Reborn in 1985, starting from the mountains of Northwest China

Chen Feng slept very soundly.

When I opened my eyes again, the window paper had already turned white.

He turned his head and saw that Lin Xiu had woken up at some point and was looking at him with her eyes open.

Seeing that he was awake, she blinked and smiled.

"woke up?"

Chen Feng hummed in response, his voice still a little hoarse.

Strange, it should be my wife's voice that's hoarse, so how did it transfer to him?

"What time is it?"

"It's still early. They just set off a round of firecrackers outside, probably around six or seven o'clock."

Chen Feng propped himself up and glanced out the window.

The sky was still dimly lit, and the snow made the courtyard look grayish-white.

He lay back down, hugged Lin Xiu, and dozed off for a while with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, they heard a noise outside.

Thump, thump, thump—the sound of running was deafening.

"Father! Mother!"

Xiaoshan's voice.

Chen Feng opened his eyes, but before he could react, the door was pushed open.

Xiaoshan hopped in wearing thermal underwear, followed by Xiaoyue.

"Dad! Happy New Year!"

Xiao Shan rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his little face red from the cold, his eyes sparkling.

Chen Feng paused for a moment, then smiled: "Happy New Year! Happy New Year!"

Xiaoyue also came over, stood properly, and said, "Dad, Mom, Happy New Year."

Lin Xiu tried to sit up, but as soon as she propped herself up, she suddenly hissed and frowned.

Chen Feng turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"

Lin Xiu didn't say anything, but reached behind her back and lay back down.

Looking at her posture, Chen Feng suddenly understood.

He suppressed a laugh and deliberately said, "Does your back hurt?"

Lin Xiu glared at him but didn't say anything.

Chen Feng leaned closer and whispered, "You must have been exhausted yesterday?"

Lin Xiu's face flushed red, and she threw a pillow at him: "How dare you say that!"

Chen Feng laughed and dodged away, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and put on his clothes.

"Alright, you can lie down now. I'll go cook."

Lin Xiu was taken aback: "You're going to cook?"

"What's wrong? Can't I do it?"

"No..." Lin Xiu looked at him, her eyes filled with something indescribable, "It's the first day of the Lunar New Year, and you're a grown man..."

Chen Feng fastened his belt, turned around and smiled: "So what if it's the first day of the Lunar New Year? Does that mean men aren't men on the first day of the Lunar New Year? You rest well, I'll call you when the food is ready."

He pushed open the door and left, leaving Lin Xiu alone lying on the kang (a heated brick bed). She stood there stunned for a moment, then buried her face in the pillow and smiled.

Outside, Chen Feng went into the kitchen.

He squatted down, lit the fire in the stove, added a few pieces of firewood, and the flames crackled and popped.

There were still some leftover dumplings from yesterday in the cupboard, and he chopped some pickled cabbage to heat them up.

Just as I was busy working, I heard soft footsteps behind me.

He turned around and saw Lin Xiu standing at the kitchen door, supporting her back, her face still red.

"Didn't I tell you to lie down?" Chen Feng said.

Lin Xiu ignored him, walked in, and glanced into the stove.

"Can you do it?"

Chen Feng laughed: "It's just heating up some food, what's so difficult about that?"

Lin Xiu didn't say anything, stood there watching for a while, then suddenly reached out and pulled him aside.

"The fire's too high, the dumplings are going to break."

She squatted down, pulled out two pieces of firewood, and the fire subsided.

Chen Feng stood beside her, watching her squat there, her waist clearly hesitant to exert any force, her posture somewhat awkward.

"If your back hurts, don't squat," he said.

Lin Xiu looked up and glared at him: "Isn't it all your fault?"

Chen Feng suppressed a laugh: "Yes, yes, it's my fault."

He helped Lin Xiu up and sat her down on a small stool by the kitchen door.

"You sit and give instructions, I'll do the work."

