Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Niu Dazhuang made countless trips to buy these things. Especially when buying pork, he would buy half a carcass from one market stall, a little bit from another, covering all the markets in Tsim Sha Tsui, and then going to Central…

The busy days flew by and it was already November. Niu Dazhuang picked up the custom-made gold bracelet and gold bell from Chow Tai Fook jewelry store.

He put the rest into his spatial storage, then held one in each hand and waved them in front of Bai Hongmin, making a tinkling sound.

"How's that sound? Pretty good, right?"

"You're such a grown-up, why are you still playing with bells?"

"Take a good look, this isn't your ordinary golden bell. It's yours; I'll tell you how to play with it tonight."

"How else can we play with this?" Bai Hongmin took it and shook it. "Just play it like this!"

"Close the door, I'll teach you..."

The bell rings for half the night...

"I'm not going back to my dorm tonight, I'm too tired. I'm going back to China soon, let them say what they want!"

"That's true. How's your handover going?"

"It's alright. The company said they're going to throw us a farewell party. You can continue to be invisible and not stand out."

"oh!"

"Although the situation in China isn't as bad as it was a couple of years ago, don't show your face when you go back!"

"I know, I'm worried about you even without you telling me. You're eating big meals every night now, what will you do when you get back!"

"What else can I do but stick to you! As long as your wife can tolerate me, I don't mind calling her 'sister.' You don't want me to stay with you, do you?"

"No way, but I need to go back to my hometown for ten days to two weeks first. Are you coming back with me?"

"We must go back. If you go to the ends of the earth, I'll follow you..."

In mid-December, the people who were going back to China had all handed over their work and passed through the checkpoint together.

At Shenzhen Railway Station, we were all heading north. Once we arrived in Guangdong, we parted ways, as most of my colleagues were from Guangdong.

Only Niu Dazhuang and Bai Hongmin continued north.

Eager to get closer to home, Niu Dazhuang, usually oblivious to everything, felt a surge of emotion as he looked at the snow-covered landscape outside the train window.

The mountain is still the same mountain, the snow is still the same snow, but my mood is different from three years ago.

"What are you thinking about?" Bai Hongmin and Bai Hongmin sat facing each other on small stools outside the sleeper berth.

"I wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just a strange feeling of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing both emotion and reflection) that time flies so fast. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I'm already over thirty!"

"You're even starting to feel sentimental. Your life is the envy of so many men. You've got women all over your body, you're never idle anywhere. And you even left a child in Hong Kong. So, you want to go back?"

"Life is unpredictable, anything can happen! Ten years... and another ten years will have to be wasted..."

Bai Hongmin reached out and touched his forehead: "You don't have a fever, do you? You're usually so optimistic, why are you suddenly so sentimental today?"

"Sigh! People, once they've had their fill, they start worrying about the country and its people. My initial thought was just to live my own life well, why bother with so much else?"

During my three years in Hong Kong, I witnessed the lives of ordinary people. Although they were quite poor, their lives were much better than those in mainland China. I was worried about them!

These second-class citizens look down on everyone, why? It's all because our country is poor...

Niu Dazhuang's remarks today truly made Bai Hongmin look at him in a new light.

"Da Niu, you hid it so well. Everyone says that a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, hard to fathom. I never expected that you, Niu Dazhuang, would have such a strong sense of national responsibility."

"That's easy. You can get into the Industrial Machinery Department after you go back. Just work hard and climb the ranks as quickly as possible. Once you reach a certain position, you can change some things."

Niu Dazhuang shook his head: "My ambitions lie elsewhere. I know myself best. My personality is not suited for officialdom."

Too many minor flaws, just one issue of conduct alone, and it's crushing me. I was just expressing my feelings earlier... But you, working at a newspaper, you'd better watch your words and actions from now on, especially inappropriate opinions, and absolutely don't write anything carelessly..."

"I know, I don't have any political ambitions anymore. I just want to have a child with you and live a simple life." After saying this, Bai Hongmin gave Niu Dazhuang a look, then swayed her large buttocks and went to the bathroom...

Niu Dazhuang glanced at his watch; it was already past ten o'clock. Looking around the carriage, he saw that almost everyone else was asleep.

He got up and followed...

With a beautiful woman by my side, the 30-plus-hour journey didn't feel long at all when I got off at Kyoto Station.

Then I saw Bai Hongyan and Bai Hongbing, the brother and sister.

Bai Hongmin put her large bag on the ground.

Like a swallow returning to its nest, he opened his arms and hugged Bai Hongyan tightly: "Sister, I knew you would come to pick me up, I missed you so much!"

"Little sister, I'm standing right here, and you didn't even see me! Welcome home, Dazhuang." He said, extending his hand.

"Let's go home together, little sister. My mom has already prepared dinner and is just waiting for you to come back and eat!"

Bai Hongyan's neck was being hugged by Bai Hongmin, but her attention was entirely on her husband. Her daughter was two weeks old and still hadn't seen her biological father.

Besides, it's been three whole years since we last saw each other. Niu Dazhuang went to Hong Kong Island with us. We can't say we ate delicacies every day, but we did go bungee jumping every now and then!

If it weren't for the child, Bai Hongyan would have wanted to have an affair; this widowhood is just too hard to bear.

Seeing her man today, how could she let him get away? She reached out and grabbed Niu Dazhuang's arm, not allowing him to refuse:

"Let's go, what are you standing there for? You think you can fill your stomach by drinking the northwest wind? Little sister, let your second brother take you, and Dazhuang, you take me."

Bai Hongyan sat on the back of the bicycle, wrapped her arms around Niu Dazhuang's waist, and pressed her face against his back: "Dazhuang, have you thought about us, your mother and children, these past three years?"

"I think about it every day, but I haven't even seen my little girl since she was born."

The two chatted all the way, and Bai Hongyan recounted the important events of the past three years to Niu Dazhuang.

Niu Dazhuang also gave a vivid account of the riots that occurred on Hong Kong Island.

Bai Hongmin felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Even though she was sitting on the back of her second brother's bicycle, her big eyes never left Niu Dazhuang.

He would occasionally chime in with a few words.

Upon arriving at the Bai family home, the children were the happiest of all, and Bai Hongmin gave them a box of chocolates...

Niu Dazhuang also brought out his gift, a box of liqueur-filled candies for each person...

Bai Hongyan took the baby girl from her mother and held her in front of Niu Dazhuang: "Xiaojie, call him Daddy, this is Daddy..."

The little girl was shy around strangers. She stared at Niu Dazhuang with her big, dark eyes and didn't say a word for a long time.

"Whose surname does it have?" Niu Dazhuang asked immediately upon hearing the name.

"With me, we can't have three children with two different surnames!"