Chinese New Year

Hospitals are different from factories. The latter can take a unified rest on holidays, but hospitals have to have people on duty day and night all year round, so they adopt a rotation system.

However, there are fewer patients during the New Year period, so it is sufficient as long as there is someone in each department every day, so the rest arrangements are relatively relaxed.

Considering that Feng Aiyun was leaving on the 28th, Ye Min chose to take a day off from the 28th, work a day at the hospital on the second day of the New Year, and then take a day off from the third to the sixth day of the New Year.

Meng Cheng rested at about the same time as her, but he had to go to the camp in the afternoon of New Year's Eve and have New Year's Eve dinner with the soldiers in the camp at night.

But this didn't affect anything. Jiang Cheng had his New Year's Eve dinner at noon, and they continued this custom after arriving at the army. The two meals were staggered, so Meng Cheng didn't have to delay either one.

On the first day of rest, Ye Min got up very early.

After getting up, exercise as usual. After finishing, eat breakfast first, then find clothes and take a shower.

Actually, Ye Min wanted to wash her hair, but the sun was not strong in the morning and it was not easy for her hair to dry after washing. She also had to send Feng Aiyun off later and it was not good for her to go out with wet hair.

Fortunately, she has already adapted to the current training intensity. The temperature was not high before the New Year, so she did not sweat much during the morning training and her hair could last for another day.

After taking a shower, Ye Minshun rubbed her clothes, hung them up, and went back to the room to apply some cold cream. She then combed her hair again. After she was tidy, she said something to Meng Cheng and took the brother and sister out.

Ye Min told the brother and sister that Feng Aiyun would not be back after the New Year, but An An was young and did not understand much. She only knew that they were going to see their aunt off today.

Meng Zheng was not very old, but he followed Ye Min to the army when he was less than three years old. He lost contact with his former friends and vaguely knew what separation meant. When he went to Lu's house, he asked, "Mom, why did Aunt Feng leave? Is she really not coming back?"

"This is a very complicated matter. For now, it would be better for Aunt Feng to leave." As for the latter question, Ye Min thought for a moment and said, "Not necessarily. Maybe she will come back to see us in the future."

"oh."

When they arrived at Lu's house, the gate was closed. Ye Min thought she was late at first. She pricked up her ears and heard some movement inside. Then she raised her hand to knock on the door and introduced herself loudly.

Feng Aiyun's voice soon came from the second floor: "Here she comes!"

But almost as Feng Aiyun finished speaking, footsteps were heard in the yard. The door opened and a young man appeared in front of Ye Min.

Ye Min had never seen him before, but from the navy uniform he was wearing, she could guess his identity, so she smiled politely and said, "Hello, Comrade Lu. I'm here to look for Aiyun."

The father and son of the Lu family look alike, but although Deputy Division Commander Lu holds a high position, he is very approachable, knows how to joke, and has a gentle personality. The second son of the Lu family is different. He is like a sharp knife, very cold and serious, and you can tell at first glance that he is not easy to approach.

After listening to Ye Min's words, he didn't say anything, just nodded slightly, stepped aside, and motioned the three people to go in.

When they entered the yard, he closed the door and turned to walk into the house. Just as he reached the door, Feng Aiyun came out. She was obviously in a good mood, with a faint smile on her face. It was not until she saw him that she slightly restrained her smile and called out honestly, "Second cousin."

The young man nodded lightly and walked past her into the house.

After making contact with the person, Feng Aiyun exhaled, patted his chest, walked to Ye Min, smiled and greeted her, then squatted down, put his hands on An An's face and rubbed it and asked: "An An, do you miss your aunt?"

Did they just meet yesterday?

An An tilted her head, not really understanding why Feng Aiyun asked that, but the little girl was very cooperative. When she couldn't figure it out, she said sweetly, "Yes!"

"Auntie misses An An very much, too!" Feng Aiyun said, and then she kissed An An hard on the face before letting her go.

Meng Zheng, who had watched the whole process, quickly stepped back, fearing that Feng Aiyun would also kiss him.

But it was obvious that he was being overly sentimental.

Feng Aiyun had no intention of kissing him at all. She just rubbed his hair with a smile.

Normally, Meng Zheng didn't like people rubbing his hair, but compared to kissing his face, he still preferred having his hair rubbed. So after Feng Aiyun stopped, Meng Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

After the greetings, Feng Aiyun led the three people to greet Feng Xiuling, and then led them upstairs.

