Rebirth: Starting from a Trainee Teacher

Chapter 625 Fireworks Feast
Zhou Jing was busy in the kitchen for the whole afternoon and had the New Year's Eve dinner at around five o'clock. He cooked a table full of food for the seven people in the family, including the children. The table was not a square table placed on the kang, but a newly bought round table placed on the ground.

In the middle of the table were four large plates, containing steamed fish, BJ roast duck, beer chicken, and blanched shrimps. The roast duck was brought back by BJ, and the other three were made by Zhou Jing. Other dishes were placed around the four large plates, including stewed lamb, meatballs, braised pork trotters, spiced beef, etc. There were more meat than vegetables, and the blanched dish was mushroom soup.

“It’s really rich.”

Gu Jia's family is small, so there are not many dishes cooked during the Chinese New Year. It was the first time that she felt that the Chinese New Year was like a banquet.

"Some wine?"

Zhou Jing opened a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine, poured white wine for his father and grandfather, and drank red wine for himself, Gu Jia and his mother. He drank white wine at his uncle's house yesterday, so today he accompanied Teacher Gu to drink some red wine and let the old lady try some red wine as well.

"Give me less."

In front of several elderly people at her hometown, Gu Jia didn't want to drink too much, unlike at BJ's house where she could get drunk with Zhou Jing.

"Zhou Zhou, come with grandma, so that mom can have a good meal."

Wu Suqin clapped her hands at the child and said.

"It's okay, I'll hold you."

The child didn't want to go over. There was food on the table, and Gu Jia didn't feel comfortable letting anyone other than herself and Zhou Jing hold the child, in case the child accidentally reached out and knocked over a plate or bowl and got burned.

"Come with Dad."

After the wine was ready, Zhou Jing took the child from Gu Jia's arms and let the child sit on his lap.

"Sit still and don't stretch your hands. Taste the feast made by your father."

Gu Jia moved the plate in front of Zhou Jing further, picked up a piece of fish, tested the temperature with her lips, and confirmed that there were no fish bones before feeding it to the child.

"Ah~"

The little girl opened her mouth consciously.

"Is it hot or not?"

Gu Jia put the fish into the child's mouth, touched the child's chin and said.

"Yeah~Dad~"

The little girl smacked her lips happily, then raised her head and opened her mouth for Zhou Jing to feed her. She was used to having Zhou Jing and Gu Jia take turns feeding her, and it was not okay for an adult to feed her alone.

"Chew more with your mouth."

Zhou Jing picked up a shrimp, cut it into small pieces in a bowl and fed it to the child.

"The baby has a good appetite."

The old lady looked at the child and said.

After taking two bites of the food, Gu Jia looked at Zhou Jing, picked up the wine glass, and the two of them toasted the old man and the old lady.

"I wish my grandparents good health and peace every year."

Zhou Jing said casually.

"Grandpa and grandma are healthy and live long."

Gu Jia felt ashamed that she was not as talented as Zhou Jing. Zhou Jing could make the simplest words sound nice, but she could only think of longevity and good health.

"come together."

It’s not that particular in my hometown, so Zhou Guozhong and Wu Suqin also raised their glasses.

"You too."

The old man picked up the wine cup and drank it all, and the old lady took a sip of the red wine carefully. The two elders were not well educated, the old man only attended elementary school, and the old lady attended junior high school. They didn't know what to say, and their thoughts were all on "you too".

"On the tenth day of the first lunar month, I will be doing business with Zhou Zhou in Tangdu. My parents will go to Tangdu with us on the ninth day. We will find someone to look after our family for two or three days."

Wu Suqin took a bite of the food and said to the two elders.

"Row."

"When will Jing and Jiajia leave?"

It’s the child’s first birthday, and no matter how busy the old man and the old lady are, they will go.

"We will go on the seventh or eighth day of the first lunar month. My uncle will also go. You should go together and be careful."

Zhou Jing broke off half a steamed bun and gave it to the child.

Wu Suqin asked, "Does your uncle drive himself?"

"No, let Haohao send my uncle, aunt, and grandmother back. Bowei Company will not open until after the 15th."

