His physiological preference

He then turned to Yang Zhiyan, who was sitting on a chair next to him, basking in the sun, holding a glass of warm water.

"Sister-in-law, look at him," Qin Yushang pointed at Qin Yuzheng, "he just exposes my shortcomings."

Yang Zhiyan took a sip of water and asked, "So, how well did you write it?"

Qin Yushang opened his mouth, "What I wrote was style."

Qin Yuyan laughed out loud, and Grandma Qin's lips also curved into a smile.

Yang Zhiyan stood up and walked to the table. "I want to try it too."

Qin Yuzheng handed her the pen and stood behind her.

She gripped the pen, her wrist a little stiff, and her strokes were unsteady as she wrote, the beginning of the character "福" (fortune) slightly crooked.

Qin Yuzheng's hand covered hers, his fingers enveloping hers, guiding her to adjust the angle. "Relax your wrist, keep the pen tip vertical, take it slow."

His breath brushed against her ear, carrying a faint scent of ink.

His fingers guided her wrist as they moved slowly across the paper, beginning, continuing, and ending the strokes.

Yang Zhiyan watched as the character slowly took shape under her hand, its strokes flowing smoothly and its structure balanced.

His palm covered the back of her hand, warm and dry.

Qin Yushang stood to the side, hands in his pockets, watching this scene, then exaggeratedly turned his head away.

"I've eaten my fill of dog food," he shouted. "Grandma, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Grandma Qin was sitting next to me with a cup of tea. She took a sip and slowly replied, "If you don't want to eat, hurry up and find a girlfriend so I can eat."

Qin Yushang was speechless. "I'm happy to eat it, and I enjoy it."

Qin Yuyan huddled on the chair next to her, pretending to cut paper snowflakes with her head down, not daring to speak, afraid that the flames of war would spread to her.

The Spring Festival couplets were written, and the family began to put them up.

Qin Yuzheng climbed a ladder to paste the couplets on the front door, while Yang Zhiyan stood below to help him hand over glue and hold the ladder.

"The left side is a little too high," she instructed, tilting her head back.

Qin Yuzheng moved the couplet down a bit. "How about this?" "It's balanced."

He climbed down the ladder, took two steps back, and looked around.

The Spring Festival couplets on both sides of the gate were bright red, and the ink was not yet completely dry.

Grandma Qin stood at the door and nodded in satisfaction.

After pasting up the Spring Festival couplets, Qin Yuyan started cutting paper snowflakes. After folding the red paper, she picked up the scissors, cut out a plum blossom, and unfolded it, revealing layers of petals.

Yang Zhiyan also tried cutting. She was skillful and quickly cut out a five-petaled flower, even though it was her first time.

Qin Yuzheng sat next to her, holding a piece of red paper in his hand. He folded it a few times, cut it a few times, and unfolded it into a paper-cut window decoration. It wasn't a flower, but a small deer with its antlers outstretched and its posture relaxed.

Yang Zhiyan looked at the little deer and asked, "When did you learn that?"

Qin Yuzheng handed her the paper-cut window decoration, saying, "My grandma taught me how to make it when I was little."

Grandma Qin, who was listening nearby, said, "Then it's still because I taught her well."

After cutting paper snowflakes, the family sat around in the kitchen making dumplings.

The dough has been kneaded and rested all morning, resulting in dumpling wrappers that are both thin and chewy.

The filling is pork and cabbage, with shrimp added.

Grandma Qin brought over a small bowl of clean coins and said that she would put a few in the bowl and that whoever found a coin in the bowl would have good luck next year.

Qin Yuyan's eyes lit up. "Grandma, should we put a coin in every dumpling? That way, every bite will bring good luck."

Grandma Qin was rolling out dough when she heard her words, so she looked up at her.

"What kind of terrible idea is this? If you're going to do this, I'll give you this whole bowl of coins. Are you deliberately trying to make me bite a coin and knock out my dentures?"

Yang Zhiyan was making dumplings, her hands still busy, when she looked up and asked, "Grandma, are your dentures gold?"

Grandma Qin rolled her eyes at her. "Mine are real teeth. Do you understand what I mean by analogy?"

Yang Zhiyan lowered her head and continued making dumplings. "Oh, I thought Ayan said that so she could knock out your dentures and sell them for money."

Qin Yuyan nearly dropped the dumplings in her hand on the table. "Sister-in-law, how could you frame me?"

Grandma Qin looked at Qin Yuyan knowingly, "Oh, so you had this idea in mind."

