The main event today is the New Year's Eve dinner. Apart from Ah Huang and Xue Tuan, who are wandering around the yard, everyone else is working.
"The waves surge, the waves flow..."
Chen Weiqiang was holding a small brush, singing the theme song of Shanghai Bund while bathing several large blue crabs.
There was also a large yellow croaker that hadn't fully thawed and several abalone waiting for him to process.
Chen Zhiyao took a vegetable basket and walked outside. She was going to the vegetable garden near the old house to pick vegetables for the New Year's Eve dinner.
In the dead of winter, when vegetables are scarce, she only picked a few bright green lettuce leaves and a round cabbage.
In addition, some scallions, ginger, garlic, and cilantro were also added.
When Chen Zhiyao returned with a basket of vegetables, the aroma of meat was already wafting from the kitchen.
The poached chicken and soy sauce goose looked incredibly tempting, and Ah Huang and Xue Tuan were drooling as they waited at the kitchen door.
When the two little guys saw Chen Zhiyao return, they gave her a perfunctory look and wagged their tails slightly to welcome her.
Then he turned and stared intently into the kitchen.
Seeing the two dogs' perfunctory attitude, Chen Zhiyao walked over unhappily, grabbed one of the dogs with one hand, and gave it a good rub.
Seeing that the two little guys were annoyed, he finally went to wash his hands, satisfied, and then picked and washed the vegetables he had just brought back.
As for Grandpa Chen, seeing that there was nothing in the kitchen that required his help, he cleaned the house inside and out again.
The old man knew in his heart that even if he couldn't help, he couldn't just sit idly by, or he would get scolded.
Anyone who cooks knows that the most time-consuming part of cooking is actually the preparation of ingredients.
The four of them were busy running around until after noon when they finally finished preparing all the ingredients.
Chen Zhiyao's cooking skills are average. She's fine with everyday dishes, but for big occasions like New Year's Eve dinner, it's up to Grandma Chen and Yan Shuting, the two master chefs, to step in.
While the two were preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, Chen Zhiyao, along with her grandfather and father, came to the Sea God Temple to offer prayers.
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and families are having their reunion dinner. Naturally, they can't forget about the Sea God, so every household brings all sorts of delicious food to the Sea God Temple.
Tanah Lot Temple was much busier than usual today, packed with people.
As soon as Chen Zhiyao arrived, she found that there were many people she didn't recognize, and some of them looked familiar, but she couldn't remember their names.
Fortunately, everyone was quite busy and didn't stop to say hello or chat.
Seeing that no one greeted her, Chen Zhiyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
What if you can't remember their name and just stare at each other blankly? That would be so awkward.
Chen Zhiyao kowtowed and burned incense to the sea god, praying for favorable weather and a peaceful year for her family.
She doesn't ask for much money; she just wants her family to be safe and sound.
After the worship ceremony, everyone took home the various delicious foods that had been brought over.
On the way back from Tanah Lot Temple, the streets were filled with kids having a blast, and the aroma of meat was everywhere.
Having only eaten two meat buns for breakfast, Chen Zhiyao was already starving, and her pace quickened unconsciously.
Back home, Grandma Chen and Yan Shuting had almost finished preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
After handing her things to her mother, Chen Zhiyao returned to the living room.
As soon as she entered, she noticed that the baby pufferfish in the fish tank looked rather listless.
"Why are you so listless? Are you hungry?" he said, scattering another handful of fish food.
Seeing that the little pufferfish had started eating, she got up and went to the kitchen to help out.
However, what she didn't notice was that the little pufferfish, which was already listless, was now in even worse condition.
The New Year's Eve dinner consisted mainly of main dishes, and Chen Zhiyao and her two companions were busy until 4 o'clock before they finally finished.
Stir-fried blue crab, steamed yellow croaker, braised pork knuckle with lotus root, boiled prawns, abalone and chicken stew, poached chicken, soy sauce goose, and oyster sauce lettuce—the table was almost overflowing.
As soon as the food was set out, Yan Shuting and Chen Zhiyao started snapping photos with their phones.
poached chicken
Stir-fried blue crab
Steamed Yellow Croaker
Braised pork trotters with lotus root
Boiled shrimp
Abalone Chicken Hot Pot
"Crackling and popping..."
Just as Chen Zhiyao put her phone away, she heard a loud firecracker going off at the door.
Immediately afterward, Grandpa Chen and Chen Weiqiang, who had just finished setting off firecrackers and still had a small piece of red paper hanging on their heads, ran in.
Seeing that everyone was present, Grandma Chen smiled and urged the father and son to hurry up:
"Go wash your hands, it's time to eat!"
Besides the food on the table, there was also chicken soup made with an old hen in the pot. Chen Zhiyao quickly served everyone a bowl.
Seeing that Grandpa and Grandma Chen had started eating, Chen Zhiyao and the other younger family members dared to pick up some food.
At this moment, the sound of firecrackers rang out one after another in the village, creating a joyous atmosphere.
"Woof woof woof..."
Ah Huang was a little afraid of the sound of firecrackers, and he looked listless and pitiful.
Grandma Chen lovingly picked up two pieces of chicken for it.
As soon as it saw something delicious, its big tail, which had been drooping, immediately started wagging wildly again.
Chen Weiqiang sipped his wine, watching Ah Huang wagging its tail and shaking its head, and couldn't help but tease it:
"Tsk tsk tsk, Ah Huang, that cunning dog, could it be that he's pretending to be pitiful just to get food?"
Seeing Ah Huang's innocent and obedient face, Grandma Chen happily placed another piece of goose meat in front of him:
“Our Ah Huang is so well-behaved, stop talking nonsense here.”
“I’m not talking nonsense. Ah Huang looks simple-minded, but he’s actually quite shrewd,” Chen Weiqiang said, unconvinced.
Chen Zhiyao watched her father's misfortune with a gleeful expression, her smugness practically obvious.
After watching the commotion, she realized that Snowball was unusually quiet today. She had thought it was destroying the house, but when she turned around, she saw...
The little guy is lying at Grandpa Chen's feet, happily munching on a big chicken foot.
Everyone chatted and laughed, and also teased the two little cuties, Xue Tuan and Ah Huang. The New Year's Eve dinner lasted from 4 o'clock until after 5 o'clock.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, it's time for the important part: receiving red envelopes.
In Guangdong, it's customary for unmarried people to receive red envelopes regardless of age.
Unlike in the north, where red envelopes often contain hundreds or even thousands of yuan, here, even the closest family members usually only give red envelopes containing one or two hundred yuan.
As in previous years, Chen Zhiyao received a total of 400 yuan in New Year's red envelopes.
She earned a lot of money this year and prepared red envelopes for her grandparents and parents.
She stuffed a thick wad of 100 yuan into each of the four extra-large red envelopes inscribed with "Peace and Joy".
As a master of impartiality, Chen Zhiyao gave each red envelope containing 2,000 yuan.
She originally intended to transfer the money directly via WeChat, but considering that older generations prefer cash, she went out and exchanged it for cash instead.
Chen Weiqiang and the others were overjoyed to receive red envelopes, eager to announce to the world how filial their granddaughter/daughter was.
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