I created an extraordinary era

Chapter 55: One Year Old Amidst the Sound of Firecrackers
After saying goodbye to everyone, Xia Yuan didn't rush to take a taxi to the train station.

He bought a ticket for three in the afternoon, and it was only a little after 12 noon, so he just walked along the way to the station and looked around.

With about an hour left, I increased my speed a little and finally arrived at the destination at 2:30.

The station was crowded today. Xia Yuan had a hard time getting on the train. Not only was the entire carriage full, but even the corridors were filled with people.

Most people were carrying large and small bags, and almost all of them were rushing home to celebrate the New Year.

Because he was wearing a mask, the journey back home was smooth today. No one talked about him anymore, and people's conversations were all about their own family matters.

Half an hour later, the train arrived at the station smoothly. After getting off the train, he ran all the way and arrived in town before 6 o'clock in the evening.

Today the streets of the town are also decorated with lights and the number of people is several times more than the previous two days.

Migrant workers can often only get home one day before the New Year, and this is the case for everyone.

The sky gradually darkened and the temperature dropped, but this could not stop the joy in people's hearts, and more and more people appeared on the streets.

From time to time, you can hear children who are away from home showing off to their parents how good their lives are, and they never say anything bad.

Sadness gradually faded away in such an atmosphere.

Xia Yuan hadn't been home for many years and had never seen such a scene since his parents passed away.

In the past, when he spent the New Year in the city, he would just stay in his rented apartment and watch the evening party on TV alone.

In this kind of living condition, we spent one New Year after another.

Lonely and boring.

On the way home, Xia Yuan occasionally saw some familiar faces. They were classmates from junior high school or elementary school, but he could no longer remember the names of many of them.

He had no intention of going up to say hello. Although he still had contact information for some of them, he hadn't been in touch with them for many years.

Life was not easy in the past few years, and I lost contact with many of my young friends because of it.

As time goes by, they are gradually becoming two completely different lines under the same sky.

"Are you Xia Yuan?"

A woman about thirty years old was walking towards me. She was dressed very fashionably and had an ordinary-looking man on her right arm.

The woman's tone was doubtful, as if she was unsure.

"I'm sorry, you got the wrong person."

"Sorry, I just think you look a bit like a junior high school classmate of mine. Sorry to bother you."

The woman apologized embarrassedly, then pulled her male companion past Xia Yuan and walked in opposite directions.

"What's going on? There's someone as handsome as this among your junior high classmates. Why haven't I heard you mention him before?"

The man asked curiously.

"No, I just saw that his facial features looked a bit similar, so I went up to ask him. But he's not as handsome as the guy just now, nor does he have the temperament of this guy. It's really strange that there are two people so similar in our small place."

"I think you're deliberately looking for an excuse to chat up. Be careful or I'll tell my mother-in-law."

"How is it possible? How could I be such a person? When I was in school, many boys secretly sent me love letters."

The two of them were talking as they walked further and further away, and Xia Yuan's voices became quieter and quieter as he heard them.

Xia Yuan also smiled. He recognized the woman from before, but he deliberately did not recognize her.

What the woman said was indeed true. They were in the same class in the third grade of junior high school, and there were indeed many boys who had a crush on her, and he was of course one of them.

The two met at a class reunion in college and added each other's contact information, but they never contacted each other again after that.

I haven't seen her for many years, but she has become more and more beautiful, and it seems that she has already started a family and a career.

Xia Yuan had long since let go of his previous extravagant desires, and let his youthful feelings remain in the past.

It’s better to miss each other than to meet each other now.

After returning to the village, as soon as I reached the corner of my house, I saw the brother and sister making a stew in front of the house.

It is a tradition in Panlong Town to make stews. Every household will stew a lot of things before the New Year.

Braised dishes are an indispensable dish during the Chinese New Year.

"Brother Yuan, you're back."

The moment they saw Xia Yuan appear, excitement showed on their faces.

"I heard it's hard to buy tickets during the New Year. We thought you wouldn't be able to come back." "I bought it in advance."

"Why are you still stewing so late?"

Qin Shuai rolled his eyes after hearing this.

"Brother Yuan, how can you braise it if you don't have much appetite? We have been braising it since morning."

"Well, there's no need to stew so much."

Before leaving, he gave the two siblings some money and asked them to go to the street to buy vegetables themselves. It seems that most of the vegetables they bought had already been put into the stew pot.

"It's already braising, this is the last pot."

About half an hour later, with the help of Xia Yuan, all the remaining stews were finally finished.

Since the two siblings had just eaten, they said goodbye and went back.

Just as he was eating, the phone suddenly rang.

"Hey, Uncle Ding, what's going on?"

"Nothing much, just wondering if you want to come over for New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow."

"Don't bother Uncle Ding, I can just eat at home."

"What are you talking about, kid? What trouble are you in? You're eating alone at home. Why don't you come and join us?"

"That's not what I meant. I've already made an appointment with someone else to have New Year's dinner together. You don't have to worry about me."

"There are people here, that's fine. I was worried about you eating alone, so I won't force you."

The two then chatted briefly for a few more sentences, and Xia Yuan asked a question before hanging up.

"By the way, Uncle Ding, when are you planning to go to Seoul?"

"Probably the sixth or seventh day of the Lunar New Year, depending on when my son leaves."

"What? Do you want to go with me?"

"No, I just want to see you off when the time comes."

"Well, I'll tell you the day before I leave. Come have dinner then."

"to make."

After hanging up the phone, Xia Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Uncle Ding had helped him a lot some time ago, so he prepared to say farewell to him.

No one knows whether this farewell will be forever.

The next morning, the brother and sister came early to prepare dinner.

In Jiangcheng, New Year's Eve dinner is usually eaten at noon or in the afternoon, and almost no one eats it at night.

In the evening everyone has their own entertainment activities, such as watching evening parties.

Of course, most of the people gathered together to play cards, which was a symbol of Jiangcheng.

He is an anomaly because he doesn't play cards. When he goes out, many people suspect that he is not from Jiangcheng after hearing about it.

Today's New Year's Eve dinner was almost entirely prepared by the brother and sister, with Xia Yuan just helping out occasionally.

By noon, they were still cooking when firecrackers were heard outside.

Then it continued to happen, almost every few moments.

The sound of firecrackers often continues until three or four in the afternoon before gradually dying down.

This is a custom that must be performed before eating the New Year’s Eve dinner. Setting off firecrackers means that you can eat the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Soon, Xia Yuan and the others’ meals were all served.

Before dinner, the brother and sister even hung up couplets that they had bought at some unknown time.

"The New Year should have a New Year's atmosphere. I hope we will have a better life next year."

One year old is eliminated amidst the sound of firecrackers.

With the lighting of firecrackers, the New Year officially begins!

(End of this chapter)