Finally, it was time to eat, and the food was so delicious that even those who weren’t normally talkative were instantly absorbed in their meal.

The entire table fell silent as everyone focused on eating, including the usually chatty Ye Xingxiu.

Once everyone was almost full and most of the dishes had been finished, Ye Xingxiu looked enviously at Cen Zhengnian. “You get to eat such delicious food every meal—it must be such a joy!”

Cen Zhengnian calmly sipped his bowl of seaweed egg drop soup and said, “Not every meal.”

Ye Xingxiu looked at him, and Cen Zhengnian continued, “Maybe one or two meals a day. Chu Xia has to go to school.”

Having stayed at the research institute for so long, Cen Zhengnian’s colleagues were all familiar with Chu Xia’s name.

Ye Xingxiu: …

Yan Heman, who was also at the table, chimed in, “It’s been so long since I’ve had such a delicious meal.”

The other colleagues agreed.

After dinner, Cen Zhengnian cut the cake. It was brought back by Chu Xia yesterday when she returned from school since there were no cake shops near the research institute.

All the colleagues, including Ye Xingxiu, received a large piece of cake.

Only Yan Heman got a tiny piece that was gone in two bites.

“Zhengnian, isn’t this kind of treatment a bit too much?” Yan Heman joked.

Cen Zhengnian replied, “Last time, when Shimu…”

“Stop, let’s leave it at that,” Yan Heman quickly interrupted, lowering his head to eat his cake.

After the colleagues left, Cen Zhengnian started to clean up the table.

Just as Chu Xia was about to help clean up the plates, Cen Zhengnian stopped her. “You don’t have to do this. I’ll take care of the rest. You go put An An to bed. You’ve had a hard day.”

Chu Xia smiled and patted his arm. “You’ve worked hard too.”

---

Not long after Cen Zhengnian’s birthday, Chu Xia was about to face her final exams.

The atmosphere at the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine was filled with tension.

During the midterm exams, the teachers had already mentioned that the final grades would have a significant impact on the overall performance, and they were also linked to scholarships.

Everyone wanted a scholarship.

Even if they couldn’t get one, no one wanted to perform poorly at the end of the semester.

The school library was usually crowded, but now the number of people had doubled.

If you arrived late, not only were the seats taken, but even space on the floor was hard to find.

In the days leading up to the exams, Chu Xia stayed at the school, dedicating more time to review.

There were many strong students in her class, and if she let her guard down, she could easily be surpassed.

The final exams were unlikely to include questions beyond the syllabus; they would focus on what was covered during the semester.

As long as everyone studied seriously and reviewed diligently, they wouldn’t do too poorly.

The girls in Chu Xia’s dorm were even more nervous than Chu Xia and Ye Mengchun.

Normally, after evening study sessions, they would chat and laugh, but now, after washing up, they were all glued to their books.

Chu Xia’s and Ye Mengchun’s books were the most popular.

Whenever someone had a question, they would immediately turn to the two of them, fearing they might encounter the same problems during the exams.

After all the hard work, they finally finished all their final exams.

Walking out of the last exam room, Chu Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

Outside, light snow was falling, and Chu Xia used her gloved hands to warm her face before hurrying back to her dorm.

She didn’t have much stuff in the dorm, so she didn’t bother taking it home.

She just packed everything neatly and covered it with a sheet to keep the dust away.

Most of the other girls in the dorm had already bought their tickets home and were packing up.

Chu Xia got off her bed, put on her shoes, and waved to them. “See you next semester, girls.”

“See you next semester!”

---

This was the first time Chu Xia spent the New Year in Beijing.

Last year, when she was in the Northwest, she hadn’t known that Cen Zhengnian would come to Beijing, and she had told Jiang Shengnan and Cen’s father that she would go back to the Northwest for the summer.

Later, when Cen Zhengnian came to Beijing, Chu Xia didn’t take An An back to the Northwest during the summer.

Last year, she didn’t have to prepare for the New Year herself and had done it with Jiang Shengnan.

This year, however, she had to take care of everything on her own.

Thankfully, she could discuss what to buy with Cen Zhengnian in the evenings.

Since there were only three of them at home, they didn’t need to prepare too much.

Cen Huai’an was also on winter break, so Chu Xia took him along to shop.

They bought a little each day, picking up whatever they thought of, and gradually got everything they needed.

They had their reunion dinner at Grandpa Jiang’s house.

The New Year atmosphere was in full swing by then.

Zhang Lu, with her two younger brothers and Hong Youxuan, were playing with firecrackers in the alley.

Cen Huai’an, who usually behaved maturely, also let loose and enjoyed playing with the other kids.

The alley was filled with the sound of firecrackers going off.

A neighborhood cat, startled by the noise, darted up to a wall, and upon seeing the two dogs, Huangzi and Heizi, lounging in the yard, quickly ran away again.

Since they didn’t go to the Northwest, Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian could only call Cen’s father and Jiang Shengnan to wish them a happy New Year.

Jiang Shengnan talked about how lively it was last year, and how quiet it was at home this year.

Chu Xia felt a bit sad, but with Cen Zhengnian in Beijing and unable to take time off, she couldn’t just take An An to the Northwest without him.

All she could say was, “Hopefully, next year, Zhengnian will have a break during New Year, and we can come to the Northwest to celebrate with you.”

Jiang Shengnan laughed happily. “It’s enough that you have the thought. Zhengnian’s work is important.”

This year’s Lantern Festival, Cen Huai’an made his little orange lanterns again.

But this time, there were no Hu Pandeng or Xiao He; instead, Cen Huai’an only played with Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian.

