Cen Huaian pointed to the white stones. “White is about to win.”

Chuxia urged him, “Finish up quickly. I’m going to study for a bit, and when you’re done, we’ll go outside and build a snowman.”

Just the thought of it made Chuxia excited.

The first snow of the winter was a memorable occasion.

She loved building snowmen, and playing in the snow with Cen Huaian for the first time would be a lot of fun.

Chuxia quickly took out her language book, knowing that if she kept thinking about the snow, she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on studying.

Once Cen Huaian finished his Go game, Chuxia had completed her study task.

They both bundled up with scarves, fluffy rabbit-fur hats, and gloves, then headed downstairs to build a snowman.

As they worked, they somehow ended up in a snowball fight with the other kids in the compound.

At first, Chuxia and Cen Huaian teamed up, but eventually, it turned into an all-out free-for-all.

“Take this snowball!”

“Ahh! Who hit me?”

“Watch out for my unbeatable giant snowball!”

“Charge! Attack the enemy!”

“Charge! Let’s defeat them!”

Chuxia was hiding behind the evergreen bushes by the flowerbed, occasionally sneaking in surprise attacks.

However, the kids quickly discovered her hiding spot and began to gang up on her.

She ran while grabbing snow from the flowerbed to throw back at them.

Eventually, she ran out of energy and hurried home to avoid getting completely covered in snow.

The kids, more interested in free-for-all battles, turned their attention to each other once she left.

Aunt Li was upstairs knitting a sweater and saw Chuxia covered in snow.

She helped brush the snow off her, saying, “You’re an adult now. Why are you still playing with those kids?”

“It’s fun!”

Chuxia pulled up a stool next to the coal stove, reading a book while listening to the kids’ playful shouts outside.

Not long after, Cen Huai’an also came upstairs.

“Why did you stop playing?” Chuxia asked him.

Cen Huai’an hopped up, snow falling off his clothes, and said with a mature tone, “I’ve played enough. I want to keep practicing the homework my teacher assigned.”

He was referring to his Go exercises.

The preschool homework from school was too easy for him, so he never bothered bringing it home.

Chuxia asked him from behind, “Did you memorize ‘Mountain Dwelling in Autumn’ that I asked you to recite yesterday?”

“Yes, I did. ‘After the fresh rain in the empty mountains, the weather brings autumn in the evening…’” Cen Huai’an recited fluently. Memorizing was never hard for him; he could remember short passages after one reading and longer ones after two.

Aunt Li looked on enviously, “How does An’an memorize things so fast? My two boys act like it’s torture when they have to recite something. It’s as hard as climbing a mountain for them.”

Chuxia felt proud but responded modestly, “An’an also needs rewards. He only memorizes because he gets something for it; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so eager.”

Aunt Li was impressed. “You’re so clever. I could never think of so many ways to motivate them. I’ve just given up; if they can’t study well, they can always take over our jobs.”

Chuxia just smiled and returned to her book.

Many parents in the residential compound shared this view; they didn’t emphasize academics much.

Unlike parents in later generations, who enrolled their kids in all sorts of classes to keep up, most here adopted a more laid-back approach.

Childhood was generally happier and freer for these kids.

Later, after the snowball fight, Chuxia and Cen Huai’an finished building a snowman that had been left incomplete.

They made three: a large one for her, another for Cen Zhengnian, and a smaller one for An’an.

Looking at the snowmen, Chuxia felt a little regret that she didn’t have a phone or camera to capture them.

“An’an, why don’t you draw them? We can include the drawing in the letter to your dad.”

Cen Huai’an wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know how to draw.”

Chuxia didn’t mind. “It’s fine; just draw whatever you can. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

She also drew a picture herself.

Having grown up drawing anatomical diagrams and taking notes in college, she felt her little snowman drawing turned out quite well.

Cen Huai’an’s drawing, on the other hand, was much more abstract—a typical kid’s drawing with messy lines and irregular shapes.

Without the labels identifying them as snowmen, it would be hard for anyone to recognize what they were.

The letter, along with the drawings, was sent off to the Northwest.

On December 24th, there was no Christmas celebration, and Chuxia wasn’t particularly sensitive to the holiday.

However, there were apples at home, and she and An’an each had one that night. She liked the symbolism, wishing for peace and safety for both of them.

The day before New Year’s Day, the textile factory hosted a celebration in the auditorium, with many workers bringing their families to watch.

Since New Year’s Day was a public holiday, no one had work the next day, so everyone could stay up late and have fun.

Though it wasn’t quite like the New Year, it was still lively, and the factory even set off fireworks.

Many kids were playing with small firecrackers outside, throwing them on the ground with loud pops.

Chuxia brought Cen Huai’an to watch the performances.

Being part of the organizing committee had its perks—she got to sit closer to the stage with Cen Huai’an.

The factory workers were talented, performing songs, dances, skits, operas, and accordion pieces.

Chuxia enjoyed the show and brought popcorn to share, which she had popped at a street vendor with a small stove.

