Chapter 374 Color TV

As they were talking, the kitchen curtain was lifted, and Gu Yan and Gu Xiao walked in one after the other.

Gu Yan twitched his nose, then reached straight for the plate of freshly fried crispy pork. He picked up a steaming piece and popped it into his mouth, panting as if it were burning him, but he didn't want to spit it out. He mumbled, "Mmm! Delicious! Aunt Wu's cooking is amazing!"

He swallowed the crispy pork and announced to the women in the kitchen, "The TV is installed. After half a day of testing, we finally got a picture, and it's quite clear! Ladies, go check it out when you're done with your work."

Seeing how greedy he looked, Nan Zhiyi smiled, picked up a small piece, blew on it, and casually stuffed it into Gu Xiao's mouth.

Gu Xiao was watching his wife busy herself when she unexpectedly fed him. He smiled and accepted her kindness, saying, "Thank you, wife."

Seeing this, Wang Juan winked mischievously and picked up a piece of crispy pork, stuffing it into her sister-in-law Li Xiuqin's hands: "We can't let those two brothers eat it all by themselves. We've been busy all this time, so we have to have a taste too!"

Laughter erupted in the kitchen.

After finishing her crispy pork, Li Xiuqin looked at the two tall men crammed into the kitchen and waved her hand dismissively, saying, "Alright, alright, this place is too small to turn around. You two grown men shouldn't be in the way. Go watch your TV!"

Gu Yan grinned and casually put his arm around Gu Xiao's shoulder. The two brothers were "kicked" out of the kitchen, their arms around each other's shoulders.

When Commander Gu returned from outside, holding Xiaoman's hand, they heard the sound from the television as soon as they entered the entrance hall.

The brand-new color television set has been placed where the old television set used to be.

An old movie, "Tunnel Warfare," is playing on the television screen. The images are rendered in color, giving them a unique flavor, and the picture is much brighter than the previous black and white television.

Gu Yong, Gu Meng, and Nannan sat side by side on the sofa facing the television, watching intently.

The four brothers, who were talking in the living room, stood up and went to greet their father when he returned to the entrance hall.

"Dad, you're back." Gu Weiguo spoke first.

"Dad, is it cold outside?" Gu Weimin took the hat that Commander Gu had taken off.

Gu Yan also stopped joking and called out, "Dad."

Commander Gu looked at his sons with a kind expression and nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, it's good that you're all back."

"Dad, you've worked hard taking Xiaoman out."

Gu Xiao nodded respectfully to Commander Gu.

Then, he took Xiaoman from him and knelt down to take off his thick coat and boots.

Before Xiaoman could completely break free from her father's grasp, she eagerly turned her head toward the living room, her big eyes filled with wonder: "Dad, is that...that the new color TV?"

Gu Xiao took off the last boot for him: "Yes, your uncle bought it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Commander Gu stretched out his hand to Xiaoman: "Come on, Xiaoman, Grandpa will take you to see a color TV!"

As she spoke, she took her grandson's little hand and walked straight to the sofa.

They left Gu Xiao, who had just finished his work, standing there unattended.

Gu Xiao looked at the backs of the old man and the young man and shook his head helplessly.

He bent down and neatly arranged Xiaoman's shoes and socks before slowly walking into the living room.

At lunchtime, due to the large number of people, we were divided into two tables as usual.

Li Xiuqin directed Gu Weiguo to go to the warehouse to move out the spare small dining table and several small stools, carefully cleaned them, and set up a table for the children in a corner of the living room.

The adults sat around the long dining table.

At the dinner table, Commander Gu looked at his children and grandchildren, in a good mood. His gaze swept over his sons' faces, and he cleared his throat, asking casually, "Today... you lot, how about a drink?"

He had just recovered from an illness and knew he shouldn't drink, but the longing in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Sitting next to him, Gu Xiao said, "Dad, we're all family here, no need for formalities. We'll just have tea instead of wine and chat with you."

His words saved face for his father while also putting an end to any lingering thoughts.

Commander Gu's hopeful light dimmed after his son's retort. He clicked his tongue, somewhat sullenly, and muttered, "...Fine, I won't drink then."

The other sons present, including Gu Weiguo and Gu Weimin, naturally understood the old man's health condition and echoed his sentiments:

"Yes, Dad, your health is the most important thing."

"Once you've fully recovered, we'll have a couple of drinks with you."

Seeing this, Commander Gu completely abandoned the idea and picked up the teacup in front of him.

After lunch, Commander Gu was helped by Gu Xiao to take a nap, and the children were also arranged to rest.

The women gathered in the kitchen in unison, washing and cleaning, and began making final preparations for the New Year's Eve dinner.

In the late afternoon, the phone rang at home.

Li Xiuqin went out of the kitchen to answer the phone.

It was my third sister, Gu Min, calling to say that she and her husband, Zhao Zhigang, had arrived at Jian'an Railway Station with their children.

Li Xiuqin quickly agreed, hung up the phone, and went to the room to wake up her husband Gu Weiguo, who was still taking a nap: "Weiguo, get up quickly, Third Sister's family has arrived at the station, can you drive to pick them up?"

Gu Weiguo, still half asleep, crawled out of bed and said, "Okay, I'll go right now."

Li Xiuqin saw him to the door, reminding him, "Drive carefully on the road. Their youngest son is still small, so don't let him get hurt by the bumpy ride."

"Okay." Gu Weiguo put on his coat, grabbed his car keys, and went out.

Li Xiuqin turned around and went back into the kitchen to continue her work.

This year, I specially prepared one type of filling: beef and scallion, and another type: the traditional pork and cabbage filling.

After all the materials are prepared.

Nan Zhiyi helped carry the fillings, dough, rolling pin, and lid to the large table in the restaurant.

This is their regular spot for making dumplings every year.

Nan Zhiyi was in charge of rolling out the dumpling wrappers. She was skillful and rolled out wrappers that were thick in the middle and thin at the edges, making them perfectly round.

Li Xiuqin and Wang Juan were in charge of wrapping the dumplings. With nimble fingers, ingot-shaped and crescent-shaped dumplings were neatly arranged on the bamboo mat, with different decorative borders used to distinguish the two types of fillings.

The three of them chatted about everyday things while their hands were busy working, mostly about their children, family matters, the year's news, and television programs.

But they all tacitly avoided the topic of their second brother and sister-in-law's family, as if it were a taboo subject.

Nan Zhiyi wasn't one to gossip, and seeing that her sisters-in-law weren't bringing it up, she focused on speeding up the peeling process to ensure she could keep up with the demand.

Xiaoman was very curious about the new color television. As soon as she woke up from her afternoon nap, she climbed onto the sofa and squeezed between Gu Yong, Gu Meng and Nannan, staring at the screen with eager eyes.

A traditional opera program is playing on TV; the visuals are colorful and lively.

Gu Yan sat leisurely on the sofa, glancing at the TV intermittently, but focusing his main attention on taking care of Xiaoman.