Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Yan Xiaonan is twelve years old. This winter, her uncle will be able to come home. Grandma Yan has been looking at the calendar. Every morning, the first thing she does when she gets up is to tear off a page of the calendar while muttering, "It'll be here soon."
Southeast and Xuemei returned with their two-and-a-half-year-old son, Liujin. The little guy didn't want anyone else but stared at Yan Xiaonan, constantly asking her to hold him. When Cuihua asked him why, the little guy was quite straightforward: "Auntie is the prettiest."
Everyone knows that Uncle is coming home to visit relatives this year, so they've hidden away all the good food and drinks they've prepared, waiting for Uncle to come back so they can share them. Yan Xiaonan even made a special trip to Mushroom Mountain and had Tiger King hunt down a roe deer for him.
The Tiger King looked at Yan Xiaonan with resentment. How long had it been since he last came? And when he did, he would just steal food. Yan Xiaonan smiled bitterly. His special ability had disappeared for more than a year, and he had only recently been able to use it again, but he couldn't use it too often. The Tiger King shook his head understandingly. Yan Xiaonan felt annoyed that he was being pitied by a tiger.
Without saying much, he took out two quilts from his space. This time, Yan Xiaonan was smart. He asked his father to buy a lot of burlap sacks in town, and then modified the burlap sacks into bed sheets and stuffed them with enough cotton.
Tigers have thick, rough skin, so using cotton cloth would be a waste; burlap sacks are the best choice.
Seeing Yan Xiaonan place the two burlap sacks on top of the original quilt, Tiger King let out a low growl and pounced on it, stretching out his entire body as much as possible, so comfortable that he even closed his eyes.
Yan Xiaonan sat next to Tiger King, leaning against its body, feeling warm and comfortable: "Tiger King, I will be leaving here in six years, so you must not forget me."
Tiger King opened his eyes, not understanding the meaning of Yan Xiaonan's words. He twitched his ears and then closed his eyes again.
Yan Daqiang set off from Beijing. This time, he brought his youngest son, Yan Aidang, and a bodyguard with him. They had a lot of luggage, which one person couldn't carry alone.
"Report!" The guard saluted from outside the door.
"Come in," Yan Daqiang replied.
"Reporting to the commander, the train tickets have been purchased, but the train can only take us to a certain station because the roadbed ahead has been damaged by floods and has not yet been fully repaired. We will have to transfer to a long-distance bus."
Yan Daqiang frowned. This was the first time he went back to his hometown. Sometimes the railway would be interrupted for a part of the journey, and he could only transfer to a long-distance bus. He would find out which train was running and rush to change buses and get on the train.
Along the way, mudslides frequently washed away sections of the railway track, forcing trains to stop and wait for repairs to be completed before continuing their journey.
In addition, in some places, supplies have not kept up, and trains can only wait. There are too many unpredictable factors, making the journey home particularly difficult.
He carried his big bags and small packages around, which was exhausting and he was worried about losing them. Fortunately, the people were still very kind at the time, and most of them would lend a helping hand, especially when they saw him in his military uniform.
This time, he took his youngest son and a bodyguard with him on the road. In case of this situation, at least he would have two helpers. The bodyguard who was called was so happy that he was about to fly. What an honor it would be to be able to follow the leader and accompany him back to his hometown to visit relatives.
Therefore, he was particularly loyal and conscientious, finding out everything about the journey, even which train to take and which long-distance bus to transfer to, all recorded in his notebook and would review them from time to time.
Yan Erqiang was also allowed to return to his hometown. Every year, his letters were filled with sorrow and grief, which always made Grandma Yan feel uneasy. In the end, she relented and said that he could only come back the year his eldest son returned.
Yan Erqiang was excited to learn that his eldest brother would be coming back this year. Not only Yan Erqiang was excited, but Yan Zheng and Yan Ge were even more looking forward to it. Every year, they would receive New Year's money and candy from their grandmother, and their longing for her was like a surging river, unstoppable.
You know, the one yuan that Grandma gave them made their lives much easier. At least when they wanted to eat candy, they could spend ten cents to sweeten their mouths, and when they were hungry, they could spend twenty cents to buy some crumbs of biscuits to eat.
Back then, it was something to be envied when a child had lucky money in their pocket. And then there were the candies that Grandma would give, which would only be given to very close childhood friends. Even Cai Min didn't get any, which made her so angry that she cursed them as ungrateful wretches.
Yan Ge should go back and tell his grandma not to give him any more New Year's money, because he has graduated from junior high school this year and will be able to take over Cai Min's job next spring. He will soon be an adult who can earn money.
Yan Zheng was thinking of Yan Xiaonan, who was the best little sister to him. She gave him White Rabbit milk candy, canned food, and rice cakes. No child had ever been so good to him before. Only Nan Nan was the best to him, without exception.
When Grandma Yan received Yan Daqiang's letter and learned that her grandson was also coming to visit her, she was overjoyed and kept calling out "Cuihua, Cuihua!" Cuihua was also excited; the house would be lively again this year.
Yan Xiaoqiang also ran in: "Mom, the village is going to hand over the pigs in a few days. My older brother is back. Is it okay if we don't sell our pigs this year?"
Grandma Yan nodded. There were many more people in the family this year, so she started arranging the rooms. Bei Nan hadn't returned yet, so the room in his backyard would be for her eldest son's younger son. Even if Bei Nan came back, the two of them would have enough room. As for the guard, it would depend on her son's arrangements.
Yan Xiaonan's room will still be for Daqiang to live in. The rooms that Beinan and Xinan used to live in will be for the Yan brothers. The room that Xuemei used to live in has ancestral tablets, so Qiangzi will make a wooden box to put the tablets in, burn some sandalwood incense, apologize to the ancestors, and let the second son and his wife live there. They can only make do.
Tang Xiaoling and Xuemei were busy heating the kang (a heated brick bed), airing out the bedding, and cleaning. Dongnan and Xixin went out all day to chop firewood and fetch water. The family's water tanks had been increased to three, and keeping all three full was a real hardship for the two brothers.
Cuihua has already disappeared into the kitchen and won't be coming out. There are so many dishes to prepare this year, and she needs to organize them carefully. At least she needs to plan what to eat each day so that there are no repetitions or omissions. It's quite complicated.
Everyone was busy, and Liu Jin wasn't idle either. The little guy, who was just over two years old, could already walk and talk very well. He didn't want anyone else; he just wanted to follow Yan Xiaonan. He even wanted to sleep next to Yan Xiaonan at night, or else he would let you know the charm of his ear-piercing voice.
Southeast and Xuemei were delighted. This child was usually quite mischievous; they would chase him all over the yard to get him to eat. The clothes he had just put on in the morning were completely gone by the afternoon. But when he was with Yan Xiaonan, he was a well-behaved boy.
When it's time to eat, he sits quietly and scoops his own food with a small spoon. When it's time to sleep, he sleeps quietly and falls asleep in no time. When Yan Xiaonan reads a comic book, he also joins in, pointing at the pictures in the book with his little finger and muttering something to himself.
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