The cups were pushed and the wine goblets exchanged; the wine table was in full swing.
A bottle of warm Shaoxing wine, heated by hot water, was shared among Cheng Su and the others; during the peak of their merriment, they even started giving drinking commands.
Among those present, Ying Xiaoya was a college student, and Ning Ge had also been educated abroad; the two of them naturally had no trouble with the commands. As for Cheng Su, she had lived through two lifetimes, but it was Qi Taiguo, not well-educated and known as a rough military man, who couldn’t match their wordplay.
So, naturally, he ended up drinking the most because he couldn’t keep up with the commands and had to be punished.
"It seems I also need to read more in the future," Qi Taiguo said with a self-deprecating smile.
Without comparison, there would be no hurt; when the rest of them played word games, they spoke with ease, and only he struggled to come up with a word, always needing Cheng Su to save the day.
"Big Brother Qi, at this rate, we couldn’t compare with you in shooting or martial arts, so should we also start practicing shooting and learning martial arts?" Ying Xiaoya said, trying to comfort him with a smile.
"Exactly, every field has its specialties, and if we were to compete, we wouldn’t stand a chance," Cheng Su also laughed, then added, "But I do agree with you reading more, being a refined soldier has its own charm."
"Understood!" Qi Taiguo replied, pretending to be serious.
Ning Ge and the others laughed.
After finishing the drink and tidying up the dinner table, they sat for a while; then, Cheng Su called Guihua, Hualing, and the others to make glutinous rice balls. Hualing was lazy and didn’t know how to make them, so she just helped around, passing water and the like.
It was Old Madam Liang, perhaps because of years of hard work, who had the strength to knead the dough until it was the right consistency.
They also fried peanuts and sesame seeds; the weather was cold, and the nuts quickly cooled down before they added sugar to mix in. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
You kneaded the dough; I made the wrappers for the rice balls; you wrapped the filling, I rolled them round. Talking and laughing along, the scene was bustling with activity.
Ning Ge and Xiao Ya, both lively and outgoing, had sweet tongues and freely showered everyone with pleasant words, which kept the whole group laughing heartily.
Old Madam Liang leaned in to Cheng Su and said, "These two kids are good, well-born and articulate. From their attire, they must be city kids, right?"
Cheng Su affirmed with a smile.
Hearing that, Old Madam Liang looked quite regretful and said, "Then that’s it. City dwellers aren’t people we rural folks can compare with; we can’t match them."
Huh, did she mean to set them up with someone?
Cheng Su chuckled inwardly, excited and proud that her friends were liked and praised.
After making a large plate of rice balls, Cheng Su went to boil them. She had already started simmering a red bean sugar soup while they were kneading the dough, to serve as the base for the rice balls.
Now, the sugar soup was perfectly simmered. She dropped the rice balls into it and let them cook for about ten minutes until they were ready. The rice balls turned over, revealing their white bellies in the red sugar soup, utterly appetizing.
Once they were ready, Cheng Su moved the whole pot of red bean soup with rice balls to the sitting room and called out loudly, "Everyone, come and eat the rice balls."
There weren’t enough bowls in her home, so everyone went to fetch their own bowls to fill.
After serving a few to each person, they tasted just right in sweetness, the rice ball skin was chewy, and the filling was fragrantly delicious.
"Rice balls, reunion; wishing everyone a complete and perfect reunion. In the New Year, may you have a fresh start, make new progress, and climb to new heights," Cheng Su said cheerfully as she offered several blessings.
Everyone echoed in response, their laughter floating out of the window and into the night sky, bringing a particularly cheerful note to the atmosphere.
No matter how the folks might quarrel or hold grudges in the future, the memory of this night’s joyous rice ball feast would stay in their hearts.