The time in the first lunar month always flies by, a fortnight passing quickly with the family gathered together, doing nothing but chatting, nibbling on snacks, preparing food, and occasionally entertaining guests. These were the most leisurely days of the year for the ordinary farming household, and also the most cherished period, but the better the days, the faster they sped by. And so, in the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the first month.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Mrs. Huang was up early bustling about, but she wasn't preparing for the festival itself; she was getting ready for Dabao's trip to town the next day. The traditional Lantern Festival treats, Mrs. Huang had entrusted to Lin He to manage. Lin He, recalling the tangyuan everyone ate in her past life, decided to make some for the family to try.

At this time, there were no uniformly granular glutinous rice grains readily available, but there was something called xiaohuangmi (small yellow millet) that was similar to glutinous rice in its stickiness. Last time Lin He was in the county seat, she noticed a large grain store selling several different types of rice. Lin He inquired and learned that this xiaohuangmi had properties similar to the glutinous rice of her previous life, so she bought some and brought it home. She had originally planned to find time to make New Year's cakes with it, but the family had been too busy recently, so it remained untouched.

Now, it seemed it could finally be put to use. This xiaohuangmi also needed to be hulled and ground into flour, then mixed with water and steamed. The resulting dough was yellowish, very sticky, and also sweet. Lin He figured the family had sesame seeds and peanuts, so she decided to make two flavors: peanut tangyuan and sesame tangyuan, both delicious options.

While Mrs. Huang helped Dabao with his preparations, Lin He told Dabao and the others to borrow the small mill from Aunt Xu’s house to grind the xiaohuangmi first. In the kitchen, Lin He roasted the sesame seeds and peanuts, and after they were done, she had Dabao grind them into powder as well. Then, this ground sesame was mixed with lard and sugar, and kneaded together by hand until perfectly combined.

Meanwhile, the rice flour was mixed with water and kneaded into a dough of just the right consistency—not too hard, not too soft. It was then divided into small portions, each piece flattened, and filled with either the prepared sesame filling or the peanut filling. Finally, the edges were pinched shut, rolled into a ball, and smoothed over. Thus, round tangyuan began to appear. Xiaobao and Chen'er watched this thing called tangyuan with great curiosity, asking Lin He, "Big Sister, this thing is so pretty, yellow and round, can we eat it?"

Lin He smiled and replied, "Yes, this is called tangyuan. It can't be eaten just like this yet; Big Sister needs to boil it in water, and once it’s cooked, you can eat it."

She had originally planned to boil them in the evening, but it was still early. Also considering that Yuanxiao treats weren't easily digestible, she worried that eating them too late might overwhelm the children's stomachs. As soon as they were ready, she started boiling them, intending to cook a batch for the two little ones first. If they tasted good, she would send some over to Aunt Xu and Old Man Qin’s house as well.

After a short while, Lin He brought out the boiled tangyuan. They were steaming, perfectly round and plump, looking quite adorable. Lin He cautioned Chen'er and Xiaobao to eat slowly, warning them that the filling inside was very hot, and the molten sesame or peanut mixture could burn their mouths if they weren't careful.

After tasting the tangyuan, the two youngsters declared them delicious—fragrant and sweet. Lin He tried one herself and felt she might have added a bit too much sugar; they were a little too sweet, and eating too many felt slightly cloying. Lin He noticed Xiaobao and Chen'er stopped after eating just a few, saying they were full, as tangyuan were quite filling.

Lin He thought that if the family had fruits like blueberries or strawberries, the taste might be fresher and less intensely sweet, but since such fruits weren't available at this time, they had to make do with what they had.

When evening arrived, Lin He cooked tangyuan for Er Niu and the others. They found the treats very tasty. Perhaps Er Niu and the others had heavier palates; sugar was expensive at this time, and they didn't eat it often, so anything sweet was certainly a treat. Of course, no matter what, it was definitely tastier than the usual fare of the season.

For their fifteenth evening meal, everyone just ate some tangyuan. Mrs. Huang had initially said that since it was a festival night, eating dumplings (jiaozi) was the traditional way to celebrate, but after eating so many tangyuan, everyone was too full for dumplings, so Mrs. Huang didn't make any and returned to sewing clothes for Dabao.

When it was time for bed, Mrs. Huang packed up everything Dabao needed to take to town. Lin He was startled: including clothing and food, there were five large bundles. She couldn't imagine what was inside to make up such bulk. Mrs. Huang explained that one bundle was clothes, one was shoes, another contained some chicken and duck eggs for Dabao to eat on the way, and the remaining two were packed with cured meats, cured chicken, and some sausages she had dried for him.

Dabao tried to protest taking so much, but Mrs. Huang insisted, saying that since Dabao started bringing food with him, he hadn't seemed as thin. So, she prepared extra this time, adding that since it was the New Year, much of their preserved stock had been given out as gifts, and she would make more upon his next return. Lin He and Dabao couldn't argue and let her have her way.

Early the next morning, Er Niu hitched the ox cart, loaded with Dabao and the many bundles, and headed toward the town. After seeing Dabao off, he would need to go into town to buy some provisions. This was the first day of work for the hired laborers, so they certainly needed a good meal prepared for their commencement feast. The household had most things on hand—chickens, ducks, and fish were available, and winter vegetables were stored in the root cellar. They only needed to purchase some meat and coarse grains to take back.

When Er Niu returned home, several laborers had already arrived. Mrs. Huang directed Old Man Qin to take them to the courtyard where they would be staying, saying they would wait until all the laborers were present before Er Niu returned. When these laborers had been here last time, this courtyard hadn't even been built yet. Seeing how nice their lodging was now, they were all extremely pleased, thinking their employer was truly quite good. Not only did he provide them with a separate courtyard, but each man also had his own individual room—something unheard of at other households.

When Er Niu finally returned, all ten hired laborers they had requested were present. Er Niu walked into the courtyard and explained the upcoming arrangement to them. He said, "The way our family hires laborers is a bit different from others. In this courtyard, you will each have a small room to live in, and you will have two days off per month to return home. If you live far away, you can use those two holiday days to invite your family to stay here for two days. We will also cover your meals, but only for those last two days of the month. However, during the busy farming season, there will be no days off, but your families can still come to visit."

Er Niu explained the general situation and then asked if any of them had any complaints. The laborers all shook their heads. Several of them lived quite far away; if they had to travel home every month, it would take almost a full day just for travel, and then another day to get back to work. The employer’s current arrangement was much better; if their families wanted to visit, they could set off in advance without wasting work time. With such a kind employer who considered their welfare so thoroughly, they were more than happy—who would possibly have any complaints?