Shan Yu really didn’t know how to make dumplings. His parents didn’t make dumplings. In his memories of celebrating the New Year at home growing up, the dumplings were almost always store-bought frozen ones.
They had made them themselves once. The flower-petal-shaped dumpling wrappers his dad had rolled out, combined with his mom’s fold-in-half technique, resulted in most of the wrappers dissolving in the pot. That day, they had a thick soup of fennel and minced meat.
This time was memorable because he discovered that his parents still remembered he loved fennel dumplings.
A dumpling-making station was already set up in the first-floor dining room, with well-kneaded dough and three types of fillings.
The people from the shop were gathered around the table, along with a few unfamiliar faces who were probably tourists joining in on the fun. The fast ones had already started making them.
Besides Chen’s father, the few tourists also looked more skilled than the young employees from the shop.
“There’s fennel filling too?” Shan Yu smelled the fennel as he came downstairs. He walked over to take a look and confirmed that one of the fillings was indeed fennel.
“Mhm,” Chen Jian responded beside him. “There’s also pickled cabbage and chives.”
“Why is there fennel filling?” Shan Yu asked in a low voice.
“Because my dad made the filling,” Chen Jian said.
“Does he like it?” Shan Yu asked.
“I like it,” Chen Jian whispered. “This is the benefit of nepotism.”
Shan Yu smiled and pulled up a chair to sit down.
“Don’t you like it?” Chen Jian bent down and whispered in his ear. “Can you eat the pickled cabbage and chives then?”
“I asked because I like it,” Shan Yu said.
The breath on his neck and the low, slightly hoarse voice made Chen Jian subconsciously raise his hand, wanting to reach back and touch his face.
“What a coincidence,” Chen Jian said, then reached out from behind him and flicked the back of his hand.
“Hiss…” Shan Yu tilted his head.
Chen Jian sat down in the chair next to him and glanced at him.
“Did you two wash your hands?” Sun Nana asked.
“I’ll go wash,” Chen Jian said, getting up and heading to the kitchen.
“What about you?” Sun Nana held a dumpling wrapper in her left hand and elegantly held a long-handled coffee spoon for scooping filling in her right, looking at Shan Yu.
“Manager Chen assigned me to play with the dough,” Shan Yu said, but still stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “Do I not have to wash then?”
“What if you get a sudden urge to make a few?” Hu Pan said. “It’s not that hard…”
“The way you’re making them, they’ll open up as soon as they’re in the pot,” Sanbing said, looking at the dumpling in her hand while making his own. “Pinch it tighter…”
“Why are you still here,” Hu Pan said. “Aren’t you going home? It’s a holiday today. Why are you guys still not going home?”
“I’m going back after I eat these dumplings for lunch,” Chen Erhu said. “My dad and I have to go to my uncle’s for dinner today. If I go early, a bunch of people will surround me and give me life lessons.”
“Me too,” Sanbing said. “I’m coming back tonight to set off fireworks.”
“What about Lao Wu?” Sun Nana asked Lao Wu, who was busy pinching off pieces of dough.
“Don’t worry about me,” Lao Wu said. “I’m just an insignificant…”
“Okay,” Sun Nana said.
“Squeeze some hand soap for me,” Shan Yu said, holding out his hand.
When Chen Jian squeezed the hand soap onto his hand, he noticed his hand was facing up.
“…I saw it,” Chen Jian said, squeezing a bit of hand soap onto the red spot on the back of his hand from where he had flicked it. “Weren’t you being naughty?”
“You hit really hard,” Shan Yu said, rubbing his hands.
“I was startled,” Chen Jian said. “If I had been a little slower, your hand would have been on my face. I couldn’t control the force.”
Shan Yu smiled, turned his head to glance towards the dining room, but his view was blocked by the corner of the wall. He reached out and touched Chen Jian’s face.
“You’re really not familiar with our guesthouse,” Chen Jian looked at him.
“Hm?” Shan Yu pinched his chin again.
“You didn’t know you can’t see here from the dining room?” Chen Jian said.
“So what,” Shan Yu said. “I’m not the manager.”
“Wash your hands again,” Chen Jian said and walked towards the dining room.
“I’m just playing with dough,” Shan Yu turned on the tap. “Aren’t the hygiene requirements a bit too high…”
Just as the water hit his hands, the phone in his pocket rang.
He had no choice but to turn off the water, take out his phone, and glance at it. It was his mom.
