Time flew by and in the blink of an eye, it was already the 29th. This year, there was no 30th in the last lunar month, so the 29th was New Year’s Eve.

A cold front hit, and from the early morning, the temperature in the city dropped sharply.

But unfortunately...

Wenling City, as in previous years, still hasn’t seen the first snowfall of the Year of the Rabbit!

Fortunately, the festive atmosphere in the air was becoming more intense, and once you stepped outside, everything you saw was red.

Every household had red lanterns, red couplets, various styles of window decorations, and even the elderly and children were dressed in red.

The Huang Family was no exception.

Early in the morning, they offered good fortune, setting up a table and offering all sorts of fruits and pastries in front of the hall, lighting incense and candles.

The family hung couplets and door gods, and pasted window decorations on the glass windows, hanging two electronic red lanterns, about half a meter in diameter, at the door, turning on the electricity, beautifully blinking in circles.

With various New Year’s decorations both inside and outside the house, the festive atmosphere was truly strong!

Of course.

The night wouldn’t be complete without a lavish family reunion dinner.

To many, how much anticipation was there really for the reunion dinner?

Truthfully, not much anticipation anymore!

Because the dishes you could enjoy at the reunion dinner were those you could normally eat, and there weren’t any that warranted special anticipation.

It was rather the atmosphere of the whole family sitting neatly together for the meal, the comforting feeling of reunion, and the joy of sharing all the year’s achievements with family that everyone cherished most.

Especially when enjoying the sumptuous and affection-filled reunion meal, with the TV on the side playing the annual "ridiculed yet never skipped" Spring Festival Gala, it felt even more complete.

If it’s with relatives you haven’t seen in a year, this feeling would be even stronger.

However, in Huang Tao’s family, there wasn’t much of this sentiment, because they were able to meet almost every weekend, and since they didn’t need to worry about money, their attitude towards the reunion dinner was very casual.

He even thought about bringing his parents and Xuanxuan to Sanya for the New Year this year.

Combining travel and celebrating the New Year, what a great thing!

But his parents were too traditional, feeling that it was better to celebrate the New Year at home, plus all the various worship activities during the New Year...

So this idea was shelved.

Since they weren’t going out, preparations still needed to be made, especially since his uncle and aunt’s family were coming over to celebrate New Year’s Eve together. It needed to be a bit more grand.

After all, guests are guests; they should be well entertained.

For this reunion dinner, his father went early in the morning to buy everything needed, and with his mom, aunt, and uncle’s wife, who were all excellent cooks with decades of experience, plus Huang Tao himself, there was no problem with cooking.

In the afternoon.

Huang Tao, along with his mom, aunt, and uncle’s wife, began to busy themselves early with preparations for the reunion dinner.

Meanwhile, Huang Yide was in the living room chatting and eating fruits with Song Gaohua and others!

Every time the topic of children came up, Huang Yide became the object of much envy from the two relatives.

Xuanxuan was also busy playing with Mimi and Wangcai.

With two "good friends" accompanying her, she didn’t feel lonely at all.

But at an unguarded moment...

Wangcai and Mimi, these two mischievous buddies, got into it again!

Only to see Mimi raise her little paw, wanting to scratch Wangcai.

Wangcai immediately became wary and tense, with a conflict potentially breaking out at any moment and then getting into a fight.

"Mimi!"

Fortunately, Xuanxuan had anticipated this, she patted Wangcai with one hand and held down Mimi with the other, saying, "Don’t bully Wangcai, Wangcai is a guest, you should be accommodating to it, okay?"

Is the little owner changing her heart?

At this moment, Mimi’s sadness could flood the rivers: "Meow meow meow~"

Seeing this, Xuanxuan immediately switched from holding down to patting, patting its head, gently advising, "Mimi, be good, don’t bully Wangcai, and don’t fight!"

"Wangcai, you be good too, you can be good friends..."

Under Xuanxuan’s gentle and patient comfort, Mimi retracted her claws, no longer trying to attack Wangcai, and Wangcai seemed to understand, no longer glaring warily at Mimi.

This scene...

Was exactly what Xuanxuan had hoped to see!

Seeing the two little ones finally trying to peacefully coexist, a comforting smile appeared on her face, and she squatted in front of her two good friends, softly saying, "That’s right! That’s how it should be, from now on, you two are good friends, come on, shake hands."

Xuanxuan reached out, picked up one of Mimi’s little paws, and gently placed it on Wangcai’s paw.

Shake hands, and we are good friends!

Wangcai looked up at Xuanxuan, then down at Mimi’s paw, leaned in to sniff it carefully, and then...

