As the Spring Festival approaches, the Zhou family starts to get busy.

Mother Zhou started preparing various New Year's goods early. She shuttled between the market and home, always carrying large and small bags in her hands.

Early in the morning, Mother Zhou carried a basket and went out in the biting cold wind to buy fresh vegetables.

The market was bustling with people and the sounds of vendors shouting. She carefully selected from the stalls, muttering to herself, "I want the cabbage to be firm, and the pork to be fat and lean."

Zhou Ziwen was not idle either. He was busy cleaning the yard, wiping the furniture, and keeping the house spotless.

He took the broom and swept every corner carefully, and the dust flew in the sunlight.

He shoveled the snow in the yard aside and piled it into a cute snowman. Xiao Yueyue and Xiao Xuanxuan smiled happily and clapped their hands in approval.

Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying brought their little Yueyue and little Xuanxuan to decorate their home for the New Year.

They took out the red lanterns they had prepared in advance and carefully hung them under the eaves. The red lanterns swayed in the wind, adding a festive atmosphere to the yard.

Little Yueyue ran around excitedly, holding the paper-cuts in her hands, shouting, "Mom, stick it here, stick it here!"

Chen Qiaoyi took the window paper-cut with a smile and gently pasted it on the window, and the window instantly became lively.

After returning home, the family sat together and began to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Mother Zhou was busy in the kitchen, with fragrant braised pork stewing in the pot, the aroma filling the air.

Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying helped wash and cut vegetables, while little Yueyue and little Xuanxuan followed behind like two little tails, watching the adults busy with curiosity.

Zhou Ziwen and his father set up the tables and chairs in the living room and prepared the tableware.

Zhou Ziwen's elder and second brothers, elder and second sisters-in-law, nephew and niece also came back to celebrate the New Year together.

My second sister and Zhou Xiaomei are also staying at home because they are not married yet. Only my eldest sister is married and will probably not come back until tomorrow.

The New Year’s Eve dinner is ready, and the table is filled with sumptuous dishes, including braised pork, steamed fish, sweet and sour spare ribs, dumplings, and so on.

The whole family sat around the table, laughing and talking happily.

Father Zhou looked at the table full of dishes, his face filled with a happy smile. He stood up, cleared his throat and said, "It's a rare occasion for our family to be together today. Everyone has worked hard this year."

"I hope that in the new year, our Zhou family will continue to be harmonious, the children will grow up healthily, and the adults will have everything going well!"

After saying that, he raised his glass and gestured to everyone.

Everyone responded and stood up to raise their glasses. Zhou Ziwen smiled and said, "Dad, you're right. In the new year, we will work harder to make our family better and better."

After everyone finished their drink, they started eating.

The little ones at home can't wait.

Xiao Xuanxuan is fine because he is too young and can't eat it. But Xiao Yueyue, Zhou Yi and Zhou Ming are different.

These three little ones are now the most favored in the family, especially Yueyue, who is the apple of Zhou's eye.

Little Yueyue stared at the table full of delicacies with sparkling eyes, her little hand quickly reached out for the plate of braised pork, her chubby little face full of excitement.

Zhou Yi and Zhou Ming were not to be outdone and stretched out their chopsticks towards their favorite dishes.

Xiao Yueyue finally picked up a piece of braised pork, but because her hands were not strong enough, the meat swayed in the middle, which made everyone laugh.

Fortunately, she was clever and quickly used her other hand to help, successfully putting the meat into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed up like a little hamster, and she chewed with satisfaction, mumbling incoherently, "It's so delicious!"

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Xiao Yue, eat slowly and don't choke." As she said that, she thoughtfully handed Xiao Yueyue a glass of juice.

Xiao Yueyue took the juice, gulped down a few mouthfuls, wiped her mouth, and started to "attack" the sweet and sour pork ribs again.

Zhou Ming ate dumplings while interacting with Xiao Xuanxuan.

He held a small dumpling and waved it in front of Xiaoxuanxuan, making Xiaoxuan babbling and reaching out to grab it.

Xiao Xuanxuan tried to catch it several times but failed. He was so anxious that his face turned red and he was about to cry.

Zhou Ming quickly put the dumplings to Xiaoxuanxuan's mouth. Xiaoxuanxuan immediately burst into laughter and started eating with a smacking sound.

The adults couldn't stop smiling when they saw the cute children.

The eldest sister-in-law smiled and said, "It's really lively when these children get together. Looking at them, I feel that all the hard work this year is worth it."

The second sister-in-law also nodded in agreement: "Yes, children are the hope of the family. In the new year, I hope they can all thrive."

Mother Zhou looked at the children lovingly, constantly serving them food and muttering, "My dears, eat more and grow tall."

As the New Year’s Eve dinner progressed, the atmosphere at home became more and more lively.

Dad Zhou and Zhou Ziwen's older and second brothers started talking about work and things outside, occasionally bursting into hearty laughter.

Mother Zhou and the eldest and second sisters-in-law paid more attention to the children, reminding them from time to time to eat slowly and be careful not to burn themselves.

Zhou Ziwen played the role of livening up the atmosphere at the dinner table. He told his nephew and niece interesting stories about his time in Dabazi Village, making the children laugh.

Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying also shared their experiences of living in the countryside, which made their families listen with great interest.

Father Zhou listened to Zhou Ziwen's story about his time in Dabazi Village, his eyes filled with satisfaction and admiration. He smiled and said:

"Ziwen, you've done a great job in the village. Not only do you live a good life, but you also help the villagers get rich together. You're really great!"

The eldest brother nodded in praise: "Yes, brother, you have experienced a lot in the village in the past few years and have grown a lot. What are your plans for the future? Do you want to continue to develop in the village?"

Zhou Ziwen put down his chopsticks and said, "Brother, I want to continue staying in Dabazi Village.

Now that the village is developing better and better, I want to further expand the mushroom cultivation industry and introduce some new projects to make the villagers' lives more prosperous."

In fact, everything he said was false.

Once tonight is over, it will be the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

This year, the college entrance examination was resumed.

He also planned to take advantage of this opportunity to bring his family back to the city.

But I won’t tell them about these things.

After all, there is no news about the resumption of the college entrance examination yet!

After Zhou Ziwen finished speaking, the eldest brother nodded slightly, his eyes full of thought: "Your idea is responsible, but this development path is not easy to take, and you need to plan carefully."

The second brother also said: "Yes, Ziwen, the situation in the village is complicated, and you don't have anyone to help you, so you have to be careful in your daily work!"

Zhou Ziwen smiled and responded: "Don't worry, big brother and second brother, I know what's going on."

As he spoke, he picked up some food for Zhou Yi and Zhou Ming, cleverly changing the subject. "Come on, Xiaoyi, Xiaoming, eat more. You're growing up right now." (End of this chapter)