Jiang Pan took the matter of luring prey down the mountain seriously. He gathered a group of young men with good skateboarding skills, led by Er Lang, and they entered the mountains carrying grain, scattering it along the way.
He then arranged for the village men to guard the edges of the forest. As soon as any prey was lured out, the men would try to hunt it down.
After a few days, they had hunted a good number of animals, both large and small.
The women were responsible for cleaning the prey, skinning, de-feathering, and eviscerating them. Everyone worked with great enthusiasm.
When it was New Year's Eve, Jiang Pan brought out all the hunted prey and had a few men help weigh and count them.
"We've hunted over twelve hundred catties in total. Our village has forty-one children under ten years old. Each of these children will receive three catties of meat. Those over ten will be counted as adults, and each will receive four catties. Does anyone have any objections?"
The villagers were all beaming with joy. "No!"
So, Jiang Pan had the meat distributed. No one cared about the type of meat; after all, it was for their own consumption, so whatever they got was fine.
After the meat was distributed, it was time to divide the offal.
Although these items were not valuable, they were still meat, and they were also distributed according to headcount. Each person received about a catty, and families with many members received over ten catties.
Once the meat was distributed, the villagers happily returned home to prepare for their New Year's Eve dinner.
Chen Yuezhi, along with Su Shi and Madam Cheng, busied themselves in the kitchen. Da Lang chopped firewood, Er Lang stoked the fire, and San Lang led Jiang Wan and Cheng Sinian around the village, peeking into one house and then another.
Smoke rose from the roofs of every house, and soon the aroma of meat wafted out. The children all had smiles on their faces, their mouths watering in anticipation of the meat.
By the time night fell, Jiang Wan's family's New Year's Eve dinner was finally served.
Her family was large, so they received a considerable amount of meat. Coupled with the portions for Madam Cheng and her son, the New Year's Eve dinner was exceptionally lavish.
Chen Yuezhi and Su Shi prepared several hearty dishes from their hometown. While they weren't exquisitely presented, they were fragrant and generously portioned.
Madam Cheng, on the other hand, prepared several dishes with a Jiangnan flavor, which were delicate and beautiful but smaller in portion.
The staple food was dumplings.
Jiang Pan, along with the children of the household and Cheng Siyuan, went into the courtyard. He took out bamboo poles that had been cut a few days prior and threw them into the bonfire.
As the bamboo poles burned, they emitted popping sounds.
San Lang and Cheng Sinian clapped their hands and laughed, "The Nian beast is scared away, and the New Year has arrived!"
Jiang Wan looked on with curiosity, "What kind of beast is the Nian beast? Can it be eaten?"
If it could be eaten, she considered whether she could catch it first before returning for the New Year's Eve dinner!
Everyone burst into laughter. Jiang Pan picked her up and explained what the Nian beast was with a smile.
After Jiang Wan understood, she couldn't help but twitch her lips.
Once all the firecrackers had finished exploding, everyone returned indoors, sat around the table, and began eating the New Year's Eve dinner.
This New Year's Eve dinner was the simplest, yet the most precious, that Madam Cheng had ever had.
She raised her bowl and said to Jiang Pan's family, "Brother Jiang, Sister-in-law Jiang, Wan Wan, and Da Lang, Er Lang, San Lang, A Luo, thank heaven for allowing my son and me to meet your family. Without you, my son and I would likely..." She then raised her bowl, using soup in place of wine, to toast them.
Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi quickly stood up and said, "Sister Cheng, you are too kind."
After a round of toasts, with everyone drinking a bellyful of soup, they began to eat the dishes.
As Jiang Wan reached out with her chopsticks to pick up a dish, a large bone with meat on it landed in her bowl. "Wan Wan, here, try this."
Immediately after, "Little sister, this is delicious, try it."
"This one is good too."
"Wan Wan, this is made by my mother, try it, it's very tasty."
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Wan's bowl was piled high like a small mountain.
