Xie Yushu had always treated Ye Youchun differently from the others.
Not only were they from the same village, but Ye Youchun also ran around handling all sorts of base affairs—she was practically the second-in-command after Xie Yushu herself. She worked harder than anyone else and never once complained.
For this year-end distribution, Xie Yushu gave Ye Youchun the largest share—more goods than anyone else, plus an extra string of cash as a bonus.
Not only that, Xie Yushu also prepared red envelopes for Ye Youchun’s grandmother and younger brother, and gave her the leftover food to take home for them to try.
Ye Youchun was deeply grateful and resolved to work even harder next year to repay Xie Yushu’s kindness.
When they arrived at the Xie household, Xie Yushu also instructed her to bring Wang Wen from the village tomorrow to celebrate Little New Year with them.
Tomorrow was Little New Year, and just a few days after that would be the big New Year. Su Chi missed his father, so Xie Yushu wanted to bring him over early to celebrate Little New Year together.
Ye Youchun took the instructions and drove the carriage back.
·
Back in Qianwan Village, the workers who’d received their benefits trudged home, arms full. Their faces were beaming with joy, not caring who saw them—they were so happy they wished they had two more hands to carry everything.
It was a busy time in the village, and everyone spotted what they were carrying.
Oil, fabric, rice, flour—and the oil-paper packages tucked under their arms were soaked through with translucent grease, heavy with contents. Some had even spilled out—oh, big, round fried meatballs!
One person’s eyes widened with envy.
A soft-spoken fulang followed behind them: “Goodness—all of this… is for you?”
Aunt Wu, who was asked, felt immensely proud: “Of course! Our Boss Xie is so generous! She calls it ‘New Year benefits.’ Look at all this—I could barely carry it!”
That person’s mouth opened and closed, opening and closing for a long while before she finally asked: “Does everyone who works for Xie’s get this?”
“Naturally!” Aunt Wu’s face couldn’t hide her pride. “Everyone gets a share—and the boss’s fulang handed them out personally!”
Someone nearby chimed in: “Our boss said we’ve worked hard, and this is what we deserve. She said if we keep up the good work next year, we’ll get even more than this!”
The questioner was stunned, her mouth agape, her jealous eyes fixed on the goods in their hands.
If even these latecomers got this much, then the He family and Aunt Hong—who’d been working for Xie’s from the very start—must have gotten so much they couldn’t even carry it with both hands.
She stood there dazed, then turned to see the He family pushing a cart home. They’d actually borrowed a cart to haul all their goods back, and even his little daughter came to help—the whole family laughing and chatting together.
Everyone in the village knew what kind of life the He family had lived before and what it was like now. It would be a lie to say no one was envious.
They were all desperately jealous, wishing they could trade places with the He family.
She felt a sour ache inside, regretting it bitterly.
Chao Ge’er had asked her long ago if she wanted to work for his boss.
Back then, she’d had a job at the ferry and turned him down. She’d thought at the time that the ferry job had been hard-won, and without thinking twice, she’d refused.
Now, looking at cartloads of goods, she wanted to slap herself twice.
She’d worked herself half to death at the ferry, and their boss wouldn’t even give them a single strand of fabric.
From that day on, everyone in Qianwan Village knew that Boss Xie, who’d set up business in their village, was generous, open-handed, and treated her workers well.
Those piles of goods—who wouldn’t be green with envy? Cured meat, rice, flour, oil, fabric, dates, sugar—nothing cheap, and everything you’d need to make a proper New Year for an entire family.
One by one, they made up their minds: after the New Year, they’d go find work at her place. Even if they couldn’t get a proper job, just sweeping the yard would be fine—Boss Xie would never treat them unfairly.
·
With that big burden lifted, Xie Yushu felt her shoulders relax. She ate two big bowls of rice at lunch, then had another big bowl of meat soup forced on her by Su Chi. The food coma hit, and she pulled Su Chi into the room for a nap.
She was exhausted, but Su Chi was unusually excited and chatty today. He kept murmuring in her ear, his brows animated and bright. She couldn’t bear to miss such a lively version of her fulang, so she forced herself to stay awake and listen to what her little husband had to say.
“Tomorrow is Little New Year—so much to prepare. We didn’t get back until almost noon today, and a lot of things were already sold out. Tomorrow we’ll have to go early.”
“Whatever you say. Make sure to wake me up early tomorrow.” Xie Yushu played with his fingers.
In Jiangzhou, which was in the south, the 24th of the twelfth lunar month was Little New Year.
The three most important things for Little New Year were: sweeping the dust, offering sacrifices to the kitchen god, and preparing New Year dishes—all essential.
First, the house needed a good cleaning.
But Su Chi kept the house spotless every day, so tomorrow they’d only need a light sweep and dusting.
Second, offering sacrifices to the kitchen god.
Worshipping the kitchen god to pray for the family’s three meals and safety throughout the year.
Su Chi had already planned what to buy tomorrow.
Offerings would include sugar melons, malt candy, kitchen god cakes, horse-crisp pastries, sesame sticks—and fruits like sugarcane, oranges, and apples.
Finally, there was the important Little New Year’s Eve reunion dinner.
