My Stepbrother Is a Little Pitiful (ChatGPT Translated)

☆ Chapter 43. Chapter 42. New Year's wishes for the Lunar New Year.

Chapter 42. New Year's Wishes for the Lunar New Year

The auspicious snow heralds a bountiful year, and in the blink of an eye, it is already New Year's Eve.

Outside, the snow falls heavily, and the branches by the roadside are covered in pure white snow. The water vapor under the eaves condenses into icicles hanging along the edges.

Cheng Qingzhi prepared a large table of dishes, with the most important red-braised carp placed in the middle. Next to it are thin slices of cured meat and sausages, followed by stir-fried cabbage with cured meat, and braised pork ribs with potatoes, and many other dishes. Of course, the most essential dish is dumplings.

Eating dumplings during the Lunar New Year is a tradition in the northern regions. However, on important holidays like this, it is usually a family affair with everyone pitching in. But now, there are only the two of them in the house. Cheng Qingzhi is already busy cooking, and there is no time for him to knead dough, roll it out, or chop the filling. Cheng Songer volunteers to help.

"I know you're going to say that women shouldn't be in the kitchen, but how can I sit still watching you work alone? Besides, I'm not disabled. What's wrong with helping you?" Cheng Songer picks up the dumpling wrappers that Cheng Qingzhi has already kneaded and starts making dumplings.

Cheng Qingzhi is about to bring the freshly cooked braised pork ribs to the table when he sees Cheng Songer sharing the workload. His long eyelashes tremble slightly.

Thinking back to the scene of last year's Lunar New Year, their current life feels like they have lived a lifetime. He can't believe how happy he is.

He pours a cup of tea next to Cheng Songer and feels a bit guilty. "Thank you for your help. If you're tired, take a break. I'll stew another pot of bone soup and then come to help with the dumplings."

"It's just making dumplings, not a physically demanding task. You go and do your thing," Cheng Songer says with a smile, coaxing Cheng Qingzhi to leave. Once she confirms that he has entered the kitchen, she secretly puts a small piece of silver in one of the dumplings.

As a native of the southern region, she is not very familiar with the northern tradition of putting coins in dumplings. But she heard that the older generation likes to put one or two coins in the filling, and whoever finds them will have good luck in the coming year.

She also wants to follow the local customs, so she puts a piece of silver in one of the dumplings, not for herself, but for Cheng Qingzhi.

He has been so pitiful for so long, not having a single penny in his pocket. Even if he wants to buy something for himself, he has to ask her for money.

This feeling makes Cheng Songer feel like she has returned to her childhood when she didn't have any pocket money.

It's not that she wants money to spend recklessly, but being away from home without any money makes her feel insecure.

She doesn't want Cheng Qingzhi to be like her when she was a child, so she came up with the idea of putting a piece of silver in the dumpling. The silver piece is not big, very small in fact. If converted into copper coins, it would be around 200 wén, but for Cheng Qingzhi, it is already a lot as his personal savings.

After wrapping the silver piece, Cheng Songer makes a mark on the dumpling so that she won't accidentally eat it later.

When Cheng Qingzhi came out carrying the freshly cooked bone soup, Cheng Songer had already made several plates of dumplings, among which the marked dumplings were mixed in.

"Cheng Songer's cooking skills are really good," Cheng Qingzhi said with a slight surprise in his eyes when he saw the neatly arranged dumplings, followed by a smile.