If the melon seeds were exposed to the air for too long, their taste would deteriorate. Therefore, they had to be eaten as soon as possible.
After eating the melon seeds, it was almost time to prepare dinner.
Jiang Ran wanted to help in the kitchen, but Pei Huai stopped him.
"You don't have to go. Pei Yang and I will cook together."
The two of them were going to cook dinner?
Jiang Ran was about to say something when Wang Cuilan walked in. "I think it's fine. Let Big Brother and Second Brother cook together. We can just wait to eat."
Since Wang Cuilan had agreed, Jiang Ran did not say anything.
Anyway, Pei Huai and Pei Yang's cooking was delicious.
Moreover, most of the ingredients had been prepared in advance. All they had to do now was to put the vegetables in the pot and stir-fry them. It was not too troublesome.
As time passed, the sky outside gradually darkened. A fragrant smell wafted out of the kitchen and into the house through the cracks in the windows.
Even if she didn't see what Pei Huai and Pei Yang were cooking with her own eyes, Jiang Ran, who was proficient in cooking, could already guess it just by smelling it.
When the sky outside was about to darken, Wang Cuilan and Pei Baoshan came back.
The two of them had gone to visit the graves of their deceased elders.
Logically speaking, Jiang Ran and the others should have gone with them. However, Wang Cuilan said that it was cold outside and asked them to stay at home.
When the two of them came back, dinner was almost ready.
Everyone put the dishes on the table. Pei Yang excitedly went to the courtyard.
He went to the courtyard not for anything else but to set off firecrackers.
Before the New Year's Eve dinner, they had to set off a string of firecrackers.
The sound of firecrackers could already be heard in the village. It was almost time for dinner to be ready.
When Pei Jing heard the sound of firecrackers, he covered his ears in fear. However, he could not help but go to the door and poke his head out to take a look.
Perhaps all children were like this. They would be curious about new and unknown things, but they would also naturally be afraid.
Jiang Ran walked behind Pei Jing and reached out to cover Pei Jing's ears so that he could only look outside.
Actually, he couldn't see anything.
Along with the sound of firecrackers, the smell of smoke also floated in the courtyard.
The smell was a little pungent, but it brought back some memories for Jiang Ran.
Before she transmigrated, when she was still very young, her family would set off firecrackers every New Year, and then they would have New Year's Eve dinner together.
But later, they were not allowed to set off firecrackers. This situation had not happened for many years.
Without the smell of gunpowder, it felt as if something was missing.
Now, those missing feelings seemed to have returned.
Although the firecrackers had stopped, Wang Cuilan closed the door and asked everyone to sit down and eat.
Everyone sat around the table and looked at the dishes on the table. For a moment, no one picked up their chopsticks.
Pei Baoshan took out a bottle of wine and poured a glass for himself, Pei Huai, and Pei Yang.
Wang Cuilan also took out the fruit juice he had prepared and poured a glass for everyone else.