Lu Li stretched out his hands, held the hands of Cole and Lily respectively, lowered his head, and then listened to Ronald read the prayer, in the flickering and fluttering light, the peace and tranquility belonging to Christmas Eve, so that the corners of his mouth involuntarily rose. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

After Ronald finished praying, Lu Li turned his head to look at Lily and Ronald, and said sincerely, "Thank you for inviting me over." That's important to me. ”

"No thanks, it's my pleasure. Lily's eyes flashed with happiness, and she gently patted the back of Lu Li's hand, "Believe me, Liz will be happy to see this day too." "The soul that has left the world has always continued to exist in the memories of his friends in another way, and has never left. It's like that lavender field in Cloud Peak Ranch.

"We're sure you'd make the same choice if you were in a different position. With a knife and fork in his hand, Ronald stood up, and before leaving, leaned over and said.

Lu Li laughed, "Of course. Next month is the Chinese New Year, when my extended family will come together, and you are welcome to come over and participate in a real traditional New Year. Not the kind in Chinatown. ”

Ronald laughed heartily, "We're waiting for your invitation." This made Lu Li smile even brighter.

Lily excitedly said, "Will your parents come over?"

Lu Li nodded in affirmation, "And my maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, and my cousins. "Song Kongming and his entourage originally planned to come over for Christmas, but after discussion, they decided to come back during the Lunar New Year and spend the most special New Year here.

"Wow, wow, that's a big family. Lily rubbed her hands together, "Is there anything you need help with?" ”

"Mom, Mom, calm down. Lawrence pressed his hands down again and again, "Christmas Eve is not over yet, you are already looking forward to the traditional Chinese New Year? But tonight, at least fix my stomach first, what do you think?"

Lily smiled and nodded, "Yes, Ronald, turkey, you quickly cut the fire." ”

Ronald just stood up to cut the turkey, he picked up the steel knife and fork, stood behind the turkey, and skillfully began to cut it, the aroma of the filling in the middle came out, and people couldn't help but start swallowing saliva.

Lawrence couldn't help but talk, "Is this a dumpling?" Lawrence still didn't remember Lu Li's name, which made him feel constrained, so he came up with a good idea, "What is your Chinese name?" You know, in New York, Chinese Americans are now an important part of the composition. ”

"I suppose we haven't officially introduced ourselves yet, have we?" Lu Li immediately saw through Lawrence's embarrassment, so he said with great understanding, turning his head to look at Lily, "Why don't you introduce us to us?"

"Oh, look at my memory. Lily patted her forehead, and then took the initiative to introduce them, and Lawrence reacted, showing a look of surprise, "Fourteen, is there any story behind this?"

But before Lu Li could explain, Joel interrupted rudely, "We can talk about these stories slowly later, eggnog moments, we have a lot of silent time, and we need this kind of small talk to pass the time." As for now, fourteen, why don't you tell me about it, these ...... Uh, what are these, and why haven't I seen them in a Chinese restaurant before?"

Lily stood up, "By the way, by the way, this dish is eaten before the meal, is it considered an appetizer?" Lily cast an inquiring glance at Lu Li, then picked up the soup spoon and reached out to pick up the soup bowl in front of Lu Li.

Lawrence and Joel both showed puzzled expressions, Lawrence was better, his expression did not change much, but Joel directly showed a look of disgust, "This looks like ...... Nothing. Shouldn't this be poured out? It's not soup, it's not water, it looks terrible. ”

Placed next to it, there was a pot of soup, clear milky white, but you could faintly see the bottom of the basin, and there was nothing in it. As Joel says, this is not a soup, at least not a Western soup, and it is not water, far more muddy than clear water. It does look very strange.

Lily put on a condemning face, "It's a good thing, if you miss it, you'll all regret it." ”

Lu Li chuckled, "Why did you think of making this dish today? I thought that today's table would be a thoroughly Western meal." I don't think you chose Chinese food because I came. ”

Ronald laughed heartily, "It's not about Chinese or Western food, it's about being delicious." ”

Lu Li turned his head and explained to Lawrence and Joel, "This is a Chinese dish with finger lamb. Boil it slowly with a simmer, and for a few hours, the essence of the lamb skeleton is boiled out little by little, and it is integrated into the soup, only some salt is enough, and any other seasoning is superfluous. Sprinkle a little chopped green onion and white pepper on the final bowl, and in winter, there's nothing like a bowl of lamb soup to warm up. ”

"But, as you just said, this is ...... Hand clutching lamb?" Joel was still confused, revealing his bewilderment.

