At the dinner table, Meng Lanqing and Meng Zhuqing also toasted Xiao Changyi. Though Xiao Changyi had not spoken to them during the meal, he drank the toasts, showing great face.
Meng Lanqing and Meng Zhuqing were quite pleased in their hearts.
They hadn't truly experienced the New Year's celebration in a long time, having joined the army at fourteen. At nineteen, on the battlefield, they had heard their father's dying command to serve their grandfather as slaves. Now they were twenty-five, and it had been eleven years since they had properly celebrated the New Year. Whenever New Year's came, it was just the two brothers casually having a meal together, with nothing prepared, so naturally, they felt none of the festive spirit.
Once the New Year's Eve dinner was finished, the four of them gathered around the stove to keep the vigil of the New Year's Eve.