While the siblings were stunned, she quickly took out her mother's qipao, her two younger brothers' Tang suits, the twins' Tang suits and Hanfu, and the gift for her mother from the system's warehouse, which she had put away the day before. She placed them in the bedroom closet for them to wear later.
After putting the clothes away, Chen Lan quickly dressed the twins in warm clothes and took them to the washroom in a stroller to wash up.
Then, she carried the twins downstairs for breakfast. At the table, Xiao Douzi, Xiao Shiteng, and Hutou were already eating.
Seeing Chen Lan and the twins come downstairs, they all greeted Chen Lan and the twins, inviting them to sit beside them.
Even Xiao Douzi, while being fed custard by his mother on the sofa, patted the spot next to him with his little hand and said, "Sister, be good, sit, sit."
Chen Lan placed the twins on the sofa next to Xiao Douzi and, as they sat down, her mother brought their breakfast. The mother and daughter each fed one of the twins custard while discussing their plans for the day.
As Chen Lan fed Jia Hui, she explained the day's schedule to her mother in detail. Suddenly, she remembered that the birthday hall hadn't been decorated, the longevity peaches, melon seeds, peanuts, apples, and other food items for the birthday feast hadn't been bought, and the "Shou" characters, couplets, and big red lanterns hadn't been prepared.
So, she said to her mother, "Mom, after you finish feeding the twins their breakfast, go upstairs and quickly change into your new clothes for today. The two younger brothers should also change.
Don't worry about the twins' clothes for now; they'll change with me. Bring down the gifts as well. I've put everything in the closet in the bedroom. Otherwise, the guests who come to wish you a happy birthday will arrive soon."
Her mother agreed, "Lan'er, I understand! I'll feed Jiayao and then take your two brothers upstairs to change."
Jia Yao was very cooperative today and quickly finished his custard. After her mother wiped his mouth, she took Wen Kai and Wen Qi upstairs to change into their new birthday clothes.
Chen Lan placed the twins, who had just finished eating, on the sofa and sat with Xiao Douzi, playing with their favorite toys.
While they had time, Chen Lan prepared to tidy and decorate the living room.
She went to the utility room and took out the children's bicycles she had bought for her three younger brothers from the system's warehouse, placing them in the utility room. Then, she ordered from the system the big red lanterns, big red chopsticks, big red and gold "Shou" characters and couplets, big red candles, "Shou" character window decorations, longevity peaches, longevity cakes, "Shou" character steamed buns, "Shou" character paper cuts for the birthday banquet. She also bought colorful fruit candies, peanuts, melon seeds, and a large basket of big red apples. Finally, she ordered five big birthday cakes from the system.
She took them out of the system's warehouse and carefully checked if anything was missing. She realized the big red carpet for the birthday celebration was missing and immediately used her mind to open the system and order two large pieces.
She brought the two carpets out of the utility room and placed them in the corner of the living room. Then, she went to the kitchen to find people to help with the decoration. When she reached the kitchen door, she found there were too many people inside and she couldn't get in.
So, she said to Ming Wei, Hu Yuzhen, and Cui Qiao, who were peeling onions and garlic by the kitchen door, "Sister Yuzhen, Sister Cui Qiao, Ming Wei, can you come out and help me decorate the living room?"
The three women quickly agreed. After greeting Aunt Xiaoshan and Lin Mai, they followed Chen Lan out of the kitchen.
Chen Lan asked the three to help paste the "Shou" characters and arrange the longevity peaches and cakes, while she went to the utility room to get a ladder to hang the red lanterns and paste the big "Shou" characters and couplets in the birthday hall.
Ming Wei was responsible for arranging fruit platters on the five octagonal tables in the living room. Each table had six fruit platters, filled with big red apples, peanuts, melon seeds, colorful fruit candies, longevity peaches and cakes with the character "Shou" written on them, and a birthday cake.
These five solid wood tables were prepared by Chen Lan for the living rooms of the five houses when they moved into the new home this year. They had been painted red just when they moved in, looking festive and grand. Chen Lan particularly liked the color of Chinese red.
The weather was too cold, so the windows were tightly closed. Chen Lan watched Cui Qiao pasting "Shou" character window decorations on the bare windows and felt it was a bit too plain. However, in the middle of winter, there were no flowers or plants to use for decoration.
Chen Lan thought for a moment and came up with an idea. She took down two large bunches of dried chili peppers hanging under the eaves and hung them on either side of the windows. The dried chili peppers were bright red, making it look much more festive.
Chen Lan then hung a large, big red and gold "Shou" character, purchased from the system, on the front wall of the living room. The brushstrokes were flowing and powerful, and the strokes were elegant and grand.
Then, on both sides of the "Shou" character, she pasted bright red couplets: "Red sun dispels auspicious snow, Fortune and longevity move the universe."
Looking at the main entrance, Hu Yuzhen had already hung six big red lanterns, each with a golden "Shou" character.
She quickly moved the big red carpets from the corner of the living room and spread them on the floor.
Looking back, the overall atmosphere of the living room had completely changed. It had now become a festive, lively, and prosperous birthday hall.
Just as the decoration was completed, her mother came downstairs with her two younger brothers, who had changed into their clothes.
In a short while, the guests started arriving one after another. Chen Lan quickly took the twins upstairs to change.
After changing and coming downstairs, the birthday banquet began. Her mother, wearing a dark green velvet qipao and a white fox fur shawl, sat in the center. Her two younger brothers, dressed in big red Tang suits with bat patterns, sat on her left, like two lucky babies.
Uncle Fu acted as the master of ceremonies, delivering blessings. He then announced the official start of the birthday celebration.
Next, Uncle Fu announced that the family members would begin the birthday greetings.
First, the two younger brothers stood up to wish their mother a happy birthday. Wen Kai and Wen Qi knelt down together and kowtowed three times. Her mother smiled and pulled them up by their hands, urging them to rise quickly.
Then, Chen Lan led the twins to kowtow to her mother. The mother and her two children also kowtowed three times. The twins, with their little bottoms sticking out as they bowed to their grandmother, looked so cute and adorable that they amused everyone.
Everyone laughed heartily, saying the twins looked like lucky babies. The twins understood the adults and smiled happily.
Her mother, with a beaming smile, immediately picked up Jia Yao and told Chen Lan and her daughter to get up quickly.