Chapter 72 New Year
Bai Tang immediately called out sweetly again, "Grandpa, you should also take care of your health and live a long and healthy life."
Grandpa Gu: "Hey! My dear granddaughter-in-law, we've been waiting for you to come to the Beijing base."
Grandpa will give you one of the family heirlooms your grandma left you, and the other one is with your mom. You two will each have one.
Gu Yanxu took the phone again: "Grandpa, you've forgotten about me now that you have a granddaughter-in-law."
Grandpa Gu: "You brat, you're still jealous of Tangtang. If we had forgotten you, why would we ask you two how you are doing?"
And Tangtang's younger brother, and Lin Fan and the other two, you all need to take good care of yourselves.
Gu Yanxu: "I understand, Grandpa. You and Mom and Dad must take care of yourselves. We will definitely go to the Beijing base whenever we have the chance."
Also, with the New Year just around the corner, I'd like to wish Grandpa, Dad, and Mom a Happy New Year and good health in advance.
Bai Tang also said from the side, "Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Happy New Year, and may you have good fortune and prosperity."
"Okay, happy new year to you both, and may you have good fortune."
Finally, Gu Yanxu gave his father a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Grandpa Gu said, "Knowing that they are alright, we are completely relieved."
Wen Qingqing: "Yes, adults are most concerned about their children. We can only feel at ease knowing that Xiaoxu and Tangtang are alright."
Father Gu: "Yes, Qingqing, let's go back."
.....
After hanging up the phone, Gu Yanxu said to Bai Tang, "Wife, go swipe the card~"
He looked like he was living off a woman, which shocked the staff around him.
Gu Yu, meanwhile, stayed by their side the whole time, enduring the dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).
When Bai Tang went to swipe her card, Gu Yu said, "Tangtang, you two can go back in a bit. I'll hitch a ride home with my dad."
Bai Tang: "Okay, but thank you anyway~"
Gu Yu: "You're being too polite~ If you want to thank me, then give me another string of chili peppers, you know what I mean~"
Bai Tang smiled and said, "Okay, I'll personally deliver it to your house another day~"
After the two finished talking, Bai Tang and Gu Yanxu walked out of the information department together.
After getting in the car, on the way home, Bai Tang noticed the decorations along the roadside. Red decorations had already been installed in the base, creating a New Year's Eve atmosphere.
The red ornaments featured every zodiac animal, but nobody cared. They only knew that a new year meant a new beginning, and everything would surely get better.
2091 is the Year of the Pig. In Chinese culture, the pig has always been regarded as an auspicious symbol, representing wealth, happiness, and reunion.
One of the characteristics of the Year of the Pig is abundance and prosperity. The pig is a zodiac animal that eats and sleeps a lot, symbolizing a bountiful harvest and prosperity.
The two quickly returned home, and Bai Jiyang asked, "Did you get through? Are Grandpa Gu and the others alright?"
Bai Tang: "I got through on the phone. Everyone's fine. Grandpa even asked how the four of you are doing."
Lin Fan scratched his head: "I didn't expect that Grandpa Gu would care about the three of us."
Gu Yanxu: "We are a family, of course Grandpa will care about you."
Bai Tang touched the can and said, "The New Year is in two days. Should we go out of the base and catch a mutated wild boar?"
Gu Yanxu naturally understood Bai Tang's meaning; who doesn't eat meat during the New Year?
Although the base raises mutated rabbits and pheasants, it's definitely not enough to go around the entire base.
If they hunt down a larger mutated wild boar, the people at the base might still have hope of getting some meat.
This will keep the order in the base for a while; as the saying goes, whoever feeds you is your mother.
Of course, the base doesn't let them eat for free every day. Only on major holidays will the base organize the various canteens and restaurants to provide some free food for each person.
Bai Tang and his team took some time to leave the base these past two days.
The mutated wild boars and rabbits outside are about to start cursing.
Why are they always arresting us? Who is the mutant?
Anyway, Bai Tang and Gu Yanxu won't show any mercy.
Within two days, they hunted a mutated wild boar weighing over 1,000 jin (approximately 500 kg) and a number of wild rabbits, which they sold to the base's canteen.
The base's leadership immediately arranged for the chefs to prepare dumplings the day before Lunar New Year's Eve.
It is a Chinese custom to eat dumplings during festivals and holidays.
The base also provided some vegetarian dishes for the canteen, so they could use them to make dumpling filling with the mutated wild boar.
New Year's Eve arrived quickly, and the base's restaurants were packed with people waiting to take a bowl of dumplings home for their families.
There were still some soldiers standing guard and patrolling outside, and the base's canteen certainly didn't forget to leave a portion for each of them.
When making dumplings, there were dumpling wrappers of various colors. There wasn't enough white flour at the farm, so all kinds of whole grain flour were used to make dumpling wrappers.
However, no one complained; they were already very satisfied to be able to eat dumplings.
While they were dividing the dumplings over there, Bai Tang and the others were also making dumplings over here.
Bai Tang prepared a vegetarian chive and egg filling and a pork and scallion filling.
They make two different fillings and wrap them fresh to give it a festive feel.
In addition, red paper was pasted up inside and outside the house to create a New Year's atmosphere.
Bai Tang sent some of the mutated wild boar meat that Gu Yu's family had left behind, and also sent some frozen dumplings to Li Ping and his sister.
So that the two of them don't know how to make dumplings, and so that their family can also have a good New Year.
Lin Fan and Bai Jiyang, two lively characters, were gesturing to see whose dumplings were the most standard.
Bai Tang looked at it and said, "One is a big-bellied general, and the other is a general who has exposed his true colors, hahahahahaha."
Bai Jiyang: "This is a technical job, it's too difficult. My brother-in-law did a better job wrapping it."
Lin Zhou chimed in with flattery, "Indeed, look at you all, the eldest brother's is the most perfect, and he didn't give himself away!"
Lin Fan said defiantly, "Boss, teach me how to wrap it big and well! A man can't say he can't!"
Gu Yanxu looked up at the dumplings he had made, and then said:
"Forget it, you don't have the talent for this, you'll embarrass me if you can't teach me."
Lin Feng chuckled to himself, "The boss's mouth is still as sharp as ever."
Brother Fan, you should just stay there and roll out the dough. I think you roll it out quite well.
Lin Fan: "Alright, at least I know something, so I'm not a complete failure."
The six of them methodically made dumplings.
The filling had been prepared in advance. Gu Yanxu, Lin Feng, and Lin Zhou were making dumplings, Lin Fan and Bai Jiyang were rolling out the dough, and Bai Tang was kneading the dough, cutting it into strips, and flattening it.
Since Bai Tang couldn't wrap the dough well either, she simply said, "I'll knead the dough."
Soon, pot after pot of dumplings were wrapped. Gu Yanxu went to cook the dumplings, while the others cleaned up the mess they had made on the table.
They made three batches of dumplings, and soon Gu Yanxu called them to the kitchen to get the dumplings.
During the meal, Bai Tang also brought out some other dishes and a little wine.
Then they raised their glasses together: "May you have many more years like this, and may your life be even better in the future!"
While people in the base were happily celebrating the New Year, people in some smaller bases outside were complaining bitterly.