Her room is at the entrance of the stairs on the second floor. Compared with the two rooms in Ye Min's house, Feng Aiyun's room is not big, but it has everything it needs and is well decorated. The sheets and quilt covers are made of the same light blue plaid cloth, which is very refreshing.

At this time, there was a leather suitcase spread out between the bed and the closet, with a lot of clothes neatly stacked inside.

Ye Min saw him and asked, "Are you packing?"

Feng Aiyun smiled bitterly: "Yes, there are too many things. I don't know which ones to pack."

"Pack the important things, right? Ask your aunt to send the less important clothes for you?"

"You're talking about a solution." Feng Aiyun's eyes lit up, and he squatted down to look through the clothes in the suitcase and said, "I'll pack them up again. Have you had breakfast this morning?"

"I came here after eating," Ye Min asked. "What time is your train?"

"It's half past twelve," Feng Aiyun raised her hand and looked at her watch. "We have to leave at ten o'clock, so there's still more than an hour."

"Your aunt sent you to the city to take the bus?"

"Yes, and my cousin and second cousin. My second cousin will take me to Kuncheng."

"Kuncheng?"

Feng Aiyun nodded: "My uncle was worried that it would be inconvenient for me to carry the luggage by myself, so he wanted me to take me home. But I felt that the Chinese New Year was coming soon, and he might not be able to make it back on New Year's Eve, so I didn't agree, so I changed it to Kuncheng."

"Your aunt and uncle are very good to you."

"Yes, they are very nice to me." Feng Aiyun sighed, with a strong sense of reluctance in her tone.

"As long as your hearts are together, the distance doesn't really matter. You can always call them and even visit them when you have time."

Feng Aiyun smiled: "You are right, I am..."

"What is it?"

"I don't know if I can live well in a new place." Feng Aiyun said with a wry smile, "You also know that I don't have good relationships with people."

"No way. Xiaoyun, I, and Sister Liang all like you very much. Not only us, but there are also many colleagues in the hospital who like you. Of course, if you want everyone to like you, then just ignore what I said."

Ye Min made a joke, and seeing her expression relax a little, he continued, "There is no truly perfect person in this world, and no one can really be liked by everyone, so I think having three or five good friends is enough in life. When you arrive in a new place, you just need to be clear in your interpersonal relationships. As for other things, don't ask for too much, it's unnecessary."

Feng Aiyun lowered his head and pondered Ye Min's words. After a long while, he said, "After hearing what you said, I feel much better."

"I am glad that these words are useful to you."

After packing their luggage, the four of them did not stay upstairs for long. They went downstairs to the living room to chat with Feng Xiuling and her daughter.

Time always passes quickly when we have to say goodbye. It seemed still early when we went downstairs, but after we sat down and chatted for a few words, second cousin Feng Aiyun came to remind us that it was time to leave.

Feng Aiyun hurried upstairs to get her luggage, but it was very difficult for her to walk down the stairs because she had a lot of stuff and it was heavy. A young man standing nearby saw her, strode over, took the suitcase from her, and carried it outside easily.

There was a car parked outside the yard. It was arranged by Deputy Commander Lu to take them to the city and then bring Feng Xiuling and her daughter back.

After leaving the yard, Feng Aiyun did not get into the car immediately. Instead, she turned around, hugged Ye Min and said, "Thank you for always being with me during this time. It feels really good to get help from another friend when I was betrayed by one friend."

"I'm also very lucky to be your friend." Ye Min patted her on the back and said softly, "Remember to write to me when you get to the island."

Feng Aiyun said: "Well, you should also write to me often."

An An heard this nearby and looked up and said, "There's me too!"

Feng Aiyun let go of Ye Min, smiled and squatted down to touch An An's head and said, "Auntie will definitely write to An An often in the future. You should write back to Auntie when you receive the letter, okay?"

An An didn't quite understand, so she asked, "What's the reply?"

Meng Zheng interrupted and said, "Just write down what you want to tell her on paper with a pen!"

"Well, well..." An An stuttered for a long time before saying with embarrassment, "I can't even write yet!"

Feng Aiyun said generously: "It doesn't matter. When you can't write, you can ask your mother to help you write. When you learn to write, you can write to your aunt yourself."

An An felt that writing was tiring and didn't really want to learn it, but she wanted to write a letter to Feng Aiyun, so she reluctantly said, "Then I'll learn it."