Didn’t resist!

Nor did he pull his paw away.

He was giving Xuanxuan face...

"Meow~"

Mimi lazily meowed, not feeling any threat, the warm air from the heater blowing onto its body, causing drowsiness to sweep over it, and it quickly forgot the grudges with Wangcai.

Lazy cat Mimi shifted its body, snuggling closely against Wangcai, curled up and closed its eyes comfortably.

Hmm~

Really sleepy~

Wangcai glanced speechlessly at Mimi next to him, looked around, wagged his tail, and then lay down beside Mimi, resting his head on his front legs, snuggling close to Mimi.

But in his heart, there was still a tiny bit of reluctance!

"Good boy~"

Xuanxuan, as if completing a life achievement, smiled with curved eyes, stretched out her little hands to pat the heads of Mimi and Wangcai, and said, "This is what good friends look like! You must get along peacefully like this in the future!"

Seeing that Wangcai and Mimi could now get along, Xuanxuan ran with her little legs to the kitchen, came to Huang Tao’s side, and with a proud face said, "Daddy, under my persuasion, Wangcai and Mimi are no longer fighting and have become good friends!"

She was showing off!

"That’s wonderful!"

Huang Tao bent down with a smile, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and praised, "My Xuanxuan is amazing!"

"Go play for a bit, dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay, okay~"

Xuanxuan nodded obediently and walked back with her little legs.

Seeing that Mimi and Wangcai were still sleeping.

She felt so bored by herself!

Got it!

She brought over some drawing paper and pencils, pulled a small stool, and sat down in front of the coffee table, then seriously began drawing Wangcai and Mimi.

Huang Tao watched this scene through the kitchen’s sliding glass door and felt his heart fill with warmth and tenderness.

He really wished time could freeze at this moment!

If he weren’t so busy, he would’ve taken out his phone and captured the scene immediately!

Busy for quite a while.

Following his mom’s instructions, Huang Tao first prepared eight dishes.

Then he started inviting the ancestors!

He set out the eight dishes, along with pastries, lit incense and candles, offered wine, burned paper money, and prayed for the ancestors’ blessings for family prosperity and peace for all, paying respects to the ancestors.

Family members took turns kneeling and bowing!

By nightfall, with the lights illuminating the home, Huang Tao finished the rest of the dishes.

This New Year’s Eve dinner was indeed sumptuous!

For example, Huang Tao made Squirrel Mandarin Fish, Dongpo Pork, Mei Cai Pork, Nine-Turned Large Intestine, Ginger Egg Custard, Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce, Fried Tofu Skin, Honeyed Ham.

He originally planned to make roast duck, but the equipment at home was incomplete, so he skipped it and turned it into an old duck soup instead.

His mom also made steamed yellow croaker, home-braised little pomfret, steamed crabs, mantis shrimp, and other seafood.

As for the aunt and aunt-in-law, they mainly helped with preparations, occasionally cooking a few vegetable dishes.

The table was full of dishes, definitely too much to finish tonight, and Huang Tao predicted they’d be eating leftovers for the next two or three days.

This is how the New Year’s Eve dinner is every year.

On New Year’s Eve, prepare a big table of dishes, and from the first to the third day of the lunar New Year, mainly eat leftovers, and visit relatives starting the fourth day.

Commonly known as "New Year’s greetings."

In the past, we would visit different relative’s homes each day for meals.

If there were many relatives, it would last until the middle of the lunar month!

Eating like this day after day, your mouth gets numb, and you grow tired of it!

However, now this situation has slightly improved.

During the New Year, they pick a time, and many relatives gather for a meal at a restaurant, and that’s it.

For example, all of Dad’s siblings and families gather for one meal, then Mom’s siblings and their families gather for another meal, and that’s the end of the New Year’s greetings.

This has made the festive atmosphere become more and more diluted...

As everyone took their seats, it signified the official start of the Huang Family’s New Year’s Eve dinner.

"Come!"

Huang Yide raised his glass and said, "Let’s all have a drink together!"

He was truly happy because, this New Year’s Eve, everyone was gathered together for dinner.

Moreover, everyone was harmonious, healthy, and that was more important than anything else!

Besides, his son had a stroke of luck this year, opened a restaurant, and business was thriving, helping him out of a slump, and that’s better than anything else!

"Cheers!"

Everyone followed, raising their glasses, even little Xuanxuan held up her drink cup to clink glasses with everyone.

During dinner, no one was idle, almost everyone received a phone or video call.

Many relatives on Auntie and Uncle’s side even made a point to look at the Huang Family’s New Year’s Eve dishes in the video.

And then...

They were all envious...