomach, old hen and bamboo shoots to cook for an hour, and all the deliciousness was concentrated in a bowl of soup. There were too many things to eat at the reunion dinner, and the charm of this pot of soup was overshadowed by other ingredients, and it was only at this time that it really shined.

Du Heng finished eating the braised egg and the cauliflower, and then drank the soup in the bowl. The tiredness after taking a bath was diluted by the delicious taste, and Du Heng felt that he could have another bowl of seafood porridge. Chonghua and the others sat in the corridor again, and the puppets were still singing and dancing hard. But after singing for so long, even if their voices were like heavenly music, everyone was bored.

Their eyes were now focused on Du Heng who was standing next to the casserole. The casserole in front of Du Heng was emitting a glow and a scent of seafood was wafting away. It seemed that it wouldn't be long before they could have a bowl of thick and delicious seafood porridge.

Lao Dao said happily: "I thought I was already satisfied with the New Year's Eve dinner tonight, but I didn't expect that I would still look forward to seafood porridge at this time."

Just now when Du Heng's dragon beard noodles were cooked, Lao Dao ran the fastest.

Chonghua said sarcastically, "It would be great if we could still stay up at Lord Xuan's house next year. Then we wouldn't need so many dishes. We could just eat whatever Mr. Du cooks."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuan Yu glanced at Chonghua, and all the hairs on Chonghua's back stood up. Xuan Yu said slowly, "That will make Du Heng tired."

Chonghua could only smile awkwardly: "I just said that. In fact, the reunion dinner is delicious. Everything Mr. Du cooks is delicious."

The spiritual light next to the casserole was intermittent, which proved that the formation was not fully activated. It was not that Xuan Yu's formation had a problem, but that making seafood porridge was different from making white porridge. The process of making seafood porridge was a bit complicated.

Du Heng took out a plate of shrimp shells and heads, which he peeled off when he made three-piece buns last time. He had always wanted to fry them into shrimp oil, but he never found the opportunity to do so. Now he finally found the right opportunity.

Du Heng added a little soybean oil to the casserole and sprinkled some shredded ginger in it. The shredded ginger sizzled in the oil pan, and Du Heng used a wooden spoon to stir-fry it twice, then poured the shrimp shells and heads from the plate into the casserole.

There was a crackling sound in the casserole, and white smoke came out of the pot. Du Heng carefully fried the shrimp shells and shrimp heads until the soybean oil in the pot changed from golden yellow to slightly orange-yellow. At this time, the shrimp oil was fried.

Because there were a lot of fried shrimp heads this time, Du Heng was afraid that it would be troublesome to pick them up later. Therefore, before adding water, he picked up the fried crispy shrimp heads and shrimp shells from the casserole. Only the orange-red shrimp oil was left in the pot, and the shrimp heads and shrimp shells filled up a plate. Just sprinkle a little cumin powder and chili powder, it will be a good snack.

Du Heng looked at Xiao Xiao out of habit. Xiao Xiao's eyes sparkled, waiting for Du Heng to call her to eat the shrimp heads. Then Du Heng ignored Xiao Xiao coldly and ruthlessly: "Besides Xiao Xiao, does anyone eat shrimp heads and shells? They are very good for calcium."

Xiaoxiao's face fell immediately. He could only watch as Yun Zheng and his friends took away a plate of red shrimp shells and shrimp heads. Listening to the sound of them eating the shrimp heads, Xiaoxiao sipped his saliva. These must be the most delicious shrimps in the world, right? Xiaoxiao decided that next time Du Heng fried shrimp oil again, all the shrimp heads would be his!

Du Heng added half a pot of boiling water into the pot, and a layer of orange-red oil floated on the surface. With this layer of oil, the porridge would be more delicious.

At this time, Du Heng poured the washed spiritual rice into the pot, and the formation was activated, and the rice in the pot began to roll up and down. Du Heng poured a little white wine into it, and then went to prepare other ingredients.

He took out a plate of shrimps, a bamboo shoot and half a chicken mushroom from the refrigerator. He cut the bamboo shoot and chicken mushroom into dices, and by the time he had finished processing these ingredients, the rice in the pot had expanded.

Du Heng poured the chicken mushroom, winter bamboo shoots and shrimp into the pot. Under the effect of the formation, he could see the expanded rice grains mixed with the red shrimp and the other two ingredients. Du Heng added some salt and pepper. He scooped a spoonful of porridge from the pot and blew it to cool it down: "Xiaoxiao, come and try the taste."

Xiaoxiao flapped its wings and flew over. Everyone couldn't help laughing when they saw its smug look.

Xiaoxiao drank the spoonful of porridge, and Du Heng asked with concern: "How is it?"

Xiaoxiao chirped twice, and Xuanyu translated: "Xiaoxiao doesn't seem to have any taste."

After hearing Xiaoxiao's feedback, Du Heng scooped another spoonful of porridge and tasted it this time. Hmm...it was indeed a little less salt.

Du Heng added a little more salt to the pot, and this time Xiaoxiao was finally satisfied. Just when Xiaoxiao thought Du Heng was going to take the casserole and cook the seafood porridge, Du Heng used his ultimate move.

