Chapter 64

This year’s New Year’s dumpling feast was a tremendous success. Everyone said that it was the best dumpling they had ever eaten in their lives, something they had never experienced before!

In fact, a few of the young soldiers were so moved while eating that they started crying, saying they really wanted to send some dumplings back home to their elderly mothers so they could taste the freshness too!

The soldiers and the Researchers ate happily, but the people from the Kitchen Unit were completely worn out.

Even though they had mentally prepared for it, no one had expected that these young men would be able to eat so much when they truly started.

The base had discussed this matter beforehand—whether today’s dumplings would be just a token amount for everyone to eat a few, or whether they could be given enough to eat until they were full.

In the end, it was Shen Qingyun who made the final decision, allowing them to eat until they were full.

These young men had left their homes and traveled to this isolated island, where they worked harder than any ox and carried responsibilities larger than the sky itself.

On ordinary days, that was one thing, but for New Year’s dinner, they should be allowed to eat freely, to eat their fill and enjoy themselves!

That was the plan, but feeding over three hundred people until they were full meant preparing a lot of dumplings!

Anyway, from the moment Yin Xiaoman stepped into the Kitchen Unit in the morning until she left in the evening, she barely moved from her spot.

As time went on, even Da Bao and Qiangzi, who were only slightly familiar with making dumplings, were pulled in to work as “child labor.” Finally, when fewer people were left to eat, and Ren Ping’an encouraged them to go home, Yin Xiaoman felt like she couldn’t lift her wrist anymore.

But everyone was truly delighted.

The surprise on everyone’s face when they saw the dumplings in their bowls, the heartfelt thanks shouted at the window from the young men—it all filled their hearts with joy. They felt that all the hard work had been worth it and that they weren’t tired at all anymore.

When they got back home, Yin Xiaoman prepared the meal and then asked Dami and Da Bao to bring back Erniu and Huzi, who had been sent earlier to the Research Team.

The children had always gone along to deliver meals, and now they had become very familiar with the people from the Research Team.

Especially Erniu and Huzi—one was well-behaved and sweet-talking, the other was clumsy but adorably so. The younger assistants genuinely liked the two of them.

They would often play with them whenever they had the chance.

Every time they went, it wasn’t just giving them fruit or candy.

Now, when they heard that the two sisters-in-law were bringing some of the older children to help make dumplings, those assistants immediately volunteered to help look after the two little ones.

Sure enough, Erniu hadn’t stopped talking even as they walked through the door.

The moment Erniu saw Yin Xiaoman, she immediately became excited and started shouting: “Mom, Uncle Hai gave me this, dried plums! Have you ever had them? He said they’re from Haicheng!”

As she spoke, she ran over and grabbed her body, trying to pull her down, and shoved a plum, coated in a layer of powdered sugar, into her mouth.

The sweet and sour taste made Yin Xiaoman’s mouth instantly water.

“Did you thank Uncle?” she asked, reaching out to pat her daughter’s head.

“Uncle said there’s no need to thank him!” Erniu replied, tilting her chin, answering with great confidence.

She was truly going to be spoiled.

Yin Xiaoman helplessly reached out and poked her daughter’s forehead, then stopped paying attention to her, waving her hand to send the other children to wash their hands and clean up.

Even though Shen Qingyun wasn’t home, the family reunion meal still had to be eaten.

She had Dami close the door, and then Yin Xiaoman placed the dishes she had prepared earlier on the table.

Lemon melon strips, seaweed rice balls, pan-fried shrimp cakes, smoked fish chunks—these had all been made the night before, and the children had already tasted them early on.

So, when they saw them, their eyes brightened, but there wasn’t too much surprise.

However, when Yin Xiaoman served each of them a bowl of thin-skinned, stuffed sesame-filled rice dumplings, the expressions of the three children changed.

They all held their breath, their faces filled with astonishment.

The little ones stared at their bowls, looking at the five plump, round dumplings inside, then turned to Yin Xiaoman with confused expressions.

“Mom, what’s this?” Erniu couldn’t hold back and was the first to ask.

“Peanut sesame rice dumplings, be careful, they’re hot.”

Yin Xiaoman said, taking the first dumpling herself, scooping it with a spoon and bringing it to her mouth. She bit off a small piece with her teeth.

Immediately, the fragrant filling, with sesame and peanut pieces, spilled out from the break, making the children swallow in unison.

“It’s sweet!” Da Bao couldn’t help but exclaim, staring at the rice dumpling.

“Yes, it’s sweet.” Yin Xiaoman smiled.

She then explained to the children: “Rice dumplings represent reunion. If we eat rice dumplings during the New Year, then our family’s days will always be full of reunion, sweet and beautiful. Hurry up and eat, eat all of them. No one is allowed to leave any behind. When we finish eating, everything will be perfect.”

The idea that eating rice dumplings could bring fulfillment was something the three children had never heard of before.

But now, hearing the words “our family can always be together, sweet and beautiful” coming from Yin Xiaoman’s mouth, they all believed wholeheartedly, trusting that this wish would surely come true.

The children all picked up their spoons and, with near-reverent expressions, scooped the little white dumplings from their bowls.

