Lin Sanjun was resting in the dormitory. Compared with two years ago, he had grown taller and darker. He was usually taciturn and had a cold temperament, so he probably looked like the cold-blooded soldier described in later generations.

"Lin Sanjun, your package has arrived." The guard on duty pulled a cart and shouted at their window. It was Chinese New Year, and since the soldiers were not walking outside, everyone's packages were delivered downstairs by the guard on duty.

As soon as Lin Sanjun heard about the package, he ran downstairs immediately. He was only wearing a thin short-sleeved training suit and facing the cold wind, but he didn't feel cold at all. His heart was warm.

Soldier: "Lin Sanjun, you have so many packages." Two packages a year is not much, but compared with other soldiers, it is a lot. And every time his package is very heavy and big.

Lin Sanjun usually doesn't like to smile, but he couldn't help but smile at Xiaobing: "My sister sent it to me." As soon as he saw the address on the package and the handwriting on the list, he knew it was his sister. When they were at home, they all got along well, but his eldest brother would never think of sending him anything. Men don't think so much. So the only one who would send him something was his eldest sister. Thinking of this, Lin Sanjun immediately ran back to the dormitory carrying the package.

The soldier could only feel envy as he watched him walk as fast as the wind. In the past two years, all the packages that Lin Sanjun received were sent by his sister. It was really enviable to have a sister who cared about him.

As soon as Lin Sanjun entered the package, his roommates asked one after another: "Sanjun, what good things did your sister send you?" They remembered that the first few times they sent food, such as dried meat, dried shrimp, and seaweed, and even milk powder, all for Lin Sanjun's body. If they didn't know that Lin Sanjun's family was also from the countryside, they would have thought that Lin Sanjun was the child of a wealthy family. However, wealthy families would not be willing to let their children serve in the army. Although serving in the army is glorious and soldiers are respected, it is hard to serve in the army. Those with good conditions would rather use connections to send their children to the factory than to serve in the army.

Nowadays, many people who join the army come from poor families who can barely make ends meet.

Lin Sanjun opened the package and read the letter first, just like before. The letter was full of his sister's nagging concern and greetings. He read it and his eyes became red. At the end of the letter, there was a small handprint, which belonged to his little nephew. Based on his sister's description, he imagined what his little nephew looked like. He must be a beautiful and lovely child like his sister. After reading the letter, Lin Sanjun put the letter away and folded it neatly. It looked like a sacred ceremony. The roommates saw it and shook their heads helplessly, but besides helplessness, they were more envious. For people like them who are away from home and can't go home for several years, isn't it their family that they miss the most?

After packing the letter and putting it away, Lin Sanjun began to unpack the package. This package was really big, much bigger than usual. Before opening it, Lin Sanjun didn't know what was inside, but he knew after opening it. The first thing he took out was a navy blue wool sweater. Lin Sanjun measured it and found that it was just the right size. He was going to school tomorrow. His sister had asked about his height and weight in the letter before. He initially thought that his sister was worried that he didn't eat well, so she asked about his height and weight. Now it seems that it was not the case. She wanted to buy clothes. In addition to the wool sweater, there was also a set of light gray cotton sweaters and cotton pants. The sweater was low-necked, which was more convenient for gay men. Then, there was a pair of Jiefang shoes. In the end, Lin Sanjun blushed a little. His sister even bought him underwear. This is what Lin Yiyi prepared for Lin Sanjun and Lin Sijun when she bought it for Xiao Yu. Lin Dajun has his wife Lin Zhen to prepare for him, but no one prepares for Lin Sanjun and Lin Sijun. It is not good for the elder sister-in-law to prepare underwear for the younger brother-in-law, so she can only prepare it for him.

Lin Yiyi didn't feel anything, and Lin Sijun was used to it, because the underwear his sister prepared could be worn for two years. But Lin Sanjun would be 19 after the Chinese New Year, and he was a little shy.

In fact, the team was given underwear, but Lin Sanjun was still happy to receive the greetings from his elder sister. This made him feel that he was still a child and had a special place in his sister's heart. He liked being cared for by his sister in this way.

When he took out his underwear, his roommates joked, "Sanjun, your sister is too nice, isn't she?"

"That's right, this is the best sister in the world."

"From underwear, clothes, sweaters to shoes, I wish I had such a good sister."

"Your sister raised you as her own son?"

