National Style Tavern.
The moment he pushed open the cellar’s wooden door, a wave of warm yellow light and the sweet fragrance of persimmons washed over him. Yao Yao was on her tiptoes, wiping a celadon wine jar. The ties of her peach-pink, front-fastening jacket dangled at her waist, swinging in a playful arc with her movements.
For the New Year, she was dressed very festively. Knowing Li Xiang was coming to pick up the wine today, she had been waiting here for him since early in the morning.
"Big Bro~" Yao Yao’s voice was syrupy sweet, with a Charm that most people couldn’t replicate.
"How’s the wine coming along?" Li Xiang asked.
Yao Yao smiled smugly. As she turned, the Silver Butterfly Hairpin in her hair seemed to flutter its wings. She snapped her fingers, and over twenty wine jars began to glow faintly. Thumb-sized Little Yaoyaos popped their heads out from the mouths of the jars, raising white porcelain spoons in unison to claim credit: "The yeast fermentation rate is 98.3%! The Spiritual Qi Fusion is twenty percent higher than estimated!"
Li Xiang was stunned. "When did you make so many Clones?"
Yao Yao giggled. "Didn’t you help me with this, Big Bro?"
Li Xiang said, "Be serious."
Yao Yao’s expression turned serious. "Have you forgotten, Big Bro? You told me to eat more and even gave me lots of beef and venison. I’m well-nourished, so I gave birth to—no, I mean, I split off a few more."
"Can they be a little bigger?" Li Xiang asked.
Yao Yao flashed a brilliant smile and said, "Of course. How big do you like them, Big Bro?"
Li Xiang: "..."
He changed the subject, asking about some of the brewing details. Yao Yao answered articulately, even using a lot of professional terminology.
To learn how to brew, she had bought quite a few professional books and even portable testing equipment. It was clear she had put in a lot of effort.
Li Xiang couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up. Suddenly, he felt something moving inside his pant leg. He bent down, grabbed it, and pulled out a Little Yaoyao.
"What do you think you’re doing?" Li Xiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Needless to say, this Little Yaoyao was a mischievous one, trying to sneak into his pants.
"Ouch, you’re hurting me," the Little Yaoyao whined coquettishly. Li Xiang tossed her to the larger Yao Yao.
The main Yao Yao absorbed the Clone and said, "You sure don’t know how to treat a lady."
"Let’s just check on the wine." Li Xiang took a few steps and bent over to inspect the dragon-patterned urn in the very center.
"Big Bro, try this—" Yao Yao took the opportunity to get closer to him.
What she offered Li Xiang was a "cocktail" she had just mixed. To be precise, it was a mix of persimmon wine and Spirit Wine.
Li Xiang glanced at it. In the small, clear glass, the liquid swirled in layers. The top layer was a translucent, persimmon-gold, while the bottom layer was a sediment of jadeite-like Essence of Spiritual Medicine.
The appearance alone was impressive, to say nothing of the fragrant aroma that wafted from it.
He took it and drank it down in one go. A sharp plum fragrance exploded in his throat, followed by the scent of persimmon, which was then instantly enveloped by a gentle honey aroma. Spiritual Power flowed through his meridians like a spring stream.
"Amazing. You really have a talent for brewing," Li Xiang said, savoring the aftertaste, still wanting more.
"If you like it, Big Bro, I’ll mix some more for you." Energized, Yao Yao got busy again.
About half an hour later, Li Xiang left the National Style Tavern with eight large gourds of the specially mixed Spirit Wine.
...
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Li Xiang was at home setting a festive mood.
He swept the grounds of the front and back yards until they were spotless, then hung up many large and small red lanterns.
The small red lanterns came as single units or in strings of six or eight. He hung long, long strings of them on the persimmon tree, the wintersweet tree, the peach tree, the War Drum Pavilion, under the eaves... In addition, there were handwritten blessings and auspicious poems, filling the air with a festive atmosphere.
Li Xiang also used his Crystal Vein Armor Superpower to create many small crystal and jadeite Accessories, which he hung all around the house and on his little pets’ necks, making everything look very festive.
The courtyard was completely transformed, shimmering with brilliant light.
Beneath a blooming wintersweet tree in the west corner of the wall stood a three-dimensional sculpture about a meter tall. It was condensed from less-valuable oily-green jadeite and depicted a "Five Grains Harvest." It had built-in LED strips, and an orange-red halo of light slowly pulsed within it.
Oily-green jadeite wasn’t valuable, making it perfect for such a large sculpture. Using something like glassy, vibrant-green jadeite would have been a bit too flashy.
Then came the busy work of putting up spring couplets. Li Xiang put them up everywhere: not just on the main house, the kitchen, the War Drum Pavilion, the storage shed in the courtyard, and the greenhouse, but also on the doghouse, the chicken coop, the duck shed, the back gate of the yard, the side Moon Gate, and even the pandas’ bamboo house on the back hill.
As for the few shops in the scenic area, they were closed for the New Year holidays. However, Zhao Xueqing, Yao Yao, and Lei Xiaohui had already arranged to have spring couplets put up and red lanterns hung, so Li Xiang didn’t need to worry about it.