It was a bit unexpected. After returning to Dayin, he hadn’t been in contact with his family. Although the emotional distance had shrunk considerably, old habits were hard to change.
He had been planning to call his mom tomorrow, but he didn’t expect her to call first.
“Mom,” he answered the phone.
“If you stuff that much filling, it’s definitely going to break! Look, the wrapper is already transparent!” Hu Pan’s shout came from the dining room.
If Dayin held a mountain-shouting contest, Hu Pan would definitely win first place.
“Are you making dumplings?” his mom asked.
“Yes,” Shan Yu smiled.
“Those dumplings sound quite controversial,” his mom said.
“Not many of them know how to make them. We’re relying on Chen Jian’s dad and the guests to roll the wrappers,” Shan Yu said.
“If we come over on the second day of the New Year, will his father still be at the shop?” his mom asked.
“Yes, without his father, we wouldn’t have anything to eat for the New Year,” Shan Yu said.
“Does his father know about you two?” his mom asked again.
“I didn’t let him say anything,” Shan Yu said. “It’s not the right time.”
“Then I understand,” his mom said.
“When are you all getting together?” Shan Yu asked.
“We’re leaving now. We’ll be with your aunts for lunch, and then go to your uncle’s in the afternoon,” his mom said. “The schedule is packed. Even work isn’t this tight, and I’m not getting paid, I have to spend money.”
“You should get some back. Make them give me New Year’s money,” Shan Yu said.
“I haven’t given you New Year’s money in so many years,” his mom said, her voice suddenly a bit emotional.
“Give it to me now,” Shan Yu said.
“Then you should wish me a happy new year,” his mom smiled.
“Happy New Year, Mom and Dad,” Shan Yu said. “I wish you good health and all the best.”
There was silence on his mom’s end. After a few seconds, his dad’s voice came through, “Happy New Year. May you be prosperous and successful in your career.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Shan Yu laughed. “Where’s Mom?”
“She’s crying,” his dad said.
“No crying on New Year’s,” Shan Yu said.
“Let her cry. It’s the last day of the year,” his dad said. “She won’t cry tomorrow.”
“Mhm,” Shan Yu responded.
“You should go make dumplings,” his dad said. “We’ll call you again before we leave on the second.”
“Okay,” Shan Yu said.
After hanging up, he washed his hands again and returned to the dining room.
Chen Jian had taken over from the clumsy Chen Erhu and was rolling out wrappers. He was quite skilled. A guest next to him smiled and said, “The manager really is the best.”
Shan Yu walked over to him, took a few photos with his phone, then stepped back and took some pictures of the warm scene of everyone making dumplings together with the guests.
It wasn’t for show later. It was a truly indescribable warmth.
“Look here,” Shan Yu said.
Everyone looked over, holding up their dumplings and rolling pins, their faces beaming with joy.
Shan Yu walked back to Chen Jian’s side. “Let me try.”
“Wash your hands,” Chen Jian said.
“…Then just give me a piece of dough,” Shan Yu gave up without a second’s hesitation.
Chen Jian glanced at him, smiled, and handed him a small piece of dough.
Shan Yu took a toothpick and sat at the corner of the table, where the finished dumplings were placed.
He kneaded the dough in his hand, divided it into two small lumps, rolled one into an oval, and pressed the other into a thick, flat piece.
He was very focused on playing with the dough.
Chen Jian glanced over a few times but couldn’t figure out what Shan Yu was making. A rabbit would be a single lump, so would a dog. Even if he were making Erge, it wouldn’t require two lumps.
But this piece of dough was clearly not enough for Shan Yu to play with. Not long after, he finished his creation, placed it neatly on the edge of the table, and then got up to wash his hands.
“Let me try,” he said, standing by Chen Jian’s side again.
“So stubborn,” Sun Nana laughed. “Let him play. We can’t keep up with rolling the wrappers anyway.”
“The ones we can’t use, we’ll just boil as noodle bits soup,” his dad said.
Chen Jian placed two pieces of dough in front of Shan Yu and handed him the rolling pin.
Shan Yu picked up the rolling pin with one hand and held the piece of dough with the other. He gestured horizontally and vertically a few times, a little unsure of where to start. Finally, with an unconscious flick of his wrist, the rolling pin flew forward half a foot, spun rapidly, and returned to his hand.
Everyone immediately burst into cheers, and the guests even applauded.
Amidst the cheers and applause, Shan Yu pressed the rolling pin down and then pushed.
