Chapter 229: Chapter 221: Chinese New Year’s Eve
"""
The hot pot dinner was exceedingly lively that evening, with everyone gathered around a traditional copper pot heated by charcoal in the middle. The surrounding area of the pot held a simmering broth, ready for cooking meat and vegetables on the spot.
The table was laden with lamb slices, meatballs, fishballs, pig’s blood, glass noodles, pineapple, rice cakes, dumplings, cilantro, potato slices, frozen tofu, radish slices, kelp, and other dishes—a truly lavish spread, all courtesy of Tian Sisi’s approach, reminiscent of her past life hot pot experiences. This intrigued the Tian Family, who marveled at how Ah Nan could even make ordinary potatoes and radishes into something to be enjoyed in the hot pot.
Tian Sisi couldn’t help but smirk inwardly. In her previous life, what couldn’t be eaten in a hot pot? Aside from fruits, which were generally off-limits for boiling, almost anything edible was fair game for a hot pot experiment in those restaurants, and the results were often quite tasty.
The rich and flavorful broth that formed the base of the hot pot had been prepared by Tian Sisi that afternoon. Once it came to a boil, everyone began throwing their favorite ingredients into the pot. The heat was on, and sweat poured from everyone as they collectively shed their cotton-padded jackets.
While enjoying their drinks along with the hot pot—thinly sliced lamb and spinach being particularly popular—the party was in full swing. Tian Sisi had anticipated the demand and washed plenty that afternoon, but, of course, all the different dishes found their fans. The Old Man, for instance, loved boiling frozen tofu, Granny Zhao was fond of boiling pig’s blood, but Tian Sisi herself preferred kelp and potatoes, both of which required more cooking time to be palatable.
Tian Xinhua sat next to Tian Sisi. The younger generation had a table to themselves, with Tian Shouhua sitting next to Tian Sisi and Tian Lili, Tian Sisi’s rival, next to Tian Xinhua. About a dozen young people made the atmosphere at their table quite boisterous.
They were drinking grape wine that Tian Sisi had made the previous autumn from wild grapes picked in the mountains. The taste was excellent, on par with the wines of her previous life’s wineries. Tian Sisi adored this grape wine, partaking a small glass daily—not only did it help her maintain her beauty, but it also kept her figure in check.
Tian Lili wasn’t keen on grape wine and instead sipped on Plum Blossom Dew, as did the two youngsters, Niu Niu and Zhenhua; they were too young for alcohol, so Tian Sisi offered the freshly made Dew for them to enjoy. Initially, Tian Sisi hadn’t planned to share the Dew with Tian Lili, but eventually, she decided not to bother quibbling with an immature kid and generously offered it, displaying the magnanimity of Tian Sisi.
Tian Xinhua kept himself busy serving Tian Sisi, deftly placing freshly boiled lamb slices, kelp, and potatoes into her bowl, with impeccable manners. Tian Shouhua watched, amused by how overtly Tian Xinhua’s attention was focused on Tian Sisi, given the crowd around them.
Tian Xinhua and Ah Nan’s developing relationship was an open secret in the Tian Family, with everyone pleased to see the young couple seemingly enamored with each other. When they were younger, they acted more like siblings, and the family had almost given up hope for a romance. But Tian Xinhua’s time in Beijing seemed to have enlightened him, judging by their inseparable behavior—it seemed likely that there would be wedding festivities in the not-too-distant future.
Seeing Tian Shouhua continually glancing over at her and Tian Xinhua made Tian Sisi blush. In a low voice, she asked Tian Xinhua to stop serving her so she could help herself, but he ignored her, calmly continuing his attentive service, completely unbothered by Tian Shouhua’s gaze.
"Sixth Brother, I want some lamb. Could you boil some for me?" Tian Lili, seeing Tian Xinhua’s doting treatment of Tian Sisi and feeling a pang of jealousy, couldn’t help herself and spoke up, wanting to be pampered just like Tian Sisi.
"Boil it yourself, can’t you see I’m busy?" Tian Xinhua said brusquely without lifting an eyelid.
"How come you have time for Tian Sisi and not me? You’re so biased!" Tian Lili watched resentfully as Tian Xinhua carefully placed the boiled kelp into Tian Sisi’s bowl, blowing on it before allowing her to eat, as if he were serving the Old Buddha.
