After An Ercheng and his family left, no one mentioned them. The rest of the family simply enjoyed a happy meal together.

A little after three in the afternoon, once they had finished eating and cleaning up, An Ning and her family left Uncle An’s house.

Tomorrow was the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month, making it New Year’s Eve since the month didn’t have a thirtieth day.

During the day, Uncle An would come to Anning’s house for a meal. Then, in the afternoon, everyone would return to their own homes to hold the New Year’s vigil.

An Ning had just gotten home and hadn’t even had a chance to sit down before Lin Cuihua started ordering her all over the place.

Lin Cuihua stood in the kitchen with the air of a general before battle, marshaling her troops.

"Don’t just sit there, get moving."

"We have more than a dozen people eating here tomorrow. Do you think we can get by without preparing?"

"Guoping, go take out the pork ribs, chicken, fish, and all that. Thaw them and cut them up."

"Guoming, you go sort out all the seafood. It’ll be easier to cook tomorrow."

"Lao San, you get out all the bowls and chopsticks and wash them again."

"What are you all staring at? Hurry up and get moving."

Lin Cuihua stomped her foot and glared. The several people in the kitchen scrambled in every direction, momentarily losing their bearings, creating a traffic jam as they bumped into one another.

"Oof—"

An Ning looked at An Guoming, the one she had bumped into. He was now sitting on the floor, having landed on his butt.

Lin Cuihua glanced over and said with disdain, "How can you be so fragile?"

An Guoming, who was just about to get up, was hit with a jab from his own mother.

"Mom... I’m not fragile, I’m *refined*."

An Guoqing, who was standing nearby, pulled An Guoming to his feet with one hand by the collar.

Lin Cuihua pursed her lips. "Refined like a little chick."

"Get to work! Go on!"

At Lin Cuihua’s command, everyone finally found their bearings and got moving again.

The once-quiet house was instantly filled with life.

The sounds of CHOP-CHOP-CHOP as chicken and fish were butchered, SCRAPE-SCRAPE-SCRAPE as fish were scaled, and SPLISH-SPLASH as bowls and chopsticks were washed filled the air.

Everyone had a task. They spread out, each taking a corner of the kitchen, and worked with bustling energy.

They worked for over two hours, and by the time it was five or six o’clock, it had grown dark, so everyone finally stopped.

Lin Cuihua wiped her hands on her apron and said, "Everyone, get to bed early. We have to be up early tomorrow, there’s still a lot of work to do."

"Yes! We shall obey Her Majesty the Mother’s command!"

An Guoming quipped cheekily and immediately tried to make a run for it.

"Daughter, block him!"

Lin Cuihua didn’t even have to make a move. With a single command, An Ning instinctively stepped into the doorway, blocking An Guoming’s escape.

"Second Brother, you really need more practice."

Gloating, An Ning grinned and folded her arms, barring the doorway.

An Guoming grimaced and cupped his fist at An Ning in a gesture of surrender.

"I’m impressed, I’m impressed!"

With that, An Guoming turned around with an air of righteous martyrdom, as if bravely facing his execution. He looked sorrowfully at Lin Cuihua, who was approaching with a fire poker in hand.

"Mom— My dearest Mom— It’s the New Year. You shouldn’t hit your kids during the New Year, right?"

An Guoming’s pitiful act made Lin Cuihua break her stern facade and laugh out loud.

"Go on, go on, get out of here. Go to sleep. And you’d better do more work tomorrow."

His mention of the New Year saved the cheeky An Guoming from a beating. Everyone burst into laughter and dispersed.

Everyone returned to their rooms, spreading out their bedding.

A night on the warm kang was perfectly comfortable.

The next morning, the An family’s rooster—conscientious and diligent, not even taking a break for the New Year—stood atop the wall and began to crow.

"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO— COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO—"

As soon as the rooster crowed, both the An family and the neighboring Jiang family began to wake.

After the rooster finished, Da Huang from next door chimed in with a couple of barks.

Snug in her bed, An Ning fumbled for the alarm clock at the head of the kang. Squinting, she struggled to read the time. ’It’s not even five yet.’

"Ahhh—"

She yawned, groggily sat up, and pulled on her thick, padded jacket.

Just as An Ning, shoes on, stepped out of her room, Lin Cuihua emerged from the room opposite.

"Mom, was that rooster eavesdropping on us? You said to get up at five, and it started crowing right at five."

The previous night, Lin Cuihua had been muttering about getting up at five so they wouldn’t run out of time to finish all the work.

Lin Cuihua lifted the lid of the large pot and said proudly, "Our rooster is a treasure. I went out last night and told it to crow at five, and it really did crow at five."

"A while ago, when you had a fever, I told it not to crow in the morning, and it didn’t. It’s really smarter than your second brother."

"Who’s smarter than me?"

An Guoming walked in from outside, just in time to catch the end of the sentence.

An Ning, always happy to stir the pot, said, "The rooster is smarter than you."

An Guoming had just entered and processed what she’d said, but before he could speak, An Guoping, who followed him in, added, "Our rooster really is smart!"

"Alright, hurry up and wash your faces."

Lin Cuihua ladled warm water from the large pot into several basins for everyone to wash up.

An Ning, An Guoping, and An Guoming each took a basin and squatted on the kitchen floor, the continuous sound of splashing water filling the air.

The three of them moved in sync, washing their faces, brushing their teeth, and then dumping the water.

Lin Cuihua quickly cooked a pot of congee, and they had a simple breakfast with some of her homemade pickles.

"Alright, let’s get to work. Get all the ingredients prepped. I’m also planning to fry some meatballs and things."

Everyone followed Lin Cuihua’s instructions: washing vegetables, peeling garlic, chopping produce, slicing meat, and mincing meat for fillings.

Everyone had a job to do; it wasn’t a case of one person slaving away in the kitchen while everyone else just waited to eat.

Every member of the An family, even the pregnant eldest sister-in-law, was helping out, sitting on a chair and trimming scallions. No one was completely idle.

When Jiang Xia arrived, An Ning was outside chopping firewood.

She wielded an axe with a powerful whoosh, splitting the firewood beneath it into pieces so uniform it was almost unnatural.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

Da Huang darted over to An Ning’s side and barked three times. He then put his front paws together, raised them in the air, and bobbed them up and down a few times.

"Are you wishing me a Happy New Year?"

An Ning put down her axe and patted Da Huang’s head. "Happy New Year, Da Huang."

Da Huang grew even more excited and rubbed against An Ning’s pant leg several times.

"Da Huang has started shedding recently."

Jiang Xia, who had been standing behind the dog, stepped forward and pulled his Da Huang away.

Da Huang shot Jiang Xia a look of displeasure and whimpered a few times.

A setup!

A blatant frame-up!

An Ning looked down at her pant leg. There did seem to be a hair or two.

"He’s not shedding that much."

"I feel like if I rubbed against something like that, I’d probably leave more hair behind than Da Huang did."

An Ning’s words allowed Da Huang to break free from Jiang Xia’s grasp. As if he had found a kindred spirit, he became even more affectionate toward her.

Jiang Xia, on the other hand, was so amused by An Ning’s comment that he had to fight back a laugh.

"Jiang Xia, you’re here? Where’s your grandfather?"

Jiang Xia suppressed his laughter. He looked like a young nobleman who had perfectly blended in with the common folk—poised, polite, and completely at ease.

"Auntie, I came over to give you a hand. I’m a decent cook."

As he spoke, he handed over the items he was carrying.

"It’s nothing much, just some chives and garlic sprouts we grew ourselves to add to the meal."