Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots
Chapter 699 - 076 Unsettling, New Year’s Eve_3

Chapter 699: 076 Unsettling, New Year’s Eve_3

This absolutely infuriated Xiao Linshuang. She stopped gnawing on the soy sauce braised pig knuckle, raised her little hand in protest, and exclaimed, "Second sister, you’re the meanest! How have I been difficult to anyone?!"

"The little one clearly can’t even talk yet, and you insist on making them speak before you’ll give them any meat. If that’s not being difficult, what is?" said Lin Wei as she turned her head to look at Lin Yuan, "Big sister, am I right?"

Lin Yuan cleared her throat twice, smiled, and turned away, not wanting to be dragged into the crossfire between these two.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, it was traditional to stay up late. In past celebrations, the family would sit together, chatting through the night until dawn. It wasn’t that it was particularly interesting, but because everyone was too hungry to sleep well at night. So, they simply sat together, chatting and talking, and the night would pass.

This year, everyone had eaten their fill on New Year’s Eve, but they still stayed up with great vigor.

Xiao Yongyan was still too young, his days filled with eating, sleeping, waking up, and eating again. He started nodding off right after dinner. Lady Liu smiled and took him inside to breastfeed and put him to sleep.

Lin Jiaxin stayed up with the Lin Yuan Sisters, and to pass the long night, Lin Yuan had prepared plenty of tasty sweets, such as chestnut cake and plum blossom cake, covering a whole large table.

She also placed a small charcoal stove nearby with a kettle warming on it, so hot water would be available whenever anyone wanted a drink.

Despite having eaten quite a bit during dinner, Lao Fan and Xiao Linshuang were eating again. Had Lin Yuan not witnessed them eating their fill earlier, seeing their voracious appetites now, she would have doubted if they’d been starved for days.

Worried that Xiao Linshuang might eat too much and suffer a stomach ache, Lin Yuan quickly came up with an idea and laughed loudly, "Little sister, come on, let’s go light the candles in the yard."

When buying New Year’s goods, Lin Yuan had specifically purchased a lot of small red candles, planning to light up every corner of the yard on New Year’s Eve. Although it was still snowing outside, thankfully there was no wind today, and the brightly glowing lights against the white expanse of snow must look especially beautiful.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wei responded with joy and ran inside to fetch the candles.

Xiao Linshuang, who was red-faced and arguing vigorously with Lao Fan over a piece of chestnut cake, shouted and leaped down from the stool, chasing after her sisters and hurried out, "Big sister, wait for me, I want to come too."

Lao Fan looked dazedly at the piece of chestnut cake in his hand, now crumbling due to their tussle.

But a foodie would never disdain the appearance of food. Lao Fan put it into his mouth, chewed while he got up, and followed them outside. The pastries didn’t seem as tasty when no one was fighting him for them.

"Old master, it’s cold outside, and the ground is slippery. You should stay inside and drink tea," Lin Jiaxin promptly got up and urged him to stay, but Lao Fan waved his hand dismissively and went out without looking back.

Outside the door, Xiao Linshuang’s voice of complaint immediately followed, "Hey, Master, that’s my candle, don’t snatch it from me!"

Lin Yuan’s house was lively and bright, and cheerful laughter could be heard from many households in the village. But in the darkness of the night, as the snow flurried, two figures staggered through the snowy landscape, eagerly knocking on the door of Fugui House.

With a creak, the door opened, and Lin Jiazhong’s restrained voice came through, "I, I would like to borrow your ox cart for a bit."

...

The heavy snowfall lasted all night and only stopped as the sky began to brighten with dawn. Although it wasn’t as heavy as the last snowfall, because it was the depth of winter, the weather was especially cold.

Having had too much fun on New Year’s Eve, Xiao Linshuang couldn’t stay awake until midnight. After Lady Liu lulled her little son to sleep, Xiao Linshuang took over her embrace and began to act coquettishly.

Seeing the sweet sleeping face of the little girl in her arms, Lady Liu’s lips curled slightly with a soft smile, feeling a serene happiness that she had long awaited.

Lin Yuan and Lin Wei were still holding up fine. To their surprise, Lao Fan managed to stay up with them until early morning on the first day of the New Year. Logically, staying up late was to pray for the longevity of the family elders, and the longer one stayed up, the longer the elders would live.

Lao Fan was well over fifty, a man nearing his time to return to the earth, yet he had the energy to stay up so long. Who was he staying up for, praying for their blessing? Could it be that Lao Fan’s parents were still alive?

Curious beyond measure, Lin Wei looked at him, but Lao Fan just rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "I’m praying for long life for myself, is that a problem?"