Lin Sanjun: "My parents died early, and it was my sister who raised my brothers and me." In his heart, he was raised by his eldest sister. Although they also worked and raised pigs, etc., all of these were given by his sister, so there was no difference between him and being raised by his elder sister.

The rest of the things are food, such as dried meat, dried shrimp, two cans of fermented bean paste, a can of crab with sauce, some biscuits, toffee, canned fruit and the like.

"Sanjun, what does your sister do? How could she afford to buy so many things?"

Lin Sanjun: "My sister is amazing. She only studied in junior high school for one year and high school for one year. After graduating from high school, she was hired as the assistant to the president of Gongdu."

"Wow, that's really amazing! This is a grade skip."

"Your sister has good grades, right? No, no, no, it's just that she's very smart."

The eldest sister's grades were naturally good. His sister was good in everything. She was beautiful, gentle, cooked delicious food, and did an excellent job. Most importantly, she was very kind. She was kind to other ordinary people and cared about her brothers. In Lin Sanjun's heart, his eldest sister was the best, the kind that no one could find any flaws in even with a magnifying glass.

In fact, among the brothers, Lin Yiyi is the most important to Lin Sanjun. If something happened to Lin Yiyi, Lin Sanjun would probably fight to the death, even at the cost of violating moral principles. The other brothers, whether it is Lin Dajun or Lin Sijun, probably would not do that.

In fact, this is because Lin Sanjun has a part of darkness in his heart, which comes from the darkness of being ignored by his family since he was a child. Although he is now a soldier, it is because he wants to listen to his sister and be a promising and useful person to the country. If his sister is gone, the sunshine in Lin Sanjun's heart will be gone, and it will become darker and darker. Lin Sanjun distributed a few biscuits and candies to everyone. This was what his sister ordered in the letter. Although Lin Sanjun was reluctant, he always obeyed. His obedience was not hypocritical, but thorough obedience.

After sorting out the things, he locked the food in the cupboard and took his underwear to wash. His sister said that new underwear should be washed before wearing, so he had to wash and dry them quickly, because although he couldn't go home for the New Year this year, he wanted to wear a new set of underwear for the New Year, so that he would feel like at home.

Lin Sanjun is usually very frugal and is one of the most frugal soldiers in the army. He is usually reluctant to spend money on himself, but he is willing to spend a lot of money to buy things for his sister.

Datang Production Brigade

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Xiao Zi finally came back. He got home around eight o'clock. Lin Yiyi and Xiao Shiyi were still having breakfast, which was soy milk and fried dough sticks.

Xiao Yu came in silently. When he reached the kitchen door, Lin Yiyi found him and was shocked: "You...you scared me to death."

Xiao-Woo: "I'll give you a surprise."

Xiao Shiyi: "Dad...eat the fried dough sticks." As he said that, he gave the fried dough stick in his hand to Xiao Zi.

Xiao Yu walked over, opened his mouth, took a bite, and swallowed it in two or three gulps. Then he said to Lin Yiyi, "I haven't had breakfast yet. Do you have any extra?" As he spoke, he walked to the stove.

But... Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment. The stove was cold and there was no sign that it had been turned on.

But Xiao Yu didn't think much about it. He was not a god. How could he think that the stove was not on, so there was something wrong with his wife's breakfast?

Lin Yiyi responded quickly: "There is no cooking at home. I went to town to buy breakfast. Someone I know secretly made fried dough sticks and soy milk and only sold them to acquaintances. Then she said, "I'll go buy another portion. Wait for me."

Xiao-Woo: "No, just eat something."

Lin Yiyi: "It takes time to cook a simple meal. When it's done, I'll have almost bought some. You take care of my son. I'm leaving." After saying that, she put the bowl into the basket and rode away quickly on her bike. To be honest, Lin Yiyi's heart was still pounding. She knew Xiao Yu was a careful person and was afraid that he would find out something was wrong. You know, when he was around, she would cook in a proper manner and not be greedy for convenience.

Xiao Yu smiled and shook his head, and said to his son: "Your mother is like a child. When you grow up, you must take care of her and protect her."

Xiaoyi: "I will take care of Yiyi."

Lin Yiyi calculated the time. It would take about an hour to go from their home to the town, so she came back at nine o'clock: "I'm back. Are you waiting anxiously?"

Xiao Zi: "A little bit. I didn't eat today because I was in a hurry when I got back." Mainly because I was thinking about going home and was happy. I was so happy that I didn't even have breakfast.