When he took his lanterns out in the evening around the research institute’s residential area, he still attracted the attention of many children.

Despite not spending the holiday with his grandparents, Cen Huai’an had a great New Year, receiving lots of red envelopes.

Once the New Year passed, time seemed to fly by quickly.

It felt like one moment they were bundled up in winter clothes, and the next, the weather had warmed, and everyone was shedding their heavy coats.

“Mom, our teacher said we’re going on a spring outing.”

Most school spring outings happen in March or April.

The weather during this time is not too hot or too cold, and nature is waking up, with flowers and plants growing everywhere—a perfect time for a spring adventure.

“Where are we going for the spring outing?” Chu Xia paused her work on the daily homework assigned by the teacher and looked at him.

“The teacher said it’s to the nearby fields. We need to prepare things and go the day after tomorrow.”

Previously, Cen Huaian had been on an autumn outing, and preparing for the spring outing was similar.

The family had snacks and bread at home, and all they needed was to bring hot water, so there was no need to buy anything else.

“Alright, you can bring whatever you want to eat. How about I make you a rice ball as well?”

Cen Huaian had eaten rice balls made by Chu Xia before and had even helped her make them.

An An licked his lips, eagerly anticipating the spring outing.

On the morning of the day after tomorrow, after breakfast, Chu Xia and Cen Huaian started making rice balls in the kitchen.

The spring outing was set to start at 8:30, so there would be plenty of time to finish making the rice balls and get to school.

It was a simple task; Chu Xia had already prepared the rice and the ingredients to put into the rice balls.

They just needed to layer the rice, meat, vegetables, and pork floss, and use a mold to shape them.

Chu Xia had bought special molds for making snacks, which were quite handy.

Each press created a different shape, including various floral patterns.

Cen Huaian also enjoyed the process of pressing the rice balls, and the two of them laughed and worked together in the kitchen.

Chu Xia asked, “An An, do you like the plum blossom shape?”

“Yes. Mom, the ‘Fu’ character is nice too.”

Chu Xia replied, “The ‘Ping An’ one is good as well.”

Cen Zhengnian sat in the living room chair, watching the figures of the two in the kitchen with a smile in his eyes.

As Cen Huaian’s spring outing went as he had described, Teacher Han led their class on a walk along the nearby rural paths, surrounded by lush green wheat fields.

Other classes were also out with their homeroom teachers, walking the same paths.

Each teacher was explaining the different plants found in the fields to their students.

Everyone recognized wheat, as the school was nearby, and they could all see it.

But many of the wildflowers, grasses, and wild vegetables along the roadside were unknown to the children.

The teachers focused mainly on these.

Teacher Han had a loud voice that overshadowed the other teachers, as if his deep voice filled the entire field: “This is dandelion, also known as ‘Pudong’. Don’t underestimate it just because you see it everywhere…”

Cen Huaian listened to Teacher Han talk about the medicinal effects of dandelions, his eyes fixed on the dandelions by the roadside, thinking that these could be eaten.

When Teacher Han talked about shepherd’s purse, the conversation turned to food: “Shepherd’s purse in dumplings, with some pork or eggs, is the most fragrant. You can also steam it…”

He not only talked but described the taste of various dishes made from shepherd’s purse, causing the second graders to drool one by one.

Cen Huaian raised his hand and asked, “Teacher Han, can I dig up some of these shepherd’s purse later?”

Teacher Han replied, “Yes! As long as you don’t step into someone’s field, you can dig up the wild vegetables by the roadside.”

Cen Huaian mentally noted this edible wild vegetable.

After walking for a while, Teacher Han had covered most of the common wild plants and grasses, and they reached a grove where no wheat was planted.

Teacher Han allowed the students to move freely but instructed them not to step on the wheat and to stay within his sight.

He would keep a close watch on them.

The children were all afraid of Teacher Han and obeyed his instructions.

Cen Huaian took out a small shovel and a cloth bag, which his mother had given him before he left.

Chu Xia knew he was going on a field trip and told him to look for known wild vegetables and bring some back if he found any.

If he didn’t recognize them, it was okay.

While Cen Huaian was squatting on the path digging for wild vegetables, a classmate from his class came over, curious.

“Cen Huaian, what are you doing with these?”

“Eating them.”

The classmate remembered Teacher Han’s words and swallowed. “I want to eat some too.”

Cen Huaian dug up the wild vegetable in front of him, shook off the dirt, and put it into his cloth bag. “Then you can dig for yourself.”

Since the classmate didn’t have a shovel, Cen Huaian thought for a moment and picked up a stick nearby for him. “Use this to pry them up.”

The classmate didn’t have a bag to collect them in.

Cen Huaian glanced at his backpack. “Put them in there.”

Other classmates who were playing elsewhere saw the two digging for wild vegetables and came over.

One classmate proudly said, “I’m going to dig some to take home so my mom can make dumplings for me.”

Others felt envious and wanted to eat as well.

Soon, the entire class was squatting there digging for wild vegetables.

Cen Huaian looked around at the crowded classmates and furrowed his brow.

There weren’t enough wild vegetables to go around.

He stood up and found another spot to dig.

Teacher Han had been paying attention and saw that Cen Huaian was leading the way in digging for wild vegetables.

He came over, squatted beside Cen Huaian, and pulled up a dandelion, handing it to him. “How did you think of digging here? And you brought a shovel.”

Cen Huaian replied, “My mom gave it to me. Teacher, you said wild vegetables are delicious.”

And his mother had also asked him to dig some.

Teacher Han picked up Cen Huaian’s cloth bag, which was already half full. “Great, when you’re done, let me use the shovel. I’m craving wild vegetables too.”