Zhou Hongsong used all his strength to kick Zhang Guihe in the back.

Zhang Guihe was sitting in a chair with a lit match in his hand when he was suddenly kicked and fell face-first onto the firewood that was covered in kerosene and liquor.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

The tiny flame of the match was not extinguished by the wind that swept down from Zhang Guihe.

"rub--"

The blue flames instantly merged into one.

"Holy crap—"

Zhou Hongsong cried out in alarm, quickly stretched out his long arm, scooped up the girl who was bound hand and foot, rushed to the bedroom, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), kicked the window and jumped out.

The little girl was so frightened by the sudden turn of events that she didn't dare to make a sound until she was in Mai Zi's arms, at which point she burst into tears.

Xiao Ya is fine, but Zhang Guihe is in trouble.

Most people were just there to watch the excitement. Nobody expected Zhou Hongsong to jump in through the back window and launch a sneak attack. The key question is, how did the fire suddenly start?

Those who were nearby were scalded by the sudden burst of flames and instinctively moved to the side.

It wasn't until Zhang Guihe's screams rang out that everyone realized what was happening and began searching everywhere for brooms and buckets to put out the fire.

I don't know if it was because too much kerosene was poured on, but with the northwest wind blowing in the dead of winter, the wind fueled the fire, and the fire, fueled by the wind, quickly grew bigger.

When Zhang Guihe was rescued by everyone, his hair was burned off and his whole body was covered in black ash.

The farce came to an end when Zhang Guihe was carried to the clinic for treatment of his burns.

The next day, Li Xiangdong and Zhou Hongsong personally delivered two plump sika deer to Pi Changling.

On the third day, the two took fresh venison to Yanjing City.

Zhou Hongsong was going to spend the New Year with his sister Zhou Hongmei and brother-in-law Wu Jianjun, while Li Xiangdong was going to Yanjing City first to meet up with Li Zhen, Liu Junbo, and Ning Ruoruo, and then they would return to Lijiapo together.

With the Spring Festival approaching again, and the national economic situation improving, the shipment volume of aquatic products and various food products from Lijiapo is also increasing.

When the four of them arrived at Lijiapo, they saw trucks, tractors, oxcarts, and even bicycles coming and going on the village's asphalt roads.

Liu Junbo exclaimed, "One should look at a person with new eyes after three days' absence. I never expected that Lijiapo would be more lively than Huichuan County!"

Li Zhen and Ning Ruoruo were also very happy. This village was their hometown, and the better their hometown was, the happier they were!

When they met villagers on the road, everyone greeted them warmly.

Aunts and uncles with children would point at Li Zhen and Liu Junbo and say, "These are top students from our village! You must learn from them! Strive to go to Yenching University when you grow up!"

Some aunties and older women saw that Liu Junbo was handsome and talented, and tried to introduce him to potential partners.

Of course, Liu Junbo politely declined them all.

It took the group of people a full half hour to walk along the short road leading into the village.

Arriving at Li Xiangdong's doorstep, Liu Junbo wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a wry smile, "If I don't hurry up, the aunties will just kidnap me."

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Li Zhen's face, wanting to see her reaction.

To his great disappointment, Li Zhen's expression was exactly the same as Ning Ruoruo's; they were both laughing without a care in the world, showing no sign of jealousy whatsoever.

Sigh, it seems that comrades really have a long way to go!

He pushed open the door in frustration, only to be greeted by a vast expanse of blooming clivia.

Wow! These are clivia plants? How come there are so many!

He knew about clivia plants; his senior from Northeast China had given his advisor a potted one, but it didn't look as good as the ones from Xiang Dong's place.

However, my senior brother said that he bought it for more than 200 yuan!

Tsk tsk, if what my senior brother said is true, how much are these clivia plants in Xiangdong worth!

Li Xiangdong smiled mysteriously, "Is it too much? I don't think it's enough."

Liu Junbo asked, "Are you going to open a flower shop?"

Li Xiangdong shook his head, "It's a secret for now, you'll find out later."

The group found the house they used to live in with ease and then settled their luggage.

Wax Plum and Jasmine have grown up. The two big black dogs have slender waists, long legs, and erect ears, and look very energetic.

They still remembered the scent of Ning Ruoruo and the others. As soon as they saw the group arrive, they sniffed them first, then frolicked around them, occasionally standing up and scratching their thighs with their front paws.

Li Xiangdong led them on a tour of the flower shed, and then introduced them to Sister Zaohua and Xiao Leizi.

Li Zhen held Chen Zaohua's hand very solemnly, "Sister Zaohua, you must be strong. As long as we women are willing to be independent and self-reliant, we can also have our own world just like men."

Chen Zaohua nodded, touched, and squeezed the hand in return, "I know, thank you, little sister!"

Li Xiangdong quietly asked Liu Junbo, "Brother, is my fourth sister really that good at ideological work?"

Liu Junbo looked at Li Zhen with a particularly appreciative and proud gaze, and casually replied, "Your fourth sister has many good qualities!"

Li Xiangdong: Don't I know my fourth sister better than you do?

However, seeing Liu Junbo's love-struck appearance, Li Xiangdong had no intention of paying any attention to him.

He turned around and pulled Ning Ruoruo to visit the rare Clivia.

Looking at the two tall figures, Liu Junbo thought to himself, "Little punks, only I'm being kind and creating opportunities for you."

They lived a relaxed and happy life from then on.

When they had nothing to do, they would carry a gun and lead Jasmine and Winter Plum to the fields to trap wild rabbits, or when it snowed, they would eat copper hot pot and watermelon in their warm home. They would also steam glutinous rice cakes with golden jujubes.

Li Zhen read aloud to her younger siblings and niece, who were already on holiday, in the morning. Their clear reading voices sounded like a beautiful melody.

On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, Li Xiangdong invited Grandma Jiang and Doctor Gu over to celebrate the Little New Year together.

As the number of people increased, Li Xiangdong's courtyard house became exceptionally lively, with chickens running wild and dogs barking every day.

Surprisingly, Grandma Jiang didn't find the noise bothersome; on the contrary, she was quite happy to be with the noisy children.

These days, Li Jin and Zhao Sufang come to Li Xiangdong's house for dinner every day after finishing their work.

In Li Jin's words, "The children aren't home, it's just the two of them, it's so lonely. It's much better here, it's lively here!"

The weather is getting colder and colder, and the Spring Festival is approaching day by day.

Soon, the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve 1980.

Li Jin's entire family, along with Chen Zaohua and her son, Liu Junbo and Ning Ruoruo, a total of fifteen people, sat around the large round table, watching TV and eating their New Year's Eve dinner.

As the wine flowed freely, Li Jin raised a glass and said, "Dear friends and family, on this joyous occasion of the Spring Festival, I raise a glass to wish all of us here a prosperous and successful new year!"

"Dry!"

"Dry--"

"Happy New Year!"