After Zhao Weiguo returned to his unit and received a definite answer, he also prepared to submit his marriage application. He would then ask Lin Jingyue for her opinion after some time, and get their marriage certificate when the time was right.

Life seemed to have returned to its previous tranquility, as if nothing had happened.

A few days before the Lunar New Year, Lin Jingyue received several letters. Some were from the newspaper, and the remaining one was from Zhao Weiguo.

The newspaper's letters usually contained payment for articles and a few tickets. Over the past six months, she had saved about five hundred yuan. It was all accumulated little by little, and when she finally put it all together, she was surprised to find that she had so much money.

There was one more letter, along with a large package. The letter detailed what had happened to Zhao Weiguo recently, briefly expressed his longing for her, and said that he would come to see her next time he had a vacation.

The package contained a military overcoat, a child's cotton-padded coat, and some local mountain produce. He lived in an area near the mountains, and often went up the mountain when he had free time, sometimes buying things from the villagers.

It should have been sent a few days after he returned to his unit, but the shipping isn't very fast these days, which is why it's only arriving now.

Xiaomingyue's final exams were long over, and she actually came back with first place, beaming with pride as she held the notebook the school awarded her. She knew she could get first place, which is why she boasted about it back then.

Lin Jingyue promised her that she could take whatever she liked at the supply and marketing cooperative, as a reward. In the end, she took a fountain pen and a few comic books.

"Mom works very hard to earn money, so I'll just take these few things. When I grow up, I'll buy Mom whatever she wants!"

This pie in the sky looks so tempting, it's practically mouthwatering.

"You little flatterer, then Mommy will be waiting for your promise from now on."

On New Year's Day, Aunt Zhang invited them to celebrate the New Year together.

Since her family broke up, she has been spending the Lunar New Year alone with Xiao Shitou, which is very lonely. Xiao Shitou is very obedient and doesn't cause her much worry, but he is also too obedient, so he isn't very lively.

Since they arrived in the courtyard, the quiet courtyard has become lively and is no longer as lifeless as before.

Inside the kitchen, two adults were making dumplings, while outside, two children were chasing each other, creating quite a lively scene.

"It's been a long time since we've had such a lively New Year. This little courtyard used to be so bustling." Aunt Zhang said nostalgically, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.

Lin Jingyue made a plump, adorable ingot-shaped dumpling and placed it neatly on the steamer. "Auntie, shouldn't you be sending Little Stone to school next year?"

"Yes, it's about time he started school. I've been really grateful to your Mingyue these past few days. If it weren't for her teaching Xiaoshitou, I wouldn't know how to find him a tutor. Your Mingyue is a good girl, and so are you."

"Little Stone is quite well-behaved, quiet and well-behaved. Sometimes when I see those noisy kids, it really drives me crazy."

Aunt Zhang thought about the neighbor's children and immediately looked troubled; they were indeed quite noisy. "You're right. It's okay if they're noisy these few days, but let's not bother with them most of the time."

"By the way, that young man you brought back last time, have you already made up your mind?"

Lin Jingyue nodded, "A child can't be without a father. I thought this man was alright, so I thought I'd let the child meet him, and if it was okay, we could settle down. Luckily, the child had no objections."

She wouldn't dare to find a stepfather without her child's consent; that would be too disrespectful to the child.

"It's truly a blessing for Mingyue to be your child," Aunt Zhang couldn't help but sigh.

Many of these cases involve randomly finding stepparents for children without ever asking the child's opinion. Everyone says being a stepparent is difficult, but the key to the problem lies with the child's father or mother.

Having seen so many similar cases, she was genuinely surprised to find a mother like Lin Jingyue who respected her child's opinions so much.

Lin Jingyue shook her head and said seriously, "It is my blessing to have such a well-behaved child as Mingyue."

If it weren't for the system, she might still be immersed in the pain of losing her child. It was the system that gave her a second chance to be a mother, and it was Mingyue who accepted her, allowing her to fulfill the role of a mother.

As for the original owner, he had already taken the benefits of the system and reincarnated long ago, so let's not mention him.

"That's good, your family is now complete." Aunt Zhang nodded thoughtfully. "So, are you going to join the army after this? My courtyard will probably be quiet again."

As he spoke, his expression became somewhat forlorn.

“Auntie, Mingyue is still studying here. Why would I go with the army? I’ve finally gotten used to this environment. I’m afraid she’ll feel uncomfortable if I go somewhere else. Even if we don’t live here anymore, it’s okay. We’ll still be here and see each other often.”

She will definitely buy a house to live in later. She didn't have the money before, but now that she has the money, why not make her living environment better?

Moreover, constantly changing a child's environment is not good. If a child has just become familiar with a place and then suddenly moves on to another place, it can be a traumatic experience for them.

Aunt Zhang smiled and said nothing more.

Soon, all the dumplings were wrapped, and the water in the pot began to bubble vigorously. Then, one by one, the round dumplings were dropped into the pot, settling for a while before floating to the surface. Three bowls of cold water were poured in three times, and by the time the water boiled for the last time, all the dumplings were cooked.

"Stop playing around and come eat dumplings!"

"Okay, Mom, I'm coming!"

"I'm here too."

In these special times, there are no lively scenes like before, but getting together to eat is still a kind of happiness.

There were dumplings on the table, as well as peanuts, melon seeds, sesame seeds, candy, and other snacks for Chinese New Year. But with dumplings in front of you, how could you possibly look at those snacks?

Not only that, there were also soft drinks on the table, which was a bit of a hassle as they had to be returned later. But as long as I could enjoy the delicious food in the moment, what did a little inconvenience matter?

Lin Jingyue poured a bowl for each person, then held up her own bowl and said, "Happy New Year! I hope we can be happy every day from now on!"

The other three raised their bowls and clinked glasses, each laughing heartily.

"Mom, Grandma Zhang, Little Stone, Happy New Year!" Little Mingyue imitated her mother and wished everyone a Happy New Year.

Little Stone followed suit, saying, "Happy New Year, Grandma! Happy New Year, Auntie! Happy New Year to you, Sister!"

It made the two adults laugh so hard they couldn't stop.

"Come on, come on, have some dumplings. They're freshly made and cooked right away, I guarantee they'll be delicious."

"Eat more, you need to grow taller."

"Would you like some vinegar? And have some dumpling soup, the soup will help you digest it!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"