Mars, the "Bird's Nest" base.

The tables in the automated restaurant were covered with red paper, which was cut into strips of varying lengths and sizes.

Yui was grinding ink beside him, while Zhang Fan took a brush, dipped it in thick ink, and wrote boldly on the red paper.

First line: Lanterns and decorations adorn the house, bringing good fortune year after year.

Second line: Smooth sailing and rising step by step

Horizontal scroll: Happy Chinese New Year!

May you be happy and prosperous

May you have abundance every year.

In good health

Dragon Horse Spirit

Safe travels

The six domestic animals... well, forget about that, let's rewrite it.

"Fan, what are you doing?"

"Fan, are you crazy? Why have you suddenly become so fond of writing?"

Katerina and Ivanka spread out the red paper slips written by Zhang Fan to dry, which had already covered all the tables and chairs in the restaurant.

“This is called ‘Writing Spring Couplets’,” Zhang Fan said carefully as he wrote couplets on the spread-out red paper. “They represent people’s wishes for a better life in the new year.”

"Mr. Zhang Fan, you wrote this character backwards," Yui pointed out.

“This is the character ‘福’ (fu, meaning good fortune),” Zhang Fan explained. “It’s deliberately written backwards; it means ‘good fortune arrives.’”

"Fortune? Does it refer to bats?"

“In Chinese, the character ‘福’ means ‘to pray for a piece of land,’ because in the past people believed that living in peace and contentment was a blessing.” Zhang Fan earnestly explained traditional Chinese culture to the group of young women. “Of course, it’s not wrong to interpret it as a bat, because bats also represent good fortune.”

Zhang Fan was speechless and ignored the three beauties, telling them to go and paste the couplets and Spring Festival decorations they had written all over the doors of the living quarters and the main activity areas.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and after tonight comes the Chinese Lunar New Year.

New Year, new look.

Even on Mars, the New Year must still be celebrated; this is a cultural memory etched into the bones of every Chinese person.

"What is this?" Katerina's eyes widened.

"These are dumplings." Zhang Fan flipped the dumpling wrapper over, shaped it into a crescent, and pinched it closed. "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and help, this is tonight's dinner."

The table was piled high with fillings made from various ingredients such as chives, canned pork, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms, as well as dumpling wrappers that Zhang Fan had rolled out using a glass bottle.

The three beautiful women, young and old, were filled with surprise and rolled up their sleeves to try making dumplings for the first time.

The dumplings come in all shapes and sizes: round, square, long, short... There are even dumplings with too much filling that can't fit inside, so they use two dumpling wrappers to wrap them, which is understandable. But wrapping them into an equilateral triangle is just too much!

"Who wrapped this? I'll beat her to death!" Zhang Fan asked, pointing to the equilateral triangle.

"Ugh, how annoying!"

"whee."

"Ha ha."

Three beautiful girls were having a blast playing with dumpling flour, their faces, necks, and clothes covered in white flour. They chased each other, dodging and poking each other's faces, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Oh well, as long as the dumplings are edible, it's fine.

Zhang Fan thought, "That's what makes the New Year atmosphere so festive."

At dinner time, since it was something they had made themselves, and it was the first time they had eaten dumplings on Mars, the three beauties all enjoyed their meal very much.

After dinner, Zhang Fan took them outside to set off firecrackers.

The "firecracker" was actually a small rocket that Zhang Fan made using methane and liquid oxygen. The arrowhead was filled with colored paper, a combustion accelerant, and a highly efficient static breaker—that is, explosives.

Are you ready?

Zhang Fan, dressed in a spacesuit and holding a stun gun, half-squatted in front of the "skyrocket".

The three beautiful women, both young and old, stood far away, their hands covering their helmets, looking adorable.

Actually, there's no need to worry. The atmosphere on Mars is thin, so sound transmission efficiency is very low, and you won't hear much noise.

