1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

"Brother Yan, she just ate, she's not hungry."

Su Man said to He Yan, then looked at Chen Xiaosui, "Get off your grandpa right now."

Chen Xiaosui shrank her neck and buried her head in He Yan's chest, pretending not to hear.

"I'll just take the kids there to have a look; it won't cost much."

He Yan was overjoyed to see Chen Xiaosui being so affectionate with him, so he picked her up and left.

"You don't even say anything to her; it's all because you spoil her."

Su Man looked at Chen Weidong, who was watching the show with amusement, and grumbled.

Chen Weidong...

"If a child likes to eat this, it means they are healthy."

Lin Xi, who was standing nearby, tried to comfort her, but in her heart she also thought Chen Xiaosui was lively and cute, and even she liked her very much.

A short while later, He Yan returned carrying Chen Xiaosui, who was also holding a roasted sweet potato.

"Dad, Mom, eat! It's delicious!"

Chen Xiaosui warmly handed over the sweet potato.

"You still sell sweet potatoes? Thank you, Sui Sui."

Chen Weidong felt a warmth in his heart and broke off a piece. Although Chen Xiaosui liked to eat, at least she knew how to share and be filial to them. With this kind of heart, she would definitely not go astray in the future.

"It's delicious, and quite sweet."

"sweet!"

With Chen Weidong's approval, Chen Xiaosui's smile widened, and she continued to offer the sweet potatoes to Su Man.

Su Man was amused by Chen Xiaosui's little compliment and gently tapped her forehead: "You can't just ask people for things anymore, understand?"

"knew!"

Chen Xiaohui nodded solemnly.

"Where are the other two aunties?"

Chen Weidong interrupted Su Man's lecturing and changed the subject.

Fu Xiao and Lin Xi, who were standing to the side, also looked at Chen Xiaosui in a very cooperative manner.

"Auntie, eat, it's sweet!"

Chen Xiaohui was very accommodating and handed over the sweet potato again.

"Good girl! Auntie won't eat anymore, you can have it."

Lin Xi smiled and patted Chen Xiaosui's head.

"You should eat something too. She ate dinner tonight, and it's not good for her to eat too much."

Chen Xiaosui did eat dinner that night; if she had really eaten a whole sweet potato, she would have easily gotten a bloated stomach.

Upon hearing Chen Weidong's words, Fu Xiao and Lin Xi each broke off a piece as well.

"Thank you, Sui Sui."

Hearing the thanks, Chen Xiaosui looked at the sweet potato that was only half left and felt a little heartache, but she was still very happy inside. She liked it when people thanked her.

Ah~ Ahh~

When Chen Xiaoan saw that no one was paying attention to him, he started yelling "Ah ah!" too.

"Little brother, eat."

This time, Chen Xiaosui didn't need Chen Weidong to teach her; she simply handed him the sweet potato.

"Your brother can't eat it, so did you give it to your uncle?"

Chen Weidong stopped Chen Xiaosui, because Chen Xiaoan was too young and hadn't even started eating solid foods yet.

Actually, if it were other children in the village, they would already be eating corn porridge and other complementary foods.

However, Chen Weidong's family has now bought dairy goats, so they don't lack milk. Even Chen Xiaosui drinks a bowl of milk every day. He plans to let Chen Xiaoan drink it for a while longer, as it will be good for her health.

"have eaten."

Chen Xiaohui nodded.

"I just bought it, and my child gave it to me to eat."

He Yan couldn't stop smiling.

"Everyone, stop chatting, the movie is about to start. If you haven't sat down yet, hurry up and take your seats."

Wang Jianshe shouted a few words, and the noise around him subsided.

The projectionist had also finished adjusting the white screen and projector.

"Hey, there's sound, it's coming out."

"Yes, a figure really appeared."

……

Some people who hadn't seen the movie immediately exclaimed excitedly.

"Keep your voice down, don't make a sound!"

Yang Shulin shouted loudly.

As soon as the words "The Shining Red Star" appeared, the movie officially began. Even Chen Xiaohui, who was engrossed in eating sweet potatoes, looked ahead with curiosity.

This is a children's war film produced by August First Film Studio and adapted from Li Xintian's novel of the same name. The film tells the story of the young hero Pan Dongzi growing up in the environment of fighting against the enemy during the difficult period from 1930 to 1939.

