New Year Eve has the implication of ridding of the old and welcoming the new. Growing up with her grandfather, they would always bathe and change into new clothes on New Year Eve before having New Year Eve dinner. She would be delighted at the thought of new clothes and yummy food when she was a child. She didn’t have to worry about what to eat or wear after she was grown but the habit remained a pleasant memory in her.

Jiang MingYuan didn’t have the habit of bathing before dinner but he didn’t object to it after Cheng Huan had brought it up either. The father and son bathed and changed into their new clothes and Cheng Huan was just finishing up the final dish when the two of them went downstairs.

There were not a lot of visitors in this area and their path was much smoother. Jiang MingYuan led the way in the front and the three of them arrived at a tomb after a couple of minutes.

The tomb was not a small one, perhaps 20 ~ 30 sm. There was a wall made out of cobblestones surrounding it. Inside of it was a mini version of a traditional two-story building. The tombstone was right at the entrance of this building with Father Jiang’s birth and death date written on it. There was also a picture of Father Jiang embedded in the middle of the tombstone.

There were designated workers responsible for taking care of the tombs but, of course, the paid workers were never that attentive. There were still some weeds around the tomb. In fact, these weeds were so tenacious that they did not give in to the cold winter but continued to grow strongly upward.

It was a dreamless night.

Cheng Huan woke up early the next morning and started preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Cheng Huan saw a lot of fresh meats and vegetables when she made the noodles the night before. Jiang MingYuan said he had someone delivered them. She didn’t ask who delivered them but she could tell they were all of high-quality from the looks of them.

The preparation work was almost the most complicated. Cheng Huan started the porridge and soaked the beef in cold water. She pulled the lamb chop out to defrost and sliced up the pork belly for a dish a braised pork.

He talked about how his father would tell him that he would find time to take him out but then worked into the wee hours the entire week; he talked about how he didn’t do well on an examinations but didn’t dare to tell that to Gu MingLi and would snuck Father Jiang to the parent-teacher conference and how Father Jiang pulled a few all-nighters to learn the knowledge on his textbooks and patiently explained them to him; he talked about Father Jiang enjoyed bringing him to meet his business partners and listened to them praising him and how he would be happy for a long time afterward…

Through his words, Cheng Huan and XingXing began getting an image of this Father Jiang whom they had never met. Jiang MingYuan loved and respected him and, just like his father, he taught his son with utmost patience.