Reborn in 1985, starting from the mountains of Northwest China

Chen Feng held Lin Xiu in his arms, and after a while, he said, "Today I'm carrying Dad on my back."

Lin Xiu hummed in agreement.

He said, "Dad is lighter. Much lighter than I thought."

Lin Xiu didn't say anything, but simply reached out and hugged his waist.

He said, "When I was little, my dad would carry me on his back. I would lie on his back and feel that his back was so broad and tall, like a mountain. At that time, I thought, when will I grow that big?"

He paused, his voice a little muffled: "Now I'm all grown up, and he's old."

Lin Xiu gently patted his back.

He held her in his arms for a while, then lowered his head, found her lips, and kissed her.

Lin Xiu didn't dodge and responded to him.

The two of them stood there in the dark room, embracing and kissing.

After a while, Chen Feng picked her up and carried her into the inner room.

Lin Xiu wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "Slow down, don't fall."

Chen Feng said, "It won't fall."

He placed her on the kang (a heated brick bed), then lay down himself and pulled the quilt over both of them.

The room was dark, but we could see each other's eyes.

He looked into her eyes, and she looked into his.

He said, "Xiuer."

She said, "Hmm?"

He said, "I..."

Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was covered again.

The kang (heated brick bed) is hot, and it's even hotter under the quilt.

The snow outside the window gleamed white; the sun had long since set, and stars streaked across the misty clouds like ribbons traversing the entire night.

Occasionally, a dog barks from outside, distant and muffled.

In this huge courtyard, only the two of them remained.

Chen Feng was still a bit tipsy, and his movements were somewhat hurried and clumsy. Lin Xiu let him be, occasionally patting his back gently, like coaxing a child.

The sounds under the covers were soft rustling, mixed with the suppressed breathing of two people.

It took quite a while before things gradually calmed down.

Lin Xiujiao's petite and well-proportioned body bent into two sections, with the man's broad back covering it.

The moonlight streamed in, illuminating half of Lin Xiu's face. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her eyes were filled with glistening tears, and her eyelashes trembled as if she were crying.

Chen Feng turned to the side and looked at her.

After watching her for a while, he reached out and gently rubbed her face with his fingertips.

Lin Xiu opened her eyes and looked at him.

He said, "Xiuer, it is my good fortune to marry you in this life."

Lin Xiu paused for a moment, then smiled.

She didn't say anything, but just nestled her head closer into his arms.

Chen Feng put his arm around her and gently lit a cigarette.

A cigarette afterwards, and I feel like I'm in heaven.

Lin Xiu lifted her head from his embrace and looked at Chen Feng with her bright eyes.

"What does it taste like?"

Lin Xiu had never smoked, but Chen Feng would always smoke one after finishing his work, lying there taking drags.

She was curious.

"Want to give it a try?"

Chen Feng offered the cigarette to Lin Xiu's lips.

Lin Xiu imitated Chen Feng and took a puff.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Before Lin Xiu could react, she started coughing violently.

She no longer felt sleepy, coughing until tears streamed down her face, her back bent, her shoulders trembling.

Chen Feng quickly took the cigarette from her and patted her back, saying, "Slow down, slow down, it's the first time."

After Lin Xiu finished coughing, she looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, and glared at him: "You lied to me."

"What did I lie to you about?"

"How is this enjoyable? This is clearly uncomfortable."

Chen Feng suppressed a laugh: "Then you're inhaling too intensely. You need to take it slow. Look at me—"

He took a drag as if to demonstrate, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring. The smoke ring drifted upwards, dispersing in the moonlight.

Lin Xiu stared at the smoke ring for a long time.

She strongly suspected it was a problem with her technique, so she said unhappily, "One more bite."

"Again?"

"Um."

Chen Feng then handed her a cigarette.

This time she was smarter. She took a small sip, held it in her mouth, and then, imitating Chen Feng, spat it out.

Nothing came out.

She tried again, but still nothing came up.

Chen Feng couldn't help but laugh: "Why don't you blow some air out?"

Lin Xiu glared at him: "I can't."

Lin Xiu dejectedly shoved the cigarette back at him: "I'm not smoking anymore. What's so good about this stuff?"

Chen Feng smiled, stubbed out his cigarette, and lay down with her in his arms.

"I was just kidding. What kind of woman smokes?"

Lin Xiu lay on his chest, drawing circles under his stomach with her fingers.

"You smoke every time, I thought you were having a great time."

Chen Feng looked down at her and said, "I was just tired, I needed to perk myself up."

Lin Xiu looked up at him, blinking, and asked, "Are you tired now?"

Chen Feng was taken aback. Looking at her bright eyes, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

What do you mean?

Lin Xiu didn't say anything, she just looked at him and smiled.

Chen Feng swallowed hard. "Xiuer, we just..."

"What?"

"That..."

"Which one?"

Looking at her innocent expression, Chen Feng suddenly understood.

His wife was just teasing him.

He rolled over and held her hands above her head, immobilizing Lin Xiu: "Fine, you wait."

Lin Xiu laughed and pushed him away, saying, "I was just kidding! Get up!"

Chen Feng couldn't get up.

"Get up quickly, Xiaoshan and Xiaoyue might come back if we stay any later..."

His parents are busy taking care of five children, and they estimate that they will come back after the New Year.

If the children were to live at his father's house, he wouldn't be able to take care of five children.

Chen Feng looked at Lin Xiu with a smile.

It's still early. The three brothers haven't been intimate with their wives for days. Shouldn't the old folks help them bring them back more often?

Lin Xiu's cheeks were flushed, and she stared at Chen Feng with a coquettish look.

Jade Mountain is half-hidden by the rosy clouds, and snowy cheeks still bear the marks of spring crabapple blossoms.

The moon has long since disappeared into some cloud.

"Didn't you just say you needed to perk yourself up?"

"I feel more energetic now."

Lin Xiu wanted to say something, but her mouth was covered.

The stars outside the window blinked, then blinked again, and finally simply hid behind the clouds, no longer to be seen.

It's too hot on the kang (heated brick bed) during the Lunar New Year, so let the moon stay put.

Just as Chen Feng had predicted, Xiao Shan and Xiao Yue did not return even as firecrackers continued to sound outside.

In rural areas, families set off firecrackers at different times; some do so at midnight, while others wait until the next morning.

As soon as Chen Feng heard the noise, he knew it was past midnight.

He tucked the blanket around his wife, then quietly got off the kang (heated brick bed), put on his cotton-padded coat, and fastened his belt.

It's time to pick up the two little ones.

Chen Feng pushed open the door to his parents' room; the lights were still on inside.

Xiaolu from my second brother's family has already been picked up, leaving four children sitting by the lamp folding paper.

"You're here?"

Liu Xia was dozing off on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing Chen Feng arrive, she asked, "Want some water before you go?"

"No, while Xiuer is still sound asleep, I'll take the two children back to sleep. I'm afraid we'll wake Xiuer if we stay any longer."

Chen Feng shook her head, calling to the two little ones while bidding farewell to everyone.

After putting the two children to bed, Chen Feng was so tired that he fell asleep immediately.