It's time to say goodbye to the old year again.

In previous years, people in Kunshan would start preparing for the New Year on the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month.

But this year is different. It is New Year's Eve and the construction site in Kunnan is still working in full swing with no sign of stopping.

The most optimistic plan of the county was to complete the third phase of the project before the end of the year. However, at the end of October, Kunkai Division dispatched 20,000 men to support Chongming, which slowed down the progress of the project...

Those sent to Chongming were mainly able-bodied men from northern Kunming, while the majority of people from southern Kunming stayed on the construction site. The levee at home had not been repaired yet, and they did not want to go anywhere. Moreover, they wanted to repair it firmly and permanently, so naturally the progress was even slower.

It's the end of the year now, and there's still 10% of work to be done on the Dianshan Lake embankment, and there's about 7 or 8 miles of work to be done on the Chenghu Lake embankment.

Seeing that the repairs would not be completed before the New Year, on the 27th day, the master said, "Let's celebrate the New Year first. We can start the work after the 8th day of the first lunar month."

But none of the work sections show any intention of stopping. If the levee is not fully repaired, who will be in the mood to celebrate the New Year?

Furthermore, although no one says it, everyone has the desire to show off.

All the companies in Jiangnan Group have issued recruitment brochures. I heard from literate people that priority will be given to recruiting those who have performed well in this year's water conservancy projects.

Who wouldn't want to work in Jiangnan Group? It's both prestigious and profitable. Those lucky ones who were recruited this year were arrogant in front of their fellow villagers, and their words were much more effective than before.

What does it mean to perform well? We did not stop working during the Spring Festival. We even celebrated the Spring Festival on the levee. Do you think we performed well?

The people of Kunnan, who still don't know what "involution" means, are desperately showing their "excellent qualities" to the employers, such as their willingness to work overtime for free and their willingness to work hard.

They were willing to work overtime, so how could Gu Dadong bear to reject their kindness? Thinking of the cattle he raised, he had to add feed during the busy farming season, and he couldn't let people be treated worse than animals. So he waved his hand and ordered that during the New Year, there would be fish and meat for every meal on the construction site, and he also distributed New Year's goods according to the number of people...

Well, New Year’s goods were already planned to be distributed, but each person received a little more money. This was the result of Gu Dadong’s education at the group meeting.

After having enough food and drink and receiving New Year's goods, the people became more and more motivated. One section of the work said that the work must be completed before the 15th day of the first lunar month, another section of the work said that it must be completed before the 10th day of the first lunar month, and some even said that they would finish work on the 8th day of the first lunar month...

What a final battle of chase and competition!

They worked until dark, when sporadic sounds of firecrackers rang out in the village. The laborers reluctantly put away their tools and went home to have the New Year's Eve dinner.

Li Hua's home is in Lijing Village, five or six miles away from where he works.

After work, he carried his tools and trotted away, hurrying as fast as he could, and finally reached the village after dark.

In the village, every household has hung up red lanterns, but most of the men have not returned home yet, so the New Year’s Eve dinner will definitely be later than in previous years.

The children all wore new clothes for the New Year and happily set off firecrackers in the streets.

I saw Mi Wa and his deputy captain Goudan, with a group of new team members, forming a circle on the side of the road.

Surrounded by them was a pile of fresh cow dung.

Since Kunshan County launched the national sanitation campaign, every household has been responsible for sweeping the streets every day, so the chances of seeing cow dung on the streets are becoming less and less.

The children's eyes widened as they saw the deputy captain stick a firecracker in the middle of the cow dung.

Then the captain showed his incense sticks and said solemnly, "Brothers and sisters, the time has come to test you. No one is allowed to move until I tell you to run."

"Whoever moves is a coward and can't play with us anymore." Gou'er crossed his arms and spoke roughly.

The children nodded vigorously. Ever since they were sent back by the county with red ribbons and music, the two brave little dike-protecting heroes had become their idols.

What color is there in childhood if it is not recognized by idols?

So they held their breath, stared at the captain, and lit the long fuse with incense sticks.

Watching the fuse smoking and rapidly becoming shorter, Mi Wa held back from making a sound.

"Woo woo, these are my new clothes..." The children were scared. If they were splashed with cow dung, it would be like a New Year's Eve for others but only for them.

Seeing that the fuse was about to burn out, Miwa Fang shouted, "Go!"

The children ran as if they had been pardoned. There was a muffled bang behind them, and the cow dung exploded and splattered everywhere, but hardly any of them got on anyone.

The children cheered with abandon.

"Captain, you are so awesome! You are the best at blowing up manure in our entire village!" Goudan said with admiration on his face.

However, Mi Wa looked reluctant, as this might be his last time leading the team.

Before, Master Zhao promised to fulfill a wish of him and Goudan and let the two children go home to discuss it with the adults.

What Goudan's parents later suggested was whether they could rebuild their adobe house into a brick house.

As a result, his family moved into the most beautiful brick house in the village with white walls, black tiles and water flowing into the hall a few years ago, and became the object of everyone's envy.

Mi Wa's family still lives in the same shabby house because his mother asked him to talk to the county government, hoping that he and his younger brothers and sisters could attend Yufeng Primary School.

Yufeng Primary School has limited teaching staff and currently only recruits 200 students. Most of the places are taken by the gentry through connections.

What the gentlemen want is that if their children go to Yufeng Primary School, they will have a better chance of getting into Yufeng Middle School, and then also a better chance of getting into Yufeng Academy.

Yufeng Academy was founded by Mr. Zhao, a family of five Jinshi (imperial examination) graduates. It also had a big star like Li Jiaoshou as its manager. Scholars from Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian all flocked to it!

Of course they had to find ways to send their children in.

There are only dozens of places left, and with so many city people eyeing them, it's never the turn for these country people like them to get involved.

Therefore, Liang felt that getting three places for her three children would be much more cost-effective than buying a new house.

However, Miwa's younger brothers and sisters are still young and have to wait until they are old enough to go to school.

Mi Wa solemnly handed the incense stick to Gou Dan'er and said, "I will go to school in the county town next year, and the responsibility of lighting the firecrackers will be handed over to you. You must practice diligently and don't neglect your skills."

"Yes, captain, don't worry!" Goudan quickly put his legs together and held his head high.

"Whose little bastard is this!" The old man from the neighboring house, who had come out to shovel manure in a hurry, looked at the manure residue all over the ground and cursed angrily. "Clean it up for me!"

"Retreat!" Miwa screamed, and the children scattered and went back to their homes.

The old man was left stamping his feet in anger. If he didn't clean up the mess, he would be scolded by the captain on New Year's Day.

Miwa hurried home and bumped into her father at the door.

"You little brat, why are you in such a hurry? Have you gotten into trouble again?" Li Hua put down the carrying pole and put his arms around his son's neck.

"No, no, grandma called us to eat New Year's Eve dinner!" Miwa smiled and broke free from his father's clutches.

"What's that smell?" Li Hua pulled up his sleeves, frowned and sniffed, thinking, could it be that I have body odor in the middle of winter?

But what does it smell like?

ps. The first of three consecutive updates.