The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Gu Jiaojiao saw Leng Yuan mincing the filling, so she took out a mixing bowl to prepare the dough.

They usually ate mixed-flour steamed buns, but since today was Little New Year’s Eve, they would have dumplings made with pure white flour!

When Leng Yuan saw Gu Jiaojiao was about to knead the dough, he deftly took the bowl from her.

”Let me. Kneading dough takes strength. That’s how you make it smooth and springy.”

Gu Jiaojiao was speechless.

Because Leng Yuan was right.

Whenever she had kneaded dough before, it would come out fine and smooth—no problem there. But when Leng Yuan did it, following the exact same steps, the results were always more delicious than hers.

Seeing that Leng Yuan had taken over both kneading the dough and mincing the filling, Gu Jiaojiao silently went to the cellar, grabbed a few scallions, and started to peel them.

Once the dough was ready, Leng Yuan deftly finished mincing the meat filling. All Gu Jiaojiao had to do was season it, and then it was time to wrap the dumplings.

Leng Yuan rolled out the wrappers while Gu Jiaojiao, Sweet Girl, and Xiao Yang sat around the table wrapping dumplings. The four of them talked and laughed, bringing a lively atmosphere to the otherwise quiet Little New Year’s Eve.

After the dumplings were wrapped, Leng Yuan mixed some flour paste, went outside to put up the couplets, and hung the red lanterns while he was at it.

He then pasted a few ”Fu” characters on the courtyard walls, instantly creating a festive New Year’s atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Gu Jiaojiao started preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner.

When all the preparations were done and the food was on the table, she felt a little dazed.

Before she had transmigrated into the book, her family had a tradition: no matter how busy everyone was throughout the year, they had to rush home on Little New Year’s Eve to prepare the holiday meal and be together for the reunion.

She would prepare her dad’s favorite sweet and sour fish and braised pork ribs, and her mom’s favorite golden shrimp balls and beef. Her dad would make the soups and dishes she and her mom loved, and her mom would prepare the things she and her dad loved to eat.

When the New Year’s Eve dinner was on the table, there would also be the dumplings that the whole family had wrapped together.

The three of them would talk about their busy lives, their plans for the coming year, and raise their glasses in celebration.

On this day, they would talk late into the night, and her dad would stay up for the New Year’s vigil for her and her mom. The next day, she would wake up very late to find gifts and red envelopes from her parents.

Even though she was in her twenties, her parents still treated her like a child.

Thinking of these warm memories with her parents, Gu Jiaojiao’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

Leng Yuan came inside and saw the table laden with food, but when he didn’t see Gu Jiaojiao, he turned and headed for the kitchen.

As soon as he walked in, he saw the young woman’s reddened eyes.

When Gu Jiaojiao noticed Leng Yuan enter, she quickly turned her head and wiped her eyes.

Leng Yuan felt a pang in his heart, a touch of heartache. He stepped forward and asked in a gentle voice, ”What’s wrong?”

Fortunately, Gu Jiaojiao quickly composed herself and shook her head.

”It’s nothing. Some chili got in my eye.”

Gu Jiaojiao didn’t explain further. She grabbed the bowls and chopsticks and called everyone to eat.

Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang walked into the room with beaming smiles, but when they saw the two large platters of dumplings and the seven or eight other dishes on the table, they froze in place, utterly dumbfounded.

’This... This is too lavish.’

In all their lives, they had never seen anyone eat like this.

The four of them sat down. Leng Yuan was the first to pick up his chopsticks, placing a piece of fish on Gu Jiaojiao’s plate. ”You’ve worked hard.”

Gu Jiaojiao chuckled softly, then picked up her own chopsticks and, in turn, placed a piece of meat on everyone else’s plate. ”Today is the first New Year we’re spending together. In the future, no matter what you achieve, I hope that on every Little New Year’s Eve, we can all gather to eat together, just like today.”

When Gu Jiaojiao was little, her mother had said those same words. Now, she was the one saying them, and in the future, Sweet Girl would probably tell them to her own children.

’This, perhaps, was the passing on of family tradition.’