Chapter 95 "The New Year is almost here."
No matter how long the winter is, we have to endure it day by day. The world covered with ice and snow has become a familiar sight in our eyes. In the blink of an eye, it is already February.
Lin Mian sniffed and put the bundle of firewood that Jiang Jie had collected on the ground using his supernatural powers into the space.
The coal they had collected at the beginning was almost used up, but the end of winter was still a long way off, so they needed some firewood to mix it in.
Recently they come out every few days to collect some dead branches, put them in the house to dry for a few days and then use them.
Jiang Yan heard the sound of him sniffling, raised his hand and released flames, which surrounded the two of them and brought warmth.
Lin Mian felt much better and continued walking with him. He looked up at the frost-covered mountains and forests and suddenly remembered something. He said, "It seems like the New Year is coming soon."
He looked at the date on his tablet today. In two days it will be Little New Year, and a few days after that it will be Spring Festival.
When Jiang Jie heard these two words, he was stunned. Chinese New Year? As far as he could remember, the last time he celebrated Chinese New Year was three years ago.
After the end of the world, those so-called festivals also disappeared. When survival became a problem, these celebrations were no longer important.
Moreover, for Jiang Jie, even before the end of the world, these days, which were mostly family reunions, were not important. They were just reminders for him to provide benefits to his employees.
He still stayed in his deserted home, had a good meal, and that was all.
"When I was in the orphanage, the aunts would take us to put up Spring Festival couplets and hang small lanterns. It was quite lively." Even though the days back then were not happy, there were still some good memories. On the contrary, after growing up, Lin Mian lowered his eyes and felt more lonely.
They were all children without homes. Jiang Jie looked at him and remembered this fact.
But now it was different. The two of them were together, and neither of them felt lonely anymore. He said, "We can also put up Spring Festival couplets and hang small lanterns together."
Lin Mian looked up when he heard this, "But we have nothing."
Even if you want to write the Spring Festival couplets yourself, you need red Spring Festival couplet paper, not to mention lanterns.
"Then let's look for it in the village." Jiang Yan reached out and held his hand. The village is different from the city. There must be stock from previous years.
Lin Mian's eyes lit up behind his goggles. He took a step forward and hugged his arm. "You're right. We can look for it."
I never expected that I would start looking forward to the days that I had never looked forward to before at the end of the world.
They took action as soon as they said it. The next day, they searched several houses nearby. Unexpectedly, they actually found Spring Festival couplets and leftover writing brushes in the yard of a house that seemed to be inhabited by elderly people.
The ink was just liquid ink, which wasn't very good. It had frozen because the weather was too cold, but Lin Mian thought it should be usable after melting it.
As for lanterns, they are in the yard where they live. There are big ones and small lantern strings. They are kept in a small warehouse and should be taken out and used every year.
It has electricity, so they can connect it to the RV. Honghong feels it will be very lively just thinking about it.
The lanterns were easy to handle, but Lin Mian was troubled when he took the Spring Festival couplet paper. "Brother Ji, can you write calligraphy?"
Jiang Jie shrugged, "I've only practiced hard pen calligraphy."
"What should I do then?" Lin Mian couldn't write either.
Jiang Yan stood up from his chair and walked over. He took the paper from his hand and placed it on the table. "Just write whatever you want. After all, this kind of thing is all about having a happy occasion."
Lin Mian thought about it and decided not to take it too seriously. The ink had melted after being in the warm room for two days, so he helped unscrew it and handed the pen over. "Then here comes Brother Ji."
Jiang Jie raised his eyebrows, did not refuse, dipped the ink and started working.
He had a casual temperament and wrote in the same way, writing from top to bottom in one go, without any hesitation or pause except for moving the paper.
"When spring comes, all things flourish on earth, blessings come to the family and joy is born. The horizontal scroll reads: peace and health." Lin Mian recited the couplet he wrote.
It is the simplest content, which I often saw before, and it is also the most suitable for now. Safety and health are more important than anything else.
"Brother Jian, have you really never practiced calligraphy before?" Lin Mian tilted his head to look at him, "Then how come your writing is so good? It doesn't look like someone who is writing for the first time at all."
"You're being quite sweet today." Jiang Yan reached out and pinched his cheek, shaking it.
"I have always been very sweet-mouthed." Lin Mian's face was pinched by him, and his words were a little unclear.
"Really?" Jiang Jie pulled him closer and lowered his head. "Let me try it."
Before being touched, Lin Mian shrank back and avoided it. He turned around and ran away with a smile, opened the door and slipped out of the room. "There's still meat stewing in the pot. I'll go to the kitchen to check."
Today is the Little New Year in the north. Since they are in the north now, they might as well celebrate according to local customs, so he stewed some braised pork and had something delicious.
He slipped away, Jiang Jie smiled helplessly, picked up the used ink bottle and screwed the lid on, just as he put it down, he heard someone approaching.
