Normally, children might help with some housework at home, but during the Lunar New Year, no matter what, they are encouraged to go out and play.
After finishing their meals, the children were running all over the village, so Jian Dan wasn't worried at all.
My own child goes out to play according to a set routine.
If you can see Tiger and Little Flower, then go find them and play together. If you can't see them, you'll probably just go to their house to look for them.
She only plays well with Hu Zi and Xiao Hua, and doesn't play with Hei Dan very much.
Mingzhu came out to pour water and saw a small, military-green figure slowly moving around. If it were just a lone figure, she might have had to guess, but with four dogs following behind, it was obviously Jian Xin's dog. And with the cotton sack in its hand, there was no need to guess—it was Jian Xin.
I simply stood at the door and watched.
"Zhuzhu, what are you doing? Aren't you cold? Come in!"
Seeing that his wife hadn't returned after going to get water, Lin Dongfang poked his head out of the kitchen and called for her.
Mingzhu turned around and greeted him with a big smile.
"Come, come, come and take a look."
"What's wrong? What are you looking at?"
“Look, here you are,”
"Pfft! What's this little one doing?"
Since she didn't run into any of her friends, Jian Xin decided to go to Tiger's house to play with him.
"Xin Xin, where are you going?"
"Aunt Zhuzhu, I want to go play!"
As she spoke, she glanced towards the village and saw children playing there.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked at Mingzhu with a serious expression.
"Aunt Zhuzhu, Happy Chinese New Year!"
Uncle Lin, Happy Chinese New Year!
Mingzhu was so charmed that she reached out and pulled the child over.
"Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Is this a new dress your sister made for you?"
Mingzhu had never seen such a small military overcoat before, and she was very curious.
"Yes, yes, isn't it beautiful? Isn't it beautiful?"
Upon hearing this, Jian Xin forgot the purpose of her trip and immediately started spinning around, her eyebrows practically flying off in delight.
Mingzhu, of course, would support her, especially since the little dress was indeed very pretty.
"It's beautiful, so beautiful."
"Yes, it's new inside too!"
Caught off guard, the little girl grabbed the opening of the cotton-padded coat to show her the new clothes underneath. Mingzhu seized the opportunity and pulled the child inside.
"Really? Can I show it to Auntie?"
Jian Dan had no idea that her child had been lured home by Mingzhu as soon as she left the house. After seeing her child off, she went back inside to start packing.
It's a beautiful day today, with clear skies and fresh air, but it's a bit chilly.
Wash and chop all the meat that had been rested yesterday, clean all the vegetables, and prepare all the seasonings such as scallions, ginger, and garlic. We're just waiting for the time to cook it.
The kids aren't home yet, and it's still early to cook, so I'm a bit lost and don't know what to do.
After a moment of confusion, he slowly locked the door, entered the east room, and then went directly into the base space.
Inside, things were still thriving as always.
Various plants and fruit trees grow in an orderly manner, rivers flow endlessly, and distant mountain peaks are shrouded in mist.
Following the familiar path, I walked past the weapons room and circled back to the main building.
This was a place she had never dared to enter; it was her residence in her previous life.
Her base is full of high technology, yet it remains completely unassuming and low-key.
From the outside, her base looks quite ordinary, with no skyscrapers or bustling traffic, just a row of single-story houses. However, what outsiders don't know is that there are two underground floors of the same size, totaling tens of thousands of square meters, filled with all kinds of supplies. It can be said that if you can imagine it, there is nothing she doesn't have here.
High technology is integrated into the details.
Like this underground warehouse, it has fully automated lifting and retrieval, and 360-degree all-round monitoring, so the storage below is clear at a glance, and the control console is in this yard.
A large touchscreen, behind which is a panoramic view of the two underground levels.
Once the supplies arrive, a fully automated lifting system will identify and move them to the appropriate location. At the same time, real-time information will be displayed on the main control screen, allowing the operator to have a complete understanding of the space.
For so long, she had only been using the items in the ground-level warehouse, mostly food, clothes, and daily necessities. If she hadn't come in today, she might have subconsciously forgotten about the underground part.
In her past life, she was a gangster's daughter, not a spoiled young lady who knew nothing. She had faced countless gunfights and life-or-death situations outside.
But her favorite place to be is here, in this quiet courtyard.
Standing here now, there is no hustle and bustle of the past, no laughter and playfulness, only tranquility. Apart from the mountain wind, the only sound in the world is her breathing.
It was eerily quiet.
Perhaps it was because she was thinking of the time of family reunion outside, but Jian Dan suddenly felt a sense of desolation and loneliness. A chill swept over her whole body, and for a moment she didn't care about anything else. She flashed back to reality and felt the warmth in the room. She let the warmth seep into her bones little by little. Her whole body, even her trembling hands, were pressed against the warm kang (a heated brick bed). It took a long time for her to warm up.
I sat there blankly for a while before finally shaking off these jumbled thoughts.
Occasionally, she would see children running and playing outside the door, which gradually pulled her back to reality.
Shaking his head, he decisively got up and started working.
On New Year's Eve, almost every family has the most lavish meal at noon.
What's the point of working all year round? Isn't it just to make sure our parents, wife, and kids have enough to eat?
Yesterday, I thawed a lot of frozen meat. I simply selected a few items. There are only two of us at home, but we still need to make sure the festive atmosphere is strong enough.
Fish is a must, symbolizing abundance year after year. The kids like it rich and flavorful, so we'll braise it. It's not like we'll eat such strong flavors every day.
Braised pork belly, kids love it.
Sweet and sour pork ribs, to balance out the strong flavor.
The braised beef was taken from the base space; the kids really liked the beef head noodles from a couple of days ago.
Braised prawns in oil, this is great, simple and I like it myself, it's fresh, you can hardly find it here, I think the kids will like it.
Braised pig's trotters, made in the pressure cooker in the base space, are very flavorful.
Pork skin jelly is a must-have dish in the rural areas here. It's made by boiling pork skin. It's simple to make and I didn't dare to measure it. But the day before yesterday in the county town, Lin He gave her a piece, which was enough for the two of them.
If the child likes it, I'll get some pigskin tomorrow; I reckon Grandma Liu will be able to make it.
Four Happiness Meatballs are readily available at the base, and are rarely made by individual households in rural areas; they are usually a main dish at banquets.
Candied sweet potatoes are sweet and kids might like them, but the candiing technique is just so-so.
I'll make another dish of pig's ears with cucumber, a cold dish, and add the braised food from yesterday, making a whole table full.
This wasn't the plan yesterday, but the feeling I had just experienced made me very uncomfortable, making me desperately want to fill my time. Before I knew it, I had made so much stuff, and I don't want to take any of it away.
When Jianxin came back, everyone was absolutely stunned!
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