Chapter 278: Extra (15)
The First Winter
The snow continued to fall, getting heavier with each passing day as the cold deepened.
The children at the orphanage were all bundled up in the warm clothes Yan Ya and Wen Yan had made for them. They spent less time outdoors, and lessons had been moved indoors to keep them cozy.
“This extreme weather has lasted so long,” Little Li Hua murmured, resting her head on the window and gazing out at the snow-covered landscape.
Yan Ya gently patted her head, smiling. “This isn’t extreme weather; it’s just a normal winter.”
Little Li Hua thought about it and nodded.
The snow was white—not blood-red. That must mean everything was fine.
Bang!
Suddenly, a loud noise like an explosion rang out from outside.
The children in the activity room immediately went on high alert.
“Was that gunfire? Did a monster get in?” Lang Ze darted to the window, his face lighting up with excitement as he tried to see outside.
The cold had kept them cooped up indoors for days, and Lang Ze was itching for action.
“Come on, let’s go see!”
Seeing nothing from the window, Lang Ze turned and rallied the others, sprinting out with Ran Lie close behind, followed by Rong Heng and the rest of the group.
Yan Ya and Wen Yan tried to stop them but were met with firm resistance from the children, who insisted the adults stay in the activity room for safety.
Resigned, the two women went to inform Li Sinian and the others. Despite their concern, they weren’t too worried—this was the orphanage, and with Su Su around, the children were more than capable of handling things.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the children ran outside, the intermittent blasts continued. The sound was odd—not quite the chaos of battle.
Following the noise, they arrived at the front of the orphanage to find a bonfire burning brightly, with A-Yan tossing small objects into the flames.
Bang!
As another small object hit the fire, it exploded with a crisp pop.
Su Su sat lazily on the steps, resting his chin in one hand as he watched A-Yan’s antics with a bored expression.
The children, who had rushed out ready for a fight, froze in their tracks.
The wolf cub ran to Su Su’s side and asked curiously, “Su Su, what’s A-Yan doing?”
“Firecrackers,” Su Su drawled.
Apparently, A-Yan had gotten into the mood to play and had collected a pile of dried bamboo segments to make traditional firecrackers.
“Why is he doing that?” the little white deer asked, tilting his head.
“For fun,” A-Yan answered, turning to smile at them. “According to the old Earth calendar, today is the last day of the year—New Year’s Eve.”
“That means it’s almost the new year, and we should celebrate!”
He beckoned them over, handing out bamboo segments.
“Why don’t you try?” A-Yan encouraged.
Lang Ze, always eager to play, tossed a bamboo segment into the fire. When it exploded, he laughed loudly.
“This is so fun!”
He couldn’t quite explain why, but the sound alone made him happy.
Even the little monkey, Liu Liu, grabbed a piece of bamboo, tossed it into the fire, and scampered off. When it exploded, it clapped its tiny hands and chittered in delight.
With Lang Ze and Liu Liu leading the charge, the atmosphere became lively and cheerful.
“But why do we set off firecrackers for the new year?” Lu Jiao couldn’t help asking.
“It’s an ancient custom,” A-Yan began, his eyes soft as he watched the children play. “There was a legend about a beast called the Nian that came out during the new year…”
His story quickly captivated the other children, who gathered around to listen.
“Tomorrow is the first day of the new year,” A-Yan continued. “On New Year’s Eve, people would light firecrackers, stay up late, and eat dumplings to drive away the old and welcome the new. Why don’t we give it a try tonight?”
He turned to Su Su, who seemed uninterested at first but found himself surrounded by expectant, sparkling eyes. Finally, he gave a slight nod.
“Yay!”
The children cheered and turned eagerly back to A-Yan, waiting for instructions on what to do next.
“Let’s start by gathering ingredients to make dumplings tonight,” A-Yan said, rallying the children to collect supplies.
When Yan Ya and Wen Yan came out, he informed them about the celebration. He suggested preparing a more festive reunion dinner than usual for New Year’s Eve.
Excited by the prospect of a traditional celebration, everyone set to work.
Hearing this, Yan Ya and Wen Yan, along with their families, were momentarily stunned.
In the interstellar age, the concept of New Year still existed, but with advanced communication technology, human connections had grown distant. The tradition of eating a reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve had long fallen out of favor due to various constraints.
When A-Yan brought up the idea of celebrating New Year, they couldn’t help but pause. Soon, their eyes reddened with emotion, and they quickly agreed. Even Li Sinian and Lei Ze were visibly moved.
Reunion dinner. Such a beautiful phrase.
Having finally reunited as a family, they realized there was no better time to celebrate properly.
