Yi Xin as a concubine

Chapter 181 Celebrate the New Year happily

The more she couldn't get something, the deeper her obsession became. If Chu Xingchen hadn't held her back, she would have rushed in without a care in the world.

"I'll pick it for you." Someone with quick reaction said immediately.

"Don't worry, it's not ripe yet. Wait until it's all red, and remember to ask someone to send it back to me immediately." Xin Baoer suppressed her excitement.

"Yes." Several people responded quickly.

After a round of visits, the results were gratifying, and they returned with a full load. When they returned to the city, their steps were lighter.

The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is commonly known as the Little New Year.

Not surprisingly, with the new ingredients, new things were added to the table and the courtyard was filled with joy again.

In the next few days, everyone was busy cleaning the house and yard, preparing various cakes and dry food for the New Year, cutting window flowers, and pasting couplets.

Because it was New Year, Xin Baoer gave some money to the guard at the door, and the guard turned a blind eye to them. After all, there was no direct hatred between them. As for family and country feelings, they had none. After all, such a court was not worth their lives, it was just a way to support their families.

With money paving the way, chickens, ducks, fish, meat, dried fruits, snacks, fruits and vegetables are transported into the yard one after another. It can be foreseen that this New Year will be another lively year.

In modern times, before the Chinese New Year every year, my parents have to work overtime and are reluctant to take a break early. They usually work until the 27th or 28th of the twelfth lunar month before they can take a holiday.

During the days before the New Year, Xin Baoer was as busy as a top. She had to take care of her brother's eating, drinking, defecating and urinating who would lose his temper from time to time, and clean the house inside and outside.

The glass and range hood that are not cleaned once a year, as well as the corners that are not usually cleaned, cannot be cleaned in a day or two.

From the beginning of the New Year to the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, the whole body is covered with peeling skin. Backache is the least of the problems. The pair of fair and delicate hands are scratched here and pricked there, the nails are hairy and the fingers are wrinkled. It is often not until the start of the new year when school starts that the skin recovers.

Thinking back to those years, it was really a bittersweet experience. Compared to today when we are all working together, the situation is completely different.

Xin Baoer sighed to herself for a while before she began to prepare the menu for the New Year's Eve dinner.

This is the second year that Xin Baoer has spent here. In the past year, she would prepare banquets of all sizes for every festival. Although they were all for her family, she did not dare to make it public to avoid causing unnecessary suspicion.

Maybe it was because she lived a rough life in her previous life, so in this life she has an almost obsessive admiration for these customs, especially when it comes to food.

For example, she eats Yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival, cold food on the Cold Food Festival, and moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival. She almost never misses any of them. If she has the conditions, she will eat them. If she doesn’t have the conditions, she will create the conditions to eat them.

She would also prepare relevant things. On the Lantern Festival, she would organize her sisters to make lanterns; on the Cold Food Festival, she would keep watching the stove and not allow anyone to light a fire; on the Mid-Autumn Festival, she would take her sisters to worship the moon and pray together. In short, the sense of ritual was full and no festival would be wasted.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, a batch of fresh vegetables was delivered from the farm. They were of various styles and varieties, and Xin Baoer was immediately inspired.

Sitting behind the desk, she wrote on a page of paper. Upon closer inspection, it was all names of dishes. Nowadays, ingredients are becoming more and more abundant, making it a bit difficult for her, who is somewhat of a foodie, to make a decision.

New Year's Eve dinner is the most important festival of the year. She thinks that all dishes should have a chance to be served. She doesn't want to favor one over another. However, the dining table is so small that even if all the dishes are cooked, they can't be served. There are only a few people, so even if all the dishes are cooked, they can't be eaten up.

After struggling over and over again, she was even suffering from decision-making difficulties, but she still couldn't make a decision. Chu Xingchen happened to come to see her after finishing his work. He saw her biting the tip of a pen in distress, staring at a piece of paper with a drooping head. If you didn't know better, you would think there was some kind of monster on the paper.

"What are you looking at? Your brows are furrowed so tightly that they can kill a fly." Chu Xingchen smiled and knocked on her head, then took the paper away.

"Recipe?" He glanced at it and asked in confusion.

Xin Baoer nodded and said affirmatively: "I made a New Year's Eve menu."

"With so many people, can Lancao handle it?" Chu Xingchen asked back.

Xin Baoer's face fell and she said pitifully, "So I'm struggling and trying to decide."