It was already dark at around six o'clock. The village, without electricity, was in a dim color, thanks to the accumulated snow, which showed a little brightness.
A warm yellow light shone through Jiang Jie and his family's house, which was very obvious in the dim light. Lin Ke knew that their RV could provide electricity, so he didn't find it strange.
But he saw the smoke rising from the kitchen, sniffed, and felt as if he could smell the scent of roasting meat.
Fresh meat could no longer be preserved in the previous high temperature. Even if there were some live livestock in their village, after being slaughtered for safety, the remaining meat was eaten early to prevent it from spoiling.
Jiang Jie and his friends have been in the village for several months. Even if they had meat before, it would not be kept until now. How could there be these things? He must have smelled it wrong. It might be something very similar to meat.
He put aside the thoughts in his mind and walked to the front of the house. Just as he raised his hand, but before he could knock on the door, the person inside opened it first.
The man, wearing a casual coat, stood at the door, his dark eyes fixed on him. "What's the matter?"
Every time he saw him, Lin Ke always felt nervous, especially when he witnessed his efficient killing last time, he often felt a chill on his forehead.
He adjusted his mood and quickly handed over the thermos bucket in his hand, saying, "Mr. Jiang, today is the Little New Year. I made dumplings at home and wanted to send some for you to try."
Jiang Jie lowered his eyes and glanced at the thermos that was placed in front of him.
Lin Ke added, "We're short on ingredients right now. We don't have any fresh vegetables or meat, so we made do with what we have. I hope you don't mind."
Lin Mian heard them talking in the kitchen and came out to take a look. He was startled by the cold temperature outside the door.
Jiang Yan reached out and pulled him over, lowering his head and saying, "Would you like some dumplings?"
Lin Mian blinked, looked at the thermos bucket Lin Ke was still holding, and reached out to take it. "Thank you, we'll try it."
Since it is someone else's kindness, they don't have to refuse it.
Only when facing him did Lin Ke feel a little more relaxed. After delivering the things, his mission was completed. "Then I won't bother you anymore."
After they left, they closed the door to isolate themselves from the cold air outside. Lin Mian said, "Brother Jian, you're too fierce. They're all so scared of you."
"Isn't this good?" Jiang Jie didn't mind at all. "If you respect me, I won't dare to provoke you."
What he said always made sense, so Lin Mian didn't refute it. He lowered his head and unscrewed the lid of the thermos in his hand. It was full of dumplings, each of which was beautifully shaped and steaming hot.
He pinched one out and took a bite, then exclaimed in surprise, "It's made of pickled cabbage and bacon!"
He had never eaten it before, and it was quite delicious. He reached out and handed over the remaining half, "Try it."
Jiang Yanhan ate it without hesitation and commented simply with two words, "Not bad."
Lin Mian returned the lid and said, "We can try it in a few days after the New Year."
People in the south don't often eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year, and he has never tried to make them.
Jiang Jie didn't have any thoughts about this. If the other party liked it, they could give it a try. It was nice to have something happy in the apocalypse.
*
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. On the morning of New Year's Eve, Lin Mian woke up very early and followed Jiang Jie to paste the couplets he had written earlier and find a place to hang the lanterns.
The bright red color appeared in the pure white world, which immediately dispelled the coldness and made it feel like the New Year.
It would be even better if there were no Altered Thing nearby to spoil the fun while they admired the fruits of their labor.
However, Lin Mian was in a good mood and could ignore this little episode. He just thought that the other party came to wish him a happy new year.
When Jiang Jie came back with a few crystals, he also said that those alien creatures had not come in vain, as they all brought New Year gifts.
After decorating the yard, Lin Mian tried to make dumplings. He still had a lot of meat and vegetables in his space, so he planned to make some mutton and pork.
Although I have never made it before, I have eaten some and I know roughly how to make it.
After pinching out the first one, he put it in the palm of his hand to show it. It was white and plump. Although the shape was not so standard, it was surprisingly cute.
This was Jiang Jie's first time making dumplings, but the finished product was surprisingly perfect, with a very standard dumpling shape, just like those sold in stores.
"Brother Jian," Lin Mian looked at his own and then at his, "Do you even need to roll dumplings..."
Jiang Jie raised his eyebrows proudly, "The procedure is correct, the result is correct, it's not difficult at all."
Lin Mian didn't want to talk to this Versailles guy anymore.
The dumplings look beautiful and taste great when cooked. The meat in the space is still as fresh as when it was just slaughtered, which also adds a lot of points.
Not long after dinner, snowflakes began to fall outside. Lin Mian peered out through the frosted window and said, "They say auspicious snow indicates a good harvest. This is a good omen, isn't it?"
Although now, there is no so-called harvest.
Jiang Jie walked over from behind him, lowered his head and placed his chin on his shoulder, "Yeah."
Lin Mian turned his head to look at him, leaned over and put his cheek against his. Having him by his side in the new year was the best omen for him.
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