Before she knew it, the New Year was almost here again.
The streets were filled with festive cheer and laughter. Sticky bean bun sales were booming, children changed into new clothes and ran about holding colorful pinwheels, and this year's sudden rains had given everyone food enough for a good New Year. The snow, too, added a touch of holiday spirit to New Year's Eve. Compared to past years, much had changed; even the customs had shifted.
In years past, lion dances were common during the New Year, with drums shaking the heavens as golden lions danced wildly. But this year was different.
Along the bustling streets, long white dragons twisted and surged or raced ahead. Lion dances had been replaced by dragon dances, and they were the Rain-Bringing White Dragon most familiar to the common folk. The useless City God had been hauled from his temple and tossed into an abandoned house, replaced by a statue of the White Dragon King. Incense offerings flourished as pious men and women, along with local gentry, came one after another to pray for the white dragon's protection.
No one knew that the one they worshipped was right beside them, wearing a red padded jacket with a front opening, her hair tied with red ribbons. She stared happily at the lavish offerings, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth.
The New Year festivities were still going on.
Then a small commotion suddenly broke out. All the offerings in the Dragon King Temple were gone...
"The offerings are gone!"
In an alley, a certain flood dragon licked her little red lips, her eyes crescented with a smiling squint.
On New Year's Eve, the sun set and night descended. Red lanterns hung everywhere throughout the snow-covered little town, and firecrackers occasionally sounded in the