359 Let’s go watch the fireworks

The New Year's Eve dinner was scheduled for noon. Under her influence, Su Taotao's family's eating habits were different from those of most families of that era.

They are used to eating better at noon than at night, so as not to delay Chen Chen's time for setting off fireworks at the beach.

There is also a saying here that no feast is complete without chicken. Whether you have money or not, after a busy year, the New Year’s Eve dinner is always the best meal of the year. You can do without other things, but you must have chicken.

And it is the white-cut method used for worshiping gods.

In those days, the Four Olds were being destroyed and grand sacrifices were not allowed.

However, it is human nature to close the door and set up a small table in the yard to worship the heavens, the earth and the ancestors during the New Year and other festivals. Most people do this.

Zhou Linglan was no exception. She clasped her hands together and muttered a few words quietly, asking her ancestors and all the gods passing by to "eat" a few bites and "drink" a cup.

Then they asked the children to come over and worship their ancestors, offer wine, and then they quickly left.

No paper money was burned, no firecrackers were set off, everything was kept simple.

In recent days, the cultural time on the radio has also started to play New Year songs.

Maybe because this place is close to the port city, the New Year songs played on the radio were actually in Cantonese.

This is also the melody that Su Taotao sang every Chinese New Year in her previous life.

It sounds particularly intimate.

Chenchen would hum along from time to time, singing in a minor tune in his baby voice, which was particularly interesting to listen to.

Su Taotao saw the yard was filled with red Spring Festival couplets, every word of which was full of good intentions, and her mood also became brighter.

Aunt Zhong's family didn't start cooking until New Year's Eve. She fried some northern-style fried cakes and sazi, and also made radish balls and pot-stuffed meat.

When Mumu brought it over, he said that it didn’t matter whether they ate chicken during the Chinese New Year, but they must have fried meatballs and pot-stuffed meat, as they were his favorites.

Su Taotao tasted some and found that Aunt Zhong’s cooking skills were not bad. These two dishes were even more authentic than what she had eaten in her previous life. The quality was good enough to open a restaurant.

Normally when cooking, I am probably reluctant to add oil, so I just throw whatever is left into the pot and cook it randomly, which results in the food not tasting good.

"Mumu, Auntie Zhong's cooking skills are great. You are in for a treat."

"Sister Taozi, you talked about Aunt Zhong last time. Her cooking is much better now. If I hadn't seen these two dishes with my own eyes, I would have suspected that she bought them from the hotel." Mumu rarely praised Aunt Zhong.

"Didn't your family cook these two dishes in previous years?" Su Taotao asked.

Mumu nodded: "I also make it, but it's not as delicious. It's especially delicious this year."

Mumu seriously suspected that Ms. Zhong was using her real skills because she was going to send the gift to Sister Taozi's family and was afraid of being embarrassed.

"Comparatively, our New Year's Eve dinner is not that exciting," Su Taotao said. "We just make what we usually eat and decorate it for you to try."

Mumu waved his hand and said, "Ms. Zhong said that we often taste your cooking, so you don't have to give it to us. We made a lot today and can't finish it."

Su Taotao didn't force it, so she didn't pack the chicken and fish for Mumu. She would do the same thing again on the second day of the Chinese New Year, and only packed some shrimp for Mumu:

"You may not have eaten shrimp cooked this way before, so I'm giving you a good omen. I wish you will always be happy and laugh all day long."

Here, "蝦" and "哈" have the same pronunciation, so eating shrimps during Chinese New Year means laughing, and everyone will buy shrimps during Chinese New Year.

"These sugar rings, fried dough sticks, and smiling dates are also snacks in our area. You can take some back to try."

Mumu didn't bother to be polite with Su Taotao. He had never seen some of these things before and wanted to try them, so he accepted them with a smile.

"Ah Hang, you don't know that when Lao Mo saw those couplets, he almost framed them, he loved them so much.

One said that it was obvious that Mr. Fu's calligraphy was learned from a great master. If he didn't do scientific research, he could be a calligrapher."

Mumu imitated Mo Gong's expression and tone to about 80%, which made everyone laugh.

He also hurried back to have lunch, and played with Chenchen for a while before going back.

The food at Su Taotao's house has always been good, and the New Year's Eve dinner was not prepared to be very sumptuous. She has always been against extravagance and waste, and tries not to leave leftovers, so for lunch there was boiled chicken, braised prawns, steamed sea fish, and watercress in chicken soup.

Boiled chicken is a must-eat during the Chinese New Year, braised prawns represent laughter, and fish represents surplus every year, which is a good omen.

Su Taotao drank coconut water instead of wine: "I'll raise a glass and wish that we will laugh every day and have plenty of food every year in the future."

