Chapter 602 The Big Family's New Year's Eve Dinner

Because of heavy snow blocking the roads and poor road conditions, the wedding procession was omitted.

The two families went directly to the military region to hold the wedding, saving all the tedious procedures. They only needed to complete the marriage in front of everyone.

The witnesses were the president of the military hospital and the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Theater Command.

Xiao Jiu didn't even have to worry about this. As soon as her marriage application with Zhou Yue was submitted, her supervisor called her directly to discuss it.

Such consideration not only flattered her, but also indirectly proved that her efforts over the years had been truly rewarded.

Early on New Year's Eve, in the military compound, a tug-of-war was taking place between husband and wife in each household.

"Go help yourself, there are so many people at home waiting to eat!"

"I'm already too busy with my own family, what am I thinking, going to help them?"

"Why are you so stubborn? There are so many people here. Just go and walk around and give them a nod, isn't that enough?"

I heard they've had a lot of relatives visiting these past few days. Do you think they'd need you? You're not even willing to go through the motions?

"The division commander really knows how to take advantage this week; he even picked a good date."

"It's the first day of the Lunar New Year. The army usually provides meals, and good ones at that. This saves him the trouble of treating everyone and getting our money for free."

The station manager, looking at his own woman who was all talk and no action, stormed off in anger.

He simply couldn't be bothered to explain anything to her again.

This situation exists throughout the entire residential compound; every household is unwilling to help, leading to unpleasant arguments.

As these brothers and sisters strolled with their children from the guesthouse to the family compound.

On the road, they encountered groups of two or three women gathered together, pointing and whispering about their appearance.

It's cold in Northeast China, so everyone is bundled up like a bear when they go out. The children are excitedly laughing and having a snowball fight.

Adults also appreciate the sound of footsteps in the snow, but that doesn't mean they're deaf or blind and haven't heard what others say about them.

"See? Commander Zhou drove away his own family members, but invited so many of the woman's family members."

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was visiting!

"Exactly, look how many people are in this family."

"How could that couple be so calculating, bringing so many relatives to their door to freeload and take advantage of the military?"

"I didn't like his wife at first glance. She dressed up in a flashy way and didn't look like a decent person at all."

"Oh my, she's a doctor, and she's been back for so long, but I haven't seen her go to work. I wonder what she does!"

"That's right, I also think that the division commander's wife is different from us. Look at her, she hardly ever goes out except to run errands."

Her parents probably thought she was ugly and couldn't hold their heads up in front of their son-in-law, so they were embarrassed to go out.

I went to help out just now, and they politely invited me out and even gave me a handful of candy and melon seeds.

They said they had too many relatives and didn't want to trouble me.

"Tch, do you think I want to go? If it weren't for my husband, I wouldn't even bother leaving the house."

...

Amidst all these discordant voices, there were also those who came out to take out the trash. Hearing their complaints despite the freezing cold, I couldn't help but stop and watch.

"Aren't you old women cold standing here? Can't you use your brains before you speak?"

They invited you over, and you think they really know how to pick their time, making it New Year's Eve to disrupt your plans.

They're being polite to you, and you say, 'Who would want to go?' Are you being unreasonable?"

You're a disgrace to yourselves, men. Get yourselves home now and stop embarrassing yourselves here.

The speaker was the wife of the regimental commander, who was also a leader at the navigation station; her words and actions carried considerable weight.

She was very influential among military wives. As soon as she spoke, several women greeted her awkwardly and went home.

When the older siblings returned to the courtyard, they saw that two large pots had been built in the yard, both boiling water and steaming.

The firewood inside was all large pieces; there was no shortage of firewood or coal in Northeast China.

Zhou Yue had already made all the necessary purchases after the National Day holiday in order to get through the winter.

"Second sister-in-law, third sister-in-law, seventh sister, eighth sister, you don't need to help. Just go back inside and take care of the children with my mother."

When Xiao Jiu saw everyone coming, she immediately invited them inside to find Zhao Lingli.

"Brothers and sisters-in-law, don't just stand around. See the firewood piled up in the corner?"

Get moving, chop them all up, then stack them neatly and arrange them properly so they don't collapse.

Several small bottles of axe-shaped liquor were prepared, enough for them to use.

Besides chopping wood, we also had to carry water.

"Yes, we should bring them all inside. If we leave them outside, they'll freeze in no time."

A hand pump well needs hot water to flush it.

"If there's no work available, you can chop meat, chop vegetables, pick vegetables, wash vegetables, or knead dough. Find work yourself!"

Sisters and sisters-in-law, we're going to make dumplings, steamed buns, and fried fish in a little while. I've prepared all the ingredients.

Anar is from an ethnic minority, and their way of celebrating the New Year is different from here. In addition, she is not good at communication, so it is just right to send her to take care of the children.

Li Chunqing is a teacher, and the children are all afraid of her. She has an intimidating presence, and with her around, the boys and girls don't cause too much trouble.

Eighth Sister was clearly depressed, so Seventh Sister had to stay there to comfort her. The two of them had been together since childhood, so they had a better relationship and could communicate more easily.

Xiao Jiu made the arrangement so that everyone could see what was going on, so no one had any objections.

There were too many people, so Xiao Jiu gave Tao Yuan a task: "Take a notebook and write down how many people are in our family so we can divide them into tables later."

With so many people, it would be difficult to find enough seats even for three tables, let alone two.

She didn't bother borrowing tables from others; instead, she took out ten sets of foldable tables, chairs, and benches from her storage space.

Zhou Yue didn't care about any of this. He came back last night to visit his relatives and then went back to preparing for his wedding on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Counting from the Tao family, there are three people: Tao Zui's family, three people: Tao Ran's family, four people: Tao Qing's family, four people: Tao An's family, plus her parents, her and Zhou Yue, making a total of eighteen people.

On the Tang family side, the eldest sister has two sons and a daughter, making a family of five; the second sister has only one son, making a family of three.

The third sister has two daughters and one son, making a family of five; the fourth sister has two sons and one daughter, making a family of five.

The fifth sister has two daughters and one son; Zhou Xing didn't come, so there are four people in the family. The sixth sister has two sons, so there are four people in the family.

The seventh sister has one son and one daughter, making a family of four; the eighth sister has four daughters, is divorced, and makes a family of five.

Adding Ye Zhen's family of four, that makes a total of thirty-nine people, and the three families together make a total of fifty-seven people.

Good heavens, you don't know until you calculate it, and when you do, you're shocked. If this table seats eight people, then it would require seven tables.

It's fortunate that it's New Year's Eve today, and Zhou Yue isn't gathering with those people from the military, otherwise he might not even be able to go around the house.

The main room and bedrooms were also packed with people, and even the kang (a heated brick bed) was set up for the children.

The ingredients for seven tables aren't just for one day; it would take several days. Luckily, Xiao Jiu has a good supply.

"Now that we're in Northeast China, let's do as the locals do. We'll be serving Northeast specialties for everyone's New Year's Eve dinner this year!"