The Interstellar Male God Chapter 119

Published at 15th of November 2022 05:07:42 AM

“It's time to eat!” Luo Bingxu's attention was completely focused on the kitchen. Since there was a chef inside helping to make the dumplings, as soon as the dumplings left the pot, Luo Bingxu shouted for them to start eating.

Everyone gathered in front of the dining table. The dumplings were divided into small plates and brought forward. Every person had a plate of dumplings in front of them as well as a small bowl of vinegar.

The dumplings that had just come out of the pot were steaming, plump, and shining white. It looked very appetizing.

Luo Bingxu couldn't wait any longer and picked up a dumpling and threw it into his mouth. Luo Lingxing witnessed this and wasn't able to stop him in time. In the next second, Luo Bingxu's fierce cry could be heard.

Although the dumplings weren't very large, an adult man had no problem eating it in one bite. Therefore, Luo Bingxu had thrown the entire dumpling into his mouth and was immediately burnt. He had to spit it out even if he didn't want to, otherwise he would be affected even more.

“Sob… It burned me!” Luo Bingxu pitifully said as he covered his scalded mouth. His eyes gleamed with unshed tears.

“You deserved it. Who told you to be such a glutton. It looks like you didn't learn anything from last time.” Luo Jinglun glanced at his stupid son, who he didn't expect to be such a foodie. It was just too embarrassing. Fortunately, only their family members were present. If other people were there, he definitely wouldn't admit that this was his own son.

Luo Bingxu saw his father flip out. He acted pitiful and dared not argue back. His mouth was still numb from being burnt.

“Dumplings are very hot when they're right out of the pot. You can eat it with vinegar. That way, it's very delicious and can stave off the heat,” Luo Lingxing pointed to the small sauce bowl of vinegar in front of them and said.

The others didn't pay attention to Luo Bingxu and picked up a dumpling dipped in vinegar as Luo Lingxing had instructed, then took a bite. Although it was a bit hot, it was still of a manageable degree. The thin dumpling skin and flavorful filling mixed with the slightly sour vinegar created a surprisingly delicious and appetizing flavor that made people want to eat one after another. They never thought that the small dumpling could taste so delicious. It would have been fine even if they only ate dumplings and no side dishes.

Luo Bingxu saw everyone eating so happily and became very jealous. Even if his mouth was still a bit numb, he still grabbed another piece of dumpling, dipped it in vinegar, and blew on it a few times before stuffing it into his mouth. His taste buds were immediately overwhelmed by the delicious flavor that he momentarily threw the previous pain to the back of his head.

“It's so delicious.” Luo Bingxu was instantly enchanted.

“No wonder the ancient people made dumplings a necessity during new years. It really is delicious,” Luo Bingze also couldn't help but praise.

“All  you know how to do is eat. There must be another reason why dumplings were a necessity during new years, not just because it tastes good. How could it be for such a superficial reason? Right, Xiao Xing?” Old man Luo's had an educational tone as he spoke to Luo Bingze. In the second half of the sentence, he looked at Luo Lingxing and his face was filled with warmth and smiles. Don't change your expression so quickly.

Luo Lingxing was a bit embarrassed, but he still told them what he knew. “In fact, in ancient times, dumplings were only eaten after being offered as sacrifice during the new year. In ancient times, they paid particular attention to wrap dumplings to welcome the new year, then eat them on new year's eve around midnight. This was the period of welcoming the new year and washing away the old. It was very meaningful. There were also meanings of having a reunion and luck of having everything go the way you wanted, indicating that the new year would be full of good luck.  Moreover, dumplings are in the shape of Chinese ingots. If you eat them, you would “usher in wealth and prosperity.” And since dumplings were stuffed, it was easy for everyone to fill them with lucky and auspicious things to fill the people with great expectations for the new year.”

Luo Lingxing summarized what he knew about the custom of eating dumplings to everyone. The Luo family and the others who were listening were a bit shocked. They never thought that the tiny dumplings would contain so much meaning and entrust so many good wishes onto people.

Suddenly, everyone felt that the dumplings they were eating were even more delicious.

Humans loved things that had beautiful meanings. These dumplings were food that the people of ancient China ate. It was one of the customs during the new years. It was only because that technology had developed too fast that much of history had been buried. It wasn't that the people didn't want to abide by these customs, but that the inheritance had been lost. Even if they wanted to collect the history of their ancestors, they didn't have access to it. The emergence of this dumpling truly made them have a taste of the honest expectations and hope the ancient people had for the new year.

Old Man Luo decided right there that the Luo family would wrap and eat dumplings for every new year. Now that they had obtained the customs of the ancestors, they couldn't lose it once again!

It was late in the night when they had finished eating the dumplings. The people of the interstellar world also stayed up for the new year. However, Old Man Luo was old, after all. After eating, he was a bit sleepy and was persuaded by the younger generation to go rest. The others stayed in the living room and did various things to welcome the new year.

The new year countdown sounded. At that moment, everyone in the country was awaiting the arrival of the new year.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!” When the last second came, everyone's terminal sounded nonstop. It was probably all the people sending messages and wishing them a happy new year. Luo Lingxing's terminal directly rang with a call.

Opening the video, Han Junzhan's cold face appeared on the screen. When he saw Luo Lingxing, his expression became a lot warmer.

“Luoluo, happy new year,” Han Junzhan wished him.

“Junzhan, happy new year,” Luo Lingxing was in a good mood as he replied. It had been a really, really long time since he told someone “happy new year.”

If he wasn't celebrating the new year with the Luo family this year, he would have forgotten what it was like to celebrate the new year and would have forgotten what it was like to eat dumplings for the new year.