Qin Yuyan cried out that she was innocent, "I didn't! Grandma! My sister-in-law framed me!"

Yang Zhiyan lowered her head to wrap dumplings, a slight smile playing on her lips, pretending not to say anything.

When she was halfway through wrapping the dough, a small piece of flour got on Yang Zhiyan's face.

Qin Yuzheng saw it and reached out to help her wipe it, but he forgot that his hands were covered in flour.

He rubbed his finger on her cheek, and the flour spread out, turning from a small patch into a white expanse.

Yang Zhiyan felt the touch of his fingers, looked up at him, and saw his innocent expression, but her face was covered in flour, making her look like a big cat.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" She reached out and grabbed a handful of flour, intending to smear it on his face.

She stood up, tiptoed, and smeared flour on his cheeks.

Qin Yuzheng did not dodge; he bent down to make it easier for her to reach.

After Yang Zhiyan finished applying the flour, she noticed that his face was covered in white powder, making him look completely different from the usually stern and unsmiling Boss Qin.

She couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Qin Yuyan leaned over and smeared some flour on Qin Yushang's face. Qin Yushang opened his mouth, then grabbed a handful of flour and chased after her. Qin Yuyan screamed and ran around the table.

Grandma Qin sat beside her, watching the flour fly around in the yard. She moved the dumpling filling towards the center of the table.

"You lot, get out here and make a scene, don't get the filling dirty."

Qin Guobing sat in the corner, holding a teacup, watching without interfering.

The round table for the New Year's Eve dinner was laden with dishes. Braised carp, the whole fish was placed on a white porcelain plate, drizzled with a dark red sauce, its head facing east and its tail facing west, symbolizing abundance year after year.

Two plates of braised prawns were laid out, the shells of which were fried until crispy, and the prawn meat was firm and chewy.

The four-happiness meatballs are all round and plump, coated with thick caramel coloring, and have a wonderful aroma of meat.

Braised sea cucumber with scallions uses the finest Liaoning sea cucumber, which is soft and tender with a rich scallion flavor;

Braised lion's head meatballs are Grandma Qin's specialty; the meat is tender, and a thin layer of golden oil floats on the clear broth.

The braised pork hock was stewed until it was so tender that it fell off the bone with a touch of chopsticks; the stir-fried mixed vegetables were arranged in a circle, with green bok choy, orange carrots, and white yam slices, creating a neat and tidy color scheme.

The dumplings were served last, and steaming white vapor rose from the plates, blurring everyone's faces.

Yang Zhiyan picked up a dumpling and took a bite. Her teeth hit something hard.

She paused for a moment, looked down at the dumplings, and took a coin out of her mouth, which glittered under the light.

Grandma Qin saw it and a smile spread across her face. "See? What did I tell you? Zhiyan is our family's lucky star. She found a coin in her very first bite."

Qin Yuyan muttered from the side, "Grandma, I told you, we should have covered them all with coins. That way, we'd all be lucky stars."

Grandma Qin picked up a dumpling and put it in Qin Yuyan's bowl. "Okay, you eat too. If you find a coin in it, I'll give you a big red envelope."

Qin Yuyan lowered her head and took a bite, chewing it a couple of times. It didn't feel hard at all.

She took another bite, but still nothing.

She stuffed the remaining half of the dumpling into her mouth, her expression filled with regret. Qin Yushang, standing beside her, laughed the loudest.

Halfway through the New Year's Eve dinner, firecrackers suddenly went off in the courtyard.

Qin Yuyan put down her chopsticks and ran outside to look, and Qin Yushang followed her out.

Yang Zhiyan remained seated, watching through the window as clusters of fireworks rose and exploded in the night sky.

Qin Yuzheng sat down next to her, and his hand reached out from under the table to take her hand, which was resting on her knee.

She turned her head to look at him, and his face was briefly illuminated by the light of fireworks outside the window, a moment of alternating light and shadow.

Yang Zhiyan squeezed his hand back, their fingers intertwined.

Yang Zhiyan asked, "Is it allowed to set off fireworks in Beijing?"

Qin Yuzheng said this was probably organized by the government.

Fireworks were still going off outside the window, their red and green colors reflected on the windowpane, bathing the entire room in festive light and shadow.

The red lanterns at the entrance of the old house swayed gently in the night breeze. The ink on the Spring Festival couplets on both sides of the gate had dried, and the strokes of the characters "福" (fortune) and "春" (spring) were clear and vigorous.