"Second brother, you drive and take me to the train station first." Shen Fuyao got down from the driver's seat.

Dong Wushuang was about to speak up and ask his daughter to wait until she had finished her holiday before going back, but was stopped by Shen Min'e.

"A lady's wife is stubborn and you can't persuade her. Let her do whatever she wants."

Dong Wushuang sighed and said nothing more.

The group sent Shen Fuyao to the train station, and Shen Peifeng queued up to buy a train ticket. At that time, there was no high-speed rail, and it took several days to get from Shanghai to Beijing on a green train that stopped and started frequently.

Shen Peifeng felt sorry for his sister and bought her an expensive sleeper ticket.

The train still had more than half an hour to go before it arrived at the station. Dong Wushuang bought more than two dozen tea eggs and some roasted sweet potatoes near the train station, and gave some money to his daughter: "Fuyao, take this money and buy food on the train."

"Okay." Shen Fuyao took the food and money. She felt a little sad. She knew that Dong Wushuang loved her very much and never favored boys over girls. She also understood that as a mother, Dong Wushuang wanted her to get married and have children for her own good.

But Shen Fuyao doesn't like men or women. She likes to immerse herself in work. The sense of accomplishment she gets from work makes her feel fulfilled and happy. In this life, she is destined not to obey her mother's wishes.

"Mom, it will probably be the 28th of December before we go back to Beijing, and we have to go to the army to handle the handover. I probably won't be able to come back in time to spend the day with you. I'd like to wish you good morning first. Your daughter wishes you to be healthy and beautiful forever." Shen Fuyao hugged Dong Wushuang with some guilt.

Dong Wushuang burst into tears when his daughter hugged him. He choked and told her, "You must be careful when you go back alone. If you don't want to cook when you get home, go find your husband and ask him to take you to He Lingling's house for dinner."

"Yes. I know." Shen Fuyao let go of Dong Wushuang and greeted Dong Guochang and Shen Min'e one by one.

"Here, take it." Dong Guochang took out a red envelope and stuffed it directly into Shen Fuyao's coat pocket. "It's New Year's money. I'm giving it to you in advance."

Shen Min'e and Dong Wushuang took out a red envelope and stuffed it directly into Shen Fuyao's pocket, not worrying about being robbed.

Because of Zhan Xinyue's previous proposal, the law defines robbery as a felony. In addition, there are many factories now, providing many jobs. Many unemployed workers have jobs and income, and the number of robbers has suddenly decreased a lot.

Moreover, the train station had cameras donated by Ouyang Jie, and police officers patrolled from time to time, so no one dared to act rashly at the train station.

Shen Fuyao talked to his brother, his younger brother and his elder sister-in-law for a while, and the train arrived at the station on time.

"You guys go back. Once you've dealt with things over there, come back right away." After everyone sent them off to the train, Shen Fuyao waved towards the window.

"Have a safe trip and stay safe."

Reluctantly seeing Shen Fuyao off, the group set out on the journey back to the Shen family's ancestral home again.

After three or four hours, we finally arrived at our destination.

The old house of the Shen family is a typical Soviet-style garden, with a large courtyard that is very impressive.

Today is already the 24th of Ramadan, and there is no 3rd of Ramadan today, so there is only a few days left until New Year's Eve.

Dong Wushuang had already arranged for someone to come in and do a thorough cleaning, so all that was needed was to buy some old red lanterns and couplets.

Due to the reform and opening up, there are now many stalls selling red lanterns on the street. Sheng Tunan drove out in an SUV and came back with a whole car full of them in a short while.

"Dad, Peifeng, Zhixian, take a look at these and see if they are enough. If not, go buy more."

Sheng Tunan stopped the car, and Shen Min'e, Shen Peifeng, and Shen Zhixian went to move the lanterns. The three of them looked at the large car of red lanterns and said it was enough.

"Don't hang them on every door. There should be a lot left. You three brothers can hang the extra ones in your own homes." Shen Min'e said. There were many servants in the old house before, and almost every room was full. Now those rooms are empty, so it's a waste to hang the lanterns.

"Dad, if you're too lazy to move, just stay here." Shen Peifeng said. The eldest brother and the fourth brother both have wives and family to accompany them. What's the point of him going back alone as a bachelor?

Moreover, the gardens allocated to the three brothers were all mansions with three entrances and three exits, and were not small at all.

"Dad, 놖 and Xinyue also live here." Sheng Tunan also said that he would have to go back to the army after the second year of the Chinese New Year, so he should take advantage of this time to spend some time with his parents.

"Dong and Hong Xing also live here." Shen Zhixian also said.

"Okay, it's lively this way." Shen Min'e started to hang lanterns with a smile. He also wanted to live with his sons. He just mentioned it because he was afraid that the young ones would want their own space. Now that his sons are willing to accompany him, an old man, he is naturally very happy.