"So good!" Feng Aiyun kissed An An again and got into the car at the driver's urging.

Sitting firmly in the back seat, Feng Aiyun rolled down the window and waved to the mother and her two children: "I'm leaving. See you later!"

"See you later!"

…

After Feng Aiyun left, Ye Min and Meng Cheng became busy. In two days, they went to the county town once, the commune twice, and went to the market once before they finally prepared the New Year's goods.

On New Year's Eve, Qian Xiaoyun and his wife and Mr. Dong all came to Ye Min's house early in the morning.

After discussing, Ding Yang's parents finally decided not to come to their place of residence to celebrate the New Year. It's not that they don't value their son Ding Yang, but the state-owned factory where Ding's father works is focusing on production this year and only has three days off for the New Year.

His position was not high, but it was very important, so he could not take too long a leave. If he did not come, Ding's mother would not be willing to come all the way here alone.

After discussing it, the two decided to spend the New Year in their hometown, and when Qian Xiaoyun was about to give birth, they would come over to stay for a few more days to avoid Ding Yang, the new father, from being too busy.

Ding Yang had rarely spent the New Year at home since he entered the military academy, so he could understand their decision. Coincidentally, he received an invitation from Ye Min and his wife, so the two families spent the New Year together.

Needless to say, Mr. Dong's wife and children are not alive, and he is a lonely man. He was alone during the Spring Festival in previous years, but this year... Although he was a little hesitant when Ye Min told him about this for the first time, his attitude was not firm. He agreed without much thought when she lobbied him for the second time.

Both of them came with something in their hands. Mr. Dong brought a bottle of liquor, and it was not an ordinary brand, but Maotai.

At that time, liquor was also supplied at a fixed quota and could only be purchased with tickets. The supply was also divided into different levels. The average person in the compound could buy no more than two or three yuan of liquor, and a note was required to buy Feitian Moutai.

The Moutai that Mr. Dong brought was not Feitian, but it was not bad either. At least with Mengcheng's level, they couldn't afford to buy it. But they were not surprised that Mr. Dong had this wine.

After Dong's apprentice killed someone, many people in the capital remembered him, otherwise he would not have been removed from office so quickly.

Originally they wanted to bring Mr. Dong back to the capital, but he was unwilling to go. Yao Lin was eager to stay in the military hospital, so he ignored the hints from the capital and kept him under pressure.

Although there was not much going on in the capital, the leaders in the province were not fooled. After they got to know Mr. Dong, they hoped that he could stay even more than Yao Lin did, as it would also make it more convenient for them to see doctors.

In the past few months, provincial leaders have often asked Mr. Dong to treat their illnesses, but he is alone and has no desires or requests. Even those in the capital cannot impress him, let alone travel far to treat these people.

The provincial leaders had no choice but to come to the military hospital to see him in person. This time, Mr. Dong did not refuse. He made an appointment with him and he saw the patient.

The higher the position one holds, the more important they are to their health. Mr. Dong is a skilled doctor and cured their long-standing illnesses. Naturally, they are grateful and want to have a good relationship with him. In addition to normal medical expenses, leaders also give him gifts.

Mr. Dong doesn't like these interpersonal relationships and refuses anything anyone gives him.

Seeing that he would not give in to their soft and hard tactics, some people took a roundabout way to find Yao Lin. Although Yao Lin was smooth, he was not shallow and helped him reject all the offers that could be rejected. However, he was in the game, and there were always a few people that he could not refuse, so he had to accept them and pass them on to Mr. Dong.

This is how this bottle of Moutai came into the hands of Mr. Dong.

Yao Lin was a shrewd man, and he definitely knew whether he could accept the things or not. Mr. Dong couldn't refuse, so he simply accepted the things.

But he doesn't like drinking and finds it boring to drink alone. Ye Min happened to invite him to celebrate the New Year together, so he brought it up to share with everyone.

Seeing that Ye Min didn't want to accept the bottle of wine, Mr. Dong turned around and was about to leave.

Ye Min was afraid that he would really go back to celebrate the New Year alone, so she quickly stopped him and said, "It's just wine, let's drink it. I haven't tried Maotai yet, so don't feel bad when we finish it."

"Am I such a stingy person?" Boss Dong asked with a stern face, but it didn't last long before his expression softened.

Qian Xiaoyun and his wife brought food, both meat and vegetarian. They didn't plan to eat for free anyway.

