The speed of trains in that era was not very high and they stopped at many stations. There was heavy snow on the way and the train stopped for a while. There were many passengers on the train, and they carried a lot of luggage, so there was always a smell. Fortunately, the sleeper room was occupied by their family, so sometimes they would open the window to let in some air.

By the time we arrived at Beijing Railway Station, it was already the afternoon of the 28th day of the lunar year.

After the family got off the train, they clearly felt the temperature drop sharply. It must have snowed not long ago, and silvery white snow could be seen everywhere on the platform.

Several children were bored on the train. They slept and played, played and slept, and their biological clocks were a little messed up. They were still a little out of shape after just getting off the train.

It was not until they got on the jeep that Grandpa Lu had sent to drive that the children saw the streets passing by outside the car window and snowflakes slowly falling from the sky that they realized what was happening and said, "Look, it's snowing—"

Lu Wei sat in the passenger seat, while several children and Ye Zhi squeezed in the back seat. When they heard the word "snow", they all leaned against the car windows to watch the snow.

Lu Wei smiled and said, "The snow isn't that heavy right now. We can make a snowman when it gets heavier."

Sui Sui blew a breath on the car window, then wiped the glass with her sleeve: "Wow, it's really snowing, can we make a snowman now? Brother Xiao Ding said that we can have a snowball fight with him when we get to Beijing."

Niannian: "Wow, can this snow be eaten?"

Pingping: "Wow, the snow looks so white and beautiful."

An An: "Let's go to Grandpa's house and build a snowman together!"

Ye Zhi looked at the children's red faces, not sure whether they were red from the cold or excitement, and said with a smile: "Okay, let's build a snowman together."

A few children began chattering about the snow outside again, their big eyes shining brightly. Ye Zhi felt happy looking at them.

Looking at the scenery of Beijing at this moment, I suddenly felt it was extremely beautiful.

When the car passed Chang'an Street, several children saw the scene they had seen in the book before, and they exclaimed several times. Niannian asked: "Mom, can we come here to play when the time comes?"

Ye Zhi turned her head and looked at the majestic building outside the window, then nodded: "Of course."

When the children heard this, they became even happier.

Lu Wei sat in the front, looked back, and said, "After the New Year, when Dad is free, he can come with you."

Lu Wei has other missions in Beijing this time. He has to report later and then attend a meeting. He will not be free until New Year's Eve, so he can only wait until after the New Year to play with his children.

Lu Wei hasn't been back for several years. When he was studying in military school in Jinshi, he would occasionally come back to see Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu.

Later I went to Qiongzhou Island. The journey was long and the tasks were numerous, so I rarely came back.

The last time I came back was the year Pingping and Anan were born, but I only stayed there for three days and didn’t go anywhere.

Now looking out the window, although it is dark, I can see the streets decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, creating a lively atmosphere of Chinese New Year, which makes me feel warm.

The driver was the life assistant that Lu Xiangqian had arranged for Grandpa and Grandma Lu. When he heard the child was so excited, he smiled friendly and said, "There are still many places to play here..."

Uncle Li introduced the children to the famous scenic spots nearby and a park near Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu's residence, where they could go ice skating.

Because the family was reunited this year, Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu came out of the retirement home and moved into their own courtyard house, planning to have a lively New Year.

The children were so excited that they were still in high spirits when they got off the bus. When they saw Grandpa and Grandma Lu standing in front of the gate of the courtyard, they flew over like sparrows: "Great Grandpa, Great Grandma."

"Grandpa, grandma, I miss you so much."

"We sat on the train for so long that our butts were almost split in half!"

Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu listened to the children's chattering and laughed so hard that their eyes narrowed into lines.

She touched the children's heads kindly and said, "Oh, grandma misses you little ones too! Look at you, why do you all seem to be a little thinner?"

Grandpa Lu: "It's good to be back. Great Grandpa asked someone to make a lot of delicious food for you."

