Ye Zhi also forgot how the second half of the night passed. She occasionally heard the creaking of the wooden bed and the whistling of the wind outside.

Before going to bed, she vaguely felt Lu Wei wiping her body with a warm towel.

Ye Zhi slept comfortably all night, but didn't want to get up the next day. However, several children got up early in the morning and played in the snow in the yard. Because it snowed for half the night before, the yard was full of silvery white snow in the morning.

The children were planning to wake Ye Zhi up to make a snowman, but Lu Wei sent them away and said, "Mom is used to her own bed. She didn't sleep well last night. Let her sleep a little longer and don't bother her."

After hearing this, Pingping said, "Mom must have slept in."

An An also said: "Maybe not, it's because Daddy disturbed Mommy again last night and she couldn't sleep, so she couldn't get up today."

Lu Wei patted the two little kids' heads and said with a smile, "Brother has already cooked the dumplings. Go eat them quickly. Dad will make a snowman with you guys later."

When the two children heard that they could make a snowman, they ran to the main room, "Great, we're going to make a snowman!"

Ye Xiaoding carried a large bowl of dumplings to the main room. Seeing Nian Nian and Sui Sui still playing in the yard, he said, "Brother has cooked the dumplings. Come and have breakfast. After breakfast, we can make a snowman together."

Nian Nian and Sui Sui were playing in the snow in the yard, but when they heard about making a snowman, they stopped playing and ran to eat dumplings.

Ye Zhi originally planned to get up and make breakfast, but she vaguely heard Ye Xiaoding had already gotten up to cook dumplings, so she simply pulled the quilt over her head and fell asleep again.

When Ye Zhi woke up again, several children, Ye Xiaoding, and Grandpa and Grandma Lu had gone to a nearby park to play. Lu Wei had official duties to attend to, so after making a snowman with the children, he also went out.

When Ye Zhi came out of the room, she saw a snowman about 30 cm tall piled in the yard. It was wrapped in a scarf and decorated with eyes and nose. Although it doesn't look like it, it's still pretty cute after some decoration.

Just after Ye Zhi finished eating, the children came back.

Each child held different snacks in his hand, including candied haws, □□ flowers, fried meatballs, and fried cakes with butter...

As soon as the children saw Ye Zhi getting up, they immediately rushed forward and said, "Mom, look what delicious food I have!"

"Mom, this tangerine is delicious. My great-grandmother bought it for me."

Before Ye Zhi could say anything, several children had already brought the snacks in their hands to her mouth. She had already eaten dumplings, but the children were willing to share with her, so she happily tried them one by one.

Ye Zhi smiled and said, "It's delicious."

After everyone had a simple meal at noon, Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu said they wanted to go to Wangfujing to prepare some New Year's goods.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and Lu Xiangqian and Shen Nanzhen will also return to the Siheyuan tomorrow to celebrate the New Year together, although some staple foods and vegetables have been stocked up in advance at home.

But thinking that it was the New Year, Grandpa Lu planned to buy a few bottles of wine while everyone was together this year to have fun.

Grandma Lu said, "Come on, old man, don't you look at your own situation? Just drink soda tonight."

They returned to Beijing because their old comrade, Grandma Zhou, had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Fortunately, she did not suffer from any serious sequelae, but she was old after all, and her health was not as good as before.

A few years ago, Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu also had a physical examination at the retirement home. Grandpa Lu has high blood pressure and has to take antihypertensive drugs from time to time, so his diet has always been relatively light.

Hearing this, Grandpa Lu smiled at Grandma Lu like a little kid: "It's rare that everyone is back this year, so let's drink a little, just a little."

Grandma Lu glanced at him and snorted, "Then I'll see if you really only drink that much tomorrow night."

Grandpa Lu smiled and said, "Really? Of course it's true. How could I lie to you?"

When Niannian heard that Grandpa Lu wanted to drink, he also shouted, "Grandma, I want to drink soda too, that Arctic Ocean soda!"

Sui Sui also shouted: "I want one too!"

After hearing this, Pingping and Anan also surrounded Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu with a smile, shouting for soda. It was so cold that it was snowing, and I don't know why these little guys loved drinking that stuff so much.

