Kong Ming Lantern

“What is this?”

Curious, Xiaoguo walked over and lifted the cloth over the basket. To her surprise, there were meatballs and all kinds of leafy vegetables.

“Wow, are you guys going to eat hotpot with all this food?”

As soon as Xiaoguo said those words, Ruyi immediately chimed in. She seemed to have guessed it correctly. “Yes, we were thinking of having hotpot. We’re all craving for the original and spicy soup bases that you made, Sister Xiaoguo.”

As she spoke, she blinked mischievously.

“That’s easy! Let’s have hotpot tomorrow night. Coincidentally, I still have a lot of mutton slices.”

When she was feeling bored previously, she had specially sliced the remaining mutton in the fridge. At that time, she thought that she could take the sliced meat out when she wanted to eat hotpot in the future. It would be very convenient.

As soon as Xiaoguo said this, the other three people in the room agreed unanimously. They had to eat until they were stuffed.

“Sister Xiaoguo, where’s Brother An Ming and Zhuang Zhuang?”

Ruyi had not seen them since she entered. She was wondering about them and was missing them.

At this point, Xiaoguo recalled their embarrassing behavior earlier on. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Under everyone’s puzzled gazes, she told them everything that had just happened.

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter in the room. And that successfully stopped the two persons, who were standing outside, in their tracks. They quickly retracted their feet that were just about to step into the room.

“Are we still going in, Uncle?”

Zhuang Zhuang looked up and asked Qin Anming softly.

“No…” Qin Anming shook his head. Why would he go in at a time like this? He would just wait for a while longer before going in and pretending like nothing had happened.

But before he could finish his sentence, a surprised voice sounded behind them.

“Brother An Ming, Zhuang Zhuang, why aren’t you guys going in?”

As soon as the voice sounded, they were not the only ones to hear it. Everyone in the room heard it too. After a moment of silence, Qin Anming was about to say something when the curtain was lifted from the inside, completely exposing them to everyone.

Qin Anming smiled awkwardly. But Zhuang Zhuang didn’t feel anything. Neither could he understand his uncle’s feelings. He just opened his mouth and greeted everyone.

Qin Anming had to go through one round of teasing by the group. But after thinking it through, he told himself that this was just a small matter. There was no harm done in the process after all.

The sound of firecrackers sounded throughout the whole day. When dinner time was over, the sounds became even louder.

As for Xiaoguo’s kitchen, it was bustling with activity. Everyone was in-charge of something there. Every pot was filled with food, and not a single one was left idle. Since the ingredients and sauces were all pre-mixed, the cooking process went on smoothly.

In the medium-sized kitchen, there were assistants, chefs, servers, errand runners, and a few who were secretly stealing bites with Zhuang Zhuang. The heat and fragrance of the food wafted out of the window and escaped into the air outside.

At this moment, every house in Peach Blossom Village was lit up by candlelight. White smoke was rising from the chimneys. Standing in the courtyard, one could smell the fragrance of food everywhere. It reminds one of the saying that the little things in life provide the most comfort in people’s hearts.

The last hot dish was brought to the table. Everyone returned to the main hall one after another. Xiaoguo followed closely behind them. Zhuang Zhuang was about to blow out the candles in the kitchen when Xiaoguo quickly stopped him. “Zhuang Zhuang, don’t extinguish the candles.”

“Why?” Zhuang Zhuang retracted his pouting lips and asked curiously.

“On New Year’s Eve, every household has to be lit up to welcome the immortals who have descended from the sky…”

At this point, Xiaoguo had to bring up the ancient customs again. She briefly told him about the legends of immortals and monsters. Although it wasn’t very detailed due to time constraints, Zhuang Zhuang understood most of it.

He nodded at her words. Just as he was about to ask something, a voice called out from the main room.

Xiaoguo responded and gently took Zhuang Zhuang’s hand. “Let’s go eat.”

Zhuang Zhuang swallowed the question in his throat and nodded obediently as he followed her into the main hall.

