It costs one cent to write a couplet.

There are quite a few people in the village with a high school education, but Wen Qinghe is practically the only one in the village who can write such beautiful calligraphy.

Therefore, even if some people rely on their high school education, they secretly yearn for the easy money this way.

No one would be so tactless as to steal Wen Qinghe's business.

Until New Year's Eve.

Yan Xiao said the night before that his wife would not write the next day and would take a good rest for the New Year.

Although the others who were waiting felt sorry for him, they were considerate of Yan Xiao's wife's poor health and the fact that she had managed to write for them for several days, which was already quite commendable.

We shouldn't let them get so tired that they suffer serious health problems; that would be a huge responsibility for them.

Now we can only regretfully give up.

The few people in the educated youth compound who were fortunate enough to graduate from high school seized the opportunity of this last day.

Although their handwriting was far inferior to Wen Qinghe's exquisite small regular script, at least they both had high school diplomas.

The handwriting is decent but not the worst either; writing a couplet should be no problem for him.

However, with Wen Qinghe's exquisite calligraphy preceding them, they were too ashamed to charge a single cent, and like Old Zhang, they only charged five cents for a couplet.

That way, each person earned more than one yuan a day.

While the educated youth were feeling smug, the villagers all received their own couplets.

Looking at the Spring Festival couplets pasted up by each household, the difference in quality was immediately apparent.

This is not just a difference in font.

Cultured people are able to make money through their knowledge.

Everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of awe, realizing that studying was never the most useless thing.

This made them pay more attention to the education of their many children.

Is it possible that one day, my children will also be able to earn money through writing, instead of having to work hard in the fields day after day like they do?

After this incident, when disciplining their children, people will no longer utter that phrase in the heat of the moment:

"What's the use of studying? You'll still end up farming anyway!"

...

The firecrackers on New Year's Eve were festive and lively.

This is the most leisurely time of the year.

The adults received their share of pork and grain, and their faces were beaming with joy.

The children also got to wear new clothes that they rarely get to wear all year round.

Every household puts up festive couplets on their doors, and family members sit around a table laden with the most sumptuous meal of the year.

On this once-a-year day for family reunion.

A new atmosphere is emerging everywhere across China.

…

at the same time.

In the dense forest on the outskirts of a border town.

A group of people dressed in tattered clothes and looking disheveled, disguised as refugees, successfully returned to China on New Year's Eve, escorted by several teams of soldiers in green military uniforms.

The group consisted of more than ten people, all of whom were elderly, weak, sick, or disabled.

Since setting foot on the land of their motherland, almost everyone has been moved to tears.

More than 20 years have passed, and who hasn't left their hometown?

But because of a transfer order and the need of the motherland, everyone chose to go without complaint, even though they didn't know what the future held.

The hardships and difficulties during this period were all swallowed down with tears and blood.

Just waiting for the day the mission is completed.

Although they all look haggard and thin now, no longer the vibrant young people they once were, their eyes still shine brightly.

They started with a group of nearly a thousand people, and almost every one of them was wiped out.

Only a few dozen people have survived to this day.

Their comrades had either already perished on the battlefield, been blown to pieces by bombs and gunpowder, or been tortured and humiliated to death by the enemy.

Most people wouldn't even be able to collect the body.

Those who were fortunate enough to survive could only bear the heartache and bring back a handful of yellow earth that their comrades had shed with their blood and flesh.

Fortunately, they ultimately fulfilled their mission!

…

"Heroes, you've worked hard! Welcome home!"

The soldiers, dressed in neat rows of green uniforms, stood straight and upright, raising their right hands in heartfelt respect to their predecessors.

These are the heroes they admire and whose hearts are filled with passion.

The soldiers' voices were loud and clear, penetrating to the heart, as if deafening.

Upon hearing the words "Welcome home!", the group of eleven people fell silent and wept.

This is a scene they've dreamed about countless times, day and night.

The pain and suffering in a foreign land, the way of living without dignity.

day to day.

The winds from across the ocean cannot reach China.

They survived entirely on their faith and beliefs.

Longing is silent.

But at this moment, silence speaks louder than words.

The shattered dignity and personality were carefully and tenderly pieced back together at the moment of "returning home".

No one could remain unmoved by it.

…

The man at the head of the group was dressed in tattered clothes, which could not even conceal the hideous wounds on his chest and back in the biting winter wind.

The thin woman beside him wore an ill-fitting gray jacket.

His face was pale, his lips were bluish, and he was still coughing uncontrollably; he was clearly terminally ill.

The man in the lead patted the woman's shoulder and back with a worried expression.

His subordinates were skin and bones, so fragile that they seemed ready to be carried away by the wind at any moment.

His brows were furrowed.

At this moment, a man in military uniform quickly stepped forward and handed over a prepared thermos.

"Let's give this comrade some water first. Our military doctor is already waiting in town."

The health of our esteemed heroes cannot be delayed. They should rest briefly tonight, and tomorrow a vehicle will be arranged to take them to Beijing for a thorough examination.

"Okay, thank you very much, comrade."

The man opened the kettle and carefully fed the woman some warm water.

The person in front of me is his wife.

He had no time to think about anything else until his wife's condition became clear, even though he had regretted some things for many years.

The couple has worked side by side in a foreign land for many years, remaining inseparable and tacitly in sync.

They are husband and wife, confidants, comrades-in-arms, and inseparable, as if they were flesh and blood.