Little Birds Celebrate New Year's Eve Too (Continued)

Lou Quan is the most vivid example in front of him. Lou Quan hates his father and several half-siblings, but that doesn't stop him from having various dealings with the Lou Family.

Because the Lou Family consists of more than just his father and a few others; he is cooperating with the Lou Family, a powerful interest group.

Lou Quan invited Lou Yu to meet him and told him that he would submit some research materials on Lou Yu from the Yong'an Base Research Institute to the Lou Family for reference.

Lou Yu has no objections? This is a condition set by the Lou Family to help him control the other families.

When Lou Yu returned home, Chen Lin and the others had already prepared the soup base and ingredients, and were just waiting for him to come and eat together.

"Captain, come quick! Chen Lin's bone broth smells amazing!"

"I washed a whole plate of your favorite vegetables."

"Hehe, I'll have to make a lot of hot pot with sliced meat tonight, I'm so hungry!"

Lou Yu agreed, took off his chilly coat, and walked towards his companions with a smile.

His past recklessness and his current compromise are not wrong, because he protected what he wanted to protect both times; it's just that the circumstances were different, and he adopted different methods.

Inside the cave, Tao Qiu had just finished telling the children a bedtime story.

However, because it snowed today, the kids couldn't go outside to play and spent most of the time sleeping, so they weren't sleepy yet and kept bothering Tao Qiu to chat.

The Third Cub perched on Tao Qiu's shoulder, chirping innocently and adorably, "Chirp, chirp, chirp?"

--Dad, does the Nian Beast from the story still exist?

Tao Qiu just explained the origin of the custom of setting off firecrackers during the Lunar New Year in the human world. To bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, it is necessary to scare away the Nian Beast, which represents bad luck in the past, and usher in an unknown but hopeful new year.

Tao Qiu said, "The Nian Beast that firecrackers drove away might have originally been a real, dangerous beast that could harm humans, but no one is sure what that beast was, so even Dad doesn't know if the Nian Beast still exists."

The Eldest Cub said meaningfully, "Chirp, chirp."

--To humans today, mutated monsters are like the Nian Beast, right?

Upon hearing this, the Second Cub asked, "Chirp? Chirp."

Do they still set off firecrackers during Chinese New Year? I'd like to see.

The scene Dad described—a large group of people gathered together, with the crackling and popping of firecrackers—it sounded very lively.

Tao Qiu smiled and patted her head, "Dad doesn't know either, but even if they were to set off firecrackers, they would only do so inside the human base. We can't get close to the human base, so we can't see them."

Second Cub: "Chirp..."

--Too.

Seeing Second Cub's disappointment, Tao Qiu quickly changed the subject to cheer her up, "Humans make a huge New Year's Eve dinner, with so many delicious dishes that they can't all be displayed. How about we make a delicious meal for her too?"

Food was indeed the topic the kids cared about most. Hearing Tao Qiu say that, they didn't care about firecrackers anymore; all they could think about was what dishes to prepare that day.

Currently, Tao Qiu and his team only have a few ingredients, but the different cooking methods result in different flavors.

While the Second Cub was chattering away about what he wanted to eat, the Third Cub asked a crucial question, "Chirp, chirp chirp?"

--Dad, when is Chinese New Year?

"Uh..." Tao Qiu, who didn't have a calendar at hand and didn't even know what day it was, thought for a moment, then suddenly had a brilliant idea, "We're not human, there's no need for us to celebrate New Year's Eve on the same day as humans. Anyway, before the snow melts, any day can be New Year's Eve."

"Chirp chirp!" The Third Cub nodded happily.

--Listen to Dad!

It doesn't matter which day is New Year's Eve; what matters is spending it with Dad.

Seeing the happy boy, Tao Qiu also smiled again.

This winter, with ample food reserves and the company of his children, was the happiest winter he had ever experienced since being born as Snow Bird, both physically and mentally.

Because of the abundance of food, Tao Qiu can occasionally transform back into its largest size, indulging in a hearty feast of carrots and radishes until it's full. Then, when the wind and snow keep it from going out, it sleeps soundly with its equally well-fed chicks.

When you're hungry, wake up, eat your fill, and go back to sleep. When you're too tired to sleep anymore, pick a time when the wind is calm and the snow has stopped to go out for a walk. When you're hungry and tired again, you can eat your fill and sleep soundly.

The family of four lived a much happier life than most of the mutated monsters and humans in this area.

Perhaps leisurely days always pass quickly. Although Tao Qiu didn't know the exact date, based on his many years of life experience, he sensed from the changes in the weather that it was at least January of the new year.

After a long winter of rest and recuperation, Tao Qiu felt that much of the decay within his body had been eliminated, and his lifespan had clearly increased. Although he couldn't say exactly how many more days, he was certain that he wouldn't suddenly die.

