Reborn in 1981, the first to get rich start with dairy cows.

"I do!"

Shen Dong rode back to the team with a silly grin on his face, Qiu Xiaoqin's words still echoing in his ears. When he arrived at the team, he didn't even notice when people greeted him.

"What's going on, Dongzi? I'm talking to you!"

Li Hu looked at Shen Dong, whose mouth was grinning from ear to ear, with a puzzled expression. He stopped him, stared at his face for a while, and then asked, "What are you laughing at? Is something making you happy?"

"Huh? No!"

"You still say no? Go home and look in the mirror. Your mouth is grinning wider than my soup bowl!"

Shen Dong then touched his face, his smile fading slightly. "Oh, I just remembered something happy. I'll head back now, we'll talk again!"

With that, he rode away on his bicycle.

"Strange...something's fishy!"

Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve, and every household in the Hongqi Production Team is busy preparing for the holiday.

Once the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month passes, if a family's chimney isn't smoking, it's considered that the family isn't doing well.

Shen Dong's family was no exception.

Every year, they spend the Spring Festival at Shen Changping's place. Early in the morning, the two aunts started getting busy. Shen Dong didn't know how to do these things, so he took Shen Min to Qiu Xiaoqin's place.

Shen Min had already gone home and was helping with chores.

In Pengcheng, people fry meatballs for the Spring Festival. First, they need to chop meat filling. As Shen Dong approached, he heard a clanging sound in the yard. He greeted his two aunts with a smile.

"Brother, you're back!" Shen Min said, then peeked behind Shen Dong and asked, "Where's sister-in-law? Didn't she come with you?"

"Dongzi, Xiaomin came back and said you and Xiaoqin are dating?" Tang Yue was very familiar with Qiu Xiaoqin, and an interested expression appeared on her face.

Shen Changping sat at the doorway, listening with a smile. Liu Xiuying, who was kneading dough, stopped kneading when she heard this and asked, "You two aunts know each other, whose daughter is she? Is she pretty?"

"Don't worry, Mom, he's very handsome!" Tang Yue said, pointing at Shen Dong and laughing, "Didn't you see how much Dongzi's mouth is crooked from smiling? He's got a good look!"

"Where is it crooked? You're talking nonsense!"

Shen Dong smiled, washed his hands, and sat down to the side.

As soon as I sat down, Shen Nan leaned over with a teasing look on her face. "Dongzi, which one is it? I didn't notice last time I went. Tell me."

Shen Hong quietly pricked up her ears.

Seeing that Hu Aiping was not there, Shen Dong decided to play a trick on Shen Nan. He deliberately asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Go ask Li Chenfeng, he knows him."

Shen Nan's face quickly turned red, and she stammered, "Wh...what Li Chenfeng? I...I don't understand!"

Shen Hong didn't hear what Shen Dong said, but she saw her second sister's face change and became extremely anxious. She asked, "Second sister, what Chen Feng? What are you talking about?"

"Your sister said the wind was a bit strong and chilly this morning."

Shen Hong pursed her lips; she didn't believe Shen Dong's empty words.

But seeing that Shen Nan was keeping her head down and not saying anything, she didn't know what else to ask.

My second sister isn't as gentle as my eldest sister!

After a while, Hu Aiping returned, and Shen Nan warned Shen Dong with her eyes not to talk nonsense.

Shen Dong sat there and started making meatballs.

The meatballs eaten in Pengcheng during the Spring Festival are made with a ratio of three parts fat to seven parts lean meat, mixed with batter, minced scallions and ginger, and star anise powder. They are squeezed by hand and rolled into the oil.

With a sizzle, golden oil began to bubble up and simmer in the pan.

As the white meatballs were dropped into the pot, the oil began to bubble violently.

Liu Xiuhua took a strainer and gently stirred the pot. The meatballs had turned golden brown and floated to the surface as she stirred.

The aroma immediately filled the entire courtyard.

"Xiaohong, step back, don't burn yourself." Tang Yue quickly reminded her daughter as she saw her daughter eagerly approaching the oil pan, while still squeezing meatballs in her hands.

The first batch was fried very quickly.

Liu Xiuying put them into a basket, and Shen Hong immediately grabbed one.

"Ouch, it's so hot!" She took a bite as soon as she put it in her mouth and was immediately burned. She quickly took it out and blew on it.

Shen Dong washed his hands, then took one and blew on it. Shen Min's hands were covered in crumbs, and she was still making meatballs. He then let Shen Min take a bite and finish it.

"Mmm, this is delicious!"

After finishing one, Shen Hong picked up another, repeatedly saying, "Delicious, delicious."

Hu Aiping said with a smile, "You should really thank Dongzi. In previous years, our family never had so much meat."

"Yes, I remember a few years ago when things were tight at home, we had to start storing meat for the Lunar New Year very early. If it weren't for the low temperatures those years, the meat might have spoiled before the Lunar New Year."

Tang Yue recalled with emotion, and continued to say to the younger children, "This was already the best we could eat at home. Back then, you little ones complained that the food we ate during the New Year was bad and cried for meat."

As Shen Dong chewed on a meatball, he recalled the New Year celebrations of his previous life. With the opening up of the country's economic policies, his family's conditions had indeed improved, but the availability of scarce commodities such as pork and mutton was still not guaranteed.

After finishing the meatballs, he continued to pinch more meatballs.

There's plenty of meat and flour this year, so Liu Xiuying plans to make more.

This is just the first batch coming out of the oven; the second batch is still in the pot.

While pinching himself, Shen Dong chatted with his family.

As we chatted, my mind started to wander, and I thought back to this morning. The image of Qiu Xiaoqin's shy expression after she agreed to my request popped into my mind again.

Shen Dong wanted to step forward and take her hand, but he didn't dare. Qiu Xiaoqin saw his hand gradually approaching but he didn't dare to hold it, so she took the initiative to link arms with his.

The two walked side by side for a while, and Shen Dong grinned the whole way, having completely forgotten what they had talked about.

As I thought about it, a smile unconsciously crept onto my face.

"Dongzi...Dongzi..."

The shouts in his ears suddenly woke him up. He saw that his family members were all trying to suppress their laughter and looking at him. Shen Nan, Shen Min and the others were so uncomfortable that their shoulders were shaking.

"Dongzi, I've called you several times. What are you thinking about that makes you so happy?"

Tang Yue waved in front of him, a smile on her lips, and asked.

"Hehe, it's nothing..." Shen Dong responded, then laughed awkwardly again.

They say happiness is contagious. When Shen Dong smiled, the women, young and old, in the courtyard all laughed along with him.

"It seems Dongzi really likes that girl!" Liu Xiuying said, suggesting, "I heard she only has a younger brother and her mother. Why don't we invite them over to celebrate the New Year together?"

"Mom, that won't do. She's not even married yet. What will the neighbors think?"

Liu Xiuying meant that once her daughter-in-law opened her mouth, she would stop talking.

Everyone laughed for a few moments and then stopped. Shen Dong scratched his head awkwardly.

"Dongzi, don't stop! Don't think you can stop working just because you've found a wife. Even if you become richer in the future, you'll still have to work when you come back to our home," Tang Yue teased.

"Haha, bro, the meatballs you made are so ugly, they're all flat."

"Xiao Hong, what was that idiom you mentioned last time? 'Happy about what you think about what you're happy about'..."

"Auntie, she's so happy she doesn't want to leave."

"Yes, Dongzi is so happy he's forgotten all about home!"