Chinese New Year Special Hot Pot Feast

As the doors of Osborn Tower slid open, Lin Hai squinted against the sunlight stabbing at his eyes. Fourteen straight days of intense research had left every cell in his body craving sunlight, but even more urgently, he wanted to see the other two friends he had stood up.

"Projects that require NDAs really are different, huh? My father never let me take part in research at this level, anyway." Harry tapped his access card against his palm. "How are you getting home? Want me to have someone drive you?"

Lin Hai shook his head and pointed at the light snow drifting outside the tower. "I want to take a walk. I haven't breathed fresh air in two weeks."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "The mad scientist suddenly got sentimental? Fine, I'm the same. Let's take a walk together." He fell into step beside Lin Hai.

New York in mid-January was not terribly cold, but the wind that came with snow still cut to the bone. Lin Hai tilted up his face and let the snowflakes melt against his skin. Compared to the precisely controlled temperature and humidity of Osborn Laboratory, this rough sense of reality made him feel more at ease.

As they passed a newsstand, the headline displayed in the window of the Daily Bugle caught his attention: "Osborn Enterprises Announces Breakthrough Biotechnology," accompanied by a photo of Norman Osborn smiling.

"Your father announced it early?" Lin Hai asked with a frown. Their research was clearly still at the animal testing stage.

Harry's expression turned complicated. "Pressure from the board. You know, the stock price hasn't been looking too good lately."

By the time they reached the subway station, Lin Hai nodded to show he understood, then waved goodbye. "See you tomorrow."

As he entered the station, he took out his phone and sent Peter and Gwen a message each:

[Dear friends, tomorrow at four in the afternoon, Sichuan Fragrance Pavilion in Chinatown. I'm treating you to a specialty from my hometown: a Chinese New Year special hot pot feast. Don't be late. —Lin, who owes you two weeks of time]

Peter and Gwen replied quickly:

Peter: [Hot pot!!! I've never tried it. I heard it's super spicy. My butt isn't going to suffer, is it?!]

Gwen: [Is the hot pot at Sichuan Fragrance Pavilion clean and sanitary? In biology class last time, we talked about bacterial levels exceeding standards in Chinese hot pot.]

Lin Hai replied with a smile: [Peter, I brought you a gift you'd never expect.] [Gwen, I guarantee you'll survive until school starts.]

The next afternoon, Lin Hai turned the last corner, and a sea of red lanterns in Chinatown suddenly filled his view. Though Chinese New Year was still nearly ten days away, the streets were already decorated with lights and colors. Fresh spring couplets were pasted outside every shop, while the scent of fried spring rolls and cured sausage drifted through the air.

Lin Hai soon arrived at Sichuan Fragrance Pavilion. This long-established restaurant had already hung large red lanterns, and handmade paper-cut "fortune" characters were pasted on the glass windows. All the servers wore gold-embroidered traditional Chinese jackets.

The owner of the hot pot restaurant was an old friend of Dr. Chen's and had specially reserved a private room by the second-floor window for them. Lin Hai took a small incense burner from his bag and lit a calming incense stick—specially made from Mint newly cultivated in the backyard of the medicinal herb shop, capable of lifting one's spirits.

Harry arrived first. His tailored dark-blue coat stood out among all the down jackets, and he carried an Osborn Enterprises gift bag in his hand. "My father heard we were celebrating Huaxia New Year and specifically asked me to bring some New Year's gifts. Nothing too valuable. There's one for everyone."

"Lin! Harry!" Peter ran over with both arms waving. He wore his signature plaid shirt, but a red scarf was wrapped hilariously around his neck. "Look! Aunt May knitted me a 'Chinese New Year special edition'!"

"Did you know? The concentration of red per square foot on this street is six times higher than in other parts of Manhattan! I calculated it just now..."

Lin Hai laughed and gave his friend a hug. "Two weeks apart, and you've gotten even chattier."

"That's because someone ditched our 'winter break special training' plan!" Peter pushed up his glasses in mock anger, but immediately grew excited again. "How was Osborn's secret project? Did they have flowers that breathe fire?"

Harry quickly cut him off. "Trade secret, Peter. You know the rules."

Peter mimed zipping his mouth shut, though his eyes continued blinking curiously.

Gwen arrived right after him, her blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail behind her head. Yet she held a beautifully wrapped box of chocolates. "Lindt's newest product. Theoretically, chocolate's molecular structure has similarities to Chinese culinary spices."

Once everyone had arrived, Lin Hai asked the server to bring over the hot pot. The charcoal beneath the copper pot crackled, and the red and white broths in the divided pot began to boil. Rising steam blurred the paper-cut window decorations pasted on the glass.

"So, what kind of top-secret research were you doing for those two weeks? Did it have laser security grids and fingerprint locks like in the movies?" Peter impatiently fished out a slice of fatty beef.

