"Don’t worry, wife, your husband’s cooking skills are outstanding. He’ll definitely make our New Year celebration a splendid one," Lianshan assured Shuzhen after seeing off their worried sister and brother.
"Yes, I’ll help too. We’ll join forces and surely outshine them all!" Shuzhen nodded, enthusiastically agreeing. It’s just a New Year’s Eve dinner, right? Once Chef Liu gets going, her sister-in-laws can’t compete at all!
Shuzhen had that much confidence in her culinary skills.
After all, each of her sister-in-laws is an adept at managing the household, being economical when possible, and making do with whatever is available.
With incomplete seasonings, being stingy with oil and salt, and making bland soups, not even divine intervention could make it delicious in terms of color, aroma, and taste, am I right?
Unlike their home, where they bought everything they could, and if they couldn’t buy it, they grew seedlings and used magic to cultivate them. With all the spices like peppercorn, star anise, chenpi, cinnamon, nutmeg, amomum, galangal—everything you could want. Adding these wonderful spices to the already great ingredients like chicken, duck, fish, and meat makes even an average cook deliver delicious meals.
More so when her cooking is good, and her knowledge is extensive, right?
But despite her being blessed by culinary gods right now, Lianshan absolutely wouldn’t let her in the kitchen.
Don’t tell him that other households have pregnant wives who continue to carry heavy pots, wash clothes, cook, and take care of the entire family without missing a beat. The wives of other families may be capable, but in their family, he prefers to pamper and love her. He personally takes care of everything as long as she can securely give birth to the little treasures inside her belly, ensuring everyone is safe and sound.
Even when she tried to prove she was still a nimble and playful pregnant woman despite her big belly, she didn’t get the chance to help with the New Year’s Eve preparations. Instead, she scared her husband into worry. So Shuzhen had to abandon the idea of contributing to the New Year’s Eve dinner, while snacking on pine nuts and hazelnuts, she taught Little Lian’en characters. For example: listen, to be obedient, a good child listens to their parents. Filial piety, being respectful, only respectful children are good children...
And so on, finding opportunities for education all the time.
As for results, the pint-sized Lian En knew how to keep a straight face and seriously insisted that filial piety is the greatest virtue. He even refused to play with disrespectful, disobedient children, preferring to daydream by himself instead.
No matter how others judged, Shuzhen was extremely satisfied.
Whether it’s blind filial piety or being simple-minded, it’s certainly better than raising a child who would harm them again.
In the end, even if she’s over-correcting, she’d rather not bend to bad influences!
Mother and son teaching and learning in the room, and Lianshan sweating it out in the kitchen.
Chicken stew with mushrooms is a yearly must-have, symbolizing great fortune. Braised carp represents abundance every year, and sweet and sour crispy pork is the wife and son’s favorite. Braised pork knuckle, braised ribs, deep-fried ribbon fish, scrambled eggs with chives, accompanied by meatballs in soup. Neatly organized eight dishes and one soup, a setup that’s impressive even in the years ’71 or ’91.
To have a grand festive year, Lianshan spent their entire month’s salary and vouchers, showing his commitment.
But seeing the look of appreciation from his wife and their eldest son sniffing hungrily, when he served the final meatballs, the little guy clapped his chubby hands, exclaiming, "Oh oh oh, Dad finally finished cooking, let’s eat! Crispy pork, stewed chicken..."
The little guy took another look at the table full of meaty dishes and immediately drooled. Remembering mom’s words about being a good child who shares good things with parents and siblings, his initial "I want to eat" turned into "Crispy pork, stewed chicken, lots and lots of yummy stuff, Dad eats, Mom eats, Baby eats!"
That cute demeanor instantly melted Lianshan’s heart, making him put down the big bowl of meatballs and scoop up his eldest son, "Alright, alright, Dad eats, Mom eats, Baby eats, we’ll all eat together! But first, we have to go out and set off firecrackers. Come, lad, let’s put on a hat and a padded coat. We’ll go out together and set off the firecrackers, then come back in and eat the delicious food together!"
Lian En nodded, although he wasn’t particularly fond of the loud ear-splitting things, but listening to Dad makes you a good child. And after setting off those loud firecrackers, he’d come back to enjoy fragrant and delicious meat!
Father and son holding hands went out to set off a string of firecrackers and lit two ground spinners, and when they came back, Shuzhen already had warm water ready for them to wash their hands.
The father and son washed each other’s hands warmly, and then the three of them joyfully sat at the table, ready to devour the array of dishes. Clipping a chicken wing for you, giving you a portion of pork knuckle—warm and harmonious.
Looking at the adorable son and the eight-month pregnant wife soon turning nine months, and with the thought of two more adorable little babies arriving next year, Lianshan’s heart overflowed with anticipation. It felt like savoring fine liquor, filled with intoxication and hope.
Even Shuzhen, usually strict with Lian En, softened a bit as she watched the little guy poke around with his little chopsticks, insisting on sharing his favorite dishes with his parents.
After the lively meal named New Year’s Eve dinner, which was actually served at noon, Lian Hai happily came to share some exciting news. During lunchtime, his wife Qiu Fang was made nauseous by the chitterlings he’d specially prepared, retching terribly. Worried, he couldn’t care about finding a doctor during the New Year, so he put on his coat and prepared to fetch a doctor from town.
But Qiu Fang shyly pulled him back, teasing him for not having that much knowledge despite being a father twice over.
Although she was quite sick, it was joy, not illness!
With a daughter just turning five, heading towards six, Lian Hai thought they would have only a son and a daughter in this lifetime, but he was beyond thrilled. He immediately put all thoughts of the chitterlings aside and helped the pale-faced Qiu Fang onto the bed. He donned the apron and clattered around, managing six dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner. While his skills aren’t much to boast about, it wasn’t burnt, scorched, or undercooked, and he didn’t waste the good ingredients.
Well, at least Lian Jie and Jiajia were quite enthusiastic about eating meat.
After hastily tidying up post-lunch, eager joy couldn’t be suppressed, and he hopped over to his elder brother to share the good news. Hey hey, sharing good tidings on New Year’s Eve! Come next fall, he’ll become a father again! More children, more blessings, isn’t it the perfect omen for family and business prosperity?