Ye Xiaoding secretly gave a bottle of liquor to Nian Nian and Sui Sui last night. When he went to return the bottle at noon, he was bumped into by Ye Zhi.

They were also scolded by Ye Zhi because they went to sleep directly after drinking soda. Nian Nian and Sui Sui were in the teeth-changing period, and Ye Zhi was worried that they would get cavities.

Niannian and Suisui were scolded, while Pingping and Anan hid away and laughed secretly.

Now the little ones heard that they could drink soda again and they forgot about being scolded just now.

On the 29th day of the lunar year, Wangfujing was packed with people, one crowded with another. Moreover, the people who came here had a great harvest, and they were carrying several heavy bags in their hands.

Because there were too many people, they walked around the department store and bought some New Year's goods such as candied melon seeds, sachima, date cakes, and crispy candies. Then I went to the butcher's stall and bought some pork and pork bones. I planned to make dumplings tomorrow and boil some bone soup.

Thinking that there would be so many people coming for the New Year, Ye Zhi bought some more flour and rice, planning to make more dumplings and steam some steamed buns tomorrow.

She remembered the ballad she had sung before, "Steaming buns on the 29th day of the lunar year, staying up all night on the 30th." It was her first time to celebrate Chinese New Year in Beijing, and this year the entire Lu family was together, so she could have a lively New Year.

After buying New Year's goods, several children were reluctant to leave when they passed a children's products store because they saw many children coming out of the store holding toys in their hands, even though they were not the ones who lacked toys.

Whether it was the elders or Gong Yuqiong, they were all very willing to buy toys for the children. However, children are always greedy for new things. When they see others have new toys, they start to be greedy.

Niannian looked at the airplane models in other people's hands, so she pulled Ye Zhi's hand and said, "Mom, I want an airplane model too."

Ye Zhi wanted to say that they already had a toy airplane, but before she could open her mouth, Sui Sui said, "Mom, I want a tank model!"

Even Ping Ping An started clamoring to buy new hairpins when she saw other little girls having beautiful hairpins and furry hats.

Ye Zhi thought that it was New Year's Day, so she didn't want to spoil their fun, so she said, "Go ahead and pick what you like."

Then he added, "But each person can only choose one."

When the children heard that they could pick what they liked, they stopped clamoring to buy more. Instead, they rushed over and asked the salesperson to get what they wanted, and then asked Ye Zhi to pay for it.

Ye Zhi took the toys and hairpins handed over by several children, then turned her head to look at Ye Xiaoding beside her and asked, "Xiaoding, don't you want to pick one?"

Ye Xiaoding, who was a head taller than Ye Zhi, smiled and said, "Aunt, I'm not a child anymore."

Ye Zhi glanced at him, raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Silly child, no matter how old you are, you are still a child in your aunt's eyes. Go, pick one you like, and your aunt will buy it for you."

Since Ye Xiaoding grew up, he hasn't argued with her about buying things for her for a long time.

Ye Zhi missed the naughty look of this guy when he was a child, and wanted to buy him a little toy today.

Originally Ye Xiaoding felt a little ashamed. After all, he was already 18 years old and an adult, but he still needed his elders to buy things for him.

However, when seeing Ye Zhi's smile, Ye Xiaoding still walked to the counter, picked out a small panda doll, and said, "Then I want this one."

When Nian Nian and Sui Sui saw the cute panda doll, they immediately liked it and said, "Brother, this panda is so cute!"

Ping Ping and An An also came over and said, "Wow, it's a panda! I've never seen a real panda before."

"I haven't seen it either, I've only seen it in comic books. This doll looks cuter than the one in the book."

Ye Xiaoding said, "Then I'll buy each of you a panda doll. This one was bought for me by my aunt, so you can pick one yourself."

When the little ones heard this, they immediately jumped up and down with joy: "Great!"

After buying things for the children, Ye Xiaoding and Grandpa Lu planned to get a haircut before the New Year, so they took a jeep back with Grandma Lu.

Nian Nian and Sui Sui both asked Lu Wei to help them cut their hair. They had already had their hair cut in Yangcheng, and their hair was not too long now, so they did not plan to go to the barber shop.

