Chapter 74 Experiencing the Festive Atmosphere

The He family's affairs didn't affect their mood for long. After all, it was someone else's business and had little to do with them. Although they were happy when they heard the verdict that day, it was someone else's life, and how they lived it was their own freedom. They could probably have expected such an outcome, so they didn't care about that anymore. What they cared about most now was what was in the supply and marketing cooperative today.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, the most pitiful ones are the three older children who have to go out with their aunt and mother to queue up for things every day.

Now you have to line up before dawn to buy things, and sometimes by the time it's your turn, everything is already sold out, there's nothing you can do about it.

Just like today, the supply and marketing cooperative posted a notice yesterday, and this morning my aunt gave each of the three siblings a stool and a supply book.

Lu Qingfeng is in charge of buying fresh meat; we can make dumplings tonight.

Lu Qingzhu was in charge of buying groceries. It was impossible to find any leafy green vegetables now. Even a large truckload of cabbages would be snatched up instantly. There was no way to avoid queuing.

He Caiwei was in charge of buying fish. The three of them were all wrapped in military overcoats, their necks tucked into scarves, yet they were still shivering from the cold.

Looking around, all I saw were middle-aged women, aunties, and grandmas, and of course, quite a few children as well, some of them sharing a blanket.

This was the first time He Caiwei had ever seen such a situation. She felt it was similar to buying train tickets during the Spring Festival travel rush. However, she had only seen such things on her phone or TV. She had never personally experienced such a situation. After all, she was a homebody and rarely went out, let alone squeezed in with other people during the Spring Festival travel rush.

Lu Qingfeng was very thoughtful; he even filled a large thermos with the bone broth that his aunt had cooked the night before. Drinking a sip of bone broth when you're shivering from the cold felt like coming back to life.

What she admired most was an old lady who was wrapped in a thick blanket, a scarf, and a cotton hat, covered her face, and sat there fast asleep.

He Caiwei found it quite interesting, feeling that it would be impossible to develop such composure without several years of practice.

For four consecutive days, they couldn't buy a single fish. Lu Qingfeng queued for four days but only managed to buy a few pork bones and some lean meat. He couldn't buy anything else. Lean meat was the part that these older women disliked the most at this time. Not only was it not oily, but the price was also about the same as regular lean meat, so it wasn't worth buying.

The eldest uncle wrote a couplet for the family. He Caiwei saw that her aunt was a little disappointed with the lean meat, so she came up with a solution for her. The cured meat they brought had both lean and fat, so they could add some cured meat when making the lean meat filling. That way, the meat would be a good mix of lean and fat.

They originally wanted to bring some fresh meat, but since it doesn't snow in Shenzhen, fresh food spoils quickly.

The meat they brought was braised by themselves and then sealed in jars with oil, which makes it easier to preserve.

This method was suggested by her grandfather. Unlike in the north, especially in Kyoto, where it has snowed several times, fresh meat bought here will be frozen solid the next day if left outside overnight.

This is practically a natural freezer, and it's spacious enough to store anything.

Her aunt also left all the smoked, cured, and pickled meat they had brought outside overnight; it could have killed someone the next day.

The dumplings with some cured pork filling look pretty good, but I wonder how they taste?

Lu Qingzhu didn't care about any of that. As soon as the dumplings were served, he immediately reached out, grabbed one, and took a vicious bite, only to be burned and scream in pain.

His aunt chased him all over the house with a broom used for sweeping the kang (a heated brick bed).

The others just sat there watching, while Lu Qingzhu ran and shouted at them, calling them ungrateful bastards.

Wu Meifang is a soldier. Even in this freezing weather, she still goes to morning exercises and training every day. Her physical strength is absolutely top-notch.

Lu Qingzhu was being chased by his mother to no avail. If he ran away, there would be no dumplings left when he came back. If he didn't run away, he really couldn't take it anymore, so he had no choice but to ask his sister for help.

Having received a look from her, He Caiwei had no choice but to speak up and save her mischievous second brother's life.

"Weiwei, don't hang out with this kid anymore. He's too bad, he might corrupt you." Wu Meifang could only give her little niece face, so she reluctantly put down the broom, but of course she didn't forget to scold her son.

"Mom, I'm not as heinous as you say. All I did was grab a dumpling without washing my hands. Is it really that big of a deal?" Lu Qingzhu was always so talkative, and even though she had been let off the hook, she kept nagging.

Just as Wu Meifang was about to erupt again, he dejectedly shut his mouth, obediently went to wash his hands, and sat back down at the kang table like a good boy.

He Caiwei was speechless. This second brother really didn't learn his lesson. He had just put down the broom, and he was still muttering to himself. Wasn't he afraid of getting a beating later? Look at how strong his aunt was. She could definitely beat him black and blue. With a bruised and swollen face during the New Year, this proud second brother would definitely not dare to go out.

Not long after lunch, my aunt brought out new clothes and made everyone take a bath.

The dinner lasted until the sound of firecrackers outside. The four children knelt down to wish their four elders a Happy New Year, and after receiving red envelopes, they happily went back to their rooms.

Lu Qingzhu has already figured out how to spend his New Year's money tomorrow.

He Caiwei saw his eyes darting around and knew he was up to something again, but she didn't remind her second brother that tomorrow was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and he wouldn't get a beating no matter what.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year is still very strong. For example, the firecrackers outside have been going off non-stop since midnight. However, the children who stayed up all night lay down and slept soundly amidst the sound of firecrackers.

They had only been asleep for a few hours when a sudden loud bang woke everyone up, who were used to the sound of firecrackers.

He Caiwei was genuinely frightened; the sound seemed a bit like a bomb.

Lu Zhiheng knocked on the door and told everyone to get dressed. The group went to a room. Lu Zhiheng originally wanted to go out with them, but considering that he couldn't run away now and was afraid of holding his older brother back, he stayed home with his wife to take care of the children.

"What exactly happened? That doesn't sound like firecrackers." He Yuping had witnessed bomb explosions with her own eyes when she moved around with her father before. The sound just now wasn't far away and was very clear.

"That was definitely the sound of a bomb exploding. The nearest place to us is the steel rolling mill, and this sound sounds like an explosion happened there." Lu Zhiheng had just stood on the balcony and looked out when he discovered that half of the steel rolling mill was already engulfed in flames.

He can't help now, he can only pray that his elder brother and sister-in-law will return safely.