"Come here, I'll help you." Chu Xingchen waved at her, motioning her to come out from the table.

Xin Baoer followed suit, stood up and obediently walked to Chu Xingchen, as well-behaved as a primary school student. Chu Xingchen turned into a god-like, omnipotent teacher. Xin Baoer lowered her head and humbly asked for advice.

Such a well-behaved and cute look is really rare. Chu Xingchen's heart felt like it was soaked in warm water. He held her in his arms emotionally and lowered his head to kiss her soft lips without hesitation.

Xin Baoer was slightly startled, her eyes full of disbelief. Chu Xingchen raised his hand to cover her wet eyes, then closed his own eyes, and deepened the kiss gently and devoutly.

This was an experience she had never had before, completely different from the superficial or cursory experience she had had before. Xin Baoer was a little scared, and her legs felt weak from the effort.

Because she had already decided in her mind that this man would possess her sooner or later, Xin Baoer had no intention of resisting and was even quite open-minded, ready to let him take her.

I don't know when, the two of them fell on the warm kang in dishevelled clothes, and everything that happened next seemed to be a natural progression.

Both bodies were ready under the quilt, their body temperatures blended, the kiss became more and more passionate, full of lustful desire. Xin Baoer suddenly became a little uncertain, and her delicate body, which had become as soft as a puddle of water, trembled slightly.

The man who was ready to attack suddenly stopped his attack, and ceased all movements in annoyance. The little girl under him didn't dare to open her eyes. She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly, with faint traces of tears in the corners of her eyes. Her cherry lips had been severely ravaged, and were moist and slightly swollen, making her look even more delicious.

Chu Xingchen suddenly didn't dare to watch any further. He turned over abruptly and fell awkwardly on the other side of the warm kang. Veins bulged on his forehead and he was sweating profusely, as if he was enduring tremendous pain.

Feeling the weight and temperature on her body, Xin Baoer tentatively opened her eyes. She didn't dare to look around for she was not sure what she would see. She just stared at the curtain above her head and breathed slightly.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but just when she relaxed and felt drowsy, the man finally spoke.

"Don't be afraid, I won't touch you. Go to sleep. You will be busy tomorrow." The voice was indescribably low and hoarse.

Xin Baoer didn't dare to delve into the reason. She closed her eyes obediently, her throat trembling slightly, and a "hmm" slowly uttered.

The next morning, Xin Baoer woke up in Chu Xingchen's arms. The two seemed to have collective amnesia, and no one mentioned the failure of last night.

I had a happy New Year, but I was also really busy.

After eating rice cakes in the morning, everyone started to get busy.

Because there were many kinds of vegetables, she definitely couldn't cook so many kinds in the evening. In order to make up for the regret, Xin Baoer simply made four or five kinds of dumpling fillings. Everyone let her do what she wanted. Some were cutting vegetables, some were chopping meat, some were kneading dough, some were making fire, some were chopping wood, and some were fetching water. No one was idle.

After a busy morning, dumplings of different colors and fillings were served on the table. The most excited one was the young master Sheng'er.

This premature child only showed childishness that was appropriate for his age at this time.

Xin Baoer was also happy when she saw the colorful dumplings. The dumplings were not big, and with her appetite, it should not be a problem for her to eat more than ten or twenty of them. But the fact was that she was full after eating one or two of each. She could only watch everyone share the dumplings, rubbing her stomach and lamenting silently.

After a short rest, we started to get busy again. After some difficult choices, we finally decided on ten main dishes, which means perfect and complete.

As for other pastries and desserts, the ones with soupy texture were just for fun and placed aside. Chu Xingchen also laughed at her little thoughts, saying that she was "covering her ears and stealing the bell", thinking that it would not count if she didn't put it on the table.

Everyone was there for the New Year's Eve dinner, including Xiang Qing who had not been seen for a long time, Jiao Ba and Gong Jiu who were under house arrest, as well as "Bi Jun", "Hui Wu" and "Shang Shiyi" who had changed their appearance and were with the lady.

Perhaps it was because the New Year’s joy was so strong that everyone seemed to be in a good mood. They put aside their past grudges, gathered together, and happily ate the New Year’s Eve dinner and chatted to stay up all night.

In short, Xin Baoer had a very comfortable and happy New Year. She even had two drinks, even though she usually doesn't drink alcohol. Her little face was rosy throughout the whole process, which was very cute.