When they entered the room, the rest of the group were already sitting around the table. Only the two of them were missing from their seats.

Xiaoguo sat at the head of the table that they had reserved for her. She looked at the group and smiled happily. The few of them looked back at her. She summarized everything that she wanted to say in two words. “Let’s eat!”

As soon as she said that, everyone immediately picked up their chopsticks. With more people around, everyone was in a good mood. So they all ate to their hearts’ content.

All the dishes on the table were very popular, but the most popular item was seafood. After all, this was their first time eating it, and the taste was excellent. All dishes with seafood in them were wiped out completely. But of course, the other dishes were also very well received. Apart from Zhuang Zhuang, everyone else at the dining table was intoxicated.

The jar of wine that Ruyi and the others brought was really strong. Xiaoguo thought that she had quite a good tolerance for alcohol, but after taking a small sip, she felt a little tipsy.

Everyone drank a lot since they were in a good mood, but they weren’t drunk. They were just slightly tipsy.

Outside, the sound of firecrackers was continuous. At this moment, all families were gathered together to celebrate the festival. They were tasting the fruits of their labor after a year of hard work. Everyone was getting ready to welcome the new year.

After the reunion dinner, Zhuang Zhuang was so stuffed that he couldn’t stand up. The others were also feeling stuffed. Their stomachs were round and their faces were flushed.

After dinner, everyone helped to clean up. Then, it was time for fireworks, which was what everyone was waiting for.

At this moment, Ling Long and Fu’er ran back into the house. After a while, they came out with a pile of items in their arms.

Xiaoguo waited for them to get closer so that she could take a closer look. They were holding Kong Ming Lanterns. Her eyes lit up. She had forgotten to buy them. She didn’t expect that her little oversight would be resolved so quickly.

Ruyi had bought enough lanterns for everyone. Even if everyone took two, there would still be enough lanterns to go around. There was an ample supply of fireworks, firecrackers and Kong Ming Lanterns.

Qin Anming brought the firecrackers out of the house. He had to make a few trips before everything was brought out.

The appearance of the biggest firework shocked everyone. They gathered around curiously and discussed what it would look like.

“Just see it for yourselves later.”

Just as they were discussing fervently, Xiaoguo said this calmly. The others didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Indeed, they would find out later.

Apart from Xiaoguo, everyone else was holding a torch in their hands and picking out firecrackers. The courtyard was big enough for everyone to stay out of each other’s way. After lighting the fire, they gathered together and enjoyed the happy atmosphere.

Even Zhuang Zhuang plucked up the courage to light the firecrackers.

Xiaoguo squatted in a corner, trembling. She was really keen to watch the firecrackers, but she just didn’t have the guts to light them.

Ruyi looked at the others and stuck out her tongue mischievously at Xiaoguo. It was obvious that she was up to no good. Then, with lightning speed, she took the lead and lit the firecrackers in her hands. Covering her ears, she ran towards Xiaoguo. Seeing this, the others hurriedly lit up their firecrackers too. As they did so, they complained about Ruyi betraying them. They had agreed to light the firecrackers at the same time and retreat together, but she secretly lit the firecrackers ahead of everyone.

The group rushed towards Xiaoguo’s side as well. Zhuang Zhuang and the girls hugged her tightly, while Qin Anming and Uncle Xu stood at the side and laughed.

Soon, the firecrackers sounded all at the same time.

After some time, the noise gradually stopped.

—-

It was said that when a Kong Ming lantern was released into the sky with one’s wishes written on it, the immortals would see them and help to grant those wishes.

Right now, everyone was holding a brush and writing down their wishes secretively.

Some of them were wishing for safety and peace, some were wishing for wealth. There were also wishes for love and health…

Xiaoguo was also doing the same. Nestled in a corner, she was trying to write down her wish. Although the legend sounded a little too mythical, the meaning behind it was well-intended.

After thinking for a long time, she still couldn’t figure out what to write. She raised and lowered the brush until there was a blob on her lantern.