"Happy New Year, hahaha."

"Good health brings prosperity to all years."

…

After lunch, Zhou Linglan started to boil water for everyone to take a bath and change into new clothes.

Zhou Linglan made new cotton-padded shirts for Chenchen and Fu Yuanhang. Chenchen’s small pocket was specially made into the shape of a little duck, with eyes, nose and mouth embroidered on it with different colored threads, making it look particularly cute.

Chenchen liked it so much that he wanted to wear it early in the morning. Zhou Linglan had to persuade him to wait until today to wear it.

The two children washed clean, put on new clothes, and looked brand new.

"When you go to set off fireworks at night, you'd better change into old clothes. It would be bad if a hole gets burned on them. You can change into old clothes when you come back," said Zhou Linglan.

Chenchen touched the little duck and couldn't let it go. He shook his head and said, "Grandma, I don't want to change it. I want to let Pangpang see my little duck."

Zhou Linglan: "You can only see it clearly tomorrow during the day. You will be busy watching the fireworks at night and won't be able to see your little duck."

Chen Chen tilted his head and thought about it. It seemed to make sense, so he reluctantly agreed: "Okay then."

Fu Zhengtu took advantage of his free time to start making gadgets for Chenchen.

When Chen Chen asked him, he didn't say anything, just said he would know when it was done.

This made Chenchen both curious and expectant.

Dinner was also rich. I saved half of the chicken from lunch and stir-fried it, grilled some beef, and made a soup. It was as rich as lunch.

As I said before, Su Taotao's family usually has a good meal, the only difference is that the New Year's Eve dinner has some extra boiled chicken and beef, which are not common on weekdays. Anyway, the whole family enjoys the meal very much.

Especially Chen Chen, he ate half a bowl of rice more than usual, and his stomach swelled like a small watermelon.

Just after seven o'clock, when we had just finished cleaning up the house, Mumu came knocking on the door with the "Five Tigers of the Base".

Mumu said, "Ah Hang, let's hurry up and grab a seat. If we go too late, we won't be able to get a good seat!"

Fu Yuanhang asked in confusion: "Aren't we going to set off fireworks? What position do we need to occupy?"

Mumu slapped his head and said, "You forgot that it was your first year celebrating the New Year here. We set off fireworks here. They set off fireworks on New Year's Eve and the second day of the New Year. It starts at 8pm. We waited until they were done before we started."

Su Taotao didn't know either, so she asked Fu Zhengtu, "You don't know either?"

Fu Zhengtu shook his head: "I was transferred back this year, I wasn't here before."

Mumu couldn't explain any more, so he pulled Fu Yuanhang's hand and said, "Let's go and reserve a seat first, and come find us when you get there."

Su Taotao nodded: "Go ahead, we'll go later."

Chen Chen blinked: "Mom, can I go now~~"

"You have to ask dad. Only dad has enough strength to hold you all the time." Su Taotao said.

Fu Zhengtu had already taken Chenchen's small cotton jacket and said, "Change your clothes and leave."

Chen Chen clapped his hands happily: "So irritating~~"

Zhou Linglan took out some snacks and shared some with Kangzi and Dongzi.

"Mom, let's go join in the fun." Su Taotao said.

Zhou Linglan shook her head: "I don't like crowds, so I won't go. You guys go ahead."

Zhou Linglan really likes quietness and is not interested in these things.

Su Taotao also said: "I don't like to join in the fun, Chenchen follows dad closely, and only when riding a horse can you see far."

Chen Chen nodded: "Yeah~~"

Fu Zhengtu looked at Su Taotao and said softly, "Let's go watch the fireworks."

Su Taotao originally didn't plan to go, but after hearing what Fu Zhengtu said, she couldn't help but laugh and suddenly changed her mind: "Okay."

Accompany you to watch the first fireworks between us.

…

Chapter 165 added a little plot. As a treasure said, a poor family can become rich on the road, so Aunt Zhong added a plot that she put a hundred yuan with Su Taotao for Mo Gong and Mu Mu to use. Because Mo Gong is careless and always loses money, Aunt Zhong will not leave a lot of money in his hands. Mu Mu follows his father and is not as well-funded as Fu Yuanhang. No wonder Aunt Zhong is stingy. Aunt Zhong is stingy, but she is not unreasonable.

11.15 I have something to do temporarily, so this is the only update tonight. I will try to make up for it tomorrow. Good night.

12.1 I'm not in good condition today. Don't wait any longer. Good night.

12.6 The kid and the old lady are both sick again. My god, this year is so hard. The updates are not very stable recently. Please keep them up as long as possible. Good night.