Although the temperature was low in winter, the wind was strong. If the wind blew all day, the clothes would actually dry. It’s just that the dew was heavier, and there would inevitably be moisture on the clothes, so they needed to be dried.

After the heat had dissipated from the drying, the clothes were folded and the clothes for the two sisters were placed on their bedside tables. It was true that the two of them would dress themselves tomorrow, but they needed someone to help prepare the clothes.

He and Jia Jia took the clothes into the room and put them in the closet.

After a busy day, it was almost nine o’clock.

Wen Jiajia stopped writing and closed the pen cap with a “click.” Then she stretched and yawned from sleepiness.

“Did you put a hand warmer under the quilt?” Wei Dai felt a warmth as soon as he entered the bed.

Wen Jiajia pounded his shoulders, took off her coat, quickly hid in the quilt, stuffed her feet between his legs, and said with a smile, “To keep warm, I took it from Wen Xuan and Wen Chun’s bed.”

They were really not afraid of the cold, and their quilt was so hot that it was almost steamy, so they took out the hot water bottle, filled it with hot water, and put it on their bed.

Wei Dai reached into the quilt, moved her legs to his abdomen to warm them, and touched her feet, which were like lumps of ice. He sighed and said, “They’re so cold. Do you want to get some medicine?”

Wen Jiajia was puzzled, “What kind of medicine? Girls’ feet are always cold.”

Wei Dai didn’t believe it. He thought that cold feet must be a sign of something unhealthy. There were always girls in good health who didn’t have cold feet.

“Really? I’m not lying to you. After your first period, your feet will slowly become cold.”

In her university dormitory, everyone had cold feet. If she didn’t heat up a hot water bottle before going to bed and wear coral fleece socks, her feet would be cold all night.

Wei Dai thought for a while and said, “That means you are deficient in Qi and blood. You should eat more red dates. I remember we have longans back home. I have to write a letter and ask them to send some to me.”

“…That’s not necessary.”

This was just a minor problem. Wen Jiajia also had it in her previous life.

Wei Dai insisted, “Prevent small diseases before they develop into serious ones. All serious diseases start from small ones.”

Wen Jiajia looked at him sideways, “This guy…if I wasn’t watching you in the summer, you would take a cold shower.”

But now her foot was still on his belly, so Wen Jiajia didn’t say anything.

Wei Dai’s body was very warm. If his muscles and bones weren’t too hard, he would be the best pillow to hug in winter.

The next day, the winter solstice,

We eat dumplings and glutinous rice balls during the winter solstice.

People living in the family compound come from all over the world, and some eat dumplings, while others eat glutinous rice balls.

After asking the two children, they decided to eat dumplings on the Winter Solstice.

Wen Jiajia asked, “Why?”

Wen Xuan said as a matter of course, “Because we often eat dumplings at home, we can only eat glutinous rice balls today.” On her birthday, her aunt made noodles and dumplings.

Wen Chun added, “You can also eat tangyuan^[1]Traditional Chinese sweet dumplings typically enjoyed during the Lantern Festival and other special occasions. during the Lantern Festival^[2]is a traditional Chinese festival that marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations..”

Wen Jiajia was speechless and got up to go to work, “Okay, you guys are really cunning.”

We do eat dumplings often at home because they are convenient, especially in winter. We spend an hour or two wrapping hundreds of dumplings, put them outside the window to cool, and bring some in to cook when we want to eat them. It is more convenient than making noodles.

Glutinous rice flour is needed to make dumplings, so Wen Jiajia went to a friend in a state-owned restaurant and bought three pounds of glutinous rice flour after dinner today.

The state-owned restaurant is selling rice dumplings today, and naturally, they also have glutinous rice flour.

I also went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two kilograms of black sesame seeds and asked the restaurant to grind them into sesame powder. Then I went to the vegetable market to buy some pork and other vegetables.

She was running around the entire afternoon, and Director Xue couldn’t find her when he needed her for something.

“Looking for me? What do you want from me?” Wen Jiajia returned to the office with a basket in her hands, her legs shaking with cold.

Sha Yue drank the hot water, “I don’t know. Later, Li Haijun went to Director Xue’s office.”

Wen Jiajia said, “Then it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

After all, Li Haijun doesn’t have the ability to handle big things.

After spending a long time together, Wen Jiajia finally understood that this guy was stupid.

Strictly speaking, he is even dumber than Qiao He.

Qiao He’s emotional quotient is not very high, but his IQ is still acceptable. But Li Haijun is sometimes so stupid that it makes people laugh. He actually thinks that after Director Xue is promoted, Director Xue’s position will be his.

