New Year's Day

Many young people stayed up all night playing poker together, and then went home at three or four o'clock and went to bed.

At exactly twelve o'clock, the sound of firecrackers woke Hua Yuanyuan up dazedly, but she fell asleep again after a while.

At three or four o'clock, the sound of firecrackers came again.

She hadn't gotten enough sleep at this point, so she resisted the urge to sleep and got up.

She is the only woman in the family. Although her father said that she doesn't need to get up early, he can just get up and make dumplings.

Forget it. At this time, Hua Yuanyuan really wants her younger brother to get married, so she can hand over this job.

The room was not cold and the kang was warm, so I knew the stove was not sealed and Hao Li got up at night to add charcoal.

While getting dressed, I yawned several times and my eyes were filled with tears.

Hao Li, who had already put on his clothes and got off the kang, couldn't bear it and helped his wife put on socks and shoes.

While Hua Yuanyuan was washing up, Hao Li had already tidied up the kang and put all the bedding into the kang cabinet.

When she arrived at her father's room, her younger brother was already lighting the fire, and her uncle and others had also come over.

She still makes dumplings the old way, rolling them three times.

Everyone ate dumplings quietly. Hua Yuanyuan found money in the first dumpling she ate, and a date in the second dumpling...

Money and dates represent good meanings. There are many people in the family, so Hua Yuanyuan specially packs more, ten coins and ten dates.

There were no markings, they were all big-bellied dumplings, and it was impossible to tell them apart; it all depended on luck.

Hua Yuanyuan found five coins and three dates in her plate of dumplings. Everyone looked at her as if she had cheated. It was purely coincidental.

The fifth coin was given to Hao Li.

It couldn't be seen, but I could still feel it when I picked it up with chopsticks, and it went directly into Hao Li's mouth.

In full view of everyone, they watched Hao Li eat the money.

…

The lights in every room were on, and there were plenty of melon seeds, peanuts and candies prepared.

They didn't get up so early last year, but there is no way they can do that this year. There will definitely be a lot of people coming to the Hua family to pay New Year's greetings.

You can't stay in bed while everyone else comes to pay New Year's greetings.

Hao Li, Hua Fangfang, Hua Qingguo, Jiang Pangpang and Zhang Liang went out to pay New Year's greetings, while the three Hua brothers stayed at home.

Hua Yuanyuan was reading in the study. It didn't matter if she didn't show up when the younger generations came to wish their elders a happy new year.

When it was daybreak, she went out with Li Chunlan and others to pay New Year's greetings.

In a big family, men and women worship separately.

The village becomes lively when it is still dark at five o'clock, and ends at seven or eight o'clock.

After Hao Li and the others came back, Hua Youcai took his eldest brother and fourth brother out to pay New Year's greetings to his old brothers.

After paying New Year’s greetings, people would go find their good friends to hang out together.

The first day of the New Year is a time for fun. People go out to play at one house and then at another. Some people even gather together for lunch and drinks at noon.

Hua Yuanyuan went out to pay New Year's greetings to each household very quickly. After greeting each household, she said a few words, ate some melon seeds and peanuts and praised their deliciousness. That was basically it.

I would go to wish everyone a happy new year, whether I’m at home or someone I’ve met.

I will stay with the village chief's aunt for a while longer, and talk to Aunt Wang for a few more words. Aunt Zhao said she would come to my house to talk in the evening...

Hua Yuanyuan couldn't help wondering when she came out of Aunt Zhao's house. What happened? It should be a good thing during the New Year, right?

Yang Jing went out with everyone else, and Xiao Huasheng followed his father alone, feeling very worried.

Zhang Xiangnan is the only one taking care of the child, and Yang Jing would rather not come out to pay New Year's greetings. In the Hua family, the uncles are better than Huasheng's father.

This dad is so naive. The peanuts are not even ripe yet, but he cries at the slightest provocation.

At this time in the Hua family, little Peanut stayed obediently in Hua Youcai's arms and laughed so hard that drool came out of his mouth.

Hua Youcai and his family did not stay outside for long, as they knew that their son-in-law was going to the family compound to pay New Year's greetings and that the Hua family would treat them to lunch.

Hao Li waited for his wife to come back, said goodbye to her, and then went to the staff quarters with his brothers.

In the past few years, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Xiangnan and his friends would bring their wives and children to pay New Year's greetings.

This year is a little different.

They have now become a part of the special operations forces. In fact, they only share the base with us, and all other aspects are clearly divided.

After a discussion, they decided to go by themselves without taking the children with them.

You have no other intention in bringing your child with you, but people may think too much and decide whether to give you a red envelope or not.

These grown men went by themselves because they were considering Hao Li and didn't want to make things difficult for him.

Hao Li had no intention of bringing his wife along as it was very cold outside.

The people in the family compound usually don’t interact with my wife, so she can go or not.

The regiment commander, the political commissar, the deputy regiment commander..., this circle.

Finally, everyone gathered at the political commissar's house, and Zhang Xiaofang warmly entertained the guests.

Among them, only Hao Li himself was not wearing a military uniform. Instead, he was wearing the new clothes his wife made for him for the New Year.

The army is also a society, with interpersonal relationships and social customs.

After passing the probation period, Hao Li is now the head of the special operations force.

The construction of the special operations force is still being improved, and his level and rank were directly raised by two levels.

The original deputy regiment commander was in name only, with a rank of deputy regiment commander and a military rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the probation period, Liang Hui was promoted two levels directly because of his level and rank. He is now a deputy division commander and a major general.

As the boss of the special operations forces, he deserves it.

His performance over the past year has been obvious to all and his strength speaks for itself.

His temper is still not pleasing. The regiment commander and the political commissar are your old superiors. Even though you are a high-ranking official, you have to give them face.

Zhang Xiangnan was mainly responsible for lubricating this social work.

Normally, we don't have many opportunities to sit down and talk like this. Hao Li and his team don't spend much time here, and most of the time they spend here is at the training base.

I often leave in the middle of the night and come back in the middle of the night.

Just come back and take a nap. You don’t have to come back to sleep after the New Year.

The training base has completed its infrastructure construction, and offices, dormitories and various training facilities have been completed.

After the new year they will all move there and be completely separated from this place.

Some administrative work is already underway and is nearing completion.

The policies for the stationing and accompanying of special operations forces have been determined.

Because the training base was kept secret, the family quarters could not be built inside, so in the end the family quarters for the special operations forces were decided here.

A new family building will be built in the early spring to accommodate brothers who meet the requirements for accompanying the troops.

Hao Li fought for benefits for his brothers, allowing them to join the army as long as one of the conditions was met.

It was not easy for the special operations forces to set this precedent, and Hao Li gave very sufficient reasons.

Because every mission the brothers go on is a journey of life and death.

Every time you go out, there is a possibility that you will never come back.

Yes, they are better than their sister units in terms of salary, benefits, weapons and equipment, etc., but the dangers they face are unimaginable.

When asked whether he regretted it later, Hao Li couldn't say for sure.

When facing danger, everyone is not afraid of death and has no time to think about life and death.

But afterwards, they will feel scared when they think back on it.

During this year, Hao Li has grown and his position has changed. He is still the same person, but his temperament has completely changed.