The family got dressed, took the dumplings they had made that afternoon, and went to the small kitchen.
The old butler had already boiled the water and was waiting for them there.
However, no one spoke when they saw each other.
The first proper words of the New Year had to be "Happy New Year," spoken only after the dumplings were eaten.
Soon, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan finished cooking the dumplings, and the four of them carried their bowls back to the room.
To be honest, though, the New Year's dumplings weren't much to write home about.
After all, there were too many rules about what you couldn't eat with them.
First, you couldn't have vinegar, because it's sour.
And being 'sour'—or jealous—at the start of the year was considered terribly inauspicious.
Then, you couldn't have garlic, because garlic is spicy.
Eating spicy food during the New Year wasn't good either.
So what could you eat them with?
Sugar water, of course.