Moreover, the children had been curious about the two cars on the road. Since the cars in Yangcheng and Qiongzhou Island were different from these ones, they had always wanted to take a ride on one, so Ye Zhi took the children back on the bus.

After coming out of Wangfujing, Ye Zhi and a few children went to the bus station to wait for the bus. However, because it was New Year, there were a lot of people waiting for the bus. However, the little ones were very energetic and did not complain too much.

Nian Nian and Sui Sui followed Ye Zhi in the queue and said, "There are more people here than in Guangzhou!"

They vaguely remembered what happened on Qiongzhou Island. As far as they were concerned, they had never seen so many people.

Pingping licked the candy melon, looked at the crowd waiting for the bus, and said, "Brother, it's because it's New Year's Day, so there are so many people."

"That's right. There seemed to be this many people when we went to the flower market last year."

As they chatted, it was finally their turn to get on the bus. Ye Zhi originally thought that it would be a bit difficult to carry several children by herself, but fortunately the little ones knew that there were many people, so they held on to Ye Zhi's clothes, fearing that they would not be able to keep up with Ye Zhi.

However, when many people in the car saw the little ones, they were curious whether they were siblings or twins. Some people thought the children were cute and gave up their seats for them. Nian Nian and Sui Sui did not sit, so Ping Ping and An An sat instead.

Pingping and Anan were very brave. People gave them their seats and started chatting with the adults.

However, Wangfujing is only four or five kilometers away from Siheyuan, and it can be reached in just a few stops. When they arrived at the stop before Siheyuan, Nian Nian and Sui Sui saw some acrobatic performances outside and said they wanted to get off the bus to take a look.

Ye Zhi watched as more and more people got on the bus. She thought that there was only one stop left and it wouldn't be too far to walk back, so she led the children off the bus.

Niannian looked at the dark crowd and shouted, "Mom, look, that man can breathe fire!"

Nian Nian and Sui Sui were already holding hands, stretching their necks to look into the crowd, and as they looked further they squeezed themselves into the crowd.

Ye Zhi warned from behind: "Be careful and don't run around."

Ping Ping and An An pulled Ye Zhi in as well. When the kids saw them jumping around on the shelves, they exclaimed, "Wow, they are so awesome!"

Nian Nian and Sui Sui watched without blinking, and like other children, they squatted on the ground, propped up their heads with their hands, and said, "Oh my God, how come they look like they can fly?"

"Looks even better than dad!"

"That's right, Dad can't fly, but they can!"

After listening to the child's words, Ye Zhi was glad that Lu Wei was not here at the moment, otherwise her blood pressure would have soared again.

The children watched for a while. Ye Zhi saw that the weather was getting gloomy again and the wind was blowing. She didn't know when it would snow again, so she said, "It's time to go home, otherwise it will be difficult to go home if it snows later."

"Oh." Although the little guys looked disappointed, they still obediently set off for home.

There were many people riding bicycles along the way, but they all rode on the road in an orderly manner, so there were not so many people on the sidewalks.

This road was the one they walked yesterday. The children were good at recognizing the road, so Ye Zhi just watched from behind and didn't pay much attention to them.

After a while, Ye Zhi saw several children surrounding a woman who was about the same age as Ana Shen, and they didn’t know what they were talking about.

Ye Zhi quickened her pace and walked forward. She heard Sui Sui asking the woman, "Grandma Zhang, aren't you cold sitting here? Why don't you go home and sit down?"

Because the sky has turned overcast and windy, it is a little colder than at noon.

I saw the woman sitting on the edge of a half-high flower bed by the road, her waist slightly bent, her hands on her knees rubbing gently, and a few strands of her hair falling down to her temples. There were several cloth bags piled up next to her. The bags were bulging and looked like they contained a lot of things and were very heavy.

When Zhang Lanying heard Sui Sui ask this, she smiled kindly and said softly, "It's not that cold. Grandma, take a rest here and we'll be back soon."

Zhang Lanying looked around and asked, "By the way, where are your parents? Why are there only a few of you?"

As soon as the voice fell, several children pointed at Ye Zhi who was walking towards them and said, "This is my mother. She is carrying two bags of things and is a little tired, so she walks slowly."

Ye Zhi looked at the things in her hand. They were not heavy. Xiao Ding had already taken the heavy things back home.

