Cradling his wife as he listened to the unceasing pop of firecrackers outside, Li Xiu was overcome with emotion. Their devotion, even unto death in a past life, had earned them this one, a chance to grow old together. Fate, it seemed, had been kind to him after all, granting him his heart's truest desire.
Li Xiu rose quietly at the crack of dawn. After tucking his wife and daughter securely under the covers, he felt his way to the kitchen in the dark before lighting a lamp to boil the dumplings. Once he'd washed up, the water was ready. He dropped the dumplings into the pot and set the leftovers from the New Year's Eve feast on the stove to heat. It was tradition here not to cook fresh food on the first day of the New Year; eating only dumplings and leftovers symbolized having a surplus in the coming year.
