I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 50. New Year's Eve

Due to the impact of the virus, Chuxi Village Committee received a notice from higher authorities that during the Spring Festival, only people were allowed to leave the village, not enter.

The New Year's Eve dinner, which was originally planned to be eaten in the village, was forced to be changed to be held at home in the Lotus Courtyard.

However, the two-bedroom apartment was not big enough for my maternal grandparents and my uncle, so we had to have our New Year's Eve dinner with the Xia family this year.

Xia Guofu and Lin Jing are from neighboring villages, and since Chuxi Village is going to be sealed off, they naturally cannot be spared either.

The aroma of braised mutton with fermented bean curd wafted from the kitchen. It was stewed with sugarcane and water chestnuts, which are known for their cooling and refreshing properties. Xu Qingfan's mouth watered.

We had our New Year's Eve dinner at Xu Qingfan's house. The dishes included stir-fried arrowhead with pork, braised pork trotters with dried oysters, poached chicken, roasted goose, boiled prawns, and steamed grouper.

A steaming pot of mutton stew is simmering on the induction cooker. A bowl of warm pork tripe soup is served before the meal. "Who wants some rice?"

Xu Qingfan finished the soup in his bowl in a few gulps and couldn't wait to get his rice and vegetables.

There are many rules about dining in this port city. When asking someone if they want rice, you can't just say "Who wants rice?" because only beggars ask for food, and it's considered unlucky. The correct way to ask is "Who wants white rice?" or "Who wants to get rice?"

In addition, you can't use your chopsticks to pick at your food, you can only eat from your own side, you can't stick your chopsticks upright in your rice, and most importantly, you can't bang your bowl!

If all three of these conditions are triggered simultaneously while having New Year's Eve dinner in the port city, then I regret to inform you that tonight you will only be able to eat braised pork with rattan canes.

"New Year, new beginnings! Let's each say a blessing, starting with me. I wish everyone a happy new year filled with love and care, and smooth sailing and good fortune!" Xu Qingfan poured himself a glass of cola, stood up, and said to everyone.

"it is good!"

"Hahaha, then it's my turn. I wish everyone a prosperous and joyous Year of the Sheep!" Xia Guofu downed his glass of baijiu in one gulp, stood up and laughed.

Xia Xiaoxiao was well-prepared and recited what she had long known: "Wishing everyone a smooth and successful new year, double success, three festivals and two birthdays, stability and prosperity, five blessings and smooth sailing, cleverness and resourcefulness, reaching for the moon and achieving perfection!"

"Well done, little one!" The adults inside the room clapped and cheered.

While they were still exchanging blessings, Xu Qingfan had already quietly scooped the best part of the grouper, the belly, into his own bowl.

[So fresh!]
As he savored the melt-in-your-mouth texture of the fish, Xu Qingfan suddenly understood why he had seen people say fish was so delicious they were practically jumping for joy while surfing in his previous life.

"You brat, you were telling us to say blessings while you were secretly eating!"

"Hahaha, Xiaoxiao, you eat too, don't let this little rascal steal it all." Yao Jinping laughed as she picked up the other side of the fish belly and gave it to Xia Xiaoxiao.

At 8 p.m., the room was filled with the sounds of drinking and conversation as CCTV-1 began broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala.

That year's Spring Festival Gala was rather uneventful, with no sketches that would become household names. Xu Qingfan's only remaining memory is of Aaron Kwok singing "Get Moving" on the Gala.

When the family's traditional background music started playing and four brightly dressed hosts came on stage to announce the program, the festive atmosphere of the old New Year seemed to return all at once.

"Hiccup~"

Xu Qingfan finished the last sip of cola, patted his round belly, and let out a comfortable burp.

"I'm going downstairs to feed the dogs." He wasn't very interested in the Spring Festival Gala. He grabbed a plastic bag, shoveled the chicken bones and shrimp heads off the table, and prepared to go for a stroll.

"Go ahead, but don't go too far. There aren't many people on the streets, it's not safe."

"Okay!" Xu Qingfan nodded in agreement. "Let's go! What's so interesting about the Spring Festival Gala? Let's go set off fireworks!" Ignoring Xia Xiaoxiao's objections, he took her hand and went out together.

Every household had gone home for the Lunar New Year, and the Lotus Courtyard, usually brightly lit, was unusually quiet and deserted on New Year's Eve.

The corridor lights were old and dilapidated, flickering on for a few seconds and then off again. Combined with the warm yellow light, it was, to be honest, quite eerie. Xu Qingfan would never admit that he dragged Xia Xiaoxiao along because he was afraid of the dark; he, Xu, also had his pride!

"Paw Patrol, it's time for a big meeting, come and eat!" Xu Qingfan attracted the few dogs by carrying a bag.

"Woof woof woof!!!" Several stray dogs that hadn't eaten dinner yet immediately surrounded them.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve for humans, but not for dogs. The dogs will probably have a big meal around the second day of the Lunar New Year. If Xu Qingfan doesn't come to feed them, the dogs will probably go hungry for the next couple of days.

After distributing food to each dog's bowl, Xu Qingfan led Xia Xiaoxiao to stand at the entrance of the Lotus Courtyard.

The old man who guarded the gate had also gone home for the Chinese New Year, and the long street was deserted, except for a small shop of about ten square meters across the street that was still open for business.

The shop is owned by an elderly couple. It seems that as long as he can remember, the shop has been open rain or shine, and it doesn't close during the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Spring Festival.

After the dogs finished eating, Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao led them to the convenience store across the street, "to buy firecrackers."

The Spring Festival Gala was playing on the TV when a white-gloved tabby cat came over and rubbed against Xu Qingfan's leg. "It's all here. Pick whatever you want."

The boss brought out a box from the corner, but his eyes never left the television.

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao squatted down to choose: sparklers, firecrackers, and red spiders—all familiar types of firecrackers in the area.

"Let's go!"

After paying, the two little ones excitedly led the dogs back to the compound.

They went home and found a lighter and incense sticks. The two of them excitedly ran up to the rooftop.

"Help me light some!" Xia Xiaoxiao handed two sparklers to Xu Qingfan.

Once turned on, the previously dark rooftop was instantly illuminated by a bright white light.

Xia Xiaoxiao took the fairy wands, holding one in each hand, and danced and twirled around in place.

"Is it pretty?" Xia Xiaoxiao smiled radiantly, the fairy wand drawing a beautiful arc in the air, just like Harry Potter's magic wand.

"Beautiful." Xu Qingfan suddenly recalled the scene of Xia Xiaoxiao dancing gracefully under the streetlights after the New Year's Eve party in his high school in his previous life. The two scenes seemed to overlap at this moment.

The two sparklers quickly burned out, and the rooftop returned to darkness. Xu Qingfan also came to his senses.

"I want to play more!" Xia Xiaoxiao handed over two more sparklers.

"Ok!"

Xu Qingfan lit the incense he had brought and used it to ignite the fuse of the firework.

A "skyrocket" is, as the name suggests, a firecracker that can fly into the sky.

Xu Qingfan strung four rockets together to form a four-stage rocket, then quickly ignited them from bottom to top. The rockets shot into the sky with a "whoosh," followed by the second, the third, and finally the last one so high that the explosion could no longer be heard.

"If countless rockets were strung together, could they fly to the moon?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked suddenly, squatting down to watch Xu Qingfan play.

"I think it's possible. Maybe it won't be long before our country's rockets can fly to the moon like this!" Xu Qingfan said, suddenly thinking of Shenzhou V, which was launched in October, and how astronaut Yang Liwei became the first Chinese person to go into space.

"Um, I want to play with the sparklers too!"

(End of this chapter)