On the evening of Lunar New Year's Eve, Hong Xiaoduo and Quan Jinghuai brought their seven children to Sihailou Restaurant early. A few days ago, she had inquired about the restaurant. She knew that there were three restaurants in Dawuguan City that were still open for business during the Lunar New Year, but only this one would be open on Lunar New Year's Eve.
So, to be on the safe side, Hong Xiaoduo immediately booked a table with the manager after confirming that the restaurant would still be open on New Year's Eve.
In Dawuguan City, there are a few restaurants that are open on New Year's Eve, but Hong Xiaoduo wanted to take the children to eat something decent.
After all, it's the Lunar New Year.
I arrived a bit early, and when I entered the private room, I found that the table was covered with dried fruits and pastries, as well as crispy candy, snow sugar balls, and sesame candy.
"Hey sir, is this the private room we booked?" Hong Xiaoduo asked the waiter who had just walked by, stepping outside the door, afraid of making a mistake.
The waiter smiled and said, "Yes, the snacks on the table are all free; our boss specifically instructed us to do so. May I ask what kind of tea you two would like? I'll go and brew it for you right away."
Hearing the waiter's words, Hong Xiaoduo smiled. She hadn't expected the restaurant owner to be so generous.
“I don’t care what kind of tea it is, Brother Quan?” Hong Xiaoduo asked the person next to her.
“Any kind of tea is fine with me, I’m not picky about what I drink,” Quan Jinghuai said.
The man thought for a moment and said he would see what he could do.
Anyway, the owner has given instructions that it's good tea, so just grab any jar from the owner's tea cabinet.
Once she confirmed that the private room was correct, Hong Xiaoduo ushered the people inside.
A large round table can seat ten adult guests, and with Hong Xiaoduo and her group of nine (two adults and seven children), the space seemed quite spacious.
"Eat up, but eat only a little, otherwise you won't be able to eat the rest of the meal." Seeing the seven little ones sitting there upright, looking at the pastries and dried fruits on the table but no one taking any, she spoke up to them.
After hearing her words, the children reached out and took what they wanted to eat.
Having been with Hong Xiaoduo for so many days, they have eaten quite a few delicious pastries and dried fruits, but there are several things on the table that they have never tried before.
I don't recall seeing it in any of the dried fruit and pastry shops I visited.
The tea was brought in, and the waiter asked Hong Xiaoduo, "Shall we start cooking now?"
Hong Xiaoduo agreed and then asked him, "Excuse me, sir, which pastry shop in the city did you buy this pastry from?"
The shop assistant laughed upon hearing this: "These pastries can't be bought in the shop; they were brought back from over there by our owner's own caravan." As he said this, the shop assistant pointed in a direction.
Hong Xiaoduo understood. It was brought back from another country across the river, so it could be considered an imported pastry.
"Your family is so kind to give us such rare and delicious food," Hong Xiaoduo said sincerely.
"That's right. Our host family is very kind. Besides, he said that the three tables of guests who booked the banquet tonight are all unable to go home to celebrate the New Year with their families. It's not easy for them. Please wait a moment, young ladies, the dishes will be served soon." The waiter wanted to say something more, but when he heard someone calling from downstairs, he quickly went out.
"Brother Quan, what kind of wine do you want to drink? Tell the waiter when he comes over," Hong Xiaoduo asked, remembering to ask.
Quan Jinghuai smiled and said, "Okay."
"And you all, tonight is New Year's Eve, and you are all children who cannot drink alcohol, but I have ordered you pear juice and milk," Hong Xiaoduo said, looking at the children.
The seven children nodded happily, taking small bites of the snacks and dried fruits in their hands.
“It’s just the two of us tonight, and there’s no one else around, so you don’t need to be so reserved. Is it because you’ll all be a year older after tonight?” Seeing that the children were unusually well-behaved tonight, Hong Xiaoduo felt a little puzzled and asked, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
The seven children looked at each other, unsure how to respond to her words.
"Mother, is it because this is the first time we've celebrated a New Year like this?" Tianquan thought for a moment and then asked.
The child thought about it very seriously and responded very seriously.
Such a response not only made Hong Xiaoduo's nose tingle, but also made Quan Jinghuai, a grown man standing next to her, feel his eyes well up with tears.
The two couldn't help but recall the same heartbreaking words Yuheng had said when the first snow fell: she was most afraid of snow.
At this moment, Hong Xiaoduo was the one who regretted it the most. She really wanted to slap herself. Why did she have to say something like that? It's the New Year, and she's made herself feel so depressed and upset!
“It will be like this every year from now on,” Quan Jinghuai said quickly when he saw Hong Xiaoduo’s distressed expression.
As the children's mentor, he wanted to say that every New Year from now on would be better than this one. However, he would do his best to ensure that they could all have a New Year like this one.
Upon hearing Quan Jinghuai's words, Hong Xiaoduo quickly composed herself and asked, "Did you hear what your master said?"
The seven children nodded together: "We don't actually want to have such delicious food every New Year. We're just content to be able to spend the New Year with our mother and master." Tian Shu looked at Hong Xiaoduo and mustered up his courage to say.
If you ask him what his New Year's wish is, this is it.
It's been said that once you get used to a good life, you'll be afraid of going back to the hard times when you didn't have enough to eat or wear.
But he and his younger siblings had said more than once in private that as long as they could stay with their mother, they didn't mind living a hard life.
Anyone else who heard this would surely be deeply moved.
However, Hong Xiaoduo felt only sadness upon hearing Tian Shu's words.
Because she couldn't guarantee she could always be by their side.
She didn't want to make any promises just to appease the children. It was easy to say such things, but she would feel guilty afterward!
Fortunately, the waiter had already started serving the dishes, and Hong Xiaoduo hurriedly called on the children to help move the dried fruits and snacks on the table to the coffee table next to them.
Quan Jinghuai noticed the relieved look on Hong Xiaoduo's face and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
She'll eventually get married; how could she possibly stay by their side forever?
Fine, I'll take this responsibility myself!
Hong Xiaoduo was unaware of the decision Quan Jinghuai was making. Looking at the dishes that were served, all of which looked and smelled delicious, she was already very hungry before she even picked up her chopsticks.
We didn't even wait for all the dishes to be served before we started eating. Since all nine members of the family were present, we began to eat.
After the waiter brought the wine, he asked how many wine cups she wanted. Hong Xiaoduo thought for a moment and decided to continue drinking pear juice with the children.
She was afraid that if she drank too much, she might lose control, which would be bad, especially since she just wanted her children to have a happy New Year. After all, she herself wasn't in a very good mood at the moment.
On New Year's Eve, she was all alone in this ancient world, wondering if her parents, who had all remarried and had children of their own, would ever think of her, or even have the slightest thought of her...
New Year,
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