In a blink of an eye, the Lantern Festival is here.
The Lantern Festival, as the first important festival after the Spring Festival, has always been regarded as a symbol of reunion and hope.
This year's Lantern Festival is of special significance to Zhou Ziwen's family.
As the lingering warmth of the Spring Festival has not completely dissipated, the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival has quietly filled the streets and alleys.
Zhou Ziwen's family started preparing for this festival early.
Zhou's mother got up early in the morning and was busy preparing materials for making Lantern Festival.
Glutinous rice flour, sesame seeds, peanuts, sugar... various ingredients are neatly placed on the kitchen chopping board.
Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying also joined the team of making Yuanxiao. While chatting, they skillfully rolled the glutinous rice balls and filled them with sweet fillings.
Little Yueyue looked on curiously, stretching out her hands from time to time to help, but her face was always covered with glutinous rice flour, which made everyone burst into laughter.
Zhou Ziwen was busy cleaning the house, posting Spring Festival couplets, hanging lanterns, and decorating the house festive and warm.
He also made a special trip outside to buy some fireworks and lanterns to celebrate with everyone at night.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Zhou Ziwen's family had breakfast early and started to get busy.
Dad Zhou and Zhou Ziwen put up Spring Festival couplets and hung lanterns together, decorating the home with a brand new look.
Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying were busy preparing for the evening reunion dinner, and the tempting aroma wafted from the kitchen.
Little Yueyue was running around in the yard wearing new clothes, very excited.
In the evening, relatives of the Zhou family also arrived one after another. Everyone sat together and tasted the reunion dinner carefully prepared by Zhou's mother, Chen Qiaoyi, and Chen Shiying. At the dinner table, everyone was chatting and laughing, sharing every detail of the past year, and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
After the meal, Zhou Ziwen took the children to the yard and lit fireworks.
Colorful fireworks bloomed in the night sky, lighting up everyone's smiling faces.
Little Yueyue clapped her hands excitedly and shouted: "Dad, look! The fireworks are so beautiful!"
Zhou Ziwen smiled and picked up little Yueyue, letting her see the beauty of the fireworks more clearly.
His heart was filled with happiness and satisfaction. This Lantern Festival was a time for their family to reunite, and it was also the beginning of their hope to welcome the new year together.
The happy time is always short-lived. After tonight, they will set off back to the countryside.
Zhou Chaoyang has bought train tickets for them and will set off early tomorrow morning.
Although Zhou's father and Zhou's mother were very reluctant to leave, their son was an educated youth and had to return to the countryside.
Zhou Ziwen looked at the reluctance in his parents' eyes, and his heart was full of guilt and gratitude. He said softly: "Dad, Mom, don't worry, I will definitely spend more time with you when I come back next time."
It is already 1976, and in another year the college entrance examination will be resumed.
The day for him to return to the city is getting closer.
Father Zhou patted his shoulder, held back the tears in his eyes, and said, "Son, we know you have your own responsibilities. You must take good care of yourself, Qiaoyi, Shiying, and little Yueyue in the countryside."
As the night grew darker, the fireworks burned out, and calm gradually returned to the yard.
Relatives left one after another, and Zhou Ziwen's family also began to pack their luggage in preparation for their return journey tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Zhou Ziwen and his two sisters woke up early from bed. After a brief breakfast, they began to carefully check their luggage to make sure nothing was missing.
Zhou's mother stuffed some homemade pickles and small clothes for the upcoming child into the package, and kept telling them to keep warm and eat well in the countryside. Zhou Ziwen responded one by one, looking at his mother's busy figure, his throat seemed to be choked, and his heart was full of reluctance and gratitude.
Little Yueyue seemed to sense that she was about to leave. She tightly grabbed her grandma's clothes, her big eyes full of confusion and dependence.
Chen Qiaoyi gently picked her up and coaxed with a smile: "Yueyue, be good, let's come back to see your grandparents next time."
Dad Zhou silently took the luggage and sent them to the train station.
As the train started slowly, Zhou Ziwen's family waved vigorously through the car window until their parents disappeared.
In the carriage, little Yueyue fell asleep on Zhou Ziwen's lap, with a trace of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth, looking so naive.
Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying looked at the passing scenery outside the window, somewhat lost in thought.
Zhou Chaoyang and Zhou Ziwen sat face to face on the lower bunk, feeling a little reluctant.
The train speeds along, and the scenery outside the window changes rapidly like a slideshow.
After little Yueyue woke up, ate some snacks, and then waddled in the carriage aisle, curiously looking at the passengers around her. Her innocent look attracted everyone's teasing.
Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying accompanied her with smiles to ensure her safety.
Zhou Ziwen looked at the lively little Yueyue with love in his heart.
As time passed, the train announced that it was about to arrive at its destination.
Zhou Ziwen's family quickly packed their bags, full of thoughts and concerns for Dabazi Village, and prepared to start a new journey.
The train entered the station and stopped slowly. Zhou Ziwen held little Yueyue in his arms, while Chen Qiaoyi and Chen Shiying carried their luggage and got off the train steadily with Zhou Chaoyang.
The moment he stepped onto the platform, the familiar local atmosphere hit his face. Zhou Ziwen took a deep breath, and infinite strength and pride surged in his heart. The wanderer returning home will cultivate hope for this land with blood and wisdom and write his own legend. .
Hurrying slowly all the way, they finally returned to Dabazi Village before dark.
Just after entering the village, some familiar villagers heard the noise and came out of their houses to check the situation.
Seeing that it was Zhou Ziwen and his family who had returned, they all greeted them warmly.
"Ziwen, you are back! Have you eaten? I still have some food at home."
"Brother Ziwen, please tell us more about the new things in the city when you come back this time!"
The villagers spoke to each other, and their words were full of simple concern and joy.
Zhou Ziwen responded with a smile, feeling warm in his heart, and the fatigue from the long journey dissipated a lot.
Little Yueyue was so frightened by the crowd's enthusiasm that she crawled into Chen Qiaoyi's arms, but she couldn't help but peek out her head to look around. Her big eyes rolled around, and her cute appearance made the villagers laugh.
Wu Dagang and the team leader rushed over after hearing the news. Wu Dagang held Zhou Ziwen's hand tightly and said with a hearty smile:
"I hope you are back! There are a lot of things going on in our village right now, and we are waiting for your advice."
The captain nodded in agreement, his eyes sincere and earnest.
Zhou Ziwen hurriedly asked about the current situation in the village and learned that while they were away from the village, there was nothing going on at the mushroom cultivation base, but some piglets in the pig farm were infected. Fortunately, with Chen Guowei around, the piglets' condition was controlled in time.
"Then I'll go take a look later." Zhou Ziwen said hurriedly.
"Haha, we are relieved that you are back." Wu Dagang patted Zhou Ziwen on the shoulder hard. (End of chapter)