"I’m happy to serve Ah Nan, but not you. You have a problem with that?" Tian Xinhua later learned how this mother and daughter had bullied Tian Sisi that day and had been considering ways to deal with them. He hadn’t expected Tian Lili to present herself for a rebuke so willingly.
"You....!"
"""
Tian Lili was so angry that her face turned white, and her lips quivered uncontrollably. Although Tian Xinhua had never been very close to her, he had never disregarded her feelings like today. Little did she know that Tian Xinhua was taking revenge for his little wife!
"Lili, what would you like to eat? I, your Seventh Brother, will get it for you," said Tian Weihua, who was sitting next to Tian Lili and noticed something wrong. He quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile. Today was New Year’s Eve, and no matter what, they couldn’t let the sister stir up trouble.
Tian Lili still wanted to make a scene, but Tian Weihua glared at her fiercely and whispered, "If you keep this up, just wait and see how Daddy will deal with you later!"
Tian Weihua was really speechless when it came to his sister; not only was she brainless, but she also liked to pick fights without any sense of shame. Couldn’t she see that Tian Xinhua was avenging Ah Nan? Tian Lili, who feared Tian Aiguo the most, reluctantly calmed down after hearing what Tian Weihua said. Though unwilling, she dared not continue making trouble, sullenly allowing Tian Weihua to scald a lot of lamb slices for her, hoping she could finish all the meat so that Tian Sisi wouldn’t get a bite.
"It’s not perfect to have wine, meat, and vegetables without music. Let Ah Nan play a few tunes to liven things up!" Zhang Mingliu suddenly suggested.
"Good idea, let Ah Nan play a few," agreed the Old Man with enthusiasm. His granddaughter was a very skilled zither player.
"Sure," agreed Tian Sisi cheerfully. Tian Xinhua had already gone to the He Family to get the zither, and in no time he brought over Tian Sisi’s zither, along with her zither table and stool.
Tian Sisi washed her hands and rinsed her mouth, feeling it was disrespectful to the zither to play with the taste of meat in her mouth. Once everything was ready, she sat up straight, took a deep breath, and started with "Spring River Flower Moon Night," as it was New Year’s Eve and naturally the pieces should be cheerful.
The reason why many people in the past life liked to send girls to learn the Chinese zither is precisely because the temperament of a girl playing the zither is truly extraordinary, naturally exuding an ethereal quality. Not to mention Tian Sisi, already a beauty, at this moment as she played the zither, everyone realized that little Ah Nan had truly grown up into a breathtaking beauty!
Tian Sisi then played "Step by Step," "Liuyang River," "Fishing Boat Singing at Night," "Mountain and Stream," and so on, each piece mesmerizing everyone to the point of forgetting to eat their food.
"Beautiful playing, I didn’t expect Ah Nan’s zither skills to be so superb. I think even our army’s art troupe can’t match her," praised Tian Aiguo.
"Third Uncle, that’s because I’m a good student taught by a great teacher," Tian Sisi replied with a smile, delivering flattery that made Zhang Mingliu very happy.
"Ah Nan, all these pieces are too soft and lack vigor. Play something energetic that makes your grandfather’s whole body itch with excitement," Old Man complained.
Tian Sisi smiled and began with "General Order" and "Lin Chong’s Night Escape," instantly reinvigorating everyone seated; the Old Man’s eyes lit up and he shouted at Tian Xinhua, "Xinhua, show us some of your martial arts!"
Everyone cheered and egged on, and Xinhua had no choice but to take off his coat, leaving only his sweater on, and moved to a more open space. Fortunately, the Tian Family’s living room was spacious enough for three tables of banqueting and still had room to spare.
Tian Xinhua, with a calm and collected manner, took the starting posture and began performing his martial arts forms. His movements were vigorous and swift, his footwork nimble and his body limber as a dragon, complementing the spirited sounds of Tian Sisi’s zither, which was a refreshing experience for the audience.
"Excellent! Ah Nan, play a little longer, let Xinhua perform for a while more!"
Tian Sisi made a face at Tian Xinhua; the two had no choice but to oblige the majority and continued their performances to entertain everyone.
The Tian Family’s New Year’s Eve dinner lasted particularly late this year; the steam continuously rose from the pots on the table, the sound of the zither played on, and the cheers were unending. Everyone reveled until the food and drinks on the table were all gone, then they gathered together to stay up late, welcoming the ringing of the New Year’s bells.