Long Zhao Feng, Xiao Yue, and Long Yan went back to the Long house a week before New Year's Eve. Every year, the entire Hong Kingdom immersed itself in the festive season. Family members gathered in the ancestor house to spend the week in each other's company. For Long Yan, this was the first year that he did not have a complete family to celebrate with.
The Long house remained the same as always, but this year the kitchen was extra busy. Steam kept rising from the stoves as the maids and servants busied themselves to cook extravagant dishes for New Year's Eve. Under the First Madam's management, the kitchen and its staff had been split into groups. Each group had a different task.
The first group was responsible to make hand-pulled noodles from scratch. Sounds of dough hitting the counter repeatedly could be heard coming from their corner.