"Indeed," Gwen said, skillfully swishing a slice of tender beef with her chopsticks as she looked directly at Lin Hai. "I'm also curious about what exactly you were doing for those two weeks. Harry won't tell me, Peter doesn't know, and I hate being left out."

Lin Hai's chopsticks froze in midair. He should have known this "apology feast" would not be so easy to get through. Harry lightly kicked him under the table, signaling him to answer carefully.

"Regulation of cold-resistance gene expression in plants," Lin Hai chose to reveal part of the truth. "Osborn Enterprises has a secret cultivation base in the Arctic Circle."

Gwen's blue eyes narrowed slightly. She clearly did not fully believe him, but she did not press further. Peter, meanwhile, had been choked red-faced by the spicy broth and only recovered after gulping down more than half a glass of sour plum juice.

"This... this isn't food! It's a chemical weapon!" he said with his tongue hanging out, yet he could not stop himself from picking up another piece of tripe.

Seeing Peter eat so enthusiastically, Gwen also picked up a piece of tripe and placed it in her bowl. "My paper on the Plant Energy Conduction Model is about to pass final review. By the way, Lin, you still haven't submitted the data analysis for the section you were responsible for."

Lin Hai nearly choked on the shrimp paste in his mouth. He quickly changed the subject and took three beautifully wrapped gift boxes from his backpack. "First, take a look at the gifts I brought from Huaxia!"

Peter's was an old book wrapped in kraft paper. Shaolin Twelve Seizing Techniques was written on its cover in calligraphy. "This is a theoretical guide to fitness I found especially for you. You know, Huaxia martial arts are always good for strengthening the body."

What he did not say was, Once you become Spider-Man, this book will come in handy too.

Peter treated it like a priceless treasure. After opening it and taking just two looks, he tried to strike the Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain pose from the book, only to be stopped by all three of his friends at once.

Gwen's gift was a hand-bound South China Rare Plant Specimen Collection, each page containing a specimen Lin Hai had prepared himself. "This is too precious!" Gwen was rarely left speechless. Her fingers gently brushed over the sporangia of a fern. "Even the New York Botanical Garden doesn't have a complete collection of these!"

Harry could not put down the purple clay tea set. "I've seen similar Ming Dynasty pieces at Sotheby's. These carved marks are?"

"A Hundred Herbs Illustration, hand-carved by artisans from my hometown," Lin Hai said with a smile. "Brew tea with it, and even ordinary Tieguanyin will reveal three distinct layers of flavor."

Besides the personalized gifts Lin Hai had specially prepared for his friends, he had also brought some local specialties his mother had stuffed into his luggage.

He had given part of them to his master, then divided the rest into three portions for his three friends, explaining what they needed to keep in mind when eating these Huaxia specialties.

As the hot pot feast neared its end, the server brought out the dumplings Lin Hai had ordered. Peter was so full that he had loosened his belt, yet he still insisted on trying one. "What's the filling?" He took a bite, and his expression suddenly froze. "Sweet?!"

"Sweet dumplings symbolize a sweet and happy life," Lin Hai explained with a smile.

Gwen cautiously took a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up. "The sweetness ratio is very scientifically balanced! Delicious without being cloying!"

When they left the hot pot restaurant, light snow had begun to fall over New York. Peter wrapped his red scarf tighter, Harry offered to drive everyone home in an Osborn Enterprises luxury sedan, while Gwen insisted on walking to burn off "those excessive calories."

"Wait." Lin Hai called to his friends as they prepared to part ways. He took three red envelopes from his bag. "One last Chinese New Year tradition. Lucky money, symbolizing good fortune."

Peter eagerly tore his open. "Twenty dollars! I'm rich!"

"It's not about the money," Lin Hai corrected him with a smile. "It's about the sentiment. I hope that in the new year..." He paused, remembering all the unknowns that lay ahead. "No matter what happens, we'll remain the best of friends and research partners."

Gwen suddenly stepped forward and hugged him, something extremely rare for Gwen, who usually valued personal space. "You can submit your data analysis one week late."

Harry shook his hand with that distinctive Osborn elegance. "Next week, I'll take you to see my father's private library. Some old books you can't find on the market might be useful to you."

Peter was the last to say goodbye. He imitated the clasped-fist salute from Shaolin Twelve Seizing Techniques, but nearly slipped on the wet pavement. "See you when school starts!"

Lin Hai stood amid the thinning snowfall, watching his friends' retreating backs.

The Chinese New Year atmosphere of Chinatown blended with New York's cold air, creating a strange yet wonderful scent belonging to the fusion of East and West. It was like his life at that moment: roots in Huaxia, branches and leaves in New York, and stories of friendship and adventure quietly growing between two worlds.