Meng Cheng and Ding Yang were the chefs for the New Year's Eve dinner. Seeing them walk into the kitchen, Mr. Dong asked jokingly, "Since all the men have gone into the kitchen, should I show off my cooking skills as well?"

"You are the elder, just sit and wait for the meal to be served," Ye Min said, changing the subject, "Of course, if your cooking is delicious, I would be happy to show you my cooking skills."

Mr. Dong didn't brag, but said honestly: "I may disappoint you."

Ye Min also joked, "Then you should just sit back and relax."

Because it was New Year's Eve dinner, the meal was particularly sumptuous. There were eight meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes and two cold dishes. The soup was stewed with old duck and yam. It was cooked for a whole morning and had a milky white color, which was very tempting.

Before dinner, Meng Cheng went to set off firecrackers first.

Children love this the most. Meng Zheng saw his father picking up the firecrackers and quickly followed him. An An also wanted to go out, but was stopped by Ye Min, who was afraid that she would be scared and cry.

An An was indeed stunned the moment the firecrackers exploded, and hid in Ye Min's arms until Master Meng Cheng and his friend came in, then he came out and sat in his fixed seat.

After everyone was seated, Meng Cheng first opened the Maotai that Old Dong had gotten, and poured a glass for everyone except Qian Xiaoyun and the two children.

Ding Yang was very supportive. He took the wine glass and sniffed it twice before praising it, saying, "It is indeed Maotai. It smells so good."

Mr. Dong was in a good mood and said with a smile, "I like to drink more."

"I would have drunk more even if you didn't tell me." Ding Yang said, picking up his glass, "Then shall we go first?"

"OK."

Ye Min and others also raised their glasses. Qian Xiaoyun was pregnant and couldn't drink, so she poured a glass of boiled water like the two children and raised it to clink glasses with everyone.

Before the toast, Meng Cheng said: "A lot of things happened this year, some good and some bad, but overall it was pretty satisfactory. I hope everyone will be successful next year!"

Ye Min replied: "Be safe and sound!"

"Healthy!"

"All the best!"

"Cheers—"

…

If you ask who are the happiest people during the Chinese New Year, it must be the children in the compound.

It's not just because they are on summer vacation, but also because there are many things to play with during the Chinese New Year. It's okay before the New Year because the children are poor and they don't have the money to buy the good things in the supply and marketing cooperatives.

After New Year's Eve, all the children in the compound received more or less New Year's money from their parents. On the morning of the first day of the New Year, they went from house to house to wish people a happy new year. Even if they didn't have one or two yuan, they would at least give a dime or two.

Even though the amount is not much, if you visit more households, you can get more red envelopes.

So after breakfast on the morning of New Year's Day, Meng Zheng took An An and ran after Dongdong. When he came back, his jacket pockets were bulging. When he opened them, he saw that they were full of Mao Zedong's banknotes.

Without saying too much, the total cost for two people is about seven or eight yuan.

Many people came to the Meng family to pay New Year's greetings in the morning. Ye Min did not try to be a sucker, but he was not too stingy either. He prepared red envelopes at 20 cents each. In the morning, he had spent nearly ten yuan.

By this calculation, their family still suffered a loss.

But the loss is not too big and acceptable.

Of course, it was Ye Min who settled the bill. The brother and sister didn't care about that. They only knew that their pockets were fatter this year.

In addition to these scattered red envelopes, they also received red envelopes from their parents, which were prepared by Ye Min, with five yuan each.

Mr. Dong and Mr. and Mrs. Ding Yang also prepared red envelopes for the two of them, and the amounts were not small. The two red envelopes prepared by Mr. Dong were each RMB 8.8, and the smaller ones prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Ding Yang were each RMB 6.6.

Liang Juan and her husband also gave them red envelopes, two yuan each.

So the brother and sister are now wealthy people with more than 20 yuan in savings. Well, that’s not right. Meng Zheng’s savings are even higher because he has the habit of saving money.

It's not that An An doesn't have this habit, but she was too young last year, so all the red envelopes she received went into Ye Min's pocket. This year, the little girl knew that money is a good thing, so she kept the red envelopes tightly in her pocket, and Ye Min tried to coax her to hand them over but failed.

The first day of the new year is a time for friends to hang out. Ye Min doesn’t have many friends in the army, especially after Feng Aiyun left. There are only two friends left with whom he is close. One lives next door, and the other one they eat New Year’s Eve dinner with, so it is easy to visit each other during the new year.

