"New Year's Eve dinner, eat happily, eat a piece of fish, every year will be abundant. Eat a piece of chicken, good luck and a bright future. Eat a meatball, peace and safety..."
Granny Qin kept talking as she picked up the corresponding dishes for the people, and she didn't stop until she had talked about all the dishes on the table.
When she stopped, the food in the bowls of several people had piled up into small hills.
"On New Year's Eve, the dishes picked by the elders are blessings. After eating them, you will have continuous good fortune in the new year." Grandma Qin urged.
Hearing this, several people buried their heads in their food.
Tian An finished eating the food that Grandma Qin had picked up, and after thinking for a moment, he also picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of chicken for her: "Grandma, I wish you good luck and happiness!"
Seeing this, the others also picked up different dishes for her, and each dish was accompanied by a different blessing.
"You, you kids!" Grandma Qin looked at the food in the bowl and was so moved that her voice choked in her throat and tears sparkled in her eyes.
Mr. Han held her hand tightly and said, "Mom, today is a good day, you should be happy. This is a gift from the children, please eat it quickly! Don't let it down."
Granny Qin took out her handkerchief and pressed the corners of her eyes. "I'm happy." Then she picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the food in the bowl. "These meatballs are really delicious. They are the best meatballs I have ever eaten."
Granny Qin slowly finished the food in her bowl, not leaving a single grain of rice. "This is the most delicious meal I've ever had."
At the New Year's Eve dinner this year, everyone passed food to each other. No one had picked up the food in their bowl themselves, but everyone ate until their mouths were full of oil and their stomachs were full.
During the banquet, there was constant laughter and joy, which lasted until it was completely dark.
Zhenniang, Qingmei, Qiaoniang and two other women cleaned the table and replaced all the young girls so that they could have a more relaxing New Year's holiday.
Xiaokang took Xiaoqi and Xiaogoudan to play in the yard. The group of little girls found a shuttlecock from somewhere and had a lot of fun playing with it.
Chen Qiang had a lot of red lanterns made, lit with candles, and hung in the yard, which was both festive and bright.
It was a rare occasion for Zhao Yiming to sit in the courtyard and chat with Mr. Han. Tian An was pulled over by the maids to play shuttlecock with them.
It had been a long time since she had played with such childish things, and a happy smile spread across her face. At this moment, she felt like a real twelve-year-old child.
Zhao Yiming returned to his room at some point, and when Tian An found him, he was painting at his desk. When he got closer, he saw that he was actually painting himself playing shuttlecock.
"Brother Yiming's painting is so lifelike."
Zhao Yiming was startled, as if he had just discovered Tian An, but then he quickly reacted. A blush tinged at the tips of his ears, and he explained somewhat unnaturally, "This is our first New Year together, and I want to draw it."
Tian An nodded: "I should write it down." He took another look at the painting and said curiously: "But why is there only me in this painting? Where are Xiaokang and the others? Where are the others?"
Zhao Yiming choked and said awkwardly, "Isn't this painting finished yet?"
Tian An nodded, "Then show me when you finish your drawing!"
Zhao Yiming said "Okay." Tian An looked at the eight-treasure porridge and steamed cakes he had brought to the table before he realized what he was doing there.
"Brother Yiming, let's draw later! Come over for supper first."
It was already midnight and the sound of firecrackers could be heard outside the door.
After the sound of firecrackers, Tian An took a piece of steamed cake and handed it to him, "Brother Yiming, eat a piece of steamed cake. May your life be prosperous and prosperous in the coming year."
After finishing his midnight snack with Zhao Yiming, Tian An walked out of the room. The courtyard was still brightly lit. On New Year's Eve, the lights were still on. Everyone sat together in the main hall to celebrate the New Year. Even with so many people, they didn't feel sleepy.
"Sister, let's play a chain game of idioms!" Xiaokang was a little bored.
"Okay! How will the loser be punished?" Tian An said graciously.
"Every time you lose, you have to squat in horse stance for a quarter of an hour." Xiaokang said.
Xiao Qi hesitated for a moment and denied it: "Sisters, girls can't squat."
Xiaokang frowned: "What's the punishment?"
Xiao Qi suddenly had an idea, "Whoever loses can tell everyone a joke!" After saying that, she looked at everyone.
Hearing this, Deng Xue weakly raised her hand and said, "But I can't tell jokes."
Dong Yi and Dong Qing also said no.
"Then just show us one of your skills, such as reciting a poem, telling a funny story, or having some special skills. If that doesn't work, just imitate a cat's meow!" Tian An made the final decision.
Everyone passed it unanimously.
Seeing that everyone had no objection, Tian An named someone and said, "Since it was Xiaokang who proposed it, let Xiaokang start."
Xiaokang was not polite. After a moment of thought, he said, "Today is New Year's Eve, so I wish everyone all the best!"
Xiao Qi was beside him and continued, "Voluntary and high-spirited."
Tian An immediately followed up: "Carry forward and develop it."
Granny Qin: "Show off your skills."
Mr. Han: "Then it's easy."
Zhao Yiming just walked to the door and said subconsciously: "Come and go freely."
Liu Hui paused, then said, "It's like adding wings to a tiger."
Wang Hui frowned: "Yi... Yi... Hey! I give up."
Wang Hui stood up and walked in front of the crowd. "I admit defeat in this round. Let me show you one of my tricks! Give me a math problem and I'll do it."
The task of setting questions naturally fell on the master, which can be regarded as a test for him!
Tian An had no intention of making things difficult, so he just asked a simple question.
"Liu spent 19 wen to buy a basket of fruit and sold it for 20 wen. He felt it was not worth it and bought more for 21 wen and sold it for 22 wen. So the question is, how much did Liu make?"
After the problem was asked, everyone except Wang Hui was also working on it.
Wang Hui didn't waste any time, and after a moment's thought, he gave the answer: "Miss, the answer is two cents."
Tian An nodded and looked at the others, "Did you all calculate correctly?"
Some say it is right, some say it is wrong, and some say it has not been figured out yet.
The ones who were right were Xiaokang, Xiaoqi, and Gougoudan, the three students who went to the village school, as well as Chunxi and Mangzhong, who often helped Tian An take care of things, and the housekeepers and shop owners.
The one who made a mistake was Miss Dongwu. They arrived late and later went to Huanyanfang in the county town. They didn't attend the literacy class for long and could only barely recognize the words on the skin care products in the shop.
The ones who couldn't figure it out were the two women Tian An hired later. After they arrived, they started working directly in the noodle shop kitchen, so they couldn't read or count.
Tian An asked Wang Hui to teach everyone how he calculated it.
After Wang Hui finished speaking, those who had made mistakes or those who didn't know how to calculate suddenly understood, "So that's how it's done!"
"Yeah! It turns out to be so simple! Why didn't I think of it just now?"
…
The idiom chain game continued, starting with whoever finished. Wang Hui bowed to everyone and said, "I wish you all great wealth in the new year."
"Being caught between a rock and a hard place is precious, priceless, and trustworthy is the foundation of everything..."
It turns out that the literacy class was quite useful. Most people were able to follow along, and those who couldn't also showed off their unique skills and made everyone laugh.
Until late at night, when he saw that the younger ones were beginning to lose their ability to lift their eyelids, Tian An asked everyone to go back to their rooms and sleep.
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