"Uncle Li, there's still some left. Please don't be reluctant to part with it."

Jian Ning insisted on giving him the ice cream in her hand. She also handed one to each of Da Zhuang and Xiao Lingfeng.

"Sister Ning, life is so good now. Looking at the ice cream reminds me of the days when I was at home."

My mom always kept my favorite chocolate-coated ice cream in the fridge. Every day after school, the first thing I did was check the fridge. I wonder how they are doing now!

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Dazhuang was just a child after all, so it was normal for him to miss his parents. Jian Ning patted him on the shoulder but didn't say anything. In this kind of world, those who survived were definitely lucky. It all depended on each person's fate.

"The house is almost ready. I plan to have my mom and Tian Tian move in tomorrow, and then we'll treat everyone to a nice meal." Xiao Lingfeng finished his ice cream in a few bites and looked at Jian Ning as he spoke.

“Great! This room should be decorated too. Sweetie and I have cut a lot of paper-cut window decorations. We can bring them over and stick them on the windows for a festive look.”

“Sure,” Xiao Lingfeng had no objections. As long as they were happy, he didn’t care how they arranged it.

On the day of the move, Xiao Lingfeng even took out firecrackers from his spatial storage and set off two strings, creating a lively and exciting atmosphere with their crackling sounds.

Jian Ning took out a lot of seafood from her space and had a hot seafood hot pot meal.

Li Mengyao brought the two children over as well. The little ones, suddenly in a new place, looked around with curiosity, their eyes darting around. Jian Ning liked it very much and kissed each of them on the cheek.

"Xiao Ning, if you ask me, you should find someone to settle down with."

Aren't you both getting on in years? I think Xiao Lingfeng is quite good; he's a good person, capable, and family-oriented. Haven't you two had any other thoughts about this relationship?

Li Mengyao leaned close to Jian Ning's ear and whispered a question.

"Sister-in-law, I'm not in a hurry. I'm still young. Although he is indeed quite handsome, I'm just admiring him. Besides, he doesn't seem to have any romantic feelings for me."

Jian Ning felt that her relationship with Xiao Lingfeng was just a comradeship for battle. Although she liked his handsome face and his good personality, he hadn't expressed any feelings for her. It was pointless for her to be so enthusiastic on his own.

"You silly girl. You're not a mind reader, how do you know he doesn't like you? I saw it during dinner."

His attention was completely on you; he peeled a whole plate of shrimp for you. If it were anyone else, I doubt he would have even lifted a finger.

"Really? I didn't notice. I've already paid for all the seafood. Can't he peel some shrimp for me?" Jian Ning said, quickly standing up.

"I'll go help with the dishes, sister-in-law, watch the child."

"This girl, let's see how long you can hide!"

Li Mengyao chuckled behind her. She'd clearly seen Jian Ning blush earlier; it seemed she still had feelings for Xiao Lingfeng. It remained to be seen when the two of them would finally confess their feelings.

On New Year's Day, the base distributed flour to everyone and gave each family a piece of meat, about half a pound, which the soldiers had reportedly hunted two wild boars in the mountains. This was all to improve everyone's meals for the New Year.

Wild boar meat shreds are quite coarse, and the taste is far inferior to that of domestic pigs, so the pork used for making dumplings was the kind Jian Ning took out from her space.

The wild boar meat was boiled and given to Uncle Li to dip in garlic sauce while drinking.

This year, the two families spent New Year's Eve together again. After all, it's more lively with more people. Aunt Li and Aunt Wang cooked together and made twelve hearty dishes.

Jian Ning also drank a can of beer.

Then she kept smiling. She insisted on dragging Xiao Lingfeng outside to set off fireworks. Tonight, the base witnessed a spectacle unseen in the past two years.

Brilliant fireworks kept rising from the villa area, illuminating half the night sky.

It made everyone feel that this New Year was especially warm. Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration; at least Miao Xin didn't think so.

Ever since she was sent to the Taoist temple that day, her days have felt like an eternity. The physical pain was unbearable, not to mention the way people looked at her as if she were a ghost.

But she didn't have a mirror, so she had no idea what her face looked like. She could only wrap it up with a scarf and huddle in a corner of the room.

Fortunately, she brought some food with her when she came; the people at the Taoist temple still had some compassion.

This would allow her to eat with the Taoist priests. During the Lunar New Year, a bowl of dried vegetable porridge would be considered a delicacy. Dumplings were out of the question.

She was so hungry that she wanted to smash the bowl in her hand.

When fireworks soared into the dark night sky, everyone inside rushed out to watch, ignoring the cold air outside.

Miao Xin followed them out, her eyes filled with uncontrollable hatred as she looked towards the villa area.

He turned and went to Huang the Taoist's room. He gently knocked twice on the door frame.

"Who is it? Why are you up so late at night? Is something wrong?"

Taoist Huang only returned from his elder brother's place this evening. He's been exhausted these past two days; performing rituals requires physical strength. Jumping and leaping non-stop like that would be too much even for a deity.

But the reward from the boss was also generous; otherwise, he wouldn't have put in so much effort, using all his hidden skills.

"It's me, Miao Xin. Taoist Huang, may I come in and talk to you?"

"No, you know I'm a Taoist priest. It's not good for a man and woman to be alone together in the middle of the night. If you have something to do, please come early tomorrow." Taoist Huang was still unaware that Miao Xin had been kicked out by the boss.

So although there was some impatience in his tone, he still didn't want to offend her. He tried to reason with her politely.

“Taoist Huang, I can’t wait until tomorrow. I have something really important to do. So, if you can help me resolve this matter, I can give you a big yellow croaker as a reward for your trouble.”

Miao Xin had no other choice. She couldn't afford to be unwilling to spend money; these days, people only valued food and gold, nothing else.

Upon hearing that there were large yellow croakers to be had, the Taoist priest immediately perked up.

He only received food from the boss, but no gold. Gold is always a hard currency, no matter what.

Especially now that the base's order has stabilized, even without points, gold can still be used to purchase supplies.

After getting dressed and opening the door, I was about to turn on the light when Miao Xin stopped me. Her voice was very urgent.

"Taoist Huang, please don't turn on the light. I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable right now."

"Alright, alright, Miss Miao, please have a seat. What can I do for you?" Although the Taoist priest didn't understand the reason, he was certain he could fulfill any request from his client.

He pulled over a chair and made Miao Xin sit down. There was no moonlight outside, it was pitch black. He sat on the bed himself and waited for Miao Xin to speak.