Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

He Yuzhu blanched the meat to make meat. Then he started making dumplings, not boiled dumplings, but steamed dumplings. They were all quite large, and he made thirty in total, enough for the brother and sister to eat for two or three meals.

I don't plan to make too many other dishes. Apart from boiled fish and chicken stew with mushrooms, the other four dishes will be served in small quantities.

"Brother, are you making Dongpo pork? It smells so good, I could smell it from outside. The dumplings are already wrapped too. You're even better than Dad." He Yushui came to the kitchen after smelling the aroma.

He Yuzhu knew she was craving it. "You smelled it. Why don't you go play in the yard for a while? Today is New Year's Eve, you can play as you like. You decide what time you go to bed tonight."

Dongpo pork takes a long time to stew; I'm planning to simmer it for two hours. I'll call you when the food is ready.

"I've been playing for almost two hours, but it's not fun with so few people. There are too few girls my age in the compound."

I'm going to look at comic books later while my brother cooks. He'll have to teach me later. Didn't Dad say, "It's passed down to sons, not daughters"?

"Silly girl, that means our family's 'Tan Family Cuisine,' teaching you other cuisines is something I know, it has nothing to do with your father."

"Brother, you're amazing! You know so much. Go read a book first, and then learn to cook. I'll go wipe the table first." He Yushui took a rag and went to the main room.

She should spend more time with the child. Judging from the two months since He Daqing ran away, He Yushui is very attached to her and doesn't want to leave her for even a minute. She thinks she is more important than He Daqing.

Perhaps because her father had run away, she was afraid. She decided to treat her better, after all, she was her blood-related younger sister. In a boring life, raising a child who doesn't cry or make a fuss is quite nice.

At 6:30, six dishes were laid out on the table. He Yushui knew it was time to eat, so she went to the kitchen, washed her hands, and took out two small bowls and two pairs of chopsticks.

"Rain, sit down. Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. I wish you a happy new year..." He Yuzhu said, offering his blessings.

"My brother too."

"Let's eat." He Yuzhu picked up the steamed buns he had bought from the system store.

"Brother, Dongpo pork is just as delicious as braised pork, and these four dishes are all delicious too. What is this dish? It's slightly spicy, but it's also delicious." He Yushui had never seen boiled fish before.

"This is boiled fish, similar to the boiled pork we used to eat. I just changed the ingredients of boiled pork and made it better by turning the meat into fish."

"There are bones in the fish, but not many. You should eat slowly and be careful of the bones," He Yuzhu advised.

"Okay. Brother, do you think Dad is also having New Year's Eve dinner? Is it as good as what we're having?" He Yushui thought of He Daqing.

"We all eat New Year's Eve dinner during the Spring Festival; it's a tradition, the same for everyone in the country. There were many families making braised pork in the courtyard just now; you didn't smell it. Our dad's rich; he never skimps on food."

"As long as Dad is eating well, that's all that matters. The braised pork outside smells really strong; someone must be making it now."

"Eat slowly, don't rush. The soup is served from the chicken and mushroom stew. There will be dumplings later."

"We have so much food today, we can't finish it all. Shall we eat it tomorrow?"

"We'll eat tomorrow. You should also have a few bites of vegetables."

"Hmm." He Yushui was very busy, her mouth constantly eating meat. After He Yuzhu finished speaking, she started eating vegetables.

The mealtime was lively with many people, but the siblings' meal lacked atmosphere. He Yuzhu didn't drink alcohol, occasionally saying a few words, but mostly just eating in silence.

He Yushui ate another dumpling and put down her chopsticks. "Brother, I'm full, I'm a little stuffed."

"Let's rest for a while, then go outside and set off some firecrackers to help digest our food."

"Brother, let's go play at the gate of the yard. There's snow there, let's go blast the snow."

"Go if you want. But don't set off firecrackers that could blow up people or toilets."

"I won't blow up people, Dad told me that. Blowing up toilets is something boys do, they stink in there, I don't go in."

The little girl was obedient; she didn't blow up people or toilets. What's the fun in setting off firecrackers?

Setting off firecrackers and wearing new clothes during the Lunar New Year are things for children. He Yuzhu, having lived two lives, has no interest in these things anymore. He Yushui is playing happily while he watches.

Right after liberation, the population of Yanjing had not yet exploded, and there were not many residents in the courtyard houses, with only about twenty children.

He Yushui and Xu Qiaoling were together, and Xu Damao's mother was also at the door.

Boys play wilder than girls. Firecrackers often fly to the adults' feet, and firecrackers fly into the toilet when someone goes to use it. They're all naughty kids.

Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang were also at the entrance of the compound, but the two brothers didn't have any firecrackers and could only watch the other children set them off longingly.

Unexpectedly, Yan Bugui, who came from a small business background, is now so stingy.

Although we are poor now, every family in the compound buys firecrackers for their children during the Spring Festival, the only difference being the quantity.

Two thousand yuan (equivalent to two cents) for a hundred firecrackers is not expensive for the family working in the compound, and it only happens once a year.

At 10 p.m., He Yushui and Xu Qiaoling both had to go home. Their two children were still young, so they couldn't stay up all night.

After getting home and tidying up, He Yushui consciously took off her clothes, went to bed, and fell asleep very quickly.

He Yuzhu figured he was free tomorrow morning, and would go to pay his respects to his master at 3 PM. He'd also have time to keep watch overnight.

Today is New Year's Eve, and it's rare that there's no power outage. He Yuzhu didn't turn on the lights, but lit a kerosene lamp to read.

He Yuzhu was looking at a recipe, the complete recipe book for Tan Family Cuisine left by He Daqing. Even though he couldn't cook Tan Family Cuisine in the courtyard, looking at the recipes could still increase his experience points.

He Yuzhu plans to elevate all the knowledge he needs to acquire to the master level, so that his culinary skills can be superb. He will start with cooking.

Having good skills doesn't have to be flashy, but it's different from having no skills and being ashamed to show them off. Especially in cooking, it's your profession, and it's shameful to be ashamed ...

It was almost noon when He Yuzhu put down the recipe and went to the kitchen to heat up the dumplings.

"Brother, what are you eating?" He Yushui woke up from the smell and asked without opening her eyes.

"It's twelve o'clock, let me heat up some dumplings."

"I'm a little hungry, I want to eat dumplings too." This is after sleeping for two hours, it's time to eat.

"Get dressed and get out of bed. I'm going to set off firecrackers."

"Um."

At this moment, the sound of firecrackers outside grew louder and louder, as many people were setting off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.

After setting off the firecrackers, He Yuzhu heated up the dumplings, then heated up the boiled fish and stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. The stir-fried potato shreds had already been eaten.

"Rain, don't go to sleep right after eating, it will cause indigestion."

"I'll play for a while before going to sleep."

At eight o'clock on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, He Yuzhu got up as usual, while He Yushui was still sleeping.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he tried his best not to sleep in and woke He Yushui up.

After dinner, the two of them read books at home; the morning air was still a bit chilly.

"Brother, it's starting to snow again outside." He Yushui stood in front of the window and could see outside.

"Is the snow heavy or not? Snow is good. A good snow promises a good harvest." He Yuzhu didn't pay much attention.

"The road is slippery. It's easy to fall and end up in the hospital like Grandpa Yi."

It seems He Yushui remembers clearly that Yi Zhonghai fell and was hospitalized, and is worried about herself.

"Just be careful. They all fell by accident. You're still young and have never fallen before, so don't worry."

"I'll be careful."