Li Guangliang glanced at Zhou Yi, whose face was dark with anger, and couldn't help but click his tongue. "This smuggling group is in trouble because it affected Zhou Yi's annual leave!"

On the luxury cruise ship ahead, the smuggling ringleader's face twitched and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Damn it, are these soldiers crazy? There's international waters right ahead, and they still can't shake off the warships behind them."

"We're about to catch up with them, and they're still going this fast. Are they trying to ram our ship?"

At five o'clock in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Hong got up, cooked new dumplings, offered sacrifices and burned paper money, and set off two strings of firecrackers.

He went back inside and woke Yu Yang up. After they ate dumplings, he locked the door and went to the village chief's house to offer New Year's greetings.

When Chen Hong and her mother arrived at the village chief's house, the house was already full of people, mostly from Wang's village.

Xiao Hao's family of three and Wang Xin's family of three were also there. Here, everyone split into two groups again.

Adults in groups and children in groups roamed the village like street urchins.

Chen Hong followed the young people from the Wang family to several familiar homes before telling Yu Yang that she was going home first.

She wasn't a member of the Wang family, and she didn't interact much with the villagers. When she visited unfamiliar homes, she didn't have much to talk about.

Yu Yang, however, followed Xiao Hao, Wang Xin, and a dozen other children, running around the village for half a day, basically visiting every household in the village.

When he got home, he showed off to Chen Hong, saying that not counting candy, melon seeds, peanuts, and other snacks, he had received two large bags of red envelopes.

The mother and daughter took out all the red envelopes and counted them; the total amount given by the villagers alone was more than a thousand yuan.

This doesn't even include the two hundred yuan each given by the village chief, Wang Erhu, Wang Guoqing, Wang Xiaofeng, Wang Yusheng, and Wang Yuyong.

This year, Yu Yang received nearly 3,000 yuan in red envelopes, almost ten times more than last year.

As Chen Hong opened the door to go home, many people came to wish her a Happy New Year. Xiao Hao's children's group arrived, as did Xiao Feng's group of young people from the Wang family.

Children and young people from other surnames in the village also came to Chen Hong's house to wish her a Happy New Year.

Chen Hong gave each child who came to wish her a Happy New Year a ten-yuan red envelope.

Plates of melon seeds, candies, peanuts, and chestnuts were served continuously.

Yu Yang had to replenish oranges, apples, and bananas several times, and he found that their snacks were still the most popular.

At noon, everyone finally dispersed. Chen Hong cooked dumplings again and heated up some leftovers from New Year's Eve.

After lunch, the mother and son took a nice nap. In the afternoon, Chen Hong didn't go to the village to pay New Year's visits, while Yu Yang went to play in the village with Xiao Hao and the others for the afternoon, not returning home until dark.

The mother and daughter ate yellow sticky rice cakes and sweet porridge for dinner. After eating dumplings for three meals in a row, they really lost their appetite.

For the average person, soupy and watery foods made with whole grains are more comforting.

After dinner, Chen Hong took Yu Yang to set off fireworks in the yard. The colorful fireworks soared into the sky, it was truly beautiful.

The air was filled with a faint smell of gunpowder, but it was also a strong sense of the New Year and the warmth of everyday life.

On the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Hong and Yu Yang went to bed early. In the middle of the night, the sharp ringtone of the cell phone woke Chen Hong from her deep sleep.

"Hello, who is this?" Chen Hong answered the phone groggily.

"Chen Hong, Chen Hong, wake up! It's me, Zhou Yi. Happy New Year!"

I'm sorry, I'm on another mission! Tell Yu Yang to apologize to him and wish him a Happy New Year!

Zhou Yi's exhausted voice came through the phone! Chen Hong woke up with a start.

"Zhou Yi, where are you? When are you coming back? Are you alright?"

Chen Hong bombarded her with questions, completely forgetting to respond with "Happy New Year."

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yi's stiff face softened into a gentle smile:

"I'm fine, I'm not injured. I'm still outside. The mission is almost over, and I'll be back soon."

I'll be home in about three or four days. What should I do? I don't even dare to give you an exact date.

I'm sorry, I've broken my promise to you again and failed to spend the Lunar New Year with you and the children.

How are you all? Is everything alright at home?

Chen Hong: "We're eating and drinking well at home, what could possibly happen? But you, did you get to eat dumplings today?"

Take good care of yourself, don't worry about home. I'll cook you something delicious when you get home!

Zhou Yi: "Chen Hong, I have good news for you. Our marriage application has been approved. We'll go get our marriage certificate when we get back."

You all need to stay home and wait for me! Do you hear me?

"I heard you, don't worry! My daughter and I will be waiting for you to come home."

Because other comrades were waiting to call home, Zhou Yi couldn't hog the satellite phone for too long, so he had to end the call amidst Chen Hong's earnest urging.

He turned and went back to his dormitory, took off his military uniform, revealing white gauze wrapped around his upper body. He winced in pain.

"You little brat, you have no sense of propriety, you almost killed me."

Just you wait, when I get back from my vacation, you'll be in for a surprise. I just can't be too nice to you.

If they aren't constantly kept in check, they'll get carried away with a little success. In other professions, getting carried away is just arrogance, but for soldiers, it can be fatal.

He's dragged me down again. If this hadn't happened, I would have been able to go home tomorrow.

This injury will delay me for several days. The wound won't heal, and I can't go home and scare Chen Hong and Yu Yang.

Ugh! Why is it so hard to get a marriage certificate? Is it like Tang Sanzang's journey to the West, going through eighty-one tribulations?

Chen Hong lay on the large, comfortable bed, her eyes wide open, wide awake.

Everyone says the mission is almost complete, so why are there still a few days before we can come back? Zhou Yi is definitely not telling the truth; he's probably hiding something from her!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!