Han Junzhan had wanted to speak with Luo Lingxing, but Luo Lingxing suddenly heard a little girl's voice coming from Han Junzhan's side. “Little Uncle, I also want to wish big brother a happy new year. I also want to talk to him.”

Han Junzhan seemed to be extremely annoyed and could only half squat down to let Han Shuxin's head appear on the screen.

“Big brother, happy new year.” A huge smile was painted on Han Shuxin's face. Although she seemed a bit sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyes open, she still tried her best to greet Luo Lingxing.

“Xinxin, happy new year.”

“Big brother, we ate a lot of delicious things tonight, but I don't think they were as good as the things you made,” Han Shuxin said, currying favor.

“If Xinxin likes it, big brother will make it again for you next time,” Luo Lingxing said with a smile.

“Really? Big brother, you have to keep your word.”

“Mn, I will.”

Han Shuxin very happily spoke with Luo Lingxing and was completely unaware of her Little Uncle beside her, who's expression was becoming very dark.

However, Luo Lingxing noticed. In order to avoid conflict between the uncle and niece, Luo Lingxing quickly said, “Xinxin, be good. If you're sleepy, quickly go to sleep. We can continue the video call tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Han Shuxin was indeed very sleepy. Her eyelids almost couldn't open anymore. She had never stayed up this late for the new years before, but in order to wish her big brother Luo Lingxing a happy new year, she refused to follow her mom to sleep. Now that he had already wished him a happy new year, she suddenly felt so tired her eyes couldn't stay open anymore.

Seeing the situation, Lin Yalan carried her daughter away. Han Junzhan was finally able to monopolize Lin Yalan. “You should rest early as well. You probably have to get up early tomorrow,” Luo Lingxing thoughtfully said.

“It's fine.” Even if he didn't sleep for a night, his spirit wouldn't be weakened. “Are you sleepy?”

Although Han Junzhan wasn't tired and still wanted to speak with Luo Lingxing, if the other party was tired, he would definitely hang up the phone immediately and let the other party rest.

“I'm not sleepy.”

“When do you plan to return to the Emperor Star?” Han Junzhan tried to find something to say.

“Probably on the third. Brother Chen is already urging me to return,” Luo Lingxing helplessly said. Before the new year, that guy had already called a few times to remind him not to forget to return early to participate in the premiere of the 'Interstellar Mecha.'

“Mn. I'll also return on the third. I'll come pick you up when the time comes and we can go home together,” Han Junzhan said. He was obviously also thinking about the premiere of the 'Interstellar Mecha.'

“Mn.”

The two talked about random topics for a long time. After the two hung up the video call did they realize that it was already one in the morning. They had actually randomly chatted for over an hour and didn't even notice the time passing.

“Xiao Xing, it's getting late. You should hurry up and rest,” Luo Jinggen had waited until Luo Lingxing was finished with his video call to remind him.

“Okay. Big Uncle, you should also rest early. Happy new year.” Luo Lingxing had said, “Happy new year.”

One the first of the year, the Luo family had a steady stream of people coming to greet them since early in the morning. Moreover, they were all soldiers wearing military uniforms.

Although they were in the developed interstellar era, besides keeping the tradition of celebrating the new year, all the other customs had basically been forgotten. The custom of paying a new year's visit had also become a good opportunity for the upper officials to visit each other and deepen and expand their connections.

Of the Luo family, only the eldest, Luo Binghan, was still in the military, so the other youngsters did their own things that they liked. Despite this, the Luo family didn't lose any prestige in the military. So on the first day of the new year, there was an endless stream of officers from the military district coming to pay their respects.

Old Man Luo sat in the seat of honor. Although he had a soft smile on his face, his gaze was still fierce, intimidating the officers who had come to pay their respect. They honestly gave their greetings and were even more respectful than the juniors of their own families.

The officers who came to pay their respects on the first of the new year were basically all of Old Man Luo's previous subordinates. Among them were also Luo Binghan's superiors and coworkers. They were mostly received by Luo Binghan. The tea used to receive them was also the best. Of course, it still couldn't compare to the Cloudy Mist Tea.

Old Man Luo was reluctant to take out the Cloudy Mist Tea to give to this group of old boorish men to drink. In his eyes, giving it to these boorish men was like giving cows mystical pills to eat. What a waste!

There was an endless number of people coming to pay respects from morning and continued on into the afternoon. The same scene could also be seen at the Han residence.

It wasn't until dinnertime that the number of visitors gradually decreased. The Luo residence became a lot more peaceful, and the people who remained were basically the trusted aides of Old Man Luo. They had thickened their faces to freeload a meal from him.

“Marshal, what kind of food is this?” a general looked at the numerous white and plump dumplings and couldn't help but ask.

“These are dumplings. Our Xiao Xing made them.” When Old Man Luo said this, he had a face that said, “our Xiao Xing is amazing.” He looked very conceited and proud.

“Dumplings are an ancient custom for celebrating the new year. It's one of the foods that must be eaten. You guys came at the perfect timing. Others who would want to eat this wouldn't even have the chance to,” Old Man Luo pridefully said.

Ah, this chapter made me feel so nostalgic. Chinese New Year is a very important time for Chinese, and it has a very interesting history. There's a legend that many customs used to celebrate Chinese New Years came from battling the monster “Nian/年” which literally translates to “year.” You can learn more about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nian

Lots of families do eat dumplings for Chinese New Year, but mine never did. We ate something called 年糕 or Chinese New Year Cake. There are many ways to prepare it, but my mom always made fried peanut nian gao as a snack and stir fried nian gao with veggies and meat as the main dish. Here are some pictures so you can drool with me (´ ∀ ` *)

Chapter end