Seeing that it was about time, Li Xiang went to the Jiang Family’s home to invite Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang to come to his place to make New Year’s Eve dinner together. It would be more lively with more people.
If he cooked the meal first and then invited them, not only would he be too busy to handle it all himself, but the food also might not be to Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang’s taste.
Besides, they weren’t strangers. It would be more fun to cook together.
Jiang Cai’Er had already convinced her parents, so after Li Xiang arrived and they exchanged a few pleasantries, the group set off.
The Jiang Family lived on the east side of the village, and Li Xiang’s house was on the west side. As the four of them walked from one end of the village to the other, they inevitably greeted many people. When they mentioned they were going to Li Xiang’s house for dinner this year, everyone was very envious.
Some people even joked that they had their gift money ready for Xiang Ya and Cai’Er’s wedding banquet, which made Jiang Cai’Er blush.
She was still just a young girl, after all.
She was probably the only third-year high school student in the entire school who was already preparing for marriage.
Li Xiang, on the other hand, was thick-skinned. As the village chief, he warmly invited them all, saying they must have a few more drinks when the time came, and that he would prepare fine wine to treat everyone.
Jiang Jianguo, Aunt Jiang, Jiang Cai’Er, Li Xiang, and Granny Li Xiang—five people in total—busied themselves preparing the New Year’s Eve feast.
This time, Li Xiang brought out even more ingredients—a dazzling, eclectic mix of delicacies from the mountains and the sea. Many of them couldn’t even be bought in the county town.
They were available in the provincial capital, but they were nowhere near as large or as fresh as the ones he had.
With her intellectual advantage and vast knowledge, Jiang Cai’Er was like a walking library. She became the master planner for the New Year’s Eve dinner, in charge of designing the menu. Jiang Jianguo and Aunt Jiang were the head chefs, while Li Xiang washed and chopped the vegetables. Jiang Cai’Er and Granny Li Xiang floated around, helping wherever they were needed.
The dishes Jiang Cai’Er designed were inspired by recipes from high-end hotels, and all of them had very auspicious names.
For example, one dish was called "Lu Ming Chun Xiao": pan-seared venison steak with Hundred Flowers Honey, served on a Cyan Jade Lotus Leaf Plate.
Another was "Ox Transforms the Universe": Wagyu Beef Ribs with Truffle.
The mountains near Li Xiang’s house were full of Black Truffles. He couldn’t even be bothered to sell them anymore, only occasionally using his Earth Vein Perception Ability to go pick some when he had time.
Truffles are buried in the soil and are difficult for ordinary people to find. But for Li Xiang, who was a master of the Earth Element Superpower, it was as if they "weren’t wearing any clothes"—he could easily acquire lots of them. He couldn’t even be bothered to dig up any that were of slightly lower quality.
There was also "Fish Leaping the Dragon Gate": Bluefin Tuna Sashimi piled into the shape of a pagoda, garnished with green accents like lettuce and broccoli.
"A Whale’s Wake for Ten Thousand Miles": Squid-ink whale-shaped meatballs bobbing in a clear broth like a distant voyage.
"Phoenix Perching on the Phoenix Tree": Charcoal-grilled king crab legs arranged to look like spreading wings, with a "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" carving on the crab shell.
"Perfect Union": Abalone and sea cucumber soup.
There were eighteen dishes in total, each one a generous portion. We won’t list them all.
Not only were there New Year’s Eve dishes for the people, but Li Xiang also hadn’t forgotten his cute little pets.
For instance, Er Huang had a "Wangfu Bone": a meaty beef bone coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried into the shape of a golden ingot.
The Little Fox got a "Spirit Fruit Jelly": a raspberry jelly with a tender, fresh quail heart embedded inside.
The five pandas had bamboo-tube rice: Thai Fragrant Rice + Rainbow Corn + Amber Pine Nuts.
The kittens received a deep-sea cod congee.
The little hedgehog also had its own "Hedgehog Food Plate": Cordyceps Walnut Cookies arranged in an exquisite plum blossom formation.
The large, red-crested, colorful rooster gazed at the dozens of large centipedes before it, looking thoroughly pleased with itself. It hurriedly called its cute little hens over to eat.
Li Xiang’s Earth Vein Perception Ability was unparalleled. While looking for Black Truffles, digging up a few nests of centipedes was as easy as flipping his hand.
The two little geese had a "Five Grains Harvest Spirit Ears Plate": a mix of crushed corn, brown rice, and sorghum was steamed until soft and sticky, then piled into a small mound on a shallow green bamboo plate. Chopped bok choy hearts and tender spinach leaves were laid out to form an "auspicious cloud pattern," and the top was garnished with two Cinnabar-colored goji berries, symbolizing "good fortune arriving."
As for the other ordinary chickens and ducks, they just got regular rice grains and greens. Ahem, some of them also ended up on the dinner table.
Because the Medicinal Power of the Spirit Wine was too strong for ordinary people, they drank Feitian Maotai for this reunion dinner.