When the children heard that there was food to be eaten, they hurriedly pulled Grandma Lu and ran into the courtyard.

However, the structure of the courtyard is special, and the little ones were stunned when they saw the screen wall behind the gate. But they soon figured out the way and walked towards the hanging flower gate.

Seeing this, Ye Zhi said, "Don't walk too fast. The road is slippery due to the snow. Protect grandma."

Grandma Lu hadn't seen the little ones for nearly half a year, so she was happy now, "Grandma is still energetic, you guys go in first and see if you can find where the main hall is."

Grandpa Lu looked at Lu Wei and Ye Zhi, who looked exhausted, and said, "I thought the train would be delayed for a long time. I saw on TV that it snowed so heavily in H Province that the train couldn't run."

This winter is a bit cold. It has snowed several times in Beijing, and it just snowed again.

Lu Wei patted the snow off Ye Zhi's shoulders and said, "It's okay. We only stopped for three hours yesterday, and everything went smoothly afterwards."

Grandpa Lu smiled so brightly that his face looked like flowers blooming: "Okay, okay, as long as you get home safely, come in quickly, or you will catch a cold."

Grandpa Lu wanted to take the bag from Ye Zhi, but Ye Zhi dodged him and said, "Grandpa, no need. It's not heavy. I can do it."

Grandpa Lu smiled and let her go.

Lu Wei walked in front carrying two large luggage bags, and Ye Zhi walked behind carrying two smaller bags. After passing through the hanging flower gate, they came to a square courtyard.

The yard is neatly arranged, with a cross-shaped path in the middle and several trees planted. The leaves on the trees have all fallen off, but because of the snow on them, they look quite different.

Grandpa Lu introduced that they were pomegranate trees and persimmon trees, as well as crape myrtles and crabapples.

In addition, there are many potted plants, but they are now covered by snow.

In addition to green plants, there is also a water tank in the yard, but the water inside has formed a layer of ice, and water lilies can be seen in the ice.

Grandpa Lu said, "It's snowing all the time, let's go to the corridor. Although Xiao Ding has already swept the snow this morning, the floor is still a little slippery."

"Xiao Ding went to the library with his classmates this afternoon and should be back later."

Ye Xiaoding had originally planned to return to Xitang Town to celebrate the New Year, but when he learned that Ye Zhi and Lu Wei had taken the children back to Beijing, he stayed in Beijing and planned to see the children.

Ye Zhi smiled gently: "How is Xiao Ding doing recently? Have you lost weight?"

Although they had only not seen each other for half a year, Ye Zhi had watched him grow up since he was a child, and it was still a little uncomfortable for her to be so far away from him all of a sudden.

Several children would often talk about Ye Xiaoding, after all, they used to go out and play when they had holidays.

Grandpa Lu walked behind and told her about Xiao Ding's condition.

Then he said, "Lu Wei, Xiao Zhi, please put your luggage in the main room in the north. There are three rooms for the children to sleep in."

Originally, this courtyard was under Lu Wei's name, and it was transferred to his name when he was eighteen years old. However, Lu Wei seldom returns to Beijing, so this yard has always been empty. Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu also live in the retirement home and sometimes only come here once every two weeks.

Ye Zhi said, "Grandpa, I see there is a room on the east side. I'm afraid the children will catch a cold, so let them sleep on the north side. Lu Wei and I can sleep over here."

The children had already slept in separate rooms. Nian Nian and Sui Sui slept together, and Ping Ping and An An also slept in one bed after going to kindergarten. Although the east wing had two rooms and a bathroom, it did not have a kang, so they had to rely on burning honeycomb coal for heating.

Let's leave the larger rooms for the elderly and children. Lu Wei said there are kangs, so they won't be so cold when sleeping at night.

When Lu Xiangqian and Shen Nanzhen come over, we have to let them live in a warmer house.

They are two young people, so all they need to do is light a stove.

Lu Wei nodded and took the luggage directly to the east wing.