"After scooping up the lamb, simply cut it into slices, make some sauce, choose according to your preference, and eat it directly. After Lu Li finished explaining, Ronald directly interjected, "Thinking about it, this dish is the most suitable and simplest." What's more, I was greedy. Ha ha. ”

Lawrence and Joel exchanged glances, such a father was unfamiliar to them. Bright, cheerful, smiling, if it weren't for his deafening roar in the evening, they would have suspected that it was someone else.

After Lily made the soup, she handed it to Lu Li, and Lu Li handed it to Cole, and Cole finally handed it to Lawrence, and the soup bowls were passed one after another, and in a blink of an eye, there was a bowl of clear soup in front of everyone.

Lawrence hesitated a little and looked at the table: a few Western dishes, a few Chinese dishes, this combination of Chinese and Western food looks really nondescript, people don't know how to be good, say it's Christmas, but it doesn't seem to be Christmas.

Looking down at the clear soup in front of him, Lawrence was at a loss, but Joel, who was sitting next to him, was a wide-hearted person, snorting and began to drink, and then smashed it before he could smash it vividly.

Lawrence knew that Joel did it on purpose, and he visibly opened his mouth and made a distinct noise, Lawrence sighed speechlessly, "How does it feel?"

"Tsk. Joel just made a crisp sound, and then without any comment, lowered his head, drank the whole bowl of soup in one go, and raised the soup bowl, "Mom, is everyone only allowed to drink one bowl?" Generally speaking, Western soups have a strong flavor and can be eaten as an appetizer, but after drinking one bowl, you won't want to drink a second bowl.

Lily chuckled, "Of course not, you can drink a second bowl if you want." But are you sure you don't want to try anything else? That lamb dish will definitely regret it if you don't try it. Looking at Joel, Lily seemed to see Ronald at the beginning.

Joel shook his head stubbornly, "I'd better have another bowl of soup." ”

Looking at Joel like this, Lawrence hesitated for a moment, carefully lowered his head, and took a small sip of soup. Not the imaginary taste, to be precise, far from all the impressions in his mind, to Lawrence's surprise, the original aroma but with a hint of sweetness, involuntarily, one bite after another.

In the blink of an eye, Lawrence drank the whole bowl of soup, he let out a soft sigh of satisfaction, the warm gas spread down his stomach, his stiff limbs became comfortable, and there seemed to be a warm flame under his lower abdomen, which was not hot, but faintly warm, and it felt really pleasant.

Lawrence sat up straight, stabbed a small piece of hand-grabbed mutton with a fork, looked left and right, a little confused, because there were two different sauces in front of him, he was not sure which one he should dip, and then he heard Lu Li say, "Both can be dipped in, one is made with sesame sauce as the base, and the other is made with hot sauce as the base, just choose what you like." The same goes for dumplings. ”

Lawrence nodded, dipped it in the sesame paste, and put the mutton in his mouth, this taste is very special, tender and chewy, "Fourteen, are these all Chinese food? Why haven't we seen them in Chinese restaurants? I mean, I know the dumplings, but they feel a little different." ”

"Because it's a recipe made specifically for Americans, it still needs to be improved. Lu left his mouth to speak, and then Joel's voice rang out suddenly, "Hell, why have I never eaten anything like this when I was in San Francisco before?

"Isn't Fourteen explaining, what are you doing in such a hurry?" Ronald interrupted rudely, and then looked at everyone, "Who needs turkey?" Or is everyone going to eat lamb first? ”

Lu Li picked up the plate, "Ronald, can you give me one?" ”

"Of course there is no problem. Ronald stabbed a piece with a knife and fork and placed it on Lu Li's plate, "If you're curious about the recipe, I think Lily can help." ”

"Hah, of course. Lu Li put the plate down, then picked up the knife and fork, "I've always been curious about the taste of turkey. It's finally possible to try it today. ”

"Oh!" everyone gasped, including Cole, and Lily exclaimed in surprise, "Fourteen, have you never eaten a turkey?"

"This is my first time. Lu Li said with a smile, "I hope it won't be my last." The tease made everyone laugh.

Some eat turkey, some eat lamb, some eat dumplings, some eat barbecue rolls, and some eat fried quail...... The table was full of dishes, shrouded in candlelight. Gradually, Lawrence began to talk to Lu Li, Joel began to talk to Cole, and from time to time, Lily interjected, Ronald was always willing to speak, and the sound of knives and forks colliding with porcelain was drowned out in a joyful atmosphere.

Christmas Eve, Holy Night, so quiet, so bright.