New Year's Eve! Before dawn, wisps of smoke from coal stoves already rose from the alleyways. Grandma Jin tiptoed to hang red lanterns under the eaves; the bamboo frames swayed in the morning mist, their outlines blurred. The red paper used to paste the lanterns was scraps from the pastry-making workshop at the grocery store, the edges still bearing the words "Joint Public-Private Enterprise." Next door, Mr. Li was using a cart to transport winter-stored cabbages home; the green and white stacks were piled high like small mountains, thin ice forming on the cabbage stalks, making a rustling sound as they dragged them along the flagstone path.

The aroma of fried dough sticks wafted from the state-run breakfast stall at the east end of the street. Hot oil bubbled in the aluminum pot, and a chef wearing a white hat turned the golden dough with long chopsticks. People queuing up were wrapped in blue cotton-padded coats, their patched sweaters peeking out from the cuffs. Enameled mugs steamed in the cold wind. Suddenly, someone shouted, "The department store has set up a New Year's goods stall!" A murmur of discussion arose in the queue, and several young people dropped their bowls and ran towards the department store, their cotton-padded coats billowing like sails.

The plaza in front of the department store was packed with people in a makeshift reed mat tent. A sales clerk stood on a wooden counter, shouting through a tin megaphone, "Rice flour is available with ration coupons! Limited to five jin per person!" Below the counter, fathers in military uniforms clutched crumpled ration coupons, while mothers held crying children in their arms and carried nets full of ribbonfish. A notice in red paper with black lettering on the counter read, "Shanghai Snow Cream Arrives Today," and several permed-haired girls stood nearby, their blue blouses revealing the collars of their polyester shirts.

A long queue had formed outside the grocery store, the glass windows frosted with white, through which the peach shortbread and mixed candies on the shelves could be vaguely seen. Aunt Liu, at the end of the line, wiped the condensation from the glass with the corner of her scarf and said to her neighbor, "I heard that this year meat coupons can be exchanged for half a jin more, I wonder if it's true." Before she finished speaking, the queue suddenly stirred. It turned out that a salesperson had pushed out a flatbed cart, on which were tied salted ribbonfish with straw rope, their silver scales gleaming in the sunlight.

Under the locust tree at the entrance of the alley, Qin Ming was standing on tiptoe hanging lanterns. On the bamboo frame with peeling red paint, there was a "Spring" character that his godmother had cut out by hand.

The courtyard was filled with the aroma of meat! My godfather was squatting in front of the coal stove, fiddling with honeycomb briquettes, his military overcoat draped over his back, revealing his old, faded blue shirt underneath!

"Thinking about how my godmother usually spends all her spare money on clothes and shoes for me!" Lin Jin felt a little sad.

As they ate their steaming meal at the table, when Li Yanjun brought out the last dish, Qin Guodong deliberately pulled his shirt up high. Qin Ming, standing beside him, immediately exclaimed, "Dad, when did you buy a new watch?" Qin Guodong looked at his two sons and said, "Hmph! I need your permission to buy something!" The two brothers quickly shook their heads, saying, "No, Dad, we just wanted to see you finally decided to change it!" Li Yanjun quickly smoothed things over, "This was a gift from Xiaojin to your father! He wouldn't want to change it himself!" She then raised her hand and said, "I have one too, but you don't need to be envious! When you have children, you can have them give you one!" The family ate their meal, chatting and laughing.

Qin Guodong suddenly put down his chopsticks and looked at Lin Jin: "Xiao Jin, you are a college student, and you are studying economics and management. Tell me, if you were asked to plan the farmers' market in Beijing, how would you do it?"

Lin Jin paused, her chopsticks stilled. As someone who had traveled from the 21st century, she naturally understood the meaning behind her godfather's question!

Li Yanjun, Qin Xiao, and Qin Ming all looked at Lin Jin. Helpless, Lin Jin casually said, "Perhaps we can pilot a 'farm market' first, allowing people to bring out their surplus agricultural products to exchange for goods. This would not only revitalize resources but also allow 'good stuff' from the black market to circulate openly."

Qin Guodong suddenly laughed and said, "No wonder she went to university, she really is my daughter. We're destined to be family." He continued, "Right now, the higher-ups are discussing 'planned economy as the mainstay, market regulation as a supplement,' but the people have nowhere to sell their scarce goods. The black market is like a throbbing sore..." Seeing that everyone had stopped eating and was looking at him, he said embarrassedly, "Look at me, talking about this during the New Year. Eat, eat!"

As dusk fell, the White Pagoda in Beihai Park was gilded by the setting sun. On the ice, several young men in military overcoats were skating on ice sleds, their shovels scraping across the surface and splashing up tiny ice crystals. Inside the Five Dragon Pavilion, retired Peking Opera enthusiasts were practicing their singing, the sound of the erhu mingling with the north wind, carrying far across the lake!

The neon lights of the department store came on, and a banner celebrating the successful convening of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee flashed in the shop windows. Salespeople began to tidy up the counters; the New Year's goods on the shelves were almost sold out, leaving only a few boxes of simply packaged pastries. The shoemaker at the door was still mending shoes by the light of the streetlamp, an aluminum kettle sitting on a stove beside him, water vapor condensing into white mist in the cold wind.

In a small courtyard deep in the alley, the kerosene lamp cast flickering shadows on the paper windows. Children lay on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching their father cut paper decorations from red paper. The scissors danced across the paper, and in no time, a "福" (good fortune) character was cut out. Their mother was frying meatballs in the stove; the sizzling of the oil, along with the strains of "Ode to the Motherland" playing on the radio, created a warm atmosphere in the cold night.

At midnight, someone set off firecrackers, their explosions echoing in the silent night sky. On the windowsill, daffodils sprouted buds, swaying gently in the moonlight. The entire city of Beijing was immersed in the tranquility of the transition between old and new, awaiting the first rays of dawn—not only the beginning of the new year, but also the start of a new era.

Lin Jin was awakened from her sleep by the sound of firecrackers. She looked out the window and saw colorful fireworks blooming in the night sky. A new year had arrived, and she knew that many changes would come this year.