Chapter 228: Chapter 220: It’s New Year’s
He Xuewen saw the opportunity and made his move. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Tian Family, he put down the things he had brought and left. Before leaving, He Xuewen specifically said: "Ah Nan, when you finish the spring rolls, tell Daddy and he will fetch a few more baskets from your Uncle Niu."
Tian Sisi found it amusing inside, knowing full well her own father was backing her up. She immediately played along, "Got it. I’ll tell you once I’ve finished these, and next time ask Uncle Niu to pack some with cabbage and pork filling for me. I don’t want the red bean paste ones anymore."
He Xuewen was very pleased with the tacit understanding between him and his daughter, giving Xu Qianwen another meaningful look. Humph, dare to look down on my daughter?
My Ah Nan is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than your daughter. Your daughter can’t even compare to one of Ah Nan’s toes. Treating spring rolls like treasures! You’re clearly from a small household background. My Ah Nan could eat one and throw one away, even feeding them to a dog rather than giving them to your daughter!
He Xuewen’s glance made it clear to Xu Qianwen, who felt even more embarrassed. She hadn’t expected that these spring rolls were from that poor fellow He Xuewen, and the other things he brought didn’t seem like they came from a poor man either. It seems she really was blind, mistaking gems for rocks!
Tian Man Yin, of course, was also very displeased with Xu Qianwen, but since she was his sister-in-law and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to say much, he planned to find time to talk with his elder brother and ask him to keep his wife in check so she wouldn’t always bully Ah Nan!
That evening, Tian Sisi asked Granny Zhao to fry all the baskets of spring rolls, two large platters full, just enough for a plate per table. Everyone enjoyed the meal and praised how delicious the spring rolls were. He Xuewen took the opportunity to mention Niu Sanxian and emphasized his fondness for Tian Sisi.
Everyone present already knew why Xu Qianwen had an issue with Tian Sisi that afternoon and disapproved of Xu Qianwen’s pettiness. They also understood the implication of He Xuewen’s words, all smiled, and praised Tian Sisi a few times. This made Xu Qianwen and Tian Lili, though craving the spring rolls, feel too embarrassed to eat and could only watch everyone else enjoy them.
Tian Aiguo wasn’t too concerned about He Xuewen’s offenses towards his wife and daughter. In his view, his wife and daughter did indeed go too far this time and deserved a lesson. However, He Xuewen’s attitude was quite strange; he seemed to care about Ah Nan excessively, more like a real father than a godfather. Tian Aiguo didn’t think deeper about it, assuming that his niece simply elicited sympathy due to her charm.
How precisely Tian Aiguo disciplined Xu Qianwen afterward was unknown, but since then, Xu Qianwen had certainly toned down her attitude. Although she still ignored Tian Sisi, at least she no longer used cold words and treated her like air, which satisfied Tian Sisi. She had no intentions of getting close to Xu Qianwen as if they were family.
Tian Lili seemed to have been disciplined by Tian Aiguo as well and was much nicer to Tian Sisi than before, at least polite on the surface, and no longer casually called her Tian Zhaodi. However, Tian Sisi knew this girl still held a grudge against her from her resentful eyes. But Tian Sisi didn’t mind as she wasn’t interested in being best friends with Tian Lili either.
Tian Weihua felt quite embarrassed and had apologized to Tian Sisi several times behind the scenes. Tian Sisi had a good impression of this cousin and got along well with him. The attitudes of Xu Qianwen and her daughter did not affect their harmony.
Time passed day by day, and soon it was New Year’s Eve. The Tian Family, as usual, gathered with another family to have the New Year’s Eve dinner, setting up three tables in the living room, bustling and lively.
This year, at Sisi’s suggestion, everyone decided to have hotpot, which was hot and spicy, keeping everyone warm throughout the meal. Unlike in previous years, where the dishes on the table would get cold towards the end and were quite uncomfortable to eat.
The main reason was that the day before, Liu BoGen delivered half a sheep. Last year, Tian Manju raised a few sheep and slaughtered one for New Year, sending half to her parental home for them to enjoy the fresh meat.
Normally, the local method in Sui City for preparing lamb is to boil the meat and then eat it chilled with salt—known as White-cut Lamb. This way, although the original flavor of the lamb is retained, Sisi never got used to it; she has always preferred the hot and spicy lamb.
Another reason she suggested hotpot is that Tian Manjin had quietly grown spinach and coriander, which had come up dense and lush, looking very fresh and tender.
Ever since Tian Manjin read an agricultural book brought by He Xuewen, he had been pondering over growing vegetables. Worried about not doing well, he only started before last year’s end by turning a plot of land at his house into a garden and sowed spinach and coriander seeds, covered them with hay, and at Sisi’s suggestion, set up a plastic-covered shelter, tending it every day after work.
Hard work pays off—most of the seeds had sprouted, and although growing slower than usual, they looked quite good. Up to now, the spinach was as high as two fingers and the coriander one finger high, both at their most tender stage.
Sisi didn’t expect that Tian Manjin’s first time growing greenhouse vegetables would go so smoothly, which proved that Tian Manjin was truly talented in gardening. Going forward, she could encourage him to follow this path, so that he wouldn’t end up aimless in life like in his past life; among his siblings, he had the worst lot, which must have been frustrating for him.
In this life, she was determined not to let her beloved father live in such frustration — not aiming for anything grand, but at least to set Tian Manjin on the path to wealth early on, possibly becoming one of the earliest large-scale breeders.
Last night, Sisi had already frozen the lamb meat outside, which had turned hard and was easy to slice, and with Tian Xinhua’s excellent knife skills, the slices of lamb were not as thin as cicada’s wings, but paper-thin and perfect for hotpot.
Traditionally, a Bodhisattva would be invited into the home in the afternoon before the New Year’s Eve dinner, and then sent away before dinner. However, these practices were viewed as superstitious, and worshiping the Bodhisattva was not permitted, so now people only set off a string of firecrackers before the New Year’s Eve dinner.
The Tian Family this year set off particularly loud firecrackers. Sisi was very scared of firecrackers, always fearing they might hit her, but she loved the excitement of watching them. Therefore, each time firecrackers were set off, she would stand far away, covering her ears with her hands and staring unblinkingly at the bright sparks, feeling very reassured.
Other families usually set off a single string of firecrackers, but the Tian Family set off six, symbolizing great fortune. At that time, the government had not banned fireworks, so anyone could set them off if they had the money. As a result, families in good conditions often set off more firecrackers on New Year’s Eve to wash away the bad luck of the past year, wishing for a smooth year ahead and demonstrating their family’s solid status.