Jiang Wan twitched her lips. In the months since she had transmigrated, she had never experienced the joy of picking up food for herself.
However, the feeling of everyone vying to feed her was actually quite nice.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, it was time for the distribution of lucky money.
Er Lang, along with the three younger ones, grinned and began asking their parents for it.
"Dad, Mom, Happy New Year, may all your wishes come true."
Having sold Tai Sui previously, Jiang Pan and his wife had no shortage of money. They generously gave Er Lang a red envelope.
Instead of red paper, this red envelope was a small lucky bag sewn from red cloth by Chen Yuezhi. It was small and delicate, with Su Shi embroidering a "Fu" character on it, making it look very exquisite.
Er Lang received the red envelope and happily ran off to count his money.
Then it was San Lang's turn. "Wishing Dad and Mom good fortune and good health in the New Year."
San Lang also received a red envelope.
Cheng Sinian stepped forward and bowed, "Wishing Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang great fortune and success in all their endeavors."
After Cheng Sinian received his red envelope, it was Jiang Wan's turn.
She had no experience with New Year greetings. She scratched her head in thought, her eyes lit up, and she announced loudly, "Then I wish Dad and Mom to have a baby soon in the New Year!"
She genuinely wished for a younger brother or sister.
"Pfft—"
Madam Cheng, who was drinking tea, spat out a mouthful of tea and then covered her mouth, laughing heartily.
Da Lang and Su Shi also convulsed their shoulders.
Jiang Pan's old face flushed crimson with embarrassment, and Chen Yuezhi was so mortified that she wanted to grab Jiang Wan and spank her.
What nonsense was this little rascal spouting!
Jiang Wan became anxious. "Don't just laugh, where's my lucky money? Did I not say it correctly? Let me think again."
Chen Yuezhi quickly covered her mouth and stuffed the lucky money into her hand. "You just be quiet!"
Madam Cheng laughed without regard for her image, patting the table and exclaiming with delight.
Chen Yuezhi shot her an annoyed glance. "Be careful, she might wish you the same thing later."
Madam Cheng laughed so hard that she could barely breathe. "If I could have a daughter like Wan Wan, I would be willing."
Saying that, she beckoned Jiang Wan over to her, handed her a large lucky bag, and said, "Here, Wan Wan, this is for you."
Jiang Wan accepted the red envelope and said happily, "Then I wish Aunt Cheng to have a sister like me next year."
Madam Cheng was overjoyed. She hugged Jiang Wan tightly, kissed her on the cheek repeatedly, and found her more and more endearing.
After the children had all received their lucky money, Chen Yuezhi took out another red envelope and placed it in Su Shi's hand.
Su Shi was very surprised. "Mom, this..."
Chen Yuezhi smiled. "Take it if I give it to you. It's because we were really struggling financially before, so we said that since you were married, you were adults and wouldn't receive lucky money. But no matter how old you are, you are still our children."
Hearing this, Su Shi's eyes turned red.
Chen Yuezhi quickly said, "It's the New Year, no need for that. You are pregnant now, so don't stay up late. Go to bed early."
When Su Shi returned to her room and opened the red envelope, she was startled by the silver inside.
Ten taels!
Da Lang was also startled.
"Where did Mom and Dad get so much silver?"
"Could they have put it in by mistake?"
When they decided to flee the famine, their parents had sewn some money into each person's clothes. At that time, the two of them combined had less than a hundred wen. Now, for the New Year, they were given ten taels of silver, which made them suspect that Chen Yuezhi had accidentally put in too much.
Su Shi quickly took the red envelope out to find Chen Yuezhi.
Chen Yuezhi said with a mixture of tears and laughter, "There are people who complain about having too much silver. Just take it if I give it to you. If it was a mistake, then I admit it."
Su Shi was suddenly at a loss for what to do.
It was Da Lang who finally understood. "Take what Mom and Dad give you."
With so much silver suddenly in their possession, Su Shi was so excited that she couldn't sleep well all night.