Tick-tock—

Zhang Fan pressed the stun gun and then immediately ran back quickly, the electric arc igniting the makeshift engine of the "skyrocket".

call out--

boom--

Fireworks burst forth, a dazzling display of sparks blooming in the sky above, confetti raining down in a riot of colors—a truly beautiful sight.

"Hahaha!"

"This is so much fun!"

"I want some too! I want some too!"

"Come on, come on, there are still plenty of 'skyrockets' left, set them off!"

The three beautiful women excitedly joined in setting off firecrackers. The lights of the "Bird's Nest" base illuminated the open space, and the four adults and children laughed and played happily, creating a peaceful scene of "Happy Chinese New Year".

Qiongzhou Island, Wenchang, Survivor Point Square.

"Mommy, Mommy, I want to go home." A three- or four-year-old girl tugged at her mother's clothes and pointed at the big screen. "I want to play like the older brothers and sisters."

The young woman whose clothes were being tugged looked at the little girl, then at the front, and then at her husband beside her. They had been queuing all day, and there was only one person ahead of them before it was their turn.

"Let's go!" The husband picked up the little girl. "We won't sign anymore, let's go home for the New Year!"

"Um!"

The young woman nodded, took her husband's arm, and left the group without looking back.

"Mom and Dad, I want to go home and eat dumplings too." A little boy tugged at his parents' hands.

"Okay, let's go." The man picked up the little boy, took his wife's hand, and left the group.

"Let's go home and make dumplings!"

"I'm going to set off a skyrocket!"

"Okay, Dad will make it for you."

"Mom, I want to wear my new dress."

"Okay, Mom will make you a new dress."

More and more people are leaving the group...

Across China, on this special day of the Lunar New Year, U.S. government officials sat blankly in the center of an empty survivor settlement square.

...

Qiongzhou Island, Wenchang Temporary Center.

The Sixth International Multilateral Symposium on Mars Rescue.

Hahahaha!

European Space Agency Director General Brosnan kept smiling and didn't stop.

"I'd like to inform you of the final outcome of the negotiations," Minister Zhao Li said. "Yesterday, the highest levels of government completed the final negotiations between Midway and Milro."

"Oh? What was the final result?" Yang Jiandong craned his neck. "Which side did they choose?"

"We had no choice."

"Oh, it's Ross after all..." Chief Engineer Yang was downcast. Although he could have guessed the outcome from a rational analysis, he still felt bad knowing it.

"No, not Ross."

"The United States?" Yang Jiandong was stunned.

"Director Liao, haven't you always been curious about why the US keeps pushing us toward Ross?" Zhao Li didn't answer Yang Jiandong's question, but instead turned to ask Liao Changtian.

"Hmm? Why?" Liao Changtian also became interested.

"In this final negotiation, the US revealed their true colors," Zhao Li said with a meaningful expression. "The US tampered with the 'Helios' chip, and Ross wasn't excluded from the list of 100 targets..."

"Hahaha, I knew it." Liao Changtian laughed heartily. "After the 'Final Judgment Day,' the world will be a bipolar world led by Milo. Given the nature of the United States, how could they possibly give up the opportunity to eliminate future rivals in their infancy! Haha, the Russians really got tricked."

“Yes.” Zhao Li nodded. “The United States admitted that they made a mistake in the chip data input, so they solemnly apologized and offered to compensate Ross by ceding Alaska to Ross as a new territory of their country.”

puff--

Xiao Yimin spat out a mouthful of water.

"Does the US have any shame? Historically, Alaska was sold to the US by Ross for $7.2 million."

"The US is really stingy in this business."

"If I were Ross's negotiator, I would have killed the Americans on the spot. Didn't Ross turn hostile on the spot?"

"That's the interesting part. Ross also made a small patch to that chip..."

"patch?"

"Nuclear bondage! Hahahahahaha!" Brosnan has been laughing non-stop since the beginning.

"This is hilarious! We're just superficially brothers with the US, while they're just fake sisters!"

"Hahahaha! I'm dying of laughter!"

"Nuclear binding!"

"Now there's no safe place in the world!"