The year drew to a close, and it was time for renewal.
On New Year's Eve, every household busied themselves with preparing for the reunion dinner. Meat and oil, usually spared, were brought out in abundance.
Li Yue Shu specially prepared a few extra dishes, particularly fish, choosing large ones for each.
Leftovers to be eaten the following year would symbolize abundance year after year.
As night fell, every house was still brightly lit.
"Aunt Liu, I'll bring out the last dish. Go call everyone for dinner!"
Li Yue Shu was incredibly excited and had even prepared fruit wine and other non-alcoholic beverages.
A lavish reunion dinner was served, astonishing everyone.
Especially one particular vegetable dish, which naturally sparked curiosity.
Li Yue Shu used her previous excuse to brush it off and urged everyone to eat.
No one doubted her words, but Shen Wei's brows furrowed slightly.
He had been following Li Yue Shu closely, and he knew better than anyone if she had gone to the back mountain.
Fresh winter vegetables were a luxury, even in Chong Zhou, with few people able to afford them. Why had she been able to produce them so easily?
...
The reunion dinner was a time for family gathering. Though they ate together regularly, the feeling now was completely different.
Warmth, togetherness, love, and comfort...
At this moment, everyone seemed to deeply understand what home felt like.
After the reunion dinner, Li Yue Shu brought out the mahjong she had prepared, as well as special games for the children.
"This is called Monopoly. Everyone gets a little pawn, and you move as many steps as the dice show. This is the bank; every time you pass the starting point, you get a hundred taels. This money can be used to buy land and build houses..." Li Yue Shu patiently explained the rules of the game.
The children were all clever and understood after one explanation.
Li Yue Shu made the Monopoly board very large. Except for the youngest, Shen Zhi Yu and Wei Ling, everyone could participate.
However, she didn't know what cities existed in this world, so she used modern city names.
Shen Wei's eyes held an unfathomable depth as he looked at the unfamiliar city names.
"A Shu, I want to play this too!"
He pointed at the Monopoly game on the table, looking at Li Yue Shu plaintively.
Li Yue Shu smiled faintly, "Be good, you have other toys."
With that, she took out a pile of building blocks from the mahjong box. "You and Ling'er and A Yu can build with blocks and see who can build the tallest and most stable tower!"
Shen Wei: "..."
He felt it was... so childish!
But looking at Li Yue Shu's bright smile, he suddenly gave up the idea of probing for information.
Because he had been following Li Yue Shu, he knew very well how much effort she had put into celebrating this year.
But he couldn't understand why she placed so much importance on a mere festival.
Li Yue Shu asked Shen Can to play mahjong with Mo Mu and the couple Liu Lao Han, while she played Monopoly with the children.
The burning charcoal released warmth, and laughter spread from the house to the yard, gradually drifting into the dark night.
...
"Dong dong dong!"
The sound of gongs suddenly rang out, and Li Yue Shu's eyes lit up. "Let's go set off fireworks!"
She picked up A Yu in her arms and led everyone out.
The temperature outside was a bit low, but everyone's spirits were high.
Li Yue Shu distributed the sparklers she had bought in advance, giving each person several.
"Zzzzz!"
The lit sparklers emitted brilliant light, like moving flowers, indescribably beautiful.
For the children, this was not their first New Year, but it was their first time experiencing fireworks so up close.
Even Shen Yi Min, who was usually calm, couldn't hide the joy in his eyes.
Looking at the burning sparkler in his hand, Shen Wei was a little dazed.
This was the first time he had ever played with such a thing in many years.
As a child in the cold palace, he could only gaze at the distant light in the sky.
Later, as he grew up, his status did not allow him to play around with sparklers like a child.
Lost in thought, his shoulder was suddenly patted. "What are you thinking about? The sparkler is going out. Are you scared?"
Shen Wei snapped back to reality, blinking innocently. "A Shu, I... I've never seen a glowing stick like this before."
The flickering light reflected on Shen Wei's face, making him look incredibly pitiful.
Li Yue Shu's heart ached, and she reached out to stroke his head. "From now on, every New Year, we'll buy sparklers to play with, okay?"
The gentle concern in her eyes seemed to turn into feathers, lightly brushing against Shen Wei's heart.
His hand holding the sparkler trembled, and he nodded softly.
Li Yue Shu's smile deepened. She lit a new sparkler and handed it to him. "Here, I got you a new one."
After playing with sparklers, seeing that the time was almost right, Li Yue Shu and Aunt Liu brought out the fireworks.
"Everyone step back a bit, we're going to set off fireworks!" Li Yue Shu shouted, holding a fire starter.
Everyone quickly retreated, but their expectant gazes followed her.
It was Li Yue Shu's first time lighting fireworks, and she was a little nervous, unable to find the fuse.
Seeing her searching with one hand, Liu Lao Han quickly came over. "Let me do it!"
Li Yue Shu touched her nose awkwardly and gave up her position.
After ensuring everyone had moved back, Liu Lao Han blew on the fire starter.
After lighting the fuse, he quickly turned and ran away.
"Whoosh – boom boom boom!"
The brilliant fireworks shot straight into the sky, instantly illuminating half the heavens.
At this moment, almost everyone in the village heard the commotion. Even those who had gone to bed early put on clothes and stood by their windows to watch.
The dark night was like a canvas, adorned with the most beautiful flowers.
The beauty of the fiery trees and silver flowers seemed to leave one speechless.
"Whose house is setting off fireworks?"
The village head's wife came out of the house, looking at the sky in surprise.
The village head, still holding a wine cup, replied, "Who else in our village could afford to set off fireworks!"
Looking at the fireworks that flashed and reappeared in the sky, he sighed, "It's all thanks to her. No one in our village has ever set off fireworks before! Shen Lao San's family is promising; perhaps in the future, they can lead our village to prosperity!"
The village head's wife turned to look at his slightly tipsy face and shook her head helplessly.
He often praised Shen Lao San's family for being smart. Now, after drinking, he was becoming even more exaggerated.
Like the village head's family, everyone in the village understood who was setting off the fireworks.
Some were happy, some envious, and naturally, some were jealous.
Li Yue Shu, oblivious to all of this, looked at the sky with a smile, the blooming fireworks reflected in her dark eyes.
Shen Wei stood beside her.
While everyone admired the fireworks, his gaze was fixed on the person beside him.
The flickering light seemed to cast a glow on the person next to him, making this bright individual appear like a fairy who had snuck down from heaven and could return at any moment.
At that instant, Shen Wei's heart felt as if it had been struck twice with immense force.
His thin lips moved, and he instinctively uttered, "A Shu..."