Chapter 651: Wafting Fragrances
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Wenwu thought the fragrance was too alluring and looked inside. He was stunned when he saw the cake. “That’s what a cream cake looks like? It’s so
big. ”
He thought Su Binglan would only make small pieces instead of one big cake. He wondered how the family could eat something so big. The cake differed from the desserts he had imagined.
“Yes, that’s what a cream cake looks like. It’s supposed to be big,” Su Binglan explained, “I’ll cut it up and serve pieces of it later.”
Su Wenwu finally understood what his sister meant. “Oh, you’ll cut it for everyone to eat.”
If Su Binglan made smaller pieces first, everyone could have a taste. However, she could not let anyone taste it yet because she had not cut it. She wanted everyone to have dinner first before trying the cake.
According to traditions, the family had to stay up past New Year’s Eve dinner. The family would only go to bed after midnight. The family would not sleep long and planned to wake up to pay their New Year’s greetings.
Su Binglan was worried everyone would be hungry after dinner and staying up until midnight, so she made the cake. That way, the family could have a midnight snack.
The cake smelled so good that everyone in the yard could smell it. After a
while, the whole house smelled of cake and dumplings.
Su Binglan and the others went to the kitchen to help and realized the dumplings were ready. Ding Wan and the ladies put the dumplings into the pot.
The sky was dark, and smoke rose from the chimneys of every household. Everyone was cooking New Year’s Eve dinner. Even Gongsun MO and Lei Tongtong made dumplings at home.
Lei Tongtong was not very good at cooking, so Gongsun MO helped to knead the dough and prepare the fillings while the former rolled the skin. “Dear, the dumplings look great.”
Although Lei Tongtong did not know how to wrap the dumplings well, her husband finished them. Then Lei Tongtong would help him place the dumplings into the pot neatly.
Gongsun MO looked at his wife and said, “That’s because you helped me roll the skin. That’s why I was able to make such good-looking dumplings.”
He loved to pamper and coax his wife. Lei Tongtong smiled when she heard her husband’s kind words.
Gongsun MO had been studying Su Binglan’s drawings besides cooking. Su Binglan’s designs were for toys, and some were for sandblocks to use in battlefield simulations.
Gongsun Mo’s passion burned as he studied Su Binglan’s designs and drawings. He had found his calling in life. He would be mighty with goals to strive for and things he wanted to do.
Although Lei Tongtong seemed innocent, she knew everything about her husband. She was also highly supportive of whatever he wanted to do.
Gongsun MO even learned how to make desserts for her because he knew she had a sweet tooth.
Lei Tongtong heard the firecrackers outside and greatly missed her father. Still, she felt secure with Gongsun MO beside her. She asked, “Dear, shall we set off firecrackers later?”
“All right,” Gongsun MO gently replied, “Let’s do that after wrapping the dumplings.”
He had bought a few firecrackers from the market and planned to set them off during New Years Eve.
Since the young couple had previously lived in other villages, they could feel the difference between places. Su Teng Village was the liveliest one of all.
The sound of firecrackers continued. Fortunately, Gongsun MO had bought a few more to set off later. More firecrackers sounded in the surrounding villages than in previous years. After all, most people’s lives had improved, so they were more willing to buy firecrackers.
Mr. and Mrs. Liu made and sold dumplings for a living. Even Liu Chengwen,
Feng Sisi, and their son, Liu Heng, helped. The Liu family had earned much from their duck blood vermicelli shop in town.
The family had significant savings and bought many things for the New Year.
Liu Chengwen and his son set off firecrackers while Mr. Liu lit the fire for his wife to make dumplings and prepare other dishes.
As Mrs. Liy made the dumplings, she said, “Sisi, prepare some sweet potatoes to roast on the stove. We can have them as midnight snacks, too.”
Since the family planned to stay up until midnight, Mrs. Liu feared they would get hungry. That was why she prepared some roasted sweet potatoes to snack on.
Feng Sisi readily said, “All right, I’ll go and prepare them now.”
The Liu family worked well together with a goal in mind. Furthermore, Feng Sisi knew the family owed everything to Liu Yinyin. Since that was the case, the former became more polite to her sister-in-law.
Feng Sisi had experienced many things in the past and knew she had to continue living with her husband and family. Moreover, her in-laws were good to her, making her want to work harder to repay their kindness.
Mr. and Mrs. Liu also said they would entrust the duck blood vermicelli shop to Feng Sisi and Su Chengwen. Feng Sisi knew she had to work hard for her familys sake.
Mrs. Liu smiled when she saw how diligent and efficient her daughter-in-law was. She was delighted now that her family could work together to build a better future. She was also relieved that her daughter was doing well.
Liu Chengwen and Liy Heng were setting off firecrackers at the door when their neighbor came out to do the same. The neighbor greeted Liu Chengwen, “Hello, Brother Liu. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year to you, too.”
“Are you also setting off firecrackers?”
Liu Chengwen smiled, “Yes, I bought more this year.”
“Yeah, I’d like to set off more firecrackers, so I bought a few more. I plan to set them off after eating the dumplings at home. I must say, there are a lot more firecrackers this year.”
The Liu family’s neighbor worked at the winery. Although he was grateful to the Su family, he was polite to the Lius because the two families were close.
Therefore, the neighbor was friendly to Liu Chengwen and always greeted him with a smile.
Liu Chengwen hung up the firecrackers as he spoke, “I’ve been hearing firecrackers since I started cooking this afternoon.” The two men lit their firecrackers as they spoke.
Snap! Crackle! Pop!
The firecrackers echoed through the air, and everyone laughed.
After the Su family finished preparing the dumplings, they completed the rest of the dishes and placed them on the table.
“It’s time to have our New Year’s Eve dinner!”
Soon, the family filled the table with dumplings and other dishes. Everyone’s eyes lit up when they smelled the fragrance of the reunion dinner.
“Don’t forget the wine.”
The brick platform in the house was vast. The family placed a circular table on the platform for everyone to sit around it..