The New Year's Eve dinner is the most sumptuous meal of the year.
Pei Li stayed at the duck farm with Dandan and Lianlian, while the others got busy with gusto preparing the New - Year dishes.
Apart from the food for the family, there were also sacrificial dishes for the ancestors and the sea god.
In the kitchen, there was a constant clatter of chopping meat and vegetables.
Pei Jin sat on a small stool, sorting out the vegetables. She peeled off the old leaves of the Chinese cabbages, and removed the yellow leaves from the green onions and coriander.
The vegetable basket in front of her was soon filled with various fresh and tender vegetables.
Tang Guiniang found a large cauldron and hung it over the fire to cook the meat. Soon the broth was boiling, bubbling away.
Qi Jiao, being a former chef, had a lot more to do.
One: deep - fry. She fried fish, fried rice cakes, fried meatballs, fried tofu...
Two: steam. She steamed braised pork slices, steamed eight - treasure rice, steamed crispy pork, steamed spareribs...
Three: make preserves. She made Dongpo pickles, candy melons, fermented black beans, red laver...
Four: make snacks. She wrapped dumplings, made glutinous rice balls, rolled spring rolls, made Taiping Yan (a kind of meatball soup), and radish cakes...
With so much food to prepare, Pei Xia naturally helped her.
The two of them had a well - defined division of labor and didn't finish until the moon was high in the sky.
The next day was New Year's Eve.
The sky brightened as the morning glow appeared.
After getting up, the whole family changed into new clothes. New Year, new look. Everyone looked radiant.
Qi Jiao wrapped the rabbit - fur scarf that Jiang Yuniang gave her around her neck, put on the small cotton boots that Aunt Ye made for her, wore the new lotus - colored cotton - padded jacket sewn by Tang Guiniang, and had the coral necklace in the shape of a baby's face that Pei Xia gave her around her neck.
She looked like a young version of the girl in the New - Year picture, fair - skinned, bright, and full of charm and vitality.
Pei Xia changed into the close - fitting round - collared robe that Qi Jiao bought for him today. With his hair neatly tied up and his face well - groomed, he looked extremely handsome. Qi Jiao couldn't help but take a second look.
Qi Jiao also gave the three puppies in the family a bath and a makeover. They were let out to celebrate the New Year after smelling nice.
There was a blazing charcoal brazier in each room. Pei Xia and Pei Li were outside pasting the Spring Festival couplets on the front door.
Qi Jiao and Pei Jin were holding a stack of red paper. Whenever they saw a wall, they would paste "May you find happiness when you look up".
When they entered a room and saw a cabinet, they would paste "Bring in wealth and treasures".
On the rice bin, they pasted "A good harvest of all grains", and on the livestock pen, they pasted "Prosperity of all livestock".
As for the character "Fu" (happiness), it was like a panacea. It could be pasted not only on the door lintel but also anywhere. Moreover, they deliberately pasted it upside down, which meant "happiness has arrived".
There were even more patterns for the window - paper cuttings.
Qi Jiao didn't have the skill to cut out high - end and complicated patterns like "May there be surplus every year", but she could learn to cut a dahlia.
The two sisters pasted everywhere, and red lanterns were also hung under the corridor. The strong atmosphere of the Spring Festival immediately filled the air.
Laughter and joy echoed in the courtyard.
After offering sacrifices to the ancestors and the sea god on the altar table, it was time to feast the whole family.
Qi Jiao was determined to make the New - Year's Eve dinner sumptuous and perfect. One delicious dish after another was served on the table. Even the Pei family members, who had already seen Qi Jiao's cooking skills, were extremely shocked.
There was so much food!
It smelled so good!
It looked so beautiful!
This New - Year's Eve dinner was all about love, no tricks!
Qi Jiao lifted her skirt and sat down. Together with Pei Xia, she invited Tang Guiniang to be the first to pick up the chopsticks and raise the glass.
Tang Guiniang looked at the table full of delicious dishes. She wanted to say some auspicious words, but when she opened her mouth, she choked with emotion.
Qi Jiao handed her a cup of hot tea.
Tang Guiniang took it and drank it. Then she raised her head and said with a smile, "I'm really happy today! Let's have a good New - Year's Eve! Hurry up and eat!"
She first picked up a chicken leg for Qi Jiao. "Jiaoniang has been busy for a long time. You've worked so hard. You should eat more."
