Chapter 271 - 269: New Year’s Eve Dinner

Chapter 271: Chapter 269: New Year’s Eve Dinner

That afternoon, Professor Xiao and Professor Fan came to the kitchen off the courtyard. When they saw Li Xiu and Sister Fang bustling about, they exchanged a smile. Professor Xiao washed her hands, looked at Sister Fang making dumplings, and asked gently, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sister Fang knew Professor Xiao would feel awkward if she had nothing to do, so she glanced around the kitchen and said with a smile, "Teacher Xiao, maybe you can help shell some lotus seeds? This batch still has the bitter pith inside."

With that, she took out a bag of lotus seeds and a plate, placing them on a small table against the wall. She had Professor Xiao sit there to shell them. This way, she wouldn’t get tired, but she’d still have a task to keep her from feeling awkward.

The voices of the two children drifted in from the courtyard. Li Xiu smiled softly, set down his work, washed and dried his hands, and gestured for Professor Fan to join him outside. Watching the two children hopping around the yard, Li Xiu smiled at Professor Fan and said, "Grandmaster, I’ll have to trouble you to keep an eye on the children."

Professor Fan chuckled and shook his head at his words. ’This Li Jincheng really thinks of everything. His emotional intelligence is terrifyingly high.’ He watched as Li Xiu ducked into the bedroom and emerged a moment later, leading Zhou Lian by the hand. Professor Fan smiled to himself. ’Unafraid of gossip, unbothered by outside opinions... No matter where he goes, Li Xiu always holds Zhou Lian’s hand so tightly. That alone is enough to make you look at him in a new light!’

"Nuonuo, Yanyan, be good and listen to Grandmaster Fan!" Zhou Lian gently reminded the two children playing in the yard.

Professor Fan looked at the stunning couple, both in the prime of their lives, and said with a smile, "Go on, you two. Our Nuonuo and Yanyan are very well-behaved!"

Entering the kitchen, Zhou Lian saw the busy Sister Fang and then Professor Xiao shelling lotus seeds. She pouted at Li Xiu. "Jin Chen, what is there for me to do?"

A quick glance at Zhou Lian’s charming pout sent a flicker of light through Li Xiu’s eyes. He said gently, "Bao’er, why don’t you ask Sister Fang? Everything on my side is ready, so there’s nothing for you to help me with." ℴ

Turning to look at the young couple’s playful banter, Sister Fang said with amused exasperation, "Well then, Xiao Lian, you can shell lotus seeds too!"

"There are so few lotus seeds, and Teacher Xiao is almost finished. Sister Fang, please don’t ask me to cut any more paper decorations for the windows. I have no idea where you’d even stick them all!" Zhou Lian protested. ’It’s not like a little work is going to kill me. Honestly, you and Li Xiu... do you really have to treat me like this? I grew up in the countryside, I’m not that fragile!’

It was the New Year, and Sister Fang didn’t want to upset her. After a quick look around, she brought over a small basin of sprouted soybeans and set it on the little table. "Sit here and peel the skins off these sprouts," she said with a gentle smile. "Weren’t you saying you wanted Sichuan boiled fish a few days ago? You were feeling a little under the weather then, so we didn’t make it. Here, you peel these, and tonight Li Xiu will cook it for you!"

"Really? Thank you, Sister Fang!" Delighted, Zhou Lian sat down at the small table and started working.

Professor Xiao asked curiously, "What’s this all about?"

"A few days ago, Xiao Lian was stressed from work and feeling a bit under the weather. She was also craving Sichuan boiled fish, but Li Xiu was afraid spicy food would make her feel worse, so he wouldn’t let her eat it. And look, today he had someone deliver a grass carp specifically to make it for her tonight!" Sister Fang said, pointing with a smile to a live, four or five-pound grass carp in a basin on the floor.

Hearing this, Zhou Lian smiled sweetly. She said nothing, just lowered her head and continued peeling the bean sprouts quickly.

Professor Xiao glanced at Zhou Lian, then over at Li Xiu, who was managing three stove burners all by himself. She shook her head and smiled. ’One knows how to be winsome, and the other spoils her rotten. No wonder my old husband once said that watching these two together makes you feel like the sky is vast and the world is a wonderful place.’ It was true. He was handsome and she was lovely, and the deep affection flowing between them would make any onlooker smile.

