Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

The first winter snow in Chenjiazhuang came very early, earlier than usual.

However, since it wasn't the coldest period of winter yet, the temperature wasn't that low. When Chen Shouyi went out to sweep the yard, there was snow on top of ice water.

The snow melted as soon as it fell, and the north wind stung people's faces.

Wang Guizhi specially made egg drop soup this morning, and added a lot of shredded ginger.

After all, ginger is the most popular food for keeping warm in Chenjiazhuang.

Chen Shouyi opened the courtyard gate, and saw that the area in front of Aunt Zhang's house across the street had already been swept clean. It was truly a case of "Don't think you're the only one who's early; there are always those who are earlier."

Scattered footprints on the street, some deep, some shallow, some large, some small.

The three pigs in the pigsty were already quite fat. These were piglets born to Aunt Zhang. Originally, Chen Shouyi wanted to buy one, but Chen Wenfeng insisted on buying two more.

According to Chen Wenfeng's idea, all three pigs should be sent to the mountain to be raised, but Chen Shouyi felt that it was inconvenient to slaughter pigs in the mountains during the New Year, so it would be better to keep them at home.

And so, the three pigs stayed.

The Spring Festival couplets pasted on the pigsty last year have faded, but the faint writing still reveals four characters:

"The pen is full of fat pigs."

There are indeed plenty of fat pigs in the pen now.

Chen Wenshui drank two bowls of egg drop soup, but he wasn't in a hurry to leave because Chen Xiaofang had been drinking her bowl of soup for a long time without finishing it.

It's not that she doesn't like egg drop soup; she just really hates the taste of ginger.

Normally, Wang Guizhi would consider her daughter's taste and add little or no ginger. But in this freezing weather, Wang Guizhi believed in the saying that ginger cures colds, so Chen Xiaofang had no choice but to compromise with her mother.

But she gave in to her mother; her stomach wouldn't give in to the ginger. So, half an hour passed before half of the egg drop soup in the bowl was gone.

Chen Wenshui was getting a little anxious. He was a good student, and yesterday the teacher had specially arranged for him to arrive early to help with roll call!

Xiaofang repeatedly cast pleading glances at Wenshui...

Time was ticking away, and Chen Wenshui couldn't wait any longer. While Wang Guizhi was at the stove, he picked up the bowl in front of Xiaofang, drank it all in one gulp, and then quickly put it down.

"Mom, Xiaofang has finished drinking. We're going to school!"

Before Wang Guizhi could answer, Chen Wenshui grabbed his sister Chen Xiaofang and ran out.

"Slow down, the road is covered in snow!"

Chen Shouyi's words were scattered by the north wind; a small portion reached Chen Wenshui's ears, while most dissipated in the cold air.

A new day begins in this biting cold...

......

When Chen Youwei arrived at the village committee, his cotton shoes were already soaked. He hadn't expected the snow to come so early and so suddenly.

He didn't even have time to take off his cold cotton shoes before he started a fire, rubbing his hands, which were frozen purple.

Before long, thick white smoke began to rise from the small iron stove.

Normally, there's nothing much to do on a snowy day, and he could skip coming to the village committee, but he had to come today because he had an appointment.

When the clock on the wall pointed to 9 a.m., Zheng Erli walked in, stepping through the scattering of snowflakes on the floor.

"village head!"

Chen Youwei was drying shoes and socks on the stove.

Seeing Zheng Erli come in, she quickly put on her already dried socks, slipped on a pair of sandals, and invited Zheng Erli to sit down.

Only those cotton shoes remained on the stove, slowly dried by the fire, swelling up like roasted sweet potatoes from the heat.

Zheng Erli smiled broadly, seemingly unaffected by the snow. He pulled a stool out from under the table and sat down.

Chen Youwei noticed that Zheng Erli was wearing black rubber rain boots.

That was truly prescient.

"Erli, aren't you cold wearing rain boots in this freezing weather?"

"I'm not cold, I have cotton shoes and socks underneath."

"Cotton shoes?"

Chen Youwei was a little incredulous. After looking at it more closely, he realized that Zheng Erli's rain boots were probably extra-large, so it shouldn't be a problem to stuff another pair of cotton shoes inside.

"So, have you made up your mind?"

"Village Chief, I've made up my mind. But I'd like to discuss this further with Wen Feng."

Zheng Erli arrived in Chenjiazhuang yesterday evening and stayed at his elder brother Zheng Dali's house for the night. Although he has his own house in Chenjiazhuang, it has been uninhabited for a long time and is covered in dust. It would probably take a few days to clean it up before he could stay there.

Since that gambling and drinking incident with Chen Shouxin, Zheng Dali has never touched alcohol again. When Zhang Caifeng returned and learned that Zheng Dali had almost been swindled while gambling, she surprisingly did not lose her temper and even told him that he could have a drink at home if he wanted.

But Zheng Dali felt that his wife was being sarcastic, so he behaved himself for a while.

But things were different when her younger brother Zheng Erli came along. Zhang Caifeng admired her uncle very much. When Zhang Caifeng married into the family, Zheng Erli was only 15 years old. In a way, Zhang Caifeng was like a second mother to Zheng Erli.

Zheng Erli earned money outside and often sent it to Zhang Caifeng.

Now that her "half-son" has returned, Zhang Caifeng doesn't object to Zheng Dali drinking with her.

Zheng Dali was overjoyed, as he could not only drink wine by imperial decree, but also enjoy Zhang Caifeng's various signature dishes.

Originally, Zhang Caifeng didn't want Zheng Erli to go out on this snowy morning, but because she had made an appointment with the village chief and Zheng Erli needed to get back to town in a hurry, Zhang Caifeng found Erli a pair of extra-large rain boots.

......

"Village chief, I'm in a hurry to get back. Since we don't have much to do today, why don't we go up the mountain and take a look?"

Damn it, Chen Youwei had finally warmed himself up, and now he had to go out again, this time to Jiming Mountain. He was really reluctant, but he was also a very ambitious and responsible village chief. Since Zheng Erli was so eager to cooperate on building a factory, he would just go along with it. He sighed and said:

"The road up the mountain is difficult to travel in this heavy snow. You haven't been back for so many years, can you handle it?"

"Village chief, I also grew up in Chenjiazhuang, why can't I stand it!"

"Let's go then!"

Chen Youwei smothered the stove, closed the village committee door, and then led Zheng Erli to Jiming Mountain.

Chen Youwei was still wearing the same pair of cotton shoes. At first, he was afraid of getting them wet again, so he walked very carefully. He could avoid getting them wet once or twice, but after a while, the cotton shoes were soaked again.

He simply gave up, knowing that Jiming Mountain had everything, and he could always find a pair of shoes there.

Once he stops paying attention to his footing, his pace quickens considerably.

Chen Youwei's speed increased, and Zheng Erli began to struggle to keep up.

Although his shoes weren't afraid of water, he wore cotton shoes underneath large rain boots, which didn't fit him well during the journey.

The snow, ice, and water on the road further increased the difficulty of the journey.

He was already panting heavily before he even reached the stone bridge north of the village, so he had to grit his teeth and hurry on.

The snow on the stone bridge had partially melted, and a layer of murky ice had covered it.

Chen Youwei stepped onto the stone bridge and crossed it in just a few steps.

He walked with increasing gait, leaving Zheng Erli far behind. As he walked, he sensed something was wrong and looked back:

Huh, where's Zheng Erli?