In the afternoon, Chen Lan took half an hour to prepare and pack the supplies for each family for the upcoming minor New Year.
The remaining preparations were left to her mother-in-law, Cui Mama, and Liu Mama. Chen Lan continued to play the role of a child wrangler with her own mother.
Chen Lan leaned lazily on the sofa, watching the little ones play joyfully. Jiahui and Jiayao, the sister and brother pair, were playing on the seesaw as usual.
Thinking about the siblings riding the carousel, Chen Lan couldn't help but smile. Those two little clever ones, ever since they got dizzy on the carousel last time, they no longer dared to ride it. If you forced them onto it, they would burst into tears.
Little Stone, Tiger Head, the one-year-old Little Bean and Little Iron Egg, plus four-year-old Little Lotus, were all having a great time in the children's playground.
Little Lotus, being a bit older, led the younger boys, acting like a big sister.
With Little Lotus's help, Chen Lan and her mother had much less to worry about, not having to fret about Tiger Head and Little Stone fighting or bullying the younger ones.
Her mother would occasionally check on the five little ones sleeping in the cradle to see if they had spit up or needed changing.
Chen Lan and her mother chatted about the customs during the New Year. Chen Lan curiously asked her mother, "Mother, are tanggua and Guandong tang the same thing?"
Her mother chuckled and replied softly, "Of course, they are the same thing! It's just a different name. In the capital, it's called tanggua, and some also call it Guandong tang. They are essentially the same thing!"
After speaking, she looked towards the cradle and continued, "Actually, people in the Northeast have a custom of eating Guandong tang in winter. There's even a story behind it!"
Chen Lan's interest piqued immediately, and she eagerly asked, "Mother, please tell me, what is the story?"
Her mother cleared her throat, took a sip of Linden flower tea, and said softly, "Speaking of this story, it has to do with the characteristics of Guandong tang. Families usually make Guandong tang and then freeze it outside. When eating it, they bring it inside and must eat it immediately. Because at this time, it's crispy, fragrant, and brittle, but immediately after, your mouth will get stuck because the biggest characteristic of Guandong tang, besides being sweet, is that it's sticky."
Chen Lan impatiently pressed, "Mother, what does that have to do with the custom of eating Guandong tang?"
Her mother smiled and patted Chen Lan's hand, "Lan'er, don't be so impatient! Listen to me finish speaking, and you'll know if there's a connection."
Then, her mother continued, "The custom of Northeasterners eating Guandong tang in winter is greatly related to the cold weather here. Because in this region of the Northeast, there's a saying, 'On the seventh and eighth of the twelfth lunar month, your jaw will freeze off.' This saying has been passed down from ancient times to the present. Therefore, there's a custom of eating Guandong tang so that your jaw gets stuck and won't freeze off. In reality, this custom is merely a wish of the common people."
As they were chatting, Chen Lan suddenly remembered that there was another important matter for the New Year that hadn't been prepared. She asked, "Mother, tomorrow is the minor New Year. Have Aunt Xiao Shan and the others at the sewing society prepared the new clothes for everyone in the valley?"
Her mother replied with a smile, "It's not mandatory to wear new clothes for the minor New Year. As long as they are clean and tidy, it's sufficient. Of course, it's different for well-off families who don't lack money."
After speaking, she gently patted Chen Lan's hand and smiled tenderly, "Lan'er, you don't need to worry so much about small matters like making new clothes for the New Year. I believe your mother-in-law and Aunt Xiao Shan will surely arrange everything properly!"
Chen Lan nodded and said no more. Her mother was right. Once the new year began, there would be many things to do in the valley. If she had to worry about trivial matters like making new clothes, she would be exhausted to death.
However, Chen Lan still prepared new clothes for her entire family. After all, it was their first minor New Year in the valley, and she wanted to leave everyone with a beautiful memory.
Thinking of memories, Chen Lan thought of the camera. Speaking of cameras, Chen Lan felt it was like a very distant thing. Many years before she transmigrated, she hadn't used a camera for a long time. She wondered if there were any point-and-shoot cameras for sale in the system.
In her previous life, she only knew how to use a point-and-shoot camera because it was very simple to operate. Even a fool could use it to take photos with accurate exposure and clear images. Not only that, but it was also small, lightweight, and inexpensive. That's why "point-and-shoot cameras" were the most popular in home photography in her previous life.
Later, when other cameras had too many functions, she would get flustered. Even later, once mobile phones had camera functions, she started taking photos and pictures with her phone and never used a camera again.
Thinking of this, Chen Lan immediately took action. She opened the system with her mind and searched for "the simplest and most convenient point-and-shoot camera." Many product names immediately appeared on the system screen.
Chen Lan examined the product manuals one by one, comparing performance and convenience, as well as cost-effectiveness. Finally, she chose a domestic point-and-shoot camera. Although domestic cameras had some flaws, she decided to support domestic products no matter where she was.
She took out the new camera from the system warehouse, opened the packaging, adjusted the camera settings according to the prompts on the system screen, and then picked up the camera and took a series of shots of the dragon and phoenix twins. Seeing the new toy, the siblings refused to let it go and insisted on playing with it themselves.
This truly stirred up a hornet's nest. Chen Lan refused, and the siblings burst into tears.
Her mother chided her playfully, "You! You have too much time on your hands. Why are you provoking them? Now look, you've made them cry. What are you going to do?" Saying this, she really ignored Chen Lan and her two children and went to the kitchen to make powdered sheep milk for the children.
Chen Lan was completely flabbergasted. In the end, she couldn't handle it anymore. To get the siblings to quiet down, she compromised. Chen Lan flipped through the photos she had just taken and showed them to the two little ones one by one.
As the two little ones watched, they occasionally let out exclamations of surprise. They were very excited to see themselves in the photos. Anyone who didn't know what had happened would see a warm and harmonious scene of Chen Lan holding the twins and looking at the camera.