Zhou Jing didn't want to complicate things when celebrating his child's birthday in Tangdu, as relatives and children would inevitably have to travel long distances.

"Can the villa in Tangdu accommodate us?"

Zhou Guozhong roughly calculated the number of people attending his child’s birthday party, and those who went from his hometown would definitely need to arrange accommodation.

"There's room for you."

Tang Du’s villa has seven bedrooms, each with a double bed. Even if the villa cannot accommodate Zhou Jing and Gu Jia, they can go to his parents-in-law’s house.

"Good Seven~"

The little girl took a bite of the steamed bun and talked to herself.

"Which is better, steamed bun or meat?"

Gu Jia touched the child's face and said.

"Mom~"

The child opened his mouth towards Gu Jia.

"These meatballs are made by grandma, they taste better than ours."

Gu Jia picked up a meatball and fed it to the child. Because there was a child, and the old man and the old lady didn't like spicy food, the dishes they cooked were not spicy.

"Maybe we used too much seasoning and the flavor overwhelmed the aroma of the fried meatballs."

Zhou Jing also felt that the meatballs, crispy pork, etc. made by the old lady were better than those he made in BJ.

"It should be, what seasonings did grandma put in?"

Gu Jia picked up a meatball, tasted it and said.

"It's just green onions, pepper powder, oyster powder, fennel, etc."

"What we made is just too complicated. Do you want to eat rice cakes?"

Gu Jia realized that cooking requires more than just looking at a recipe.

"eat."

Zhou Jing said while eating.

After drinking a mouthful of soup, Gu Jia gave half of a fried rice cake to Zhou Jing, ate half herself, and took a fried donut and said, "How are these rice cakes and donuts made?"

"This rice cake is made of millet flour. This kind of flour is hard to buy in the city. Millet looks similar to millet, but there is a big difference. There are ready-made rice cakes for sale in the county town. When you leave, just buy some and fry them yourself in BJ. Donuts are made of white flour, eggs, and sugar. Has grandma made the date cake?"

After eating too much fried food, Zhou Jing wanted to eat date cake.

The old lady said, "I made it, but I was afraid you wouldn't like it if it wasn't hot enough."

"I like it. It will be a hot topic tomorrow night. Jiajia, have you ever eaten jujube cake? It is a non-fried cake with jujube paste inside. Jiajia"

“I haven’t tried it, but it sounds delicious.”

Accustomed to eating big fish and meat, Gu Jia is very interested in the specialties of the countryside, which she cannot usually eat.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, it was not yet dark, but firecrackers were already heard in the village. According to the custom in my hometown, firecrackers are set off after the New Year's Eve dinner and after eating dumplings on New Year's Day. Whichever family sets off firecrackers will let others know that the New Year's Eve dinner is over.

After dinner, Zhou Jing lit a cigarette and went to the warehouse to get a string of 100-bang firecrackers to set off. When Zhou Jing was a child, he liked to set off firecrackers and fireworks, but his mother didn't allow him to do so because she was afraid that he would be blown up. When he was in high school and college, Zhou Jing didn't like to set off firecrackers anymore, but due to his mission, he became the professional firecracker setter in the family.

After setting off the firecrackers, Zhou Jing coaxed the child, while Gu Jia helped Wu Suqin wash the dishes, letting the old lady rest early after a busy day. Zhou Jing wrapped the child tightly and went outside to play with firecrackers. After playing with firecrackers for a while, he took a few fairy sticks, placed them in a row on the wall, and lit them one by one. The fairy sticks burned and sparks flew.

"Hoho~"

The child cheered and clapped as he watched the sparks.

"is it fun?"

Zhou Jing kissed the child and said.

"Hu play~"

"Look at daddy setting off the rockets."

Zhou Jing found a firecracker, took an empty bottle and placed it on the ground, inserted the firecracker into it and lit it. With a whoosh, the firecracker flew up and exploded.

"Yeah~huh~"

The little girl spoke in surprise.

"This is boring, it's enlarged." Zhou Wei, the son of the aunt next door, came over and said.

"It's interesting now that it's dark. When is bro getting married?"

Zhou Jing took out a cigarette and passed one to everyone around him.

