As they spoke, they arrived at their own front gate. Chen Weiguo waved to Sheng Xiping and stepped into his own yard first.

Sheng Xiping, surrounded by his younger siblings, entered the west courtyard.

The Sheng family's house was built in the 1960s when Sheng Liancheng was stationed here during his spare time after the Qianchuan Forestry Farm was first established.

Conditions at the forest farm were harsh back then. Where could they find bricks and tiles? They used local materials, cutting grooves at both ends of the logs left over from logging, and then stacking them up layer by layer.

Then wrap yellow mud with thatch and stuff it into the cracks in the wood, making sure it's all packed tightly. Then coat the inside and outside with yellow mud mixed with straw.

The roof was made of large pieces of linden bark, thatched with straw.

Long wooden poles were placed under the roof ridge and eaves to prevent the thatch from being blown away by strong winds.

Under the eaves, several pieces of linden bark are hung with wire to catch the rainwater, so that water won't drip everywhere under the eaves when it rains.

The self-built thatched houses were not tall; someone as tall as Sheng Xiping could reach the thatched roof with just one hand.

You have to be careful when you enter, or you'll bump your head if you're not careful.

Sheng Liancheng only built one and a half rooms in the house. The half room at the entrance was the kitchen, and the east room was for living.

Later, when the family had more children, Sheng Liancheng added another room on the west side, making it two and a half rooms in total.

The kitchen occupies half of the room in the middle, while the east and west rooms are for living.

In Northeast China, people live on kangs (heated brick beds). Relatively speaking, kangs on the south side are warmer than those on the north side because they get sunlight during the day.

Women in Northeast China love to work on the kang (a heated brick bed) in winter, doing sewing and mending, as the south-facing kang gets better lighting.

The Sheng family also had two kang beds facing south. The kang bed in the east room was connected to a large pot, while the kang bed in the west room was connected to a stove.

As soon as he entered the door, Sheng Xiping saw his mother standing in front of the stove, scooping food out of the pot.

Around 6:30, it wasn't too dark outside, but it was already quite dark inside.

Although the forest farm has electricity, most people are reluctant to use it. The 15-degree light bulb hanging on the ceiling of the Sheng family's kitchen is basically just for show.

The door to the east room was open, letting in some light. With the help of the firelight from the stove, the women were able to work skillfully.

In the dim light, the mother's busy figure looked especially endearing.

After being separated for forty years, the mother and son never expected to meet again. Sheng Xiping felt his eyes sting and his vision blurred.

"Mom, I'm home."

This is what he had wanted to say to his mother ever since he was released in 1986. Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance in his previous life, which became a lifelong regret.

No matter how rich or successful he became, the fact that he couldn't take care of his mother in her old age and see her off in her final days remained his deepest pain.

Now that he's back, he'll definitely take good care of his parents and make sure his mother lives a good life with him.

"It's good that you're back. Go wash your hands and eat." Zhang Shuzhen turned to look at her eldest son.

The kitchen was poorly lit, so she didn't notice anything unusual about her son. She simply smiled at him and then picked up the dish to go inside.

"Mom, let me serve this. This is a pheasant I hunted in the woods this afternoon. Let's clean it and stew it tonight, so we can eat it tomorrow morning."

Sheng Xiping quickly stepped forward, handed the pheasant to his mother, and carried the vegetable basin to the east room.

"Wow, this chicken is quite big. If it were early winter, it would probably weigh four pounds!"

Zhang Shuzhen picked up the pheasant and weighed it in her hand; it felt quite heavy.

Whether pheasant or domestic chicken, roosters tend to be thinner during the breeding season.

In late autumn, pheasants will eat a lot to accumulate fat in order to survive the winter, and they will be quite fat at that time.

Of course, whether it's fat or lean, it's still meat. These days, most people are starving, so as long as there's meat, who cares about whether it's fat or lean, young or old?

"It's a pity that things can't be stored properly at this time of year. It would be better if it were colder and things could be left outside to freeze."

"We'll bring it out to serve guests when they come over."

Most families live like this: they save the good food for special occasions like holidays or when guests come over.

"Mom, my older brother said he's going to stew chicken tonight, so just listen to him."

Sheng Xitai, who followed in, pouted upon hearing his mother's words and tearfully discussed the matter with her.

Chicken, oh, chicken stew with mushrooms is so delicious! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. How can I resist?

Zhang Shuzhen rolled her eyes at her youngest son, "Eat, eat, all you know is how to eat. When have we ever lacked your food?"

Your brother works hard every day, and every now and then he goes fishing and hunting to satisfy your cravings.

Go out and take a walk; among all the children in the entire forest farm, how many can compare to our family?

The Sheng family had four sons and two daughters, with Sheng Xitai being the youngest.

As the youngest child, he was spoiled and pampered by his older brothers and sisters. They would give him the best food, even if they couldn't bear to eat it themselves.

Parents may say they treat all children equally, but in reality, they will show some favoritism towards the youngest child.

Just like Zhang Shuzhen, she would complain about everything, but when it came time to eat, she couldn't help but leave the best food for her youngest son.

From a modern perspective, Sheng Xitai was not fat; he was actually quite healthy and robust.

He was only nine years old, with chubby baby fat on his face.

But in those days, people ate very coarse food with little oil, so it was really rare to see an overweight person.

People like Sheng Xitai became known as "Little Fatty" by everyone.

"Mom, stop scolding your youngest son. Let him eat if he wants. It's no big deal if it's just a pheasant. We can catch another one later."

Just as Sheng Xiping put the dishes on the kang table, he heard his mother scolding his younger brother. So he poked his head out from the east room and spoke up to help his brother out of the predicament.

Sheng Xitai darted up to his brother and hugged his waist, starting to act coquettishly.

"My older brother is still the best to me; he loves me the most."

Sheng Xiping raised his hand and patted his younger brother's head. "Alright, don't say sweet things to me here."

Let me tell you, if you eat chicken, you have to study hard.

If you keep being naughty and not studying properly, and I catch you, I'll spank you until you're blue in the face."

This little guy is quite smart, but he just won't study hard.

Later, after finishing junior high school, this kid stopped going to school and just messed around all day.

At that time, Sheng Xiping hadn't come out yet, and no one could control this kid.

Fortunately, many of the elderly people in the farm had a good relationship with the Sheng family, and the farm manager and secretary helped to find a way to send Sheng Xitai to join the army.

Sheng Xitai spent seven or eight years in the army. After being demobilized, he was assigned to work in a nature reserve, where he had a pretty good job.

"Huh?" Upon hearing his older brother's words, Sheng Xitai's face immediately fell, and he let out a wail.

"Big brother, please spare me. I'm not like my second brother, that bookworm. My head hurts just looking at textbooks."

Sheng Xiping was just saying it to scare his younger brother, but he couldn't reveal it in front of Sheng Xitai.

He glanced at his younger brother and snorted coldly.

"You can give it a try. Anyway, you eat a lot and have thick muscles, so you can take a beating."