Yunqi woke up to the sound of birds chirping. She stretched and walked to the sun. Smoke rose from the chimneys of the entire village, creating a peaceful and serene scene.

Their village is called Pinghe Village, about ten kilometers from the county seat. It has a total population of just over a thousand, with most of the young people working elsewhere, leaving mostly middle-aged and elderly people behind. Because the village has a large area of ​​flat land, some young people also run agricultural bases there.

Behind Yun Qi's house is a large expanse of farmland. Yun's father and his family used to work in the county town, so they no longer had farmland in their hometown. The dozen or so acres of farmland behind their house were originally under the names of their grandparents, but now they are rented out by the village.

The crops in the fields have been mostly harvested and are now covered in a blanket of snow, with only a few snowmen piled up by mischievous children.

"The air in my hometown is so much better!" Yunqi took a deep breath; it was just too cold outside.

The temperature difference between the north and the south is too great, so Yunqi quickly ran inside.

"Good morning, Dad and Mom." After washing up, Yunqi went downstairs to the living room and saw his parents sweeping the snow in the yard. Yunqi picked up the shovel and joined in the snow removal.

"Come inside quickly! Warm up inside."

"The snow is a bit late this year. In previous years, everyone would have already stayed home by this time. This must be what people call a mild winter," said Mother Cloud in surprise.

"This kind of weather is more of a curse than a blessing. Hopefully, it won't affect the crops next year." Old foxes are wise, and Mr. Yun was already sitting there deep in thought.

Who can argue with that? Actually, signs started appearing around next year, but they didn't attract much attention. Throughout next year, the weather in many parts of the world showed signs of change, and many crops failed, but optimistic people thought it was only temporary.

After breakfast, Yun's mother asked Yunqi to sort through the packages she had sent back. Looking at the several large packages piled up in the side room, Yun's mother started nagging again.

"Why are you sending so many things, kid?"

Looking at this pile of packages, Yunqi felt speechless. He didn't realize it when he was sending them, but when he was buying things, he wanted to buy this and that, and before he knew it, he had bought too much.

“It’s alright, these are all food and clothes. Most of the food is dried seafood, which is not very common around here. You can eat more of these, or you can use them to visit relatives.” Yunqi explained to his mother as he unpacked the food.

"Just accept it when the child buys it; it's rare for a child to be so filial."

"That's right, Dad understands me best. If I'm not good to you, who will I be good to?" This made the two elderly people smile.

The village chief of Pinghe Village is a visionary. He had long ago gathered all the newly built houses together into one area, and applied for centralized heating a few years ago.

The Yun family had cousins ​​living on either side of Yun's father's house. They usually looked out for each other and would call out from the corner if anything happened.

Mother Yun sorted and organized everything, picked out a few dried goods, and asked Yun Qi to deliver them to the homes of several uncles and grandfathers.

"Good morning, Second Grandfather!" Yunqi went to his second uncle's house next door. His second uncle was a retired soldier who had spent decades in the military and still insisted on getting up early to exercise every day.

"Xiao Qi, you're back." Second Grandma came out of the kitchen to greet him.

"Hello, Second Grandma, how are you feeling?"

"Everything is fine. I heard your mother say yesterday that she was going home for the Chinese New Year. Did she arrive last night?"

"Yes, it was a bit late so I didn't come over to say hello."

"It's good that you're back. Was everything going well outside?" Grandpa asked with concern.

"Yes, everything went smoothly. These are some dried seafood specialties I brought back this time. Please try them."

"Your second grandfather loves this. Why don't you come over for lunch?" Second Grandmother invited.

"No, I still need to deliver this to my third grandfather and the others. I'll come back another day to chat with my grandfather and grandmother." With that, she waved and walked out.

Yun Qi's great-uncle, Yun Min'an, had served in the navy and was very knowledgeable about seafood. His great-aunt, Li Hongjuan, was a great cook because of his great-uncle's love of food. When Yun Qi was little, he often went to his great-uncle's house for meals, and was often teased by his grandparents. After his grandparents passed away, Yun Qi moved to the county town to live with his parents and only returned to his hometown for holidays. However, the bonds between the families remained strong.

My second grandfather has two sons, both of whom are serving in the military and only come back on leave.

My third grandfather's name is Li Mingquan. He has always lived in his hometown and was also the former village chief. He is now retired. Since his children are all living elsewhere, only my third grandmother Liu E and I live in our hometown.

My third grandfather has a son and a daughter. His son runs a business in the city and often suggests that the two elders move in with him, but they always refuse, saying they can't bear to leave this land. His daughter is married and lives in the county town, teaching at the county's No. 1 Middle School, and is also nearing retirement.

Grandpa Yun's name was Yun Mingkun. He passed away from illness several years ago, and Grandma Yun followed him the following year. Grandpa Yun only had one son, Yun Zhiming. Yun's mother, Hu Yuanyuan, married into the family from the neighboring Hu family village. She had two older brothers and one older sister.

Their two families and their grandfather were cousins. Because they grew up together, the three brothers had a very good relationship.

Yunqi also visited several other relatives in the village who were within the fifth degree of kinship, bringing them local specialties.

After wandering around, Yunqi returned home. Not long after arriving, he received a series of return gifts from relatives: some brought cured meat, others a dish of vegetables, and still others wild mushrooms from the mountains. They all invited him to their homes for meals, but Yunqi politely declined them all.

Back in his room, Yunqi dialed Sicheng's number.

"Brother Cheng, what are you doing?"

"I just finished breakfast and was just about to call you."

"This shows that we are on the same wavelength."

"Honey, did you mention to your uncle that we went over today?"

"Yes! I've already told them, but you have to be careful, my dad will definitely make things difficult for you."

"Always be prepared to be inspected by the leaders." This made Yun Qi laugh heartily.

"My uncle and aunt will be coming with me today."

"Great! I haven't seen Auntie in so long, I miss them a bit."

The two talked for a while longer, and then Yunqi went downstairs to tell the aunt that they would be coming to the house to see if her mother needed any help.

As Yun's mother busily prepared lunch, chopping and washing as needed, Yun Qi couldn't get a hand in the task and was even told she was getting in the way. She was given a few heads of garlic to peel in the living room.

Meanwhile, Yun's father was instructed by Yun's mother to go to the village store to buy some fruit and seasonings.