"next year."

Zhou Wei lit a cigarette and said.

Zhou Jing said: "Many people in my family are getting married next year."

"You're already at the age of getting married, what kind of model does your company's store have?"

Zhou Wei is five years older than Zhou Jing. He turned 30 after the Chinese New Year. With the idea of ​​building a career before starting a family, he studied computer science in college and opened an electronics repair shop in Yu City with his partner. Their business scope includes repairing computers, mobile phones, and home appliances, as well as selling some electronic products. The business has been good in the past few years, and he bought a car and a house in Yu City.

"It is a company-owned business, mainly to facilitate after-sales service and product experience. Electronic digital products are becoming more and more popular. Your business should be good, right?"

Holding the child, Zhou Jing walked to the upwind side. He could see that Zhou Wei wanted to talk about something, so he didn't invite him into the house.

Zhou Wei said: "It's OK. I repaired an Ideal smartphone before the holiday. The phone fell into the water and couldn't be turned on. This phone is really waterproof. I just took it apart and dried it."

"The power supply has an automatic shutdown and power-off program when it short-circuits. It can only be turned on after it is blow-dried. How are the products in your store selling?"

Zhou Jing smiled and said.

"Sales are average. People nowadays value brands when buying electronic products, and big brands are usually only sold in specialty stores."

Zhou Wei shook his head and said.

"After the holiday, I will ask the company to send you a batch of smart speakers and desk lamps to try. Or you can open an online store of our company and I will ask the company to provide you with the goods."

Zhou Wei has the skills, and if Zhou Jing could help him, he could work ten years less.

Zhou Jing's family has also had a tragic fate. Zhou Wei's grandfather died in the army. His father died in a car accident on his way to a business trip to build a road in the village more than ten years ago. The eldest son of his great-grandfather used to work in the Yulin City Letters and Calls Bureau. In 02, he went on a business trip to BJ and died on his way back when his car slipped down the hillside in snowy weather.

"Okay, then I'll learn more about your company's products."

Zhou Wei couldn't ask for more. Online shopping was becoming more and more popular, and it was easy for him to set up an online store. Ideal Technology was much better than running that repair shop. After the neighbor left, Gu Jia came outside to play with the children.

"Yesterday you said you were going to control your food intake, but today you lost control."

The New Year’s Eve dinner was so sumptuous that Gu Jia couldn’t control her appetite and accidentally ate too much.

"Being able to eat is a blessing. To maintain your figure, you need to eat properly at ordinary times, not just during the New Year."

Zhou Jing rubbed Teacher Gu's belly and said.

"Too."

Gu Jia wants to drink a beverage. She has to drink a beverage while watching the Spring Festival Gala in the evening. She wants to drink Coke, Sprite, or Orange Juice.

"Zhou Zhou and grandma went to see the dog."

Wu Suqin carried the basin to feed the dog.

Today's dog food has also been upgraded. It has meat, meatballs, vegetables, and broken buns mixed in. The dog eats it ravenously.

I cooked a separate meal for the child in the evening, fed the child a little, and then Gu Jia took the child to feed him.

The TV was replaying previous years' Spring Festival Gala, and the old man was watching it with great interest.

Zhou Jing sat on the kang and looked at his mobile phone. Many people sent messages or left messages to Zhou Jing to wish him a happy new year today, including company employees, students, relatives and friends, government officials, and business owners. The message bar showed 99+. Zhou Jing found the important ones and replied. Those who needed to take the initiative to wish him a happy new year had sent messages on the mountain during the day. Others did not reply on the grounds that there was no signal at home.

Every time Zhou Jing goes back to his hometown, he will post a message [There is no signal at home, please leave a message if you have any questions]

【Happy New Year, Teacher Zhou】

[I wish Mr. Zhou's company a prosperous new year]

【Happy New Year, Mr. Zhou】

【.】

Most of the people who left messages to Zhou Jing were former students, and a few were classmates. Zhou Jing's message board became a check-in spot for students in Class 1 and 2 of Senior High School. Some students started chatting on Zhou Jing's message board.

[How is the company's New Year's Eve dinner?]

