It was New Year's Eve.
Early in the morning, the whole family had gotten busy.
They put up the Spring Festival couplets Wang Dong and Zhang Xia had picked up on their way back, pasted "May You Meet Joy Upon Leaving Home" on the elevator doors opposite the entrance, and covered both floors of the house with countless upside-down fu characters.
The two children had been dressed in red as well. Even A-Mao and A-Gou wore little red hats. No one had escaped it; the whole point was to make everything festive.
As the chef, Wang Yan had started working early too, preparing all sorts of ingredients—land, sea, and river fare alike, with dishes from both northern and southern cuisines all accounted for.
The house truly lacked nothing. At the end of the year, the group had to purchase New Year goods in bulk for its employees anyway, so his subordinates had sent over seafood, freshwater delicacies, and the like. And with the year drawing to a close, the department heads had naturally wanted to curry favor. They had come from all over the country, each bringing local specialties, and had given him another huge pile of things.
On top of that, his parents had been traveling around, buying things wherever they went, and had brought back another mountain of goods. There was everything imaginable; nothing was lacking. A couple of days earlier, Wang Yan had even sorted through a batch of items and sent them to Wei Lan's family. He had prepared another batch for his mother to distribute among relatives and friends.
While Wang Yan cooked, Zhang Xia held her phone and video-called relatives and friends, showing off her grandson and granddaughter. She also video-called Wei Lan's parents, chatting idly and making plans to visit Chang'an together sometime