The piece of dough was rolled into a long strip.
“Good!” Sanbing shouted.
Everyone laughed again.
“Are you beating someone up? Such a heavy hand,” Chen Jian whispered.
“How do you do it? How do you turn this thing?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Jian reached out and held Shan Yu’s hand that was holding the dough, slipping his fingers under his. “Lift it a little, hold it with your index finger and thumb… turn it counterclockwise… push the rolling pin forward…”
Both of their hands were covered in flour. When his fingertips touched the back of Shan Yu’s hand, there was a strange friction. The fine particles made the subtle contact exceptionally clear.
After Shan Yu had rolled it a couple of times, Chen Jian removed his hand.
“Is this right?” Shan Yu glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Yes,” Chen Jian cleared his throat and stepped back a little.
Shan Yu was truly a craftsman who could hook hats. He learned to roll dumpling wrappers very quickly. In just a few tries, he could roll out round wrappers, and at a decent speed too.
Chen Jian went to the side, ready to help with the wrapping. As he walked around the table, he glanced at Shan Yu’s dough creation.
Although it was very abstract and crude, he recognized it at a glance.
Shan Yu had kneaded a figure of him.
Of the two lumps of dough, one was his head, and the flat piece was placed on top as hair. He had even used a toothpick to press in many curls.
Although the design was so abstract that it could have been Chen Jian, Sanbing, or Hu Pan, for Chen Jian who knew the correct answer…
This can’t be seen by others!
It must be destroyed immediately.
But before destroying it… Chen Jian took out his phone and took pictures of the dough from every angle.
“Hey?” Sanbing came over to get some dumplings at some point, glanced at it, and shouted, “You made Panpan?”
“Hm?” Shan Yu looked over, hesitated for a second, then held back a laugh and responded, “Mhm.”
“Let me see, let me see if it looks like me!” Hu Pan immediately bounced over and leaned in front of the dough. “Let me see…”
Before she could finish, she looked up and glanced at Chen Jian.
“Does it look like her?” Chen Jian asked.
“It does,” Hu Pan laughed, then took the dough and ran over to Sun Nana, cupping it in her hands for her to see. “Does it look like me?”
Sun Nana looked at the dough, then quickly glanced over at Chen Jian. “It does.”
“Give it to me,” Chen Jian didn’t care about anything else and reached out to Hu Pan. “I’ll make a new one.”
Hu Pan placed the dough in his hand and asked with a smile, “What are you going to make?”
“A rabbit,” Chen Jian said.
It had to be a rabbit. When making dumplings, the dough a child plays with on the side must be kneaded into a rabbit. Although he had never played like that, it was his stereotype.
“The water is boiling,” his dad shouted from the kitchen. “Time to cook the dumplings—”
Everyone immediately cheered and escorted the dumplings to the kitchen. Shan Yu finished rolling the last piece of dough and made one dumpling with the small lump of filling Sun Nana had specially saved for him.
A group of people went to the kitchen to wait for the dumplings to cook. Shan Yu and a few guests cleared the table and arranged the chairs.
Then he walked over to Chen Jian’s side. Chen Jian had just finished kneading his rabbit.
“Here,” Chen Jian placed the rabbit in his hand.
“Awesome, Manager Chen,” Shan Yu said, looking at the chubby rabbit in his palm. “You made it so well?”
“Not as well as you,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu started laughing.
“You lunatic,” Chen Jian said.
“Does it look like you?” Shan Yu asked.
“Sanbing already said it looks like Panpan,” Chen Jian said.
“All Sanbing has in his head is Hu Pan,” Shan Yu said, carrying the rabbit towards the kitchen. “Can this be steamed and eaten?”
“If it’s steamed, it’ll just be a lump, it won’t have any shape,” Chen Jian said. “If you really want one, I can use Xiao Dou’er’s play-doh to make one for you someday.”
“Okay,” Shan Yu nodded.
The sound of firecrackers had been non-stop all day. The other guesthouses were probably also eating now, as firecrackers were going off continuously for several minutes, so loud that you couldn’t even hear yourself think.
Sanbing and Lao Wu immediately went to the courtyard and carried a roll of firecrackers to the road in front of the gate.
The guests who hadn’t gone out were watching from their windows upstairs.
Sanbing lit the fuse. Their firecrackers were also expensive ones from the fireworks boss, especially large. Chen Jian was already mentally prepared when Sanbing lit it.