Chen Weidong hadn't seen this movie before. Although the picture quality was poor and the story was relatively simple, everyone watched it very attentively, occasionally cursing "little devils."

The movie didn't end until around 10 PM. People dispersed in twos and threes. Su Man and Lin Xi were still discussing the movie's plot, while Chen Weidong and He Yan followed behind.

"Yan-ge, how's your studying going lately?"

Chen Weidong asked with concern, "There aren't many days left until the college entrance examination."

"My review went pretty well, thanks to Linxi. I'm not sure about getting into a bachelor's program, but I should be able to get into a junior college."

He Yan looked quite spirited. Chen Weidong glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. The way he called him "Lin Xi" sounded quite affectionate. Even if he didn't do well on the college entrance exam, the two of them were not far from getting married.

"We really should thank Lin Xi. Please take better care of her; you're not getting any younger."

Chen Weidong freed one hand and patted He Yan's arm.

"Please put some effort into it!"

Chen Xiaohui also waved her arm.

Hahaha……

Chen Weidong burst out laughing.

"What's wrong? You seem so happy talking about it."

Su Man and the other two stopped and turned to look at Chen Weidong and He Yan.

"Nothing much, we were just talking about the movie we were watching. Let's hurry up and go, there are a lot of mosquitoes outside."

He Yan glanced at Lin Xi, then immediately avoided her gaze and said.

When Su Man and the other two turned around again, He Yan said in a low voice, annoyed, "Stop joking around, what if Lin Xi hears this?"

"Brother Yan, I wasn't joking just now. I really think you two are a good match. And I think Lin Xi also has some feelings for you. Otherwise, why would she tutor you every day and study with you? Look at Fu Xiao, she never invites you out."

"Really?"

He Yan hesitated slightly, but his heart was churning with emotion.

"Of course it's true. I can't speak for other things, but I do know a bit about love."

After glancing at Chen Weidong, He Yan believed this point; otherwise, out of the six people at the educated youth settlement, only Chen Weidong and Su Man would have become a couple.

Then, thinking about Chen Weidong's recent novel, "The Herdsman," the love story between Xu Lingjun and Li Xiuzhi, if Chen Weidong didn't understand it, how could he have written it so beautifully?

There isn't a single direct expression of love in the entire story of "The Herdsman," but the care expressed in every cup of tea and every meal is more touching and desirable than any words can express it.

"But she's from Sichuan Province, so she'll definitely have to go back to her hometown. I'm in Beijing, and I have elderly relatives there..."

"Have you confirmed that she's going back to her hometown?"

Chen Weidong interrupted He Yan.

"without."

"That's it. You're both preparing for the exams now, and there are so many prestigious universities in Beijing. With Linxi's grades, she might be able to get into Peking University or Tsinghua University. Then you two can be together."

Chen Weidong was extremely worried about He Yan's love life.

When they reached the door, he patted He Yan on the shoulder. "Brother Yan, think it over carefully."

Once inside, Su Man helped Chen Xiaoan remove the blanket while casually asking, "What were you and Brother Yan talking about? You talked the whole way."

"Brother Yan!"

Chen Xiaosui immediately chimed in, patting Chen Weidong's arm, clearly having just learned it.

"You should call him 'Grandpa,' not 'Brother Yan.' Here, give me the sweet potato, I'll put it away for you to eat tomorrow."

Chen Xiaosui took a small bite before handing the sweet potato to Chen Weidong.

"We didn't talk about much, just that Yan-ge should pay more attention to Lin Xi."

"What do you mean? Why are you taking it so seriously?"

Su Man looked at Chen Weidong with a slightly puzzled expression.

"One man and one woman, what else could they possibly do?"

"He's so irresponsible, always acting like a child in front of his daughter."

Su Man gave Chen Weidong a push, annoyed. "Don't try to play matchmaker, or it'll make things awkward for everyone."

"Look, even you don't believe me. Think about it yourself, why did Lin Xi take the initiative to tutor He Yan?"

That's because...

Su Man also realized that something seemed amiss.

"It can't be because of brotherhood or friendship!"

Chen Weidong joked.

"Now that you mention it, it does seem to make that point..."

……