Yan Ya and the others went to prepare, while A-Yan gathered flour, ingredients, and tools, heading to the dining hall to start kneading dough and making dumpling wrappers.
The children watched curiously. For those who had never tasted dumplings before, everything felt fresh and exciting.
A-Yan didn’t do all the work himself. After demonstrating the process, he handed the task to Lang Ze and Ran Lie before moving on to prepare the fillings.
Once the wrappers were ready, A-Yan led the children in making dumplings together.
Outside, Su Su sat idly on the steps, listening to the joyful noises coming from the second-floor dining hall. He absentmindedly tossed a piece of bamboo into the fire.
Bang!
This kind of festivity… it had been a long time since he’d felt it.
He dusted off his hands, stood up, and disappeared.
When he reappeared, he was in the dining hall. Watching A-Yan and the children making dumplings, he strolled over and placed a small jade stone on the table in front of A-Yan.
“Wrap this into one of the dumplings,” he said. “Whoever finds it tonight can make a wish.”
“Wow!”
The children’s eyes lit up with excitement.
A-Yan smiled and agreed. He washed the jade stone, brushed it over a dumpling wrapper, and the stone vanished, hidden inside one of the dumplings.
The children, who had been closely watching, looked slightly disappointed when they couldn’t tell which one it was. But their excitement for the reunion dinner only grew.
“Brother A-Yan, are there more stories about New Year?” Little Li Hua asked.
“Of course,” A-Yan replied, glancing at Su Su.
Su Su shrugged, pulled up a chair, and sat down. Instead of making dumplings, he began telling stories. When the children struggled to understand certain details, he casually conjured illusions to illustrate them.
As they watched scenes of dragon and lion dances play out before them, the children were mesmerized. A-Yan had to remind them to keep working on the dumplings, snapping them out of their daze.
Time passed quickly as they worked and listened.
When all the dumplings were wrapped, A-Yan set aside enough for their dinner and cooked some to distribute to the other departments within the base.
“What if the one with the jade stone gets cooked and sent out?” Lang Ze asked worriedly.
A-Yan chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know where it is.”
Reassured, the children obediently delivered the dumplings.
The recipients were deeply touched. In the biting cold of winter, receiving warm, freshly cooked dumplings—even in small quantities—was a heartwarming gesture.
That evening, the orphanage didn’t divide into separate dining areas.
Su Su conjured a large round metal table and set it with the dishes Yan Ya and Wen Yan had prepared: a variety of meats, vegetables, and sides, totaling twelve dishes.
The children had never seen such a lavish meal, nor had they experienced dining together in such a way.
Gathered around the table, they ate, chatted, and laughed, creating an atmosphere of warmth and joy.
Finally, it was time to eat the dumplings—the highlight of the evening. Everyone eagerly anticipated finding the jade stone hidden in one of them.
The children ate with a mix of caution and excitement, their eyes gleaming as they searched for the prize.
“Ah!”
Lu Li exclaimed softly and spat out a tiny jade stone.
“Looks like we have a winner,” A-Yan said with a smile.
Su Su turned to Lu Li. “What’s your wish? Speak, and I’ll grant it.”
Lu Li tilted his head in thought. “I don’t have any wishes. I’m already very happy with my life as it is.”
Lang Ze pouted immediately. “Lu Lu, how can you say that? What a waste!”
“Aren’t wishes hard to come by?”
Lu Li smiled. “Then what would you wish for?”
“Obviously…” Lang Ze’s eyes darted mischievously before he grinned. “Another reunion dinner tomorrow!”
Hearing this, the other children’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Lu Li nodded, turning back to Su Su. “Su Su, then I’ll make that my wish. Can I?”
Su Su glanced at A-Yan.
“Of course,” A-Yan said, laughing softly.
“Yay!”
The children cheered, their joy echoing through the dining hall.
The meal was satisfying and cheerful. To their delight, they were allowed to stay up past midnight—an abridged version of the traditional New Year’s Eve vigil.
They gathered in front of the building with snacks, sitting around the bonfire in small groups and playing with “firecrackers” once more.
Su Su didn’t go to bed early, either. He sipped on A-Yan’s homemade wine, watching the lively scene by the fire. Nostalgic memories surfaced, and, on a whim, he pulled out the bamboo flute A-Yan had given him.
As he played, illusions filled the space in front of the orphanage, re-creating cherished memories from a distant past.
The children watched with wide, bright eyes, captivated by the charm of an ancient era.
In their hearts, a seed of appreciation for the old ways was planted. Perhaps one day, this seed would grow into a mighty tree, ensuring the legacy lived on.