But Sanbing was clearly not prepared. The firecracker exploded just as he turned around, and the noise from behind him scared him so much that he jumped forward two meters.
“Is it fun!” Chen Jian shouted close to Shan Yu’s ear.
“It’s fun!” Shan Yu also shouted, turning his head.
They had made a lot of dumplings. Many guests came down to eat. A group of people were busy in the kitchen for a long time before they finished serving the guests’ dumplings.
“How does it taste?” Hu Pan asked.
“Delicious!” A chorus of praise came from the dining room.
Chen Jian glanced at his dad, who smiled and looked back at him. “Is it really delicious?”
“It is,” Chen Jian nodded. “I’ve rarely eaten dumplings you’ve made.”
“Before, it was really…” His dad seemed emotional and let out a long sigh. “It’s good now. From now on, whenever you want to eat dumplings, I’ll make them for you.”
After eating dumplings, Chen Erhu and the others were finally off duty and went home. His dad started to get busy in the kitchen with the official New Year’s Eve dinner.
Hu Pan and Sun Nana were good at everything except cooking. No matter how they tried to help, they were only in the way. A few of the female guests, however, were very capable. Among them was the one to whom Shan Yu had been a know-it-all.
“The one who answered the phone was your boss,” the sister said. “I could tell.”
“…Is that so?” Chen Jian held back a laugh.
“I couldn’t tell at first,” the sister said with a smile. “Just now I asked him if there was a bigger mixing bowl for salad, and he said he didn’t know. That’s when I knew it was him, the hands-off boss.”
“A slip in a hundred precautions,” Shan Yu clicked his tongue. “The main thing is, I didn’t recognize her.”
“Go back to the office and rest. There’s not much to do right now, and you can’t help with the cooking,” Chen Jian said.
“Not going back,” Shan Yu said, walking over to the coffee shop and sitting down. “I’ll join in the fun. It’s my first time celebrating the New Year so seriously. A latte, please.”
“It’s not good,” Chen Jian reminded him.
“Mhm,” Shan Yu nodded.
Chen Jian went to make him a latte and also got a few small biscuits, placing them on the table in front of him.
“Aren’t you having any?” Shan Yu asked.
“Even the guests are working. It’s one thing for the manager to be idle, but to also be drinking coffee,” Chen Jian said. “Isn’t that a bit much?”
“You’re calling me out,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian smiled without saying anything and took out his phone.
It had been a long time since he had celebrated the New Year so seriously. Looking at the lively scene of people cooking in the kitchen, the guests chatting in the dining room, and even Mushroom running around in the red firecracker debris with the guests’ children outside the courtyard fence, it was a wonderfully noisy yet peaceful feeling.
He opened his chat with Zhou Lecheng.
Above were the few firework videos he had sent yesterday.
And a photo of the firecracker debris on the ground that he had taken when he woke up this morning.
Just like how Zhou Lecheng had documented his journey in his post, he couldn’t quite explain why he was doing this. Maybe it was because this year was different from any other year. His father was by his side, Shan Yu was by his side. Maybe it was because Zhou Lecheng was gone. Maybe it was because Zhou Lecheng reminded him of his mother.
He no longer had a way to describe the New Year to his mother in such detail.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: Brother Cheng, we made a lot of dumplings with the guests.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: Brother Cheng, this is me kneaded by Boss Shan… Sanbing thought it was Panpan.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: The firecrackers at Dayin can definitely be considered the king of firecrackers. My ears are deaf.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: We’re having New Year’s Eve dinner with the guests today. If you were here, you would definitely join.
[Chen Yu Luo Yan]: Brother Cheng, let me show you our twelve dishes.
They’re all my dad’s handiwork. Oh wait, not all of them were made by him alone.
Mom, have you eaten these dishes made by Dad? They’re delicious. I don’t know why, but they taste very similar to yours…
Mom, actually, I can’t remember what your cooking tasted like anymore, but I still miss it a lot…
Mom, we’re going to set off fireworks. We set some off yesterday too. Did you see them?
Dad is very happy. He hasn’t been this relaxed in a long time. He was even singing just now, a bit off-key. Shan Yu said it was opera, but I couldn’t tell.
Shan Yu is the boss of Dayin. I’ve told you about him.
Mom, did you see the fireworks! I like this kind of chain reaction the most. When I was little, I thought the Milky Way was like this.
Mom, Shan Yu is my boyfriend. I haven’t told Dad yet, so I’m telling you first.
This is a different New Year, Mom. I’m very happy.