Then, Niannian said to Ye Zhi, "Mom, this is Grandma Zhang from the next yard."

The children followed Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu out for a while and got to know the neighbors of several nearby courtyards. They must have met them when they went to the park this morning.

Zhang Lanying raised her head and smiled when she saw Ye Zhi's face: "Your mother is so beautiful, no wonder she gave birth to you guys so cute and good-looking."

Several children laughed: "Everyone says our mom is pretty."

Seeing Zhang Lanying looking over, Ye Zhi nodded politely: "Aunt, are you feeling unwell? Do you need any help?"

She had just noticed that this aunt looked a little pale, probably because she had carried too many things.

When Zhang Lanying saw Ye Zhi, her eyes lit up and she smiled: "I'm not feeling unwell, I just needed to rest for a while. Now that I've rested, why don't we go back together?" After saying that, she stood up.

Ye Zhi looked at the dark sky, noticed the bags of things beside her, and winked at Nian Nian and Sui Sui. Because there are many elders in the family, Nian Nian and Sui Sui will help carry things whenever they go out with the elders.

They knew what Ye Zhi meant, and immediately each of them carried a bag of things and said, "Grandma Zhang, we'll help you get some."

Pingping and Anan are smaller and not as strong, so they work together to carry the bag.

In this way, several little guys helped carry three bags of things and jumped forward.

Zhang Lanying looked at the smallest bag left on the side and smiled at Ye Zhi sheepishly: "Oh, your kids are so caring. I don't have much stuff here, but they helped me carry it."

Ye Zhi originally wanted to help her carry the last bag, but Zhang Lanying had already lifted it up by herself, so she said, "They have a lot of energy but nowhere to use it, so we can lend a hand."

Zhang Lanying's face was full of smiles. She looked at the children walking in front of her and said softly, "Your little ones really helped me a lot."

As they walked and talked, Ye Zhi realized that Zhang Lanying had just returned from Wangfujing with some shopping, which was filled with heavy items such as flour, oil, and soy sauce. Originally, Zhang Lanying came back with her daughter, but there happened to be work at the department store, and it was getting late in the year, so she was very busy and had no time to rest. Zhang Lanying simply came back home by herself.

Zhang Lanying watched the little ones carrying big bags and walking forward, and said with emotion: "Your children are so sensible and well-behaved, and they are all so good-looking."

There is no one who doesn't like others praising their children. Although Ye Zhi has heard countless such compliments, she felt very comforted when she saw the backs of the children who were carrying heavy bags but still talking and laughing as they walked forward.

Ye Zhi smiled and said, "Sometimes they are indeed very well behaved, and they usually help me a lot."

I was naughty when I was a child, but now it can be put to good use.

After talking about the children, the two started talking about Lu Wei, because Lu Wei also lived here for a few years when he was a child, and Zhang Lanying also had an impression of him, of course, the impression that Lu Wei was naughty. After talking about Lu Wei, Zhang Lanying asked about Shen Nanzhen, and later asked about Ye Zhi's own situation, and Ye Zhi answered them one by one.

Zhang Lanying knew that Ye Zhi had opened a small clothing factory, and immediately gave her a thumbs up and said, "Women hold up half the sky. Comrade Ye, you are great. Not only are you good-looking and good at studying, but you are also courageous. It is a blessing for Lu Wei to marry you."

As far as Ye Zhi knew, most of the people in this alley were from military families, just like the Lu family. Many people of Lu Xiangqian's generation settled down in Beijing and became officials of varying ranks. Many of Lu Wei's generation were also soldiers. Even if they were not, they were still people who received official salaries from the emperor.

Although Lu Wei and his son Lu Xiangqian are not in Beijing, some people are still comparing them secretly.

A few years ago, some people knew that Lu Wei had married a woman from another place, a rural girl from a small town, and they secretly made all kinds of sarcastic remarks about him. After all, those who stayed in Beijing, although not as capable as Lu Wei, became regimental-level cadres at a young age. But in Beijing, they have a stable job and everyone has high aspirations.

But now Zhang Lanying saw that Lu Wei had married a very good wife.

Ye Zhi smiled modestly: "As a couple, we support each other, and Lu Wei is also very good to me."