“Father’s coming tomorrow, right?” Su Chi nestled in Xie Yushu’s arms, his eyes bright as he looked at her, full of anticipation for his father’s arrival.
Xie Yushu tapped his nose: “Youchun will bring him tomorrow.”
“Mm.” Su Chi let out a soft hum from his nose, then pressed a gentle kiss to Xie Yushu’s cheek.
He knew that whatever he wanted, Xie Yushu would take to heart and make it happen.
She always loved him in her own way.
Xie Yushu turned her other cheek toward him: “And here?”
Su Chi leaned in and pressed another kiss there.
Xie Yushu’s heart softened. She didn’t let Su Chi talk anymore, just pulled him close and they napped together.
The next day, the couple woke up early. Su Chi was up first, coaxing Xie Yushu to get up quickly—they had so much to do today and couldn’t slack off.
They had a simple breakfast first, then headed out to shop.
Most of the things they needed for Little New Year were sold in the same area, so they didn’t have to go far. Within an hour, they’d bought everything they needed.
They’d been home busy for a while when a carriage pulled up outside the gate.
Wang Wen climbed down with a bundle, and Ye Youchun carried his other things into the yard, set them down, and left.
At that moment, Xie Yushu was drawing well water bucket by bucket in the yard. When she filled the water vat with the last bucket, she saw Wang Wen had arrived and called out cheerfully: “Father’s here!”
Su Chi immediately dropped what he was doing and went out to greet him: “Father!”
It had been a while since he’d seen Su Chi, and Wang Wen missed his child. He took Su Chi’s hands and looked him over for a long moment.
Then Su Chi took his bundle and led him to the guest room: “Father, go rest for a while.”
Wang Wen wouldn’t have it: “No, no—today’s Little New Year, and we have a reunion dinner tonight. How can I be idle?”
Su Chi insisted: “Yushu and I are already doing the housework. You must be tired.”
Wang Wen looked energetic: “Not tired at all. Youchun brought me here—the carriage you rented is so much more comfortable than an ox cart, and it’s warm inside. I slept the whole way.”
Unable to persuade his father, Su Chi let him be.
“When do we offer sacrifices to the kitchen god?”
Farm folk held the kitchen god in deep reverence—the deity who ensured they wouldn’t go hungry. They always took it seriously.
Su Chi answered obediently: “Before dinner tonight.”
“Then Father will cook the reunion dinner with you.”
“Alright!”
Father and son busied themselves in the kitchen with the reunion dinner. Meanwhile, Xie Yushu set aside a small corner of the kitchen for the offerings.
On the wall hung the kitchen god image they’d bought. Beneath it stood a small square table, already laid with offerings.
Su Chi was meticulous—he placed each type of candy and pastry on its own small plate. The table was crowded with five or six plates of sweets, another three or four plates of fruit, and a small pot of clear tea so the kitchen god wouldn’t choke.
Wang Wen was draining soaked glutinous rice, spreading it on steaming cloth to put in the steamer, when he stole a glance and felt relieved.
He’d worried that this young couple, celebrating their first Little New Year together, might not know what to do. But they’d done it properly, with more variety than what they’d have in the village.
Firecrackers had been going off in the lane since midday. When it was the Xie household’s turn, Xie Yushu lit one and tossed it out.
For tonight’s Little New Year reunion dinner, Wang Wen was the head cook, with Su Chi preparing cold dishes.
The main dish was sticky rice—sweet and savory versions. The hearty dishes included bamboo shoot braised pork, steamed fish, braised duck, braised duck gizzards, crispy meatballs, and radish shred balls—leftovers Su Chi had set aside for their own family, saving them the trouble of making more.
Before dinner, the three of them respectfully made offerings to the kitchen god before eating.
Wang Wen had made both sweet and savory sticky rice.
For the savory version, he diced cured sausage, cured meat, and rehydrated dried mushrooms, stir-fried them with peas and other side dishes, then mixed them into the sticky rice and steamed over high heat for two quarters of an hour.
The result was glossy, translucent grains of sticky rice coated in the savory, oil-rich sauce—each grain distinct and glistening, enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
The ingredients already had intense aromas, and the sticky rice absorbed flavors beautifully while staying chewy and toothsome—incredibly delicious.
The sweet sticky rice was made with jujube paste, sugar, lard, raisins, honey dates, and longan—rich and fragrant.
Wang Wen had paused when he saw all these ingredients laid out. He’d never dreamed of using such things—things farmers could barely afford. He asked his son in a daze: “Are all these for today?”
Su Chi smiled and said to use whatever he wanted—they could buy more later. He didn’t seem to think much of it.
Hearing how casually his son spoke about money, Wang Wen was surprised for a moment, then thought it made sense.
His son’s wife was truly capable. Back in their village, the fanciest sweet sticky rice used only lard, sugar, and red dates. There was no way they’d have all these fine ingredients.
When it was time to eat, Wang Wen served the young couple each a small bowl of sweet sticky rice, murmuring a blessing: “May your days be sweet and smooth, filled with harmony and happiness.”
Su Chi took it, his voice sweet: “Thank you, Father.”
Xie Yushu accepted it respectfully: “Thank you, Father.”
Watching them eat his cooking, Wang Wen felt his heart swell with joy—he even ate half a bowl more than usual.
Leave a Reply