Even Qiao He understands that after Director Xue is promoted, there is a 99% chance that the position of director will go to Team Leader Wei next door.

What about the other 1%? They will bring someone in from outside.

But it is basically impossible for him to be parachuted in as a leader. Team Leader Wei has been working diligently on the front line for so many years, and he has made contributions and worked hard. If Director Xue had not been promoted, he would have been the director long ago.

Li Haijun couldn’t understand why he had been competing so hard for the position of director and viewed Wen Jiajia as a stumbling block. Despite his high ambitions, his abilities were mediocre, and after two or three months of effort, he hadn’t achieved much.

However, Wen Jiajia was mistaken this time; Li Haijun actually had received a task from Director Xue. He had gone to the purchasing department with Director Xue to argue about the need for raw materials. Workshop 6 had been short of several kinds of raw materials for a long time, and the imported machines were only allocated to Workshops 3 and 7. Director Xue, known for his bad temper, couldn’t tolerate this.

With the Chinese New Year approaching, it wasn’t a good time for disputes during the holidays, so this was the perfect opportunity for arguments and complaints.

Sha Yue covered her mouth and laughed. After Li Haijun left with great enthusiasm, she said to Wen Jiajia, “Director Xue really is… using his talents according to his abilities.”

Qiao He shook the newspaper and said, “That’s called tailoring to the individual.”

Wen Jiajia was eager to see the outcome. Director Xue was exceptionally skilled at scolding people—she had never seen anyone scold better than him in her past, present, or future lives.

“You won’t see it even if you go there. When the people in the purchasing department see Director Xue coming, the first thing they do is close the door and drive away the people who have gathered there,” said Sha Yue.

“Really?” Wen Jiajia was surprised.

Sha Yue nodded. “Really. They’re afraid of being embarrassed. I’ve been there before.”

Director Xue is fearless, even when confronting the factory director.

Wen Jiajia didn’t dare to check until the evening, when she was about to leave and saw Li Haijun returning.

Look at how high-spirited he is; they must have had quite a fight.

Li Haijun picked up a cup, took a sip of water, and said with emotion, “Next year, our workshop will also have new equipment.”

Wen Jiajia asked, “Did Director Xue get it?”

Li Haijun replied, “Director Xue and I both put in the effort, so of course, we got it.”

Wen Jiajia said, “That’s good. Team Leader Wei has been asking for equipment replacement.”

After saying that, she left with her bag and basket.

Instead of leaving the city immediately, Wen Jiajia went to the chemical plant. She had the opportunity to synthesize something but hadn’t used it yet.

She spent another dime to buy some discarded rubber products. When she was about to leave, Chen Xiangjun, who sold rubber products, asked in confusion, “What use do you have for these things?”

Wen Jiajia had bought from him four or five times. By the third purchase, Chen Xiangjun had become suspicious. She even asked the old masters in the factory, but those old masters, and even the researchers, didn’t think rubber products had much use.

Seeing Wen Jiajia buying repeatedly, Chen Xiangjun felt like she was losing out.

But Wen Jiajia just smiled and didn’t answer. She took the items and left, thinking she would have to find someone else to buy from next time.

On the way home, Wen Jiajia clicked on synthesis.

This time, she was lucky. The three items she got were rubber gloves, a rubber basketball, and hand warmers.

Wen Jiajia took the basketball and hand warmers. She put the hand warmers in her backpack, planning to give them to Sha Yue the next day.

She brought the basketball home. Both department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives sold footballs and basketballs.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were thrilled with the arrival of the basketball. They had never played with a ball that bounced and had only seen others playing with it from afar.

Wei Dai also took the basketball in his hands, examining it over and over. He reluctantly gave it to Wen Chun and Wen Xuan when they urged him to play.

Wen Jiajia burst out laughing. “You like it too? Then I’ll buy you one some other day.”

Wei Dai said, “Of course I like it. But there’s no need to buy one. There are basketballs in the army too.”

There are even two or three basketball courts.

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and began making glutinous rice balls with Wen Jiajia.

There are two kinds of glutinous rice balls: sweet and savory. Since the sesame seeds were already ground, making sweet glutinous rice balls was quick.

Half an hour later, the savory dumplings were ready.

The room was brightly lit and filled with fragrance. Four people sat around the table, enjoying the freshly cooked dumplings.

When you bit through the glutinous rice ball skin, the sweet black sesame filling flowed out.

Wen Jiajia was startled by the scalding. When she stood up to pour water, she looked out the window in shock and said, “It’s snowing.”

Snowflakes, like pear blossoms, fluttered and fell in the yard.