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墨書 Inktalez
As the sky turned completely dark, the Little Guys rushed into the kitchen, surrounding Xu Li, who cheerfully grabbed a handful of fried fish skin peanuts and handed them out to each of the Little Guys. "Go eat outside, don’t burn yourselves," he said.
With food in hand, the Little Guys hurried to the dining hall, each claiming a spot at two large round tables, munching on their peanuts. The men sitting in small groups, smoking and watching their children, wore faces etched with the wear of life and eyes filled with stories. Their expressions reflected deep satisfaction with their current lives and profound gratitude towards Xu Li, who was busy in the kitchen.
"Ivanov!" Xu Li called out from the kitchen. Immediately, a man in his thirties rushed in. "Village Chief," he said.
"Go door to door and check if all the kids are back. We’re getting ready to eat soon."
The man nodded and left the dining hall, tightening his coat and adjusting his scarf before heading to the stable to fetch a horse. He also grabbed a portable searchlight for patrols and mounted his horse, riding off. His eldest daughter should be home by now.
Meanwhile, the women were chatting and plating marinated dishes or preparing their signature meals. Two large shelves were filled with plates covered in plastic wrap, which Andreev and his son-in-law pushed into an adjacent room where it was warm enough to keep the hot dishes from cooling down.
"Daria, Yisha, have you washed the fruit yet?" Xu Li asked while drying his hands at the sink. Seven or eight women were laughing and washing fruit together. Yisha, with her prominent belly, rinsed grapes and quickly tossed them into a plate. "Almost done," she replied as she waved over to Xu Li.
"Hey, Makarov, are we having our reunion dinner this early this year?"
"No," Xu Li shook his head. "This meal is actually for my second child’s warming banquet. According to our customs, it should be held at the groom's family home. We’ll have our reunion dinner when all the kids return at the end of the year; there’s still more than a month until New Year."
"You’re just wasting money; it would be better to wait until the end of the year."
Yisha wanted to say more when Daria stuffed grapes into her mouth: "Makarov has plenty of money; he wouldn’t be happy if you tried to save him some."
The other women teased her as Xu Li smiled and made his way to the living room. He pulled out cigarettes and distributed them among the men before sitting down to chat with them. Just then, Ivanov rushed in, looking flustered: "Village Chief! The village bus broke down; it’s stranded over fifty miles away with all the kids on it!"
"Damn it!" Xu Li jumped up immediately, waving his hand as he led the men out of the dining hall. "Andreev and Alexander, go move the winch onto the road outside my house. I’ll drive with others to bring the kids back first. Hurry up! If we wait too long for the bus’s heating to stop, those kids will freeze!"
Everyone hurried off to prepare while Xu Li went home to change clothes. He also headed to the back room where Anna and Eva were practicing electronic music. The energetic beats were loud as the sisters immersed themselves in mixing tracks, bobbing their heads enthusiastically.
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