"Then let's hang up all the lanterns." Sheng Tunan suggested.

"OK."

The three of them hung up the lanterns, while Dong Wushuang, Zhan Xinyue, Hong Xing, grandfather and grandmother each packed their luggage.

After packing their luggage, Dong Wushuang, Dong Guochang and Grandma Sheng went to the kitchen to cook dinner.

Hong Xing and Zhan Xinyue, one of them was sick and the other was pregnant with triplets, so they couldn't work, so they helped to prepare the four treasures of the study. After Shen Min'e and the others hung up the lanterns, they started to write couplets.

Sheng Tunan couldn't write calligraphy, and Shen Zhixian didn't learn it because he went abroad early.

I gave it to Shen Min'e and Shen Peifeng to write.

One is cursive script and the other is regular script. Both are very skillful and better than those bought online.

Shen Peifeng and Shen Min'e were writing while Sheng Tunan and Shen Zhixian were pasting.

The two of them were divided into two groups, Sheng Tunan and Shen Zhixian were responsible for climbing the ladder to paste the couplets, Zhan Xinyue and Hong Xing were responsible for applying the paste and helping to check whether they were pasted correctly.

On the 24th day of the 11th lunar month, put up the couplets and hang up the lanterns.

On the second day of the lunar month, people cook glutinous rice and make glutinous rice cakes.

On the 26th of February, I went to the department store to buy groceries.

On the 27th day of Ramadan, buy vegetables, rice, oil and condiments.

On the 28th day of the 11th lunar month, we made dumplings and braised pork with soy sauce. Grandma also prepared some of the main dishes for New Year's Eve the next day.

There are tea oil chicken bowl, pig's feet and soybean bowl, braised perch bowl, and beef brisket stewed with lentils bowl.

These are all bowl dishes. Put them all in the bowl after they are ready, cover them with a lid, and heat them up when you eat them tomorrow.

Everything is ready, just waiting for New Year's Eve tomorrow.

After dinner, the whole family gathered around the stove to chat. Dong Wushuang took out the baked glutinous rice cake, dipped it in some sugar and put it in his mouth. It tasted sweet and sticky. It was very delicious. He began to recommend it to his family, "You guys should try it too."

Sheng Tunan took one and put it in the spicy radish strips and fermented bean curd prepared by Grandma Sheng and handed it to Zhan Xinyue. He knew that his wife liked spicy food.

The other people also took one and put it in the pot, eating it slowly while warming themselves by the fire.

Grandma Sheng suddenly asked: "What time do we have group meal tomorrow?"

Dong Wushuang said, "Dinner, dinner, it must be eaten at night. We used to start eating around 1:00 a.m. and continue eating until 2:00 a.m."

"What time do you want to eat? We can go earlier." Dong Wushuang said. She thought that the old man couldn't stay up so late.

"Mom, we in Zhi County start eating group dinners before dawn." Sheng Tunan explained, "We have group dinners there, not midnight dinners."

"So early?" Shen Zhixian asked in surprise.

"A long time ago, in the third year of high school, the strong men in our place would gather before dawn to fight the enemy. In order to allow them to have a family dinner before departure and share the reunion time with their family, everyone would get up early in the morning to prepare meals. Since then, everyone in our place has started eating before dawn."

"There is also a saying that if you start eating at 4 a.m. and continue until 7 or 8 a.m., the brighter it gets as you eat, which also symbolizes that the days ahead will get better and better," Zhan Xinyue added.

"So that's how it is. It's quite commemorative. Then let's have a group dinner tomorrow, starting at four in the morning." Shen Min'e said.

"Okay. Let's have group meals in the morning and dumplings in the evening to celebrate the New Year." Shen Zhixian said with a smile. In the north, people cannot celebrate the New Year without dumplings.

On the second day, New Year's Eve, before dawn, Grandma Sheng, Grandpa Dong and Dong Wushuang got up early to prepare meals. Yesterday they prepared four braised vegetables and a braised pork, so there were not many dishes to cook today.

Grandma Sheng got four charcoal stoves, placed them on the dining table, and then put the vegetables on the stoves and simmered them slowly.

Dong Guochang cooked chicken with mushrooms and pork with vermicelli. Grandma cooked duck with plum sauce.

Dong Wushuang was steaming crabs, prawns and deep-sea fish. When he was about to stir-fry the vegetables, Shen Min'e also got up. He had quietly asked Sheng Tunan yesterday about the custom of eating group dinner in Hunan Province. He knew that firecrackers had to be set off before the meal, so he got up early and hung up the firecrackers.

"Dad, happy New Year's Eve." Sheng Tunan also got up and came out to get hot water for Zhan Xinyue to wash her face.

"Come and set off firecrackers." Shen Min'e replied.