Especially in the area near the large alkali field, the alkali plants were valuable a few years ago, and every household was quite wealthy.

With money in hand, no one went to work on the mountain after winter arrived; most people stayed home and hibernated.

A group of people would get together all day to play mahjong, and they would talk about winning and losing. At first, they would play for two cents, and later they would play for one or two dollars or even more.

There is some recreation here in the forest farm, but in winter most people go up the mountain to log and work, so they don't have time. In summer, they have various side jobs and little time to rest, so they don't have as much time to play.

"Ah, that's true. The main problem is that they're playing too big a game, winning or losing hundreds or even thousands of dollars in one night."

That kid was really unlucky; he lost for several days in a row and lost all his savings.

That last night, he lost his temper and stabbed the person who had won his money. Liu Yujiang paused for a moment, then nodded.

In recent years, Dajianchang has been anything but peaceful, with all sorts of things happening. He, as the village party secretary, has had enough of his job.

"Playing so wildly"

"Huh? Surely not?"

Sheng Xiping returned late and hadn't heard about these things before, so he was quite surprised when he heard them now.

What kind of family is this, that they can win or lose thousands of dollars playing mahjong all night?

"Didn't I hear that the price of clubs has dropped quite a bit? Life is already tough enough, why are you still thinking about playing such a big game?" Sheng Xiping asked, puzzled.

"Sigh, they only resort to crooked methods when life is tough."

Later I found out that the kid had fallen into a trap, and the others were just playing along with him.

"Otherwise, would he have become so enraged that he stabbed someone?" Liu Yujiang shook his head and sighed.

"Did you hear that? This gambling is something you absolutely must never touch. Anyone who gets involved will suffer the consequences."

Be careful from now on, and never get involved with those people. Once you fall into a trap, it'll be hard to climb out.

Sheng Xiping glanced at Chen Weiguo and the others, and reiterated his point of view.

"Xiping, don't worry, none of us get involved. We strictly prohibit gambling when we go out to sea."

Liu Yuhe laughed when he heard this; they weren't the kind of people who didn't know their place.

Liu Yuhe and Chen Weiguo had been repeatedly warned by Sheng Xi that they must never touch this gambling.

Everyone was obedient, even though it was a long time at sea and the sea was so boring.

No one is allowed to gamble.

During their time back at the forest farm, many people asked Chen Weiguo and his group to visit them, but they all refused.

With that money, wouldn't it be better to buy some food and necessities for your wife and kids? Or to get together with your brothers for a meal and drinks?

Why bother getting that thrill and losing money to others?

These people are all wealthy, but they know all too well that gambling is a losing proposition and they absolutely must not get involved in it.

"Yes, that's good to know." Sheng Xiping nodded; these brothers were still trustworthy.

Everyone stayed at the Sheng family's house until evening before heading home to rest.

We'll have a feast on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, rest on the 29th, and then it'll be the 30th.

Having not spent the Spring Festival at the forest farm for several years, Sheng Liancheng and Zhang Shuzhen were quite happy. Even though their second and third sons' families couldn't come back, they still prepared plenty of food.

On the 30th, the Sheng family got up early and started working. They worked until after 3 p.m. until the reunion dinner was ready. The family sat happily on the kang (a heated brick bed) to eat.

As usual, before eating, Sheng Xiping took a few photos of everyone.

Over the past few years, he has gotten used to using his camera to record life anytime, anywhere, especially during holidays when he takes many photos.

These will all be precious memories in the future.

The table was laden with delicious food, several of which were beef.

We slaughtered a cow at home. Apart from the meat we ate on the day we hosted a dinner party and the meat we distributed to each family, there was still quite a bit of meat left over.

The food is frozen in a vat outside, and there's still a vat full of it, so we definitely need to find a way to cook it and eat it.

Fortunately, the children were quite happy to eat beef, and Zhang Shuzhen prepared different dishes for them.

"Come on, eat more beef, so you can grow strong. Look at the people on the grasslands, they eat beef and mutton all day long, and they are all so strong."

Zhang Shuzhen put a lot of meat on the children's plates and placed it in their bowls.

How many children don't like to eat meat? They're all like blind midges, always biting into meat. Even without Zhang Shuzhen saying anything, these children have eaten plenty of it.

Sheng Xinyue and Sheng Xinqi will be ten years old by Chinese New Year, but they are actually only eight years old, which is the time when they are losing their baby teeth.

Both girls have lost eight teeth so far, and some of their other teeth have fallen out and haven't grown back yet.

Despite the two children having missing teeth, it didn't stop them from eating meat. Each of them held a rib and gnawed on it with great relish.

It's strange, but these days, most kids lose their baby teeth on their own without any effort.

Unlike later generations, where life was better, the children's teething process was particularly troublesome.

Many children have to go to the dentist to have their baby teeth extracted before they fall out, and the process of losing baby teeth is also very long, sometimes taking several years.

"Dad, Mom, and wife, please be careful these days during the New Year. Don't let these two girls eat too much candy."

"They're losing their baby teeth, I hope it doesn't affect their new ones." Thinking of this, Sheng Xiping quickly instructed his mother and wife.

Especially the parents, they spoil the kids too much. They save the best food for the kids, even if they can't bear to eat it themselves.

"Yueyue and Qiqi, you two will be ten years old after the New Year. You're both big girls now. You need to be obedient and know what's ugly and what's beautiful, understand?"

You two are losing your baby teeth right now. When you grow a set of neat, white teeth, people will say that you two girls are really pretty.

If your teeth grow inwards or outwards, crooked and uneven, and you have a mouthful of big yellow and black teeth, nobody will want to play with you, understand?

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!