Sister Fang listened to the sounds of Professor Fan laughing and playing with the children in the courtyard. She looked at Li Xiu at the stove and Zhou Lian, head bowed over her sprouts, the two of them occasionally catching each other’s eye and sharing a smile. Then she saw Professor Xiao watching the couple with a warm, fond expression. Sister Fang let out a deep, almost inaudible sigh. ’For so many years, as long as I can remember, the Spring Festival has always been a heavy, oppressive time. This is the first time it’s ever been like this. It’s just like that line Zhou Lian quoted: "Nothing is more beautiful than an April day on Earth." Life right now feels so good it’s almost unreal!’

The sky gradually darkened, and the sound of firecrackers began to pop one after another. Li Xiu scanned the kitchen and, seeing that everything was nearly ready, went to the storage room. Inside were the fireworks and firecrackers they had prepared earlier. After hanging the firecrackers and setting up the fireworks, he went back to the kitchen to call everyone outside. A moment later, beautiful fireworks shot into the sky, illuminating the radiant smiles on every face. Another year had passed, and a new one was beginning. The wish was for everyone to be joyful, healthy, and at peace, living out their days in quiet prosperity.

Li Xiu brought out a round table and set it up in the dining room. He turned on the TV to wait for the Spring Festival Gala to begin. Sister Fang, Zhou Lian, and Professor Xiao started bringing out the finished dishes. Li Xiu made a special trip to the basement and returned with two bottles of homemade wine. One was a cherry wine he had made just for Zhou Lian—it had a lovely color, a wonderful taste, and a very low alcohol content, perfect for the ladies. The other bottle was a grape wine made with a yeast starter. Its alcohol content was a little higher, but not by much. Professor Fan was getting on in years and shouldn’t drink strong spirits, so this wine was just right.

Nuonuo and Yanyan stared greedily at the pale pink and deep red wine on the table, their mouths practically watering. Everyone found their expressions hilarious. Suppressing a smile, Li Xiu went and fetched a jar of strawberry jam. It was something he prepared especially for Zhou Lian. Fruit was scarce in the winter, and Zhou Lian was a picky eater who disliked things like apples and bananas. So every year, when her favorite fruits were in season, Li Xiu would buy them in bulk. He would make them into jams, canned fruit, or dried fruit, all so she could enjoy her favorites even in the dead of winter.

He mixed the jam with water to make two glasses of strawberry juice for the children, making Nuonuo and Yanyan ecstatic. Seeing this, Sister Fang just shook her head. Professor Xiao noticed and asked her curiously, "What is it?"

"That stuff is incredibly difficult to make; it spoils if you don’t get it just right," Sister Fang explained quietly to Professor Xiao. "Li Xiu makes it every year, but very little lasts this long. It’s all made specially for Xiao Lian. He’s being generous today. I was sure he’d just fob the children off with some canned fruit or something!"

For Zhou Lian, Li Xiu did everything imaginable and then some. And though the children were still young, Li Xiu had taught them one of this family’s most important rules: Mom comes first. No matter what, they were not to make their mother angry. When it came to these special, hard-to-come-by treats, the children only ever got what was left after Zhou Lian had her fill.

Zhou Lian herself didn’t even know about this. In fact, Sister Fang, who was in the kitchen every day, had only recently figured it out. It happened after Ping’an sent some ground cherries from the north. Perhaps due to the long journey, more than half had spoiled upon arrival. After Li Xiu picked through them, only a small bowlful remained. Sister Fang thought they’d be a perfect snack for the children after school, but when the time came, she couldn’t find them anywhere. She had no choice but to ask Li Xiu.

When she reached the study, she found Li Xiu holding that same small bowl, coaxing Zhou Lian to eat them. After Zhou Lian had a few—she probably didn’t care for them much—Li Xiu finally brought the bowl to the kitchen. He took out four small fruit plates and divided the remaining ground cherries into four portions: one for Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, one for his nephews, one for Nuonuo and Yanyan, and the last one for Sister Fang. Having witnessed the entire sequence of events, Sister Fang was truly at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.