Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was Spring Festival, and the new year—1982—was about to arrive. Since Deng Wanjun's children, An'an and Ningning, and Liu Yanran's children, Mumu, Linlin, and Sensen, were still young, they decided to stay in Beijing for the New Year. Now that each store had talented individuals capable of handling their own affairs, everyone took a rare break.
The happiest people are the children. Each elder will give them a red envelope of 10 yuan, and after a round, they all become "rich people".
However, the children of the Liu and Lin families all had their own piggy banks, and their families did not confiscate their New Year's money. In addition, whether it was Liu Guoxing and Deng Wanjun's wedding or Gu Shijing and Liu Yanran's wedding, the children gave their blessings and gifts.
On the afternoon of the first day of the new year, Liu Chunhua also brought Xie Baoguo back, accompanied by Xie Xuan, who was carrying large and small bags, all of which were gifts prepared by Xie's mother. Seeing that Liu Chunhua looked good, it was known that her life in the Xie family was not bad.
Xie Jingzhi was the only one in the Xie family who had some resistance to Liu Chunhua and was unwilling to accept her, but the rest of the family was very friendly towards her. During the Chinese New Year, Xie Jingzhi was on duty at the military region due to work and was unable to return home to reunite with his family.
Liu Chunhua specially prepared a sumptuous meal and dumplings for him and asked Xie Baoguo to deliver them to Xie Jingzhi. Xie Baoguo, now the director, was qualified to provide a car. This was the first time Xie Jingzhi had felt such warm care.
Xie Jingzhi and his sister were raised by their grandparents and had almost no memory of their mother. Later, their biological mother Tang Wan did something despicable, which affected the marriage of both him and his sister.
Therefore, he was full of disgust for the title of "mother". When Liu Chunhua suddenly became their stepmother, he did not have much expectations and even took an evasive attitude, not attending the wedding on the pretext of being on a mission.
However, during the New Year, Liu Chunhua actually thought of him who was far away in the military area. Even if this concern was just superficial, it was enough to prove that she was good at dealing with people.
But that didn't mean he accepted her. It would be better for them to be strangers with no interactions. Even if they were in the same house, it wouldn't be difficult to avoid seeing each other. He was on vacation that day, but he didn't want to go home or sleep in the dormitory, so he wandered out aimlessly and happened to see a mother and daughter in front of him. The little girl was pulling at her mother's clothes and acting coquettishly.
"Mom, I want to eat osmanthus cake." The little girl blinked her big eyes and looked up at her mother, her eyes full of desire and expectation.
Her mother gently touched her head, the corners of her mouth slightly raised with a hint of pampering: "Then are you obedient?"
"Yeah, Jingjing is the most obedient." The little girl nodded quickly, an innocent smile on her face.
"Okay, then you be obedient and we won't buy it." Mom's voice was still gentle, but her attitude was firm.
When the little girl heard this, her mouth immediately pursed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked at her mother with grievance. However, her mother just looked at her gently, without any intention of compromise.
This scene made Xie Jingzhi, who was passing by, burst out laughing. His originally dull mood was instantly brightened by the lovely mother and daughter. When the mother and daughter heard the laughter, they turned their heads at the same time and their eyes fell on Xie Jingzhi.
Xie Jingzhi suddenly felt embarrassed, his cheeks quickly flushed, and he was a little overwhelmed. He quickly explained, "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."
A complex wave of emotions welled up in Xie Jingzhi's heart. He had never experienced such a tender moment before, and his longing for family warmth grew stronger. He couldn't help but think of his own upbringing, feeling filled with regret and helplessness.
The child's mother didn't say anything, but the little girl patted his leg with a serious face, probably because she couldn't reach other parts of his body. "Since you apologized sincerely, I will forgive you out of my mercy." Xie Jingzhi really liked this little girl in front of him. A family that could raise such a child must be full of love. He couldn't help but envy her.
This time the child's mother reacted and quickly apologized, "Jingjing, don't be disrespectful. I'm sorry, I spoiled this child."
Xie Jingzhi smiled gently, indicating that it was okay. He then handed the osmanthus cake to the little girl and asked softly, "How about giving you this osmanthus cake as a gift of apology?"
The little girl stared at the osmanthus cake, swallowing her saliva, but still shook her head firmly. "Mom said we shouldn't take things from strangers, so I can't take it." Although she was eager to taste the delicious osmanthus cake, she hadn't had it in a long time since her aunt got pregnant and gave birth to her younger siblings, and her mother didn't know how to make it.
"Yes, we can't have it. Please take it back." The child's mother said gently, then turned and left with the child. The little girl turned around and waved goodbye to Xie Jingzhi.
Her lovely appearance softened Xie Jingzhi's heart, and he suddenly wanted to get married and have children. However, the reality was cruel. He still hadn't found a suitable partner, let alone get married. Because of his mother's situation, many daughters from good families were unwilling to marry him, which made him feel extremely lost and helpless.
Just as he was still immersed in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a cry, which broke the silence and brought him back to his senses.
"Who are you? Let me and my daughter go! Help! Help!" Xie Jingzhi's heart tightened when he heard the voice, and he ran out without hesitation. When he arrived at the scene, he was furious. He saw four men surrounding the mother and daughter, forcibly dragging them into the car.
Without a second thought, Xie Jingzhi rushed forward to rescue the two men. His agility, drawing on his military training, allowed him to quickly engage the four men. Despite being outnumbered, he remained undaunted, fighting one against four and quickly knocking them all to the ground.
However, just as he was about to comfort the frightened little girl, the girl's mother suddenly cried out, "Be careful!" Xie Jingzhi keenly sensed the danger and reacted immediately. With a precise back kick, he knocked down the man who had attempted to attack him. Despite this, his arm was unfortunately scratched.
At that moment, public security officers rushed to the scene and successfully apprehended the four kidnappers. After interrogation, they learned that they were human traffickers specializing in the trafficking of children and women. Xie Jingzhi's timely appearance prevented this tragedy from happening.
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