Along the way, Lu Wei was devoted to her and gave her enough sense of security. Ye Zhi felt that it was her luck that she met Lu Wei.

Zhang Lanying listened to Ye Zhi's words and looked at her with a hint of appreciation in her eyes.

Soon, they returned to the alley. Zhang Lanying's yard was closer, so the little guys stopped in front of her yard.

Zhang Lanying looked at the children and said with a kind smile, "Grandma wants to thank you today. You really helped me a lot and allowed me, an old man, to return home easily. You have worked hard. Thank you."

The children all smiled, and Niannian said, "It's not hard at all. Grandma Zhang, if you need help next time, just call us."

Although they said so, the little ones were still breathing slightly because they were carrying things, and their faces were flushed red.

Zhang Lanying smiled and said, "Okay."

Then she asked, "Would you like to come into my house to rest for a while and have a cup of tea? Grandma has delicious crispy candies and date cakes at home."

This time, before Ye Zhi could say anything, the children refused first: "No need, Grandma Zhang, it's going to snow soon, we have to go back early to avoid getting wet clothes and catching a cold, which would make Mom and Dad worry."

"Oh, you are so good. Grandma Zhang loves you so much. Come to her house and play when you have time." Zhang Lanying said with a smile.

Ye Zhi felt warm in her heart when she heard the child's words.

Seeing that the children were leaving, Zhang Lanying took out two boxes and two paper bags from the bags they had just carried, stuffed one bag of food into each of them, and said, "These are all snacks. Your children love them the most. Consider this your grandmother's token of gratitude to you."

Ye Zhi wanted to refuse, but Zhang Lanying forced it on the child and said, "It's New Year's Day, it's good for the child to be happy. Don't waste time, go home quickly before it snows."

Several children said to Zhang Lanying in unison: "Thank you, grandma."

Zhang Lanying waved at them and said, "You're welcome. Go back and come visit grandma when you have time."

After saying goodbye to Zhang Lanying, the children returned home and opened the snacks that Zhang Lanying had given them. In addition to imported chocolate and marshmallows, there were also two packs of cream cakes. Even in Beijing, these were not ordinary snacks.

Especially cream cakes, which are expensive and hard to buy.

Ye Zhi thought about it, then took some dried seafood and a few lotus roots and gave them to Zhang Lanying.

They were tired of eating dried seafood, so Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu also gave a lot of it to their comrades in the retirement home. Lotus root is a specialty that comes from a town near Yangcheng. Ye Zhi brought two boxes with her when she went to Beijing this time, so she could give some to Zhang Lanying.

Zhang Lanying received the gifts from Ye Zhi and the children, and talked for a long time.

When Ye Zhi left her yard, it was about to snow.

Aunt Huang, who lived in the yard next to Zhang Lanying, saw Ye Zhi and said to her daughter, "This is Lu Wei's wife. She looks like a shrewd person."

Aunt Huang's daughter He Xiaomin went to school with Lu Wei when they were young. When she heard Lu Wei's name, she raised her head and asked, "Which one? What does he look like? I heard that Lu Wei married a country girl who was born as a child."

Over the years, everyone in the alley has wanted to see what Lu Wei's wife looks like. It is said that she will return to Beijing for the New Year this year, but few people have seen her. Everyone was very curious about what kind of wife Lu Wei, the most successful person in the compound, would marry.

He Xiaomin was looking over from a distance at this moment. When she saw Ye Zhi's face, her eyes lit up and she subconsciously said, "She is quite handsome and her clothes are very fashionable."

Aunt Huang sighed and said, "What's the use of Jun? I heard that she even opened a clothing factory."

He Xiaomin smiled and said, "Oh, no wonder her clothes are so beautiful and fashionable."

Aunt Huang glanced at her and continued, "Fashionable, fashionable, all you do is look at other people's outfits. You never know what the Lu family is thinking, relying on such a good relationship, they actually let their younger generation become self-employed. Tsk, it's really embarrassing!"

He Xiaomin muttered, "No, why is it embarrassing to be a self-employed person?"

Aunt Huang said angrily: "He is just a middleman. Don't you think it is shameful? In the whole compound, whose children are self-employed? I would rather beg for food than be a self-employed person!"