Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper! Chapter 406

New Year’s Eve arrived.

To ensure a good meal on this New Year’s Eve, Ah Wang assigned tasks to everyone in the family.

Liu Ji was responsible for writing couplets and hanging lanterns.

Second Lang, Sanlang, and Si Niang followed Qin Yao to carry out the big cleaning, sweeping away last year’s bad luck and welcoming good fortune.

Ah Wang himself took over the kitchen and warned everyone in advance that no one was allowed to enter until he called, to avoid getting in the way.

Qin Yao, who rarely picks up a broom, said, "I want to switch with Liu Laosan."

Liu Ji was not willing to switch, having finally got an easy job, he was almost ready to give Ah Wang a big hug to express his gratitude.

He moved the pre-purchased red paper to the front of the main gate, set up a table and chair, raised the brush, and looked proudly towards Qin Yao who was fumbling with a broom in the courtyard. With a few strokes of the brush, the first line of the couplet appeared on the paper in flamboyant characters.

[Opening the new year brings great luck]

Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, leaned on her broom, and came forward to look, astonished to see that the handwriting on the paper was ninety percent similar to Gongliang Liao’s.

The only difference lay in the soul.

It had the form but lacked the true essence and style.

Nevertheless, it was enough for Qin Yao to look at Liu Ji, this wastrel, in a new light.

"How did you manage this?" Qin Yao doubted him and flipped through the red paper under the couplet to check if it was a pre-prepared template instead of something written on the spot.

This action annoyed Liu Ji greatly, and for once he stood firm, pressing down her hand that was flipping the papers, and said in a disgruntled tone:

"Why can’t I do it? Oh, am I really so useless in your eyes, my lady?"

Qin Yao fell silent.

Sometimes silence says more than words.

Liu Ji took a deep breath to stop himself from getting too angry, removed her hand, and picked up the brush again to write the second line.

[Good fortune and safety in a prosperous year]

Horizontal inscription: Spring Returns in Thousands of Miles!

After finishing, he gently put down the brush, straightened up with his hands on his hips, and gave Qin Yao a defiant look, daring her to see for herself if it was real or not!

As expected, he immediately got a solid smack on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Liu Ji yelped in pain, almost knocking over the table.

He quickly backed away, rubbing his head in grievance, and said plaintively, "My lady, it’s the New Year, can you give me some face?"

Qin Yao couldn’t help but chuckle softly, shoved the broom into his arms, and pointed to the courtyard, "Go sweep the ground, I’ll help you put up the couplet."

Liu Ji’s lips moved, but under her calm gaze, he didn’t muster the courage to protest. Holding the broom, he turned back after every few steps, reminding with concern:

"Remember to blow on it; the ink hasn’t dried completely yet. It won’t look good if it’s smudged; I worked hard on it..."

Muttering endlessly, he was more nagging than the long-tongued women in the village.

But looking at the ’beautiful’ couplet on the table, it was the first time Qin Yao couldn’t find a reason to scold him.

Qin Yao waited until the ink had dried, then picked up her homemade rice paste and fixed the meaningful couplet onto the main gate of her home.

Last year’s old couplet had already been scratched and peeled by the children, so Qin Yao threw it on the ground, and after putting up the new one, picked up the old couplet and burnt it in the courtyard stove.

The faded red paper, with Liu Ji’s last year’s scribbles, was devoured by the fire instantly.

In its place was a brand-new couplet on the gate, the handwriting bold and carefree, no longer as careless as before.

With the couplet posted, the lanterns needed to be hung.

Qin Yao waved Da Lang over, and the young boy guessed her intention, blushing to the tips of his ears as he slowly moved forward.

Qin Yao found it amusing, handed him the lantern, and effortlessly lifted Da Lang up with one arm, "Is it high enough?"

Da Lang sat in her arm’s crook, not daring to move, his body stiff as he answered, "Aunt Yao, a little higher."

"Okay." Qin Yao gave a light lift, and Da Lang could easily reach the hook on the eaves, carefully hanging the lantern.

After finishing the first one, they moved on to hang the second.

Once the lanterns at the main entrance were up, they went on to hang them at the entrance of the main hall, with one in front of each room, the red lanterns decorating the courtyard cheerfully.

Liu Ji, along with Second Lang and the Dragon and Phoenix Twins, swept every nook and cranny of the house until it was clean, wiping the tables and windowsills until they shone.

In an instant, the festive atmosphere was set, just waiting for Ah Wang to bring out the delicious dishes to begin the meal.

While there was still time, Qin Yao brought out scissors and taught the children how to cut Fu characters, which they stuck on the windows, looking at them was heartwarming.

From the kitchen, Ah Wang shouted, "Get ready to eat!"

The six members of the household immediately got up, running to bring the dishes.

Si Niang sniffed the air, "Smells so good!"

Liu Ji peeked over at the stovetop, seeing the pot of milk-white wolfbone vegetable soup bubbling away, the milky white contrasting with the emerald green.

A simple soup without any extra seasonings, its original aroma is enough to whet the appetite.

There was also a bowl of braised pork belly, a carp with chopped chili, a dish of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with eggs, a plate of pickled radish strips for an appetizer, and a leaf of millet jujube cake.

Counting the soup in the pot, there were exactly six dishes, auspiciously symbolizing smooth prosperity.

Qin Yao and Liu Ji carried the dishes, Da Lang and Second Lang served the rice, and the Dragon and Phoenix Twins helped set the chopsticks. Only after Ah Wang served the soup did they close the main hall door, keeping out the cold wind, leaving only a room filled with warmth and joy.

They had never eaten so well before; all six of them, young and old, were full to bursting.

Only Ah Wang restrained himself.

More than the delicious food, he preferred to see the satisfied expressions of those around him as a result of his cooking.

This made him feel like an indispensable part of the family, giving him a sense of achievement.

Naturally, the task of cleaning up the dishes and tables fell to Ah Wang, as he was still able to move around.

After the New Year’s Eve dinner, the sky turned completely dark, and the children eagerly took down the lanterns with long bamboo poles, lighting them all up.

Red candlelight filled the small courtyard, echoing with the children’s joyful laughter.

In the courtyard, the stove was burning fiercely, and the specially chosen long bamboo crackled loudly as it burned.

But the Da Lang Brothers and Sisters were not satisfied with just this noise; they dragged their father to fetch the firecrackers they had bought, each getting a long strip, lighting one incense stick, and running towards the village.

The children’s bragging rights were nothing more than things like these.

Comparing whose anti-evil money was more, seeing whose firecrackers were longer.

Soon, the sound of firecrackers rang out from the village, adding to the liveliness.

Qin Yao and Liu Ji came outside, and from the old residence, the families had finished their meals and gathered together, chatting about this year and imagining the next.

The memories of winter’s hunger and cold had long been replaced by today’s warmth and satisfaction.

The old family house had expanded with the village’s development, the thatched roof replaced with tiles, the ground paved with stone paths, and two pomegranate trees planted at the corners of the wall.

This sight was already vastly different from when Qin Yao first stepped into the old house.

During the night watch, snow started falling gracefully again.

Old Liu sat under the porch, looking up at the snowflakes flying in the sky, and said with a cheerful smile, "A timely snow promises a fruitful year; next year will surely be a good one."