Lin Yiyi opened the basket and took out a big bowl of tofu pudding, five fried dough sticks, and a rice ball. The fried dough sticks were a spare, while the rice ball was Xiao Yu's staple food: "Eat this, it's called a rice ball, and it tastes delicious." The rice ball contained fried dough sticks, pickled mustard tubers, and a poached egg.

Xiao Yu: "The people in the town are really brave. They are not afraid of being caught."

Lin Yiyi: "They don't collect money, they collect things, and we exchange them. No one says anything. But they also do it in private, and they are very careful. I only go there once in a while, and I went there because I wanted to drink tofu pudding because I'm turning 30 today. I will be careful."

Xiao Yu: "This tofu pudding tastes really good." No wonder his wife wants to eat it.

Lin Yiyi: "Yes, it's delicious, right? By the way, Erjun was here before..." She told him about Lin Erjun's story, "I thought, if he behaves well, we can treat him as a relative. If he does something small, we won't have to be polite then."

Xiao Yu never cared about such things. He listened to whatever his wife said. He never interfered with the affairs of his wife's family. His wife could do whatever she wanted.

However: "I will go to the cattle shed of Shanglin Production Brigade later to prepare some things for the people there."

Lin Yiyi thought for a moment and said, "Okay, why don't you go in the afternoon? I'll cook some food and you can bring it over. They can have a good meal in the evening. After all, it's New Year's Eve dinner."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay, you've thought about it carefully."

Lin Yiyi said: "How can I think about it as carefully as you do."

Xiao Shiyi: "Dad, let's play football together." Xiao Shiyi had finished his meal long ago, and he was waiting for Xiao Zi at the door with a football in his arms.

Xiao-Woo: "Bought a football?"

Lin Yiyi: "That's right. Xiaowu got first place in the exam, so I promised to buy him a football. But I didn't know that on the day I bought it, your son would hold on to the football and refused to let it go, so I had to buy him another one. This child is really stingy."

Little Eleven laughed, totally not understanding what his mother was saying.

Xiao Yu finished his meal and picked up his son: "Let's go to the mountain to dig bamboo shoots, and then play football when we come back. Your stomach will hurt if you play football right after a meal."

Little Eleven: "My lower abdomen hurts, there are little worms in it." People of this generation don't pay attention to hygiene, so some people are prone to having roundworms in their stomachs. Little Eleven only knows that stomachache will cause little worms, and they are actually roundworms.

When the father and son arrived at the door, they ran into Xiao Jiyang who came to play with Xiao Shiyi. Thus, Xiao Yu had another follower behind him. It was almost noon when Xiao Yu came back with the two children and carried half a sack of bamboo shoots.

Lin Yiyi: "Bamboo shoots are delicious when grilled, but when meat is available, people would rather make braised pork." Otherwise, bamboo shoots have an indescribable smell.

At noon, Lin Yiyi made a big pot of pork ribs and roasted radishes. There were a lot of pork ribs in the pot, but when it was time to eat, only one bowl was served. After dinner, Lin Yiyi put the roasted pork ribs into two cans of milk powder. She also prepared about twenty steamed buns: "Just take these over there, what do you think?" In winter, radishes are very nourishing, and pork ribs are much more convenient than other things.

Xiao-Woo: "Not bad, I'll go back then."

Lin Yiyi: "Hey, but please be careful."

Xiao Yu: "Yeah, don't worry." Not many people would go out to hang around on New Year's Eve. But in order not to attract attention, Xiao Yu walked with a sack and a hoe, taking the mountain road from the mountain of Datang Production Brigade to the mountain of Shanglin Production Brigade. To others, he was digging bamboo shoots. Digging bamboo shoots is not speculation, and no one would care if you dig a few for yourself. After all, during famine, you can't even find bamboo shoots in the mountains.

Xiao Yu walked for an hour and a half to the mountain of Shanglin Production Brigade, and then found the cowshed. The cowshed was the closest to the mountain because it smelled bad, and there was no one next to the cowshed.

Xiao Yu walked to the cowshed and saw four people sunbathing.

Seeing Xiao Yu, Li Shengzhong, Yang Chengguo, Zhang Xi, and Li Qiuhui were also shocked because this person was not from the Shanglin Production Brigade but a stranger. As "bad elements", they were particularly cautious when facing strangers.

However, Li Shengzhong narrowed his eyes. There was a sharpness in this young man. Although he was wearing ordinary clothes, he was very familiar with his standing posture. This man had been a soldier.