Yu Yao carefully placed the "Fu" character on the octagonal table, saying, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Meihua."
Su Meihua was a little embarrassed by the praise and touched her hair. "I'm glad you like it. I was able to cut out this 'Fu' character thanks to you. That day you said that the 'Fu' character could be combined with other paper-cutting patterns to create more variations, so I thought I'd give it a try. After trying for several days, I finally cut out a beautiful window decoration."
This pair of paper-cut "Fu" characters is the best one ever made, and she thinks it should be given to Yu Yao.
"Sister-in-law Meihua, you're too modest. I was just saying it casually, but you actually made it, and it looks so good. You're the one who's truly amazing."
Lu Ze had already spread out the red paper, and Yu Yao and Su Meihua went over to help cut it into strips the size of Spring Festival couplets, while Lu Ze was in charge of writing them.
The first two paintings were for Sister-in-law Meihua.
Su Meihua beamed as she held up the two Spring Festival couplets: "Commander Lu, your calligraphy is so beautiful, and the couplets have such a good meaning. I'll have my husband, Lao Lei, put them up on the door later."
When the women from several nearby courtyards saw Lu Ze writing Spring Festival couplets, they all wanted to ask him to help them. The women didn't let Lu Ze work for nothing; they went home to get red paper and brought gifts with them.
It might be an egg, a handful of peanuts, or a few oranges bought from home—things for our own consumption, not expensive, but a token of our goodwill.
Yu Yao didn't stand on ceremony with everyone. After accepting the gifts, she would also use the sunflower seeds that her family had dried to treat everyone.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was very pleasant, with everyone chatting and laughing.
I don't know how we got onto the topic of tonight's New Year's Eve dinner. Yu Yao said that tonight there will be not only various braised pork and four-happiness meatballs, which are common dishes in the canteen, but also hearty dishes that the canteen has never made before, such as brown sugar glutinous rice, steamed pork with rice flour, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and braised mutton. Everyone is eagerly waiting for it.
Lu Ze wrote more than a dozen Spring Festival couplets. His sisters-in-law were busy going back to put them up after receiving them. The last two were specially kept for their own family, one for the courtyard and one for the main room entrance.
After putting up the Spring Festival couplets, it was almost time to gather.
Yu Yao changed into clean clothes and went to the backyard of the canteen with Su Meihua.
When we arrived, the women were already busily working away.
As the sun sets, golden sunlight spills across the azure sea, and the New Year's Eve dinner—a tradition that will be cherished for decades to come by among all the soldiers and their families stationed on the island.
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