Besides him, the three cubs also grew taller and heavier, and Fei Yu gradually became fuller.

Even though Tao Qiu could see the chicks every day, he couldn't clearly see how much they were growing. However, when he found himself holding three chicks at the same time and feeling a sense of weight in his hands, he knew that the chicks were indeed growing up healthily.

Tao Qiu and her children chose the calmest day of the year for New Year's Eve, because that way they could open the bamboo door and let the cave become bright and airy, which would make the birds feel good.

In the afternoon, Tao Qiu washed three radishes, picked out the thickest part of each, washed and peeled them, and then used the best knife skills she had ever had to carve three plump radish birds.

The size and shape are based on the appearance of the three baby birds. Unlike the previous snowman, which was deliberately made ugly to amuse the birds, Tao Qiu put a lot of thought into this one and added many details to beautify it.

For example, radish leaves were used as the eyes of the first Second Cub Eldest Cub; the Eldest Cub's body was covered with black pear skin to resemble its black feathers; after searching in the snow for a long time, a handful of withered grass roots that were close to purple were finally found, taken home, mashed, and various color-mixing experiments were conducted until a color similar to the Third Cub's pupils was finally achieved.

This is Tao Qiu's New Year's gift to the kids, wishing them a happy new year and hoping they can spend many more New Years together in the future.

The children loved the gift and were so touched they almost cried. Tao Qiu had to comfort them by saying that crying on New Year's Eve was unlucky and might bring bad luck before they managed to hold back their tears.

After carving the radish, Tao Qiu continued to cook other dishes, using all sorts of methods such as boiling, frying, roasting, and braising. The children hopped and skipped around helping, either carrying utensils or handing over ingredients. If all else failed, they would sing to entertain Tao Qiu.

Even if they could only help with small tasks, they didn't let Tao Qiu do the work all by herself.

During their breaks, they would go to look at radish carvings, not just their own, but also exchanging them to look at, and praising each other's work.

For example:

--You really are as tall as that radish bird!

--You're really as strong as that radish bird!

--You're just as adorable as this radish bird!

--Dad sculpted them exactly like us! Dad really loves us the most!

It was a comprehensive and thorough praise, leaving no stone unturned.

By the time all the dishes were ready, it was almost dark.

However, the ground was covered in snow in winter, making it bright even at night. Tao Qiu and the others didn't close the bamboo door, and with a fire inside the cave and their strong night vision, the night didn't affect them much.

Knowing that Second Cub liked firecrackers, Tao Qiu burned a few bamboo sticks and listened to the popping sounds they made after they exploded.

This is the most primitive form of firecrackers. Although it's not as noisy as string fireworks, it still makes the festive atmosphere more intense.

The baby birds all love it.

Tao Qiu, holding a bamboo cup filled with hot sugar water, clinked the cups together in front of all three children and cheerfully announced, "Happy New Year, my darlings!"

"Chirp chirp!"

Happy New Year, Dad!

Perhaps it was because of the atmosphere, but Tao Qiu and her kids all thought the meal tasted exceptionally good, and they ate to their hearts' content, finishing every last drop.

Tao Qiu placed the three carrot birds on the table next to him. He never intended to eat them; he simply made them for appreciation.

Anyway, he has so many radishes, it's not like he can't afford to waste them.

To his surprise, he overslept the next morning, and his children went to eat breakfast by themselves. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the bottoms of the three carrot birds had already been eaten.

The three baby birds not only eat their own food, but they also take turns eating it.

Tao Qiu choked for a moment. "... You eat this for breakfast?"

"Chirp." The Second Cub nodded, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

--Yes, Dad made it especially for us, so of course we have to eat it all.

Tao Qiu: "..."

The reason he wasn't going to eat the radish birds was because they looked like three baby birds, and it felt a bit strange to eat them. But the birds themselves didn't seem to care at all and were eating them heartily.

"... If you like it, then that's fine."

Since the baby birds hadn't thought of this, Tao Qiu didn't intend to say it out loud and cause offense, because the baby birds' thinking was correct: it's just food, who cares about its shape, it all has to go into their stomachs.

A week later, the human base celebrated New Year's Eve.

However, what Second Cub might regret is that the human base no longer sets off firecrackers; nobody produces those things anymore.

But since it was an important holiday, the atmosphere in the human base was still quite festive. Lou Yu and the others cut out red paper-cut window decorations and pasted them on, changed into new clothes, and gathered together for a reunion dinner.

"Happy New Year!"

Several people clinked their glasses, using tea instead of wine.

There were no parties to watch, but they still played cards together until midnight, their eyelids almost closing before they finally went to their rooms to sleep.

After washing up, Lou Yu stood by the window, gazing in a certain direction outside the base, and whispered, "Happy New Year."