I have been farming since I crossed over.

For Yang Mingxi, Chinese New Year means eating, drinking, chatting, and then sleeping.

Yang Mingxi walked into the third-floor hall, where a bustling atmosphere filled the air. Everyone sat around, needles and threads in hand, intently sewing. Their faces beamed with smiles, and as they worked, they chatted cheerfully about family matters. This scene made Yang Mingxi feel the warmth and intimacy of family. She stood quietly by, admiring the scene before her, her heart filled with emotion. The atmosphere was incredibly comfortable, as if time had stood still here, and everything was beautiful and peaceful.

Thinking everyone would be staying up all night tonight, Yang Mingxi decided to prepare some food for her family. She recalled past Chinese New Year celebrations, when the family would gather around to eat dinner and watch the Spring Festival Gala, a warm and happy scene. While things were different now, she hoped to bring a little warmth and comfort to her family through delicious food. So, she went into the kitchen and began to get busy.

Dumplings were once a specialty of Northeast China, but they've become ubiquitous. Especially during Chinese New Year, dumplings are a staple at home. Afterward, I'll take the kids to bed while my husband plays mahjong or poker with friends, a relaxing night out.

Yang Mingxi thought that she hadn't seen anyone eating dumplings since she came here, and there were no dumplings for sale at the market. So she went to the main room and called out to her third brother, "Third brother, what do we eat for New Year's Eve here? Have you ever eaten dumplings?"

Yang Mingyu and the other male members of the Yang family were chatting in the main room. When he was called out by his third sister, he heard Yang Mingxi's strange question. Recalling that Yang Mingxi usually asked this question when good things happened, he smiled and said, "New Year's Eve means staying up all night! What are dumplings? I've never eaten them before. Are they delicious?"

Yang Minghao, who was sitting impatiently in the room, vaguely heard his third sister talking about food and quickly stood up and said, "I'll go out and see what delicious food my third sister will make for us."

Yang Mingze also stood up and went out to see his third brother and third sister talking. He quickly came over and pulled his third sister and said, "Third sister, what are you going to cook? I'll help you light the fire."

The four brothers and sisters came to the kitchen together. Yang Mingxi took a basin, scooped a large basin of flour, added an appropriate amount of water, and put a little space spring water. He began to soften it. When it felt soft enough, he gave it to Yang Mingyu, who massaged it repeatedly.

He took another piece of marinated pork belly, washed it several times with warm water, cut it into pieces with a knife, and handed it to Yang Minghao, asking him to chop it up.

In the kitchen where vegetables are kept, find a large basket of bok choy, wash and chop it and put it in a bowl, put Yang Minghao's chopped meat in it, stir it all together, and then make dumplings.

The soft dough made by Yang Mingyu was already very chewy. Yang Mingxi took the rolling pin and started to roll the dumpling wrappers. Yang Mingyu watched Yang Mingxi's movements and took over to roll the dough.

Yang Mingxi picked up a pair of chopsticks, picked up some cabbage and meat filling, and wrapped it in a dumpling wrapper. Then, with a pinch of her hands, a crescent-shaped dumpling was ready. She picked up another piece of dumpling wrapper and continued wrapping dumplings. Soon, the table in front of her was filled with small, exquisite dumplings of various shapes.

Yang Minghao and Yang Mingze watched Yang Mingxi skillfully wrap dumplings, their eyes filled with curiosity and admiration. They gathered around the table, quietly observing their sister's movements, as if learning a new skill. The sight of the third sister's hands flying, wrapping one plump, white dumpling after another, was dazzling. By the time Yang Mingxi had wrapped over a hundred, Yang Minghao and Yang Mingze had finally managed to wrap a decent-looking dumpling.

About an hour later, as New Year's Eve was approaching, Yang Mingxi called Yang Mingze to light the fire, boiled a pot of water, and put hundreds of dumplings into the pot in batches to cook.

In another wok, he added oil and fried the marinated spareribs. He then cut up some pork belly, beat a few eggs, and mixed in a little cornmeal and flour to form a breaded meat bun. Once the spareribs were done, he fried some crispy pork. He placed everything in a winnowing basket, which he'd used to store steamed buns, and had Yang Mingyu bring it to the main room for everyone's late-night snack.

In the third room, Yang Mingxi personally brought over a basket of dumplings, along with a generous amount of fried pork and spare ribs. She also poured two bowls of pickled cabbage and chili dipping sauce, making the food even more appetizing. Everyone was grateful for Yang Mingxi's kindness and expressed their gratitude.

Everyone gathered in the main hall, savoring their delicious food and chatting. They discussed family matters, daily life, and future plans. Laughter and conversation mingled, filling the room with warmth and joy. Everyone's face was beaming with happiness, enjoying this rare moment of reunion.

Seeing everyone enjoying their meal, Yang Mingxi felt deeply satisfied. She knew that these simple meals could bring joy and warmth to her family. She was willing to use her own hands to care for and show love to every family member, so that they could feel the warmth and happiness of home.

After finishing their midnight snack, the younger children dozed off, and Yang Mingxi was also extremely sleepy, yawning non-stop. Finally, Old Lady Yang couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Let everyone who's sleepy go to sleep. My old man and I are the only ones who can keep watch over our family."

None of Yang Lao Da's brothers moved. They all sat in the main room, as if they were experiencing some kind of baptism, cherishing it very much.

The grandchildren also yawned and dozed off occasionally, but did not go back to sleep.

It was almost the morning of the 11th. Old Lady Yang announced that everyone should go back to sleep for a while, but not too deeply, because someone would come to the house to pay New Year's greetings in an hour or two.

Yang Mingxi returned to her room, expecting to fall asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, but she found herself becoming increasingly more awake. As she calmed down, she suddenly smelled a scent that didn't belong to her room. It was a very light, familiar scent.

Yang Mingxi was certain that someone had entered her room without permission while she was away. Although she was used to keeping her valuables in safe places, she felt extremely unhappy and dissatisfied to find her private space invaded. It felt like her territory had been violated, and she couldn't stand it. After all, who would want a stranger to intrude on their private space?

Yang Mingxi was vexed, wondering who could have been there? What was their purpose? Seeing that the room hadn't been searched at all, Yang Mingxi was certain that this person wasn't a thief. If he wasn't a thief, then why did he enter her room?

Yang Mingxi pondered hard and finally fell asleep.