Bai Xiyao went to Ideal Technology and took photos of the New Year's Eve dinner in the company cafeteria and sent them to Zhou Jing.

The company’s New Year’s Eve dinner has a rich variety, with nearly twenty dishes.

[Not bad, you have worked hard, go home early]

Zhou Jing replied to Bai’s best friend.

【Not hard】

After visiting the cafeteria, Bai Xiyao prepared to go to the production workshop to take a look, as a way of expressing her condolences to the employees who were working on New Year's Eve. It was not a pleasant thing for the employees to have to work on New Year's Eve.

"Dad~"

After feeding, the child called Zhou Jing.

"Have you had a good meal today?"

Zhou Jing picked up the child, leaned against the quilt, and placed the child on his body.

"Hmm~"

The little girl kissed Zhou Jing on the face.

"Which one does Zhou Jing drink?"

Gu Jia took two cups and poured drinks.

"Cola."

"I won't even give you a drink."

Gu Jia poured a cup of Coke and a cup of Sprite, put them on the square table on the kang and said to the child. The child looked at the drinks eagerly.

“This doesn’t taste good.”

Zhou Jing broke off a piece of apple and gave it to the child.

"Be careful to squeeze out the food for your dad."

Gu Jia took a photo of the child, and sent the photo of the New Year's Eve dinner to her parents. After seeing the photo of the New Year's Eve dinner sent by her mother, Gu Jia missed her parents very much, as her parents were the only ones at home during the New Year.

Mother Gu: [Does the child have any problems with acclimatization? ]

Gu Jia: [No]

The Spring Festival Gala started on time at 8 o'clock. While others watched TV, Zhou Jing played with the children. Compared with watching the Spring Festival Gala, Zhou Jing preferred to coax the children.

Seeing Zhou Jing going to set off fireworks at nine o'clock, Gu Jia dressed the child warmly, wrapped his ears with a scarf, and went outside to watch.

"Is that good looking?"

Gu Jia pointed out the fireworks from the neighbor's house to the child. The child stared at the night sky, full of curiosity as he watched the fireworks for the first time.

Zhou Jing spread out more than a dozen large boxes of fireworks that his family had bought in an open space outside the courtyard wall, took out all the fuses, and then took out a roll of firecrackers with 10,000 bangs and pulled it away from the fireworks. After lighting the firecrackers, he lit three fireworks.

Amid the crackling sound of firecrackers, fireworks kept flying into the night sky and blooming, and colorful lights kept flashing in the night sky.

When they heard that Zhou Jing's family had started setting off fireworks, the neighbors all went to the street to watch and cast envious glances towards Zhou Jing's family.

"beautiful."

Gu Jia held the child in her left hand and held the mobile phone in her right hand to record the video.

"All released today?"

The neighbor said this when he saw fireworks all over the yard outside Zhou Jing's house.

"I'll feel at ease if I let it go."

Zhou Jing then moved all the smaller fireworks outside the courtyard wall and arranged them out. There were about twenty or thirty fireworks of different sizes, to make it more lively on New Year's Eve when there were many people around. After Zhou Jing and Gu Jia left, the old man and the old lady had no intention of setting off firecrackers, let alone fireworks. It was very cold standing outside. After all the fireworks were arranged, Zhou Jing lit eleven or twelve more.

More than a dozen fireworks were lit at the same time, and the night sky above Zhou Jing's house seemed to be dyed in color, and the colorful lights made it as if it were daytime below.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen so many fireworks.”

Gu Jia walked up to Zhou Jing and said.

"Isn't it more interesting than celebrating the New Year in the city?"

Zhou Jing held the child and asked the neighbors to help light all the remaining fireworks. The remaining ones were mainly large ones, several of which were 200-shot and a few of which were 100-shot. Zhou Jing recorded a video and sent it to her bestie Bai.

After the fireworks feast ended, it was time for the children to go to bed. The old lady and Wu Suqin prepared New Year's money for the children, giving each child one thousand yuan.

"How much New Year's money did you give your little girl?"

Gu Jia put two thousand yuan under the child’s pillow and said to Zhou Jing.

(End of this chapter)