Lin Xiu sat there, watching him clumsily lift the pot lid, put in the dumplings, and get the bowl, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved up.

The dumplings were heated up, and Chen Feng served two bowls, placing them on the table in the main room.

"I'll go get the child."

Just as he was about to leave, Xiaoshan and Xiaoyue rushed in.

"Dad! Mom! Set off firecrackers!"

Chen Feng stopped him, saying, "Let's eat first."

The two children climbed onto the table and started slurping their food.

Xiaoshan ate so fast that he grimaced as the dumplings scalded him, but he wouldn't stop.

After finishing his meal, Chen Feng cleared away the dishes and chopsticks; it was already broad daylight outside.

The sun hadn't risen yet, but the snow was dazzling.

Xiaoshan couldn't sit still any longer and pulled Xiaoyue into the yard.

"Dad! Set off firecrackers!"

Chen Feng took out the string of firecrackers left over from yesterday from inside the house and walked into the yard.

The children covered their ears and hid far away, but their eyes were fixed on the firecrackers in his hand.

Chen Feng hung the firecrackers on a tree branch, took out a match, lit one, and brought it closer.

laugh--

Sparks flew up from the fuse, followed by a series of crackling sounds.

Red paper scraps exploded and flew everywhere, landing on the snow like blooming plum blossoms.

Xiaoshan covered his ears and jumped around, while Xiaoyue hid behind him, peeking out with half her face.

Once the noise stopped and the smoke cleared, the two children finally went over to investigate.

Xiao Shan squatted on the ground, rummaging through the red paper scraps, his eyes gleaming.

"What are you looking for?" Chen Feng asked.

"Find the one that didn't make a sound."

Xiaoyue also squatted down, the two siblings huddled together, heads touching, rummaging through the scraps of paper.

"Father! I found it!"

Xiaoshan held up a bright red firecracker, his face flushed with excitement.

Chen Feng walked over, took it and looked at it. The fuse was still there, but it was a bit short.

"Okay, it works."

Xiaoshan was even happier and pulled Xiaoyue along to continue the search.

After searching for a long time, the two of them turned the yard upside down and found a total of seven, eight or ten.

Xiao Shan held it in his hands as if it were a golden nugget, and ran into the house to show it to his mother.

"Mother! Look!"

Lin Xiu was resting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She glanced at it and smiled, "Where did you find it?"

"In the yard! Dad set off firecrackers!"

Lin Xiu glanced at Chen Feng, who stood at the door, smiling but saying nothing.

Xiaoshan counted them, then ran out and squatted down in the snow with Xiaoyue to discuss how to put them.

Chen Feng walked over, squatted down, and said, "Put them out one by one, don't light them all at once."

Xiao Shan nodded, picked out the one with the longest thread, and handed it to Chen Feng: "Dad, you choose."

Chen Feng took it, struck a match, lit it, and threw it into the snow.

boom--

With a muffled thud, a small crater appeared in the snow.

Xiaoshan and Xiaoyue clapped their hands and laughed, then handed over another one.

One after another, seven or eight firecrackers were quickly set off.

Xiaoshan, still not satisfied, squatted down again to rummage through the scraps of paper, trying to find a few more.

Xiaoyue tugged at him: "It's gone, we've searched everywhere."

Xiaoshan, unwilling to give up, rummaged around a couple more times before finally standing up and dusting his hands off.

Chen Feng looked at him and said, "I'll buy a few more next year, so you can set them off to your heart's content."

Xiaoshan looked up, her eyes shining: "Really?"

"real."

Xiaoshan grinned, then grabbed Xiaoyue and ran off again.

Chen Feng stood in the yard, watching the two children running wildly in the snow, seeing the red paper scraps trampled everywhere, and seeing the kitchen chimney still emitting smoke.

The sun came out and shone brightly on the snow.

Lin Xiu appeared out at some point, walked up to him, and stopped.

Chen Feng turned to look at her: "Your back doesn't hurt anymore?"