Qi Jiao gave a gentle smile. "Thank you, mother."
Every dish was extremely delicious and homely. Pei Jin and Pei Li wished they had two stomachs.
However, they were well - behaved children. Before they started eating, they picked up some food and poured some wine for the elders, the elder brother, and the sister - in - law. They could spout auspicious words effortlessly.
Qi Jiao was very happy. She took out red envelopes and gave them to the two of them.
Of course, she also prepared one for Tang Guiniang and even for Pei Xia.
When she gave it to Pei Xia, she said, "Happy New Year, A Xia."
Pei Xia took it with a smile. "Happy New Year to you too, wife."
He also took out the prepared red envelopes and distributed them to the family.
Tang Guiniang also wrapped red envelopes for the younger generation, but she refused to take the one from Qi Jiao. "It's not easy for you to earn money. You and A Xia are a couple. What A Xia gives is the same as what you give. I'll just take one."
Qi Jiao disagreed. "Mother, you've been worried and busy when I was doing business, and you've also helped me. You didn't even want the salary I gave you. This is your year - end bonus, just like what I gave to A Jin and A Li. We all worked together, but I'm the only one who got the money. How can I sleep well?"
Tang Guiniang had no choice. Pei Xia persuaded her to accept it. "Jiaoniang said she couldn't let you help for free. This is her kind intention."
Tang Guiniang had no choice but to accept it with a beaming smile.
Seeing Jiaoniang, Pei Xia, and the two children having a great time together, after drinking a few cups of wine, Tang Guiniang felt that this was the first really enjoyable and harmonious New - Year's Eve since her husband's death.
Since Jiaoniang came to the family, there had been hope in their lives.
After the meal, Pei Xia took out three small wooden boxes and gave them to Tang Guiniang, Qi Jiao, and Pei Jin in turn.
Tang Guiniang opened the box and saw a silver bracelet with a double - laurel pattern and a carousel design lying inside.
Pei Jin's was a silver bracelet with a gardenia pattern and a mud - back design.
Qi Jiao's was a silver bracelet with a continuous - branch lotus and crescent design.
The three women were all very happy. They immediately put on the bracelets. Silver was said to be good for the health, and the bracelets looked nice and lively.
Tang Guiniang's smile widened. After looking at it carefully, she frowned slightly. "You could just buy one for Jiaoniang. Why did you buy them for me and A Jin too? These bracelets are so heavy. They must cost at least a thousand cash (nearly one tael of silver)."
Pei Xia smiled. "New - Year gifts should be for everyone."
Then he took out a brand - new set of the four treasures of the study for Pei Li. "A Li, after the New Year, when Mr. Zhou comes back to Yinwan, you should go to school as usual. Don't slack off on your studies!"
Pei Li looked reluctant, but he knew how precious it was to be able to study.
Mr. Zhou was a frustrated scholar who had failed the imperial examinations many times, but his knowledge and character were beyond reproach. He had opened a private school in Yinwan, and children of the right age from several nearby villages studied there.
Previously, Mr. Zhou had to close the school for some time because of family affairs.
After the New - Year, when he came back, A Li would have to go to school every day as usual.
Qi Jiao learned the reason and tugged at Pei Xia. "Since A Li is going back to school, what about A Jin?"
As soon as she said this, both Pei Jin and Pei Xia were a bit stunned.
Yinwan was extremely poor. Fishing villages were connected one after another. Only families with better conditions would send their descendants to school, and girls were not even considered.
For example, Tang Guiniang was illiterate because her family situation had completely cut off her chance of going to school.
Pei Jin was already lucky among the girls of her age.
Previously, when Pei Baoyan was still alive, the family was in a relatively good situation. He was also open - minded and sent both his children to school to be enlightened.
Pei Xia had been studying since childhood until his father died in a shipwreck.
Pei Jin also went to the private school with Pei Li, but only for two years.
At that time, in order to retrieve Pei Baoyan's body, Tang Guiniang had spent all their savings hiring fishermen to go out to sea to look for him. They had to pay the fishermen, which not only used up all the family's spare money but also left them in debt. The family's economic situation got worse and worse. Pei Xia had no choice but to give up his studies and go fishing at sea to support the family.
The family had to tighten their belts and could only afford to send Pei Li to school. So Pei Jin came back and never went to the private school again.