They went to one of the rooms. Grandpa Lu tried to persuade them, but they didn't listen and that was it.

After putting away the luggage, Lu Wei saw that Ye Zhi was about to pack up, so he said, "Let's pack up after dinner. You must be tired from taking the train all the way."

Ye Zhi felt the same way. This train trip was indeed tiring, and she didn’t know when she could take a round-trip flight, which would save a lot of time.

Ye Zhi and Lu Wei washed their hands in a bathroom on the east side and walked out of the room.

When I came out, I heard a few children laughing. They were running around under the corridor and grabbing snow in the yard. They were not afraid of the cold at all.

While playing, he said to Ye Zhi: "Mom, come and play snowballs with us."

"Dad, come and play too."

Because the room where they were sleeping tonight didn't have a stove yet, Lu Wei moved a stove from the utility room outside the second door and planned to light it.

Several children followed Lu Wei in and out, and every year they helped carry a lot of honeycomb coal to the room.

Ye Zhi wanted to help, but Lu Wei smiled and said, "You may not know how to light a fire, so let me do it."

No matter how cold it is in Guangzhou, almost no one will light a stove. Everyone relies on their own energy to keep warm. However, Lu Wei is not afraid of the cold. He is just worried that Ye Zhi will not be able to adapt to the climate here because she has not come to the north.

Pingping squatted beside Lu Wei and asked, "Dad, what is cage fire?"

Lu Wei just asked the children to bring over a bunch of things including stove hooks, fire chopsticks, and coal shovels, saying that they would be needed later.

While Lu Wei was lighting the fire in the stove, he patiently explained to them what "cage fire" was. Ye Zhi stood by and watched him prepare himself, occasionally lending a hand, handing him a fan, fire tongs or something.

A few children were curious and came to the stove. Lu Wei pushed them and said, "Don't dirty your clothes, or your mother will scold you later."

Ye Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's dirty, but after sitting on the train for so long, how can it be clean?"

If it wasn't so cold, Ye Zhi really wanted to take a bath right away!

Nian Nian and Sui Sui said, "Dad is right. When our clothes get dirty, we won't be allowed to go to bed again."

"Yes, let's not do it, let Dad do it. Mom won't let Dad sleep in her bed when his clothes are dirty."

"Dad is so miserable. He lit the stove for Mom and was kicked out."

Lu Wei: “…”

Ye Zhi met Lu Wei's resentful eyes and immediately gave the children a slap on the face, saying angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? Go out and play."

The children looked at it for a while, thought it was nothing new, and rushed out to play in the snow in the yard again.

Ye Zhi said with a smile: "These naughty kids will alienate the relationship between us as husband and wife!"

Lu Wei couldn't help but smile and said disdainfully, "That's right."

After Lu Weisheng finished building the stove, Ye Zhi placed an aluminum kettle on it.

Lu Wei patted the coal dust off his hands and said, "Don't you like roasted sweet potatoes? You can put sweet potatoes on it and eat it later."

Ye Zhi servilely poured a plate of warm water for Lu Wei, and took out a towel from her luggage bag, asking him to come over and wash his hands: "Wash your hands, thank you for your hard work, Captain Lu. I'll give you the first roasted sweet potato of tonight."

Lu Wei smiled and said nothing. He washed the dust off his hands and then went out with Ye Zhi.

Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu were busy in the kitchen, planning to cook some dumplings for them to warm their stomachs.

Ye Zhi went to the kitchen to help, and Grandma Lu said, "It will be ready in a moment. Go wait in the living room."

Originally, the living room was next to the kitchen, but because it was winter, they didn't want to burn too many stoves, so they would eat in the main room during the winter.

After eating the dumplings, Lu Wei washed up and went out for a meeting.

The children had slept too much on the train and now, after eating the dumplings, they felt full of energy and were extremely interested in everything in Beijing.

Seeing that Lu Wei had gone out, they pulled Ye Zhi up from her bed, who was about to take a rest, and said, "Mom, take us out to play!"