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 sunshine, but even more urgently, he wanted to see the other two friends he had stood up.

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

Lin Hai shook his head and pointed to 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 feel the same way. Let's take a walk together." He followed after Lin Hai.

New York in mid-January was not particularly cold, but the wind during snowfall was still biting. Lin Hai tipped up his face and let the snowflakes melt against his skin. Compared with the meticulously controlled temperature and humidity of Osborn Laboratory, this rough sense of reality reassured him instead.

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

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

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

By the time they finished speaking, they had reached the subway station. Lin Hai nodded to Harry in understanding, 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 miss it. —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 really spicy. Is my butt going to suffer?!]

Gwen: [Is the hot pot at Sichuan Fragrance Pavilion clean and sanitary? We talked about excessive bacteria in Chinese hot pots in biology class last time.]

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

The following afternoon, Lin Hai turned the last street corner, and a sea of red lanterns in Chinatown suddenly came into view. Though Chinese New Year was still nearly ten days away, the district was already decked out in festive decorations. Fresh Spring Festival couplets hung outside every shop, while the scents of fried spring rolls and cured sausage drifted through the air.

Lin Hai soon arrived at Sichuan Fragrance Pavilion. The long-established restaurant had already hung large red lanterns, and handmade paper-cut "fortune" characters were pasted onto the glass windows. Every waiter wore a gold-embroidered traditional Chinese jacket.

The hot pot restaurant's owner was an old friend of Dr. Chen's and had specifically 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 his medicinal plant shop, it could lift one's mood.

Harry arrived first. His finely tailored dark blue coat stood out among the puffer jackets around him, and he carried a gift bag from Osborn Enterprises. "My father heard we were celebrating the Huaxia New Year, so he specifically asked me to bring some New Year's gifts. Nothing too valuable. There's one for everyone."

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

"Did you know the concentration of red pigment per square foot on this street is six times higher than in the rest of Manhattan? I calculated it just now..."

Laughing, Lin Hai gave his friend a hug. "Two weeks apart, and your chatterbox level has gone up again."

"That's because someone ditched our 'winter break special training' plan!" Peter pretended to be angry as he pushed up his glasses, but immediately grew excited again. "How was Osborn's secret project? Are there flowers that breathe fire?"

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

Peter mimed zipping his mouth shut, though his eyes still blinked with curiosity.

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

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

"So what exactly were you doing in that top-secret research project for two weeks? Was it like in the movies, with laser security grids and fingerprint locks?" Peter impatiently scooped up a slice of fatty beef.

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

Lin Hai's chopsticks froze in midair. He should have known this "make-up feast" would not be so easy to get through. Under the table, Harry lightly kicked him, 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 in the face by the spicy broth and only recovered after gulping down over 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 resist 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 Plant Energy Conduction Model paper is about to pass its final review. By the way, Lin, you still haven't submitted the data analysis for the part you were responsible for."

Lin Hai nearly choked on the shrimp paste in his mouth. Quickly changing the subject, he pulled 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, its cover bearing the brush-written title Shaolin Twelve Seizing Techniques. "This is a 'fitness' theory guide I specifically found for you. You know, Huaxia martial arts are always good for strengthening the body."

Once you become Spider-Man, this book will come in handy too.

Peter treated it like a priceless treasure. He opened it on the spot, took one look, and tried to strike the Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain pose from the book, only to be stopped in unison by his three friends.

Gwen's gift was a hand-bound South China Rare Plant Specimen Collection, with specimens Lin Hai had personally made pressed between every page. "This is too precious!" Gwen was rarely at a loss for words. Her fingers gently brushed over the sporangia of a fern. "The New York Botanical Garden doesn't even 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. "Use it to brew tea, and even ordinary Tieguanyin will reveal three distinct layers of flavor."

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

He had given some of those things to his master, while dividing the rest into three portions for his three friends. At the same time, he explained what they needed to be careful about when consuming these Huaxia specialties.

As the hot pot feast drew to an end, the waiter brought out the dumplings Lin Hai had ordered. Peter was already so full that he had loosened his waistband, but 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 scientifically balanced! It's 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 around himself, 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, to symbolize good fortune."

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

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

Gwen suddenly stepped forward and hugged him. This was extremely rare for Gwen, who normally valued personal space. "Your data analysis can be submitted one week late."

Harry shook his hand with that distinctly 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 fist-and-palm salute from Shaolin Twelve Seizing Techniques, but nearly slipped on the wet pavement. "See you when school starts!"

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

The Chinese New Year atmosphere of Chinatown blended with New York's cold air, creating a strange and wonderful scent born of East and West coming together. 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.