The days of the twelfth lunar month passed one by one amid the increasingly intense New Year atmosphere.
Red silk had been hung around the Chen Family's little courtyard early on, and the new lanterns beneath the eaves swayed gently in the cold wind. This year, the Chen Family had more ease and plenty than in years past.
A few days earlier, the brothers Chen Dahai and Chen Dajiang had gone to town to purchase many New Year supplies. They had bought ample rice, oil, and spices,
as well as quite a few rare items they had seldom bought in previous years: more than a dozen strings of bright-red firecrackers, two pairs of lanterns bearing the character for fortune, and several jars of mellow rice wine said to have been transported from the prefectural city.
Lin Sanniang and Second Aunt, meanwhile, spent the entire day bustling about in the kitchen.
The sweet fragrance of steamed New Year cakes, the oily aroma of fried fish and meat, and the distinctive flavor of cured goods mingled with the scent of firewood and spread through the Chen Family's little courtyard, often luring the children from neighboring homes to crane their necks and peek over.
Zhou Yu would occasionally come over as well. She was nimble-fingered and clever, and besides helping prepare things at her own home, she also came over to cut paper window decorations and make delicate pastries. Quiet and obedient, she was greatly loved by Lin Sanniang.
Sometimes, Lin Sanniang would take her hand and press a handful of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds or a few pieces of maltose into it, gazing at her fondly. "Xiao Yu is becoming more and more capable. I wonder which family will be blessed enough to..."
Zhou Yu would always blush and refuse in a