The chives he had spent more than half a month cultivating were finally ready to eat. Du Heng planted the tender chives in a wooden frame and placed them on the windowsill of the corridor. Now the chives were only seven or eight inches long, and they were green and lovely.

Du Heng carefully cut a handful of chives. He didn't expect to be able to eat the chives he made himself on New Year's Eve. It was such a pleasant surprise.

Du Heng cleaned the chives and chopped them into small pieces. While the formation in the pot was still running, he poured the chives into the pot. The chives quickly blended into the seafood porridge, and the green chives also added a bit of freshness to the seafood porridge.

Xuan Yu asked, "Is the seafood porridge ready?" Du Heng nodded with a smile, and Xuan Yu took the casserole to the kitchen.

The demon cultivators under the eaves followed him in, and the kitchen suddenly became noisy: "Give me a bowl first, a big bowl!" "Xuan Yu, give me a bowl."

Suddenly, Du Heng heard a long bell sound. He looked up at the sky suspiciously: "Where does the bell sound come from?"

Is it possible that there really is a New Year’s bell in the demon world?

Chonghua quickly grabbed a bowl of porridge. He slid to the eaves and was drinking the porridge while circling the edge of the bowl. "Oh, is it New Year's Day already?"

Du Heng asked, "There was a bell sound just now...what was that?"

Chonghua said: "The demon god's subordinates will ring the ancient Donghuang Bell every year when the old year turns to the new year, telling the people of the demon world that the new year has arrived. The sound you heard was made by the Donghuang Bell."

Du Heng exclaimed: "It turns out that the demon world also has New Year bells, how great."

The sound of the bell was simple and melodious. Although there was only one sound, it seemed to strike Du Heng's heart. Standing under the eaves, Du Heng could feel the lingering sound. He even hoped to hear another sound.

Xuan Yu walked over to Du Heng with a bowl of porridge, on which there was a wooden spoon. Xuan Yu asked slowly, "Are you listening to the bell?"

Du Heng turned his head with sparkling eyes: "Yes, I didn't expect that the demon world also has New Year's bells. By the way, Xuan Yu..."

Du Heng showed his white teeth, and his smile was like a spring flower: "Happy New Year!"

The demon cultivators held their bowls in their hands and responded to Du Heng with a smile: "Happy New Year!!"

The seafood porridge was cooked just right, and Du Heng loved the formation made by Xuan Yu. With this formation, he could greatly reduce the time he spent cooking in the future. However, this formation could only be engraved on the casserole. If it was engraved on the stove, it would conflict with other formations in the house.

The seafood porridge was a little hot at this time, so Du Heng put the porridge on the table and stirred it slowly until it cooled down. At this time, a spoonful of porridge appeared in front of him, with a shrimp lying on it.

He knew it was Xuan Yu without looking up. Xuan Yu said, "My bowl of porridge is already warm. Would you like to try it?" Du Heng was not polite. He opened his mouth and swallowed the spoonful of porridge.

The shrimps were crisp and tender, the porridge was salty and light, the pepper had just the right flavor, and the winter bamboo shoots and chicken mushrooms in the porridge were delicious. In Du Heng's opinion, this was a successful pot of seafood porridge, no worse than the seafood porridge he had had before. The porridge cooked in the clay pot was thick, and a sip of it warmed my heart from the stomach.

Xuan Yu said to Du Heng slowly: "Thank you for your hard work. And thank you."

Thank you Du Heng for bringing them so many delicious foods and such wonderful memories, and thank you for coming to Yikeshu Village and becoming a member here. Du Heng smiled and narrowed his eyes: "As long as everyone likes it, that's good."

At this time, Jing Nan walked into the kitchen with a bowl in hand: "Du Heng, we are going to set off fireworks, do you want to come and see?"

Fireworks? Du Heng's eyes lit up: "I want to see it!" I didn't expect that there are fireworks in the demon world?

Everyone gathered under the eaves, each holding a bowl of porridge, except Xiaoxiao, who was standing next to the wooden box in the yard with a stick of incense in his mouth.

How bizarre! There is something in the world that can make Xiaoxiao put down the food in her hand. It seems that fireworks are quite attractive!

Xiaoxiao looked at Fenggui with sparkling eyes, and Fenggui nodded: "Go ahead!"

Xiaoxiao tilted his head and put the incense in his mouth on the fuse exposed on the wooden box. With a sizzling sound, Xiaoxiao let go of the incense in his mouth and ran under the eaves. As soon as he ran under the eaves, the fireworks in the wooden box shot up into the sky.

There was a sound of "whoosh whoosh whoosh" and thousands of golden lights shot up from above the wooden box. The golden lights rose quickly and when they dissipated, they had turned into golden spots in the sky.

Just when Du Heng thought they would disappear silently, the ball of light exploded with a rumbling sound. The ball of light turned into colorful fireworks, and the sky was lit up by the fireworks. Who would have thought that a small ball of light could explode so big?

The wooden box in the yard was whirring non-stop, and the fireworks in the sky were blooming one after another. Du Heng looked up at the sky, his eyes were sore but he didn't want to blink.

The whole fireworks display lasted for a cup of tea, and there were two or three hundred fireworks coming out of the small wooden box. When the fireworks dissipated, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. Although it was a bit choking, compared with the fragrance just now, it was not worth mentioning.

Feng Gui drank slowly