Meng Cheng was different. He had many comrades-in-arms and leaders above him, who all had to bring gifts and sit with him. Many people also came to wish him a happy new year.

To sum up his day, he either visited other people's homes to wish them a happy new year, or hosted people who came to wish them a happy new year at home.

Among those who came to the Meng family to pay New Year's greetings, the ones who surprised Ye Min the most were Chai Guihong and his wife.

Chai Guihong gave birth in the middle of last month, and it has been half a month since she came out of confinement, but she obviously didn't recuperate well. It's not that she was suffering, most women will gain weight during pregnancy, and it's normal to lose weight after giving birth. She just looked much more haggard, with a sallow complexion.

But she was in good spirits, smiling, and speaking in a friendly tone: "If it weren't for your help, I don't know if I could have given birth to this baby smoothly. I wanted to come to your house to thank you as soon as I got out of confinement, but isn't it the end of the year? There are so many things to do at home, so I put it off until now. It's just the right time to come and wish you a happy new year."

Ye Min was not stupid enough to mention the fact that Captain Wang was not at home on his day off. She smiled and said, "This shows that you and your daughter are blessed with good fortune. Besides, I did nothing that day. It was all done by Liang."

As she spoke, she looked down at the child in Chai Guihong's arms. The little girl was born prematurely, and was much smaller than a full-term baby when she was born. Also, because Chai Guihong's milk supply was insufficient, the milk powder at that time had a simpler composition and insufficient nutrition, so after more than a month, she did not grow much, and looked only slightly bigger than a full-term baby.

But her skin had become whiter and her face looked rosy. If she took good care of herself, she might be healthy in the future. So she said, "It is said that those who survive a great disaster will have good fortune in the future. This child might be a lucky person in the future."

"We plan to go to Secretary Liang's house to pay New Year's greetings later."

Liang Juan looked down at her daughter in her arms. When she first gave birth to this child, she really didn't like this girl, but after more than a month, she began to feel a little pity for her. She said gratefully, "I don't expect her to be rich in the future, I just hope she lives in peace and safety."

While they were talking, Meng Cheng and Captain Wang were also chatting.

The two were in the same group, and they saw each other three or four times a week, if not every day. Although they didn't become close friends because their personalities were not very similar, their relationship was not bad, and they didn't have to worry about running out of topics to talk about.

However, because both parties had not finished their New Year's greetings and were waiting to go to the next house, Chai Guihong and his wife did not sit for long and stood up from the stool after about ten minutes.

After sending them to the gate, Ye Min took out two yuan from his pocket, stuffed it into the swaddling clothes of Chai Guihong's little daughter and said, "This is the New Year's gift for the child."

"No, she's still so young, she doesn't need money!" Chai Guihong quickly took out the money to return to Ye Min.

If Ye Min had not seen the child, she might not have thought of giving the child a New Year's gift. But since Chai Guihong and his wife brought her here, Ye Min had to give the money and she was determined not to accept it.

As the two were pushing and shoving each other, Meng Zheng came back with An An.

Seeing the two children, Chai Guihong no longer refused the red envelope given by Ye Min, and at the same time called her husband beside her: "Lao Wang." Her eyes looked at his pocket, and the meaning was self-evident.

Captain Wang was not a good husband or father, but he had climbed to his current position, so he must be a good person in society. Seeing his wife's expression, he quickly took out a handful of money from his pocket.

There were more dimes than whole coins in the bundle, but he took out a five-yuan note and handed it to Meng Zheng, saying it was a New Year's gift for them.

Meng Zheng received so many red envelopes today that his body started to react. When he saw the money, he immediately extended his hand and said, "Congratulations on your prosperity!"

Ye Min glared at him when she saw it, and the latter quickly withdrew his hand and stood still. She continued to say to Captain Wang: "This amount of money is too much. They are all children and cannot spend that much money."

Although she had just given a red envelope to Chai Guihong's daughter, their two families were not that close, and it was enough for the couple to reciprocate gifts and give one dollar to each of Meng Zheng's siblings.

But Captain Wang stuffed the money directly into Meng Zheng's pocket and said, "Then keep it and spend it slowly. Meng Ying and I are from the same regiment and have known each other for many years. You saved the lives of my wife and children. This little token of your appreciation is nothing."

Ye Min wanted to say something, but before she could finish her words, she saw a message pop up above An An's head:

[Wang is in the same group as Meng Cheng? Was he the one who died with Meng Cheng during the mission? ]