As the sweet, fragrant filling flowed out, filling their mouths, not a single child spoke. They all tightly pressed their lips together, as if afraid that even a small slip would spoil their future days of sweetness.

After all, they were so happy now, and this kind of blissful life was something they had never dared to imagine before. No one wanted to lose it.

Dami looked at the five plump white dumplings in his bowl, and for some reason, his nose began to feel a bit sour.

Five dumplings! Aunt had prepared five dumplings for each of them. It was as if she had included him as part of the family.

This made him think back to three years ago, around the same time.

Back then, he had just been sent home by Uncle Lu, and the team had assigned his second uncle to take care of him for three months.

On the 30th morning, his second aunt had been smashing pots and dishes in the house, and for lunch, she gave him nothing but a black cornmeal bun.

His second uncle’s younger brother, who was very young, cried and made a fuss, wanting to eat the date buns from the night before, but he was slapped several times by his second aunt.

In the end, Dami took the initiative to return to his own home.

Since then, he never went back to his uncles’ house for a meal again.

Whenever they remembered to send him some food, he would accept it, but if they forgot, he wouldn’t ask. He just lived, barely getting by, sometimes hungry, sometimes full.

At that time, he never imagined that one day, someone would say to him: “Our family will always be together, happy and harmonious…”

Yin Xiaoman hadn’t expected that a bowl of rice dumplings would make Dami suddenly mature so much. After the meal, he even took the initiative to bring up the matter of visiting his father’s grave tomorrow morning.

Especially when she brought out the offerings she had prepared for him in advance—fruit and snacks—this child didn’t refuse. It was clear that, deep down, he had finally accepted the fact that they were a family.

This made the worry that Yin Xiaoman had been carrying finally ease.

Although the man had told her more than once that Commander Lu had promised to take care of Dami’s future path, he was still living with them now.

The child was still so young, and she didn’t want him to always feel out of place in this family.

---

Not long after the New Year, the first batch of military workers arrived on the island.

These workers didn’t stay with Yin Xiaoman and the others but instead were housed in tents set up temporarily near the construction site. After inquiring, she learned that most of these workers were in construction, with a majority being bricklayers and carpenters.

Their main task was to handle the interior decoration of the warehouse, and of course, they were also responsible for constructing more buildings, including dormitories for their own workers.

Since the dormitories where the Research Team stayed were far from their location, they rarely even saw each other, so Yin Xiaoman wasn’t very familiar with them.

Along with them, Cui Yan also brought her beehives.

When five large wooden boxes, wrapped tightly, were lifted off the boat, not only the children but even Yin Xiaoman was curious. She had never seen such a thing before.

With the help of a few young soldiers, Yin Xiaoman and the children joined the crowd, moving the beehives and carrying the items to the location that had been specially prepared halfway up the mountain.

This spot was a gentle slope, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, with an open terrain. Because it received sunlight, it was one of the few relatively dry places in the area, making it ideal for beekeeping.

During this time, Cui Yan had been coming up here often to prepare, and by now, she had already set up the beehive racks and even built a rain shelter with help from others.

Watching the soldiers help place the beehives, Cui Yan took out a beekeeper’s hat and sleeve protectors from a box filled with various tools. Yin Xiaoman decided to take the children and leave first.

She knew that the bees had just been through a rough journey and had to adjust to their new environment. They would need some time to settle in. The more people there were, the more easily the bees could get scared.

Getting stung was a minor issue, but if too many of the bees died, Cui Yan would be in big trouble.

To avoid causing any issues, she made sure not to add to the disturbance.

The children, unusually well-behaved, immediately understood the situation. Perhaps because of the trauma from when Dami got stung and the others had been punished, they didn’t need Yin Xiaoman to say a second word. They all ran off, almost as if someone were chasing them.

It was winter at the moment, which wasn’t honey-gathering season, so Cui Yan didn’t need to chase the flower sources or carry the beehives all over the mountain.

Even so, she was almost living on the mountain now. She would leave early in the morning and return late in the evening.

After all, the beekeeping area was halfway up the mountain, and their house was at the foot of the mountain. The one-way trip, once she got used to it, took over half an hour.

Moreover, climbing up and down the mountain was exhausting, and Cui Yan was too lazy to make the trip repeatedly.

At first, she had taken Qiangzi and Huzi with her up the mountain, but the two kids were too young and couldn’t keep up, so after a few days, they clearly couldn’t handle it.

Eventually, she left them behind at Shen’s house to keep Da Bao and Erniu company.

After Shen Qingyun left, Qi Feng became the highest leader on the island. However, he had been there for such a short time and was still unfamiliar with the work, so he could only learn as he went along, which left him constantly overwhelmed. He was so busy that, with the distance between their homes, he didn’t even have time to visit.

He had never missed his little brother Shen Qingyun so much, counting the days until his return.

Fortunately, his wish was soon granted, as Shen Qingyun came back.

Not only did he return himself, but he also brought several people with him, including one person Yin Xiaoman had never expected.

---

Lemon melon strips

Seaweed rice balls

Pan-fried shrimp cakes

Smoked fish chunk

Peanut sesame rice dumplings

---