"I heard that the factory will provide dormitories next year. Then I can live in the county town and don't have to travel back and forth."

"Dormitory division?"

"Yes, Third Brother, didn't your meat processing factory tell you?"

"We haven't heard about it yet. This is great news."

"I heard that the number of places is limited and it won't be my turn."

"Second brother, this is not certain. Maybe you will really get this good thing."

"I don't know what it's like yet. The dormitory is a tube-shaped building, much narrower than our home. It's better to come back every day and live comfortably."

Li Mingqing listened while eating melon seeds.

Old Man Li said, "At least we don't have to run back and forth."

"Dad, why don't we let my brothers buy a house in the provincial capital?"

He either keeps silent or scares people to death when he speaks.

Buy a house!

This house cannot be bought just because they are born and raised in the countryside. They are not used to living in the city at all. Another important reason is that they do not have enough money.

They have only been working for a few months, and their total salary is less than 200 yuan.

Old man Li asked cautiously, "Ming Qing, do you think it's reliable to buy a house in the county town?"

"It's definitely reliable. When the time comes, the children will go to school in the county town."

"You're right. If the kids want to go to high school, they really have to go to the county town."

Seeing their mouths hanging open in disbelief, Li Mingqing smiled and said, "I'm not asking you to buy it now. The child still has many years to go before high school. Prepare in advance."

"Fourth brother, what you said makes sense."

So the three brothers seriously considered the possibility of buying a house.

"The Chinese New Year is here in the blink of an eye. I remember last year I didn't even get to eat dumplings on New Year's Eve."

"That's not the case, but I have everything today."

Li Mingqing sat and chatted for a while before going to the kitchen to find Sun Jiaxue.

Sun Jiaxue just came out and said to him with a smile, "Brother Mingqing, it's still a while before dinner. Let's go to Grandma Zhao's house."

"We really are in perfect sync."

The two of them went home and got the pork ribs and braised pork that had been stewed earlier, and each filled a small bowl.

It’s quite miserable to spend the New Year alone, so I decided to go and have a look.

When I got to Grandma Li's place, she was rolling out dough.

"Mother-in-law, I'm making dumplings."

"Hey, come in and sit down. Why are you two here on New Year's Day?"

"Happy New Year, mother-in-law. I'll give you some home-cooked spareribs to try."

"Tell me why are you two being so polite? Why don't you stay and eat dumplings later?"

Sun Jiaxue quickly said, "Mother-in-law, no need. The dumplings at home are almost ready. We can just go home and eat them."

"It's amazing that you young couple still remember an old woman like me."

She said very moved.

"Grandma, no matter who I forget, I will never forget you. I treat you as my own grandmother."

"Well, well, well, I finally got a wonderful granddaughter for nothing."

The two sat for a while and then prepared to leave.

Granny Zhao reluctantly saw them off.

Seeing this, Sun Jiaxue said, "Grandma, why don't you come home with us to celebrate the New Year's Eve?"

"No, you guys go back."

"Mother-in-law—"

"I'll come visit you again tomorrow, the first day of the Lunar New Year."

On the way back, Li Mingqing saw that every household had lights on and no one had turned them off.

It’s worthy of being the Spring Festival.

Normally, the villagers would be willing to turn on the lights and waste electricity.

When I arrived at the door of Li's house, I saw Li Xiangdong holding two firecrackers and Li Xiangxi holding a wooden stick with sparks.

"Where did you get these firecrackers?"

"Uncle, we took these off the plate of firecrackers at home. We only took two of them off."

The two of them whispered stealthily.

Li Mingqing saw their guilty look and said with a smile: "You are really amazing. You are not afraid of getting beaten."

"Uncle, Dad won't beat us. Even if he does, he won't beat us until the second day of the Lunar New Year."

Sounds very experienced.

"Okay, you two can make a fuss."

As he spoke, he took out three boxes of small firecrackers.

These are originally for children to play with. If I hadn't seen two children setting off firecrackers, I would have forgotten about it.

His eyes shone brightly towards the east and west.

This was the first time they had seen this thing. It was colorful and very beautiful.

What if these kids get hurt if they set off such big firecrackers? These are just for them to play with.

Xiangdong shouted at the door: "Sister, big girl! Come out quickly!"

The eldest, second and third girls thought something had happened and ran out.

"Come, sister, these are the little firecrackers my uncle gave me. You can play with them too. They're not scary."

The girl took one tentatively, and after lighting the fuse, it not only made a loud noise but also produced beautiful fireworks.

Several children stared with their eyes wide open.

I couldn't help but exclaim: "Wow, how can it be so beautiful!"

"Uncle is the best to us."

Other children also came over to watch the fun.

I'm so envious, it's the first time I've seen it.

The two brothers Li Hongbo and Li Hongtao who came to play asked, "Xiangdong, where did you buy it?"

"This was given to me by my uncle."

Li Hongtao said with regret: "Why don't we have a little uncle, only a little aunt?"

Li Lizhu came out and heard it. She had heard the commotion outside the yard and came out to see what was going on, and ended up hearing the little brat say this.

"What happened to my aunt?"

"Auntie is so nice. She gives us delicious food."

"That's more like it."

She is really good to the children from her mother's family and will bring them some rare things.

Of course, her sister-in-law Zhao Xiaohua would never forget to give Erniu and Sanniu a portion when she had something delicious.

There is give and take, and they get along harmoniously.

In less than ten minutes, all the children in the village had their chance.

They all came to watch the fireworks.

As it was almost seven o'clock in the evening, every household had finished making dumplings and would go to the door to set off firecrackers before putting them into the pot.

There were bursts of noises and crackling sounds, one after another.

Drive out the old year and welcome the new year.

The air was filled with a faint smell of fireworks.

When they heard the sound of firecrackers, the children would go home and eat without being called by adults.

Old Lady Li made the plump white dumplings.

Don’t forget to feed dumplings to the Kitchen God.

“Dumplings are here!”

Li Mingli and his friends took the wine glasses and bottles off the table and prepared to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.

"There are two dumplings with one-cent coins inside. Let's see who can eat it."

"Grandma, I think I can eat it, and everyone will be rich next year."

Even though Li Xiangdong is not focused on his studies, he might be talking a lot.

Zhang Lihua smiled and said, "You are the one who stands out."

"Mom, don't disbelieve me, maybe I can really eat it."

The children ate slowly and chewed their food carefully. They were not so greedy when eating dumplings from time to time this year. In previous years, they would have snatched them away long ago.

I put the dumplings into my mouth even when they are piping hot, for fear that they will be gone if I eat them too slowly.

There were also some families fighting over dumplings.

There’s nothing I can do. I’m too poor, so I can only make a few dumplings.