She and An’an had barely finished half of it.

Cen Huai’an had never been involved in such a lively factory event before.

Following Chuxia, he got to watch the preparations, even seeing the performers getting their makeup done backstage, which amazed him.

He was thrilled, nestled in Chuxia’s arms as they watched the show, laughing along with the crowd.

Around nine o’clock, Chuxia decided to take Cen Huai’an home—it was too late to stay out any longer.

She couldn’t stay up late due to her health, and An’an was still recovering.

The colder it got, the easier it was to catch a cold.

Chuxia was grateful that An’an was obedient and didn’t cause a fuss like some other kids who threw tantrums and refused to leave, much to the frustration of their parents.

“An’an, tomorrow’s New Year’s Day. Is there anything you’d like to eat?” Chuxia asked as they walked home under the starry sky, holding his hand.

“Dumplings.”

“Alright, we’ll have dumplings!”

An’an’s lips curved into a small smile as he remembered last New Year’s Day, when he watched others eat dumplings from the doorway, feeling envious.

The dumplings he had with his parents after watching a movie were still fresh in his memory.

But knowing how exhausting it was for his mom to chop dumpling fillings, he usually didn’t ask for them.

On the day of the Winter Solstice, Chuxia and Cen Huaian had gone to a state-run restaurant to eat dumplings because Chuxia genuinely disliked the process of chopping the filling herself.

On New Year’s Day, Chuxia and Cen Huaian woke up early and headed to the market to buy meat and vegetables, preparing to make dumplings for the day.

Since it was just the two of them, they didn’t need to prepare much filling.

Besides meat, Chuxia also bought a string of firecrackers, as she remembered that setting off firecrackers was a tradition while making dumplings on the solar New Year.

She also bought some small firecrackers for Cen Huaian to play with.

When they got home, Chuxia wanted Cen Huaian to go play with Bangzi and the other kids while she prepared the food, but he chose to stay and help her wash the vegetables and even wanted to chop the meat for the filling.

Chuxia gently took the knife from his hand. “With your little strength, you’ll hurt yourself. Just help me wash the green onions.”

Chuxia took her time chopping the meat filling, resting when she got tired, and it took her about two hours to finish.

After that, the process was simple.

Cen Huaian helped her roll out the dough for the dumpling wrappers, and the two of them quickly made a tray full of dumplings.

Before boiling the dumplings, Chuxia and Cen Huaian took a long wooden stick, lit one end, and used it to ignite the firecrackers downstairs.

As the firecrackers crackled loudly, they quickly ran back upstairs to start boiling the dumplings.

The pork and green onion dumplings were delicious.

After cooking, Chuxia left some dumplings in the pot to keep warm and sent a bowl over to Aunt Li’s house, while Cen Huaian brought a bowl to Bangzi’s family.

Aunt Li’s family also brought over a bowl of their dumplings.

The two families often exchanged food this way, sharing a taste of each other’s cooking.

When Cen Huaian returned, Chuxia had already prepared a dipping sauce of vinegar and garlic, the perfect match for the dumplings.

“Did Bangzi’s family make dumplings too?” Chuxia asked as Cen Huaian came back with a bowl of dumplings.

He nodded and said, “Bangzi said their dumplings had more vegetables than meat.”

Chuxia tried one and found that the filling was made of dried locust flowers, which were delicious.

They were probably picked and dried in the spring by Bangzi’s grandmother.

After eating the dumplings, they felt that the solar New Year was properly celebrated.

Later, Cen Huaian leaned over the table, writing in his diary: “Today is New Year’s Day. Mom and I made dumplings together, and they were delicious. The dumplings from Bangzi and Aunt Li’s family were also tasty. I wonder if Dad, who is far away in the northwest, ate dumplings too?”

….

Meanwhile, at the Gan Prefecture Tiangong Base, Cen Zhengnian was also eating dumplings in the canteen—lamb dumplings, each one plump and steaming as it was pulled from the pot.

Yu Tian ate them one by one, not even lifting his head, his mouth burning but still unwilling to spit them out.

“These lamb dumplings are authentic. If the canteen hadn’t made dumplings, I would’ve forgotten today was the solar New Year.”

Outside, snow was falling heavily, and inside, Cen Zhengnian wore the wool sweater and cotton coat that Chuxia had sent him.

The base was much colder than Liangzhou, with extreme temperature differences between day and night.

However, to avoid disrupting work, the base had its own heating methods, such as heating brick beds and stoves.

As Cen Zhengnian ate the dumplings, he thought about the meal he had with Chuxia and Cen Huaian in Liangzhou back in October.

Like Yu Tian, he had also forgotten that today was the solar New Year.

Now that he remembered, he wondered if his family had eaten dumplings.

Without him to chop the filling, and with Chuxia’s weak body and Huaian’s small strength, who would do it?

Noticing that Cen Zhengnian was quiet, Yu Tian looked up and saw him staring out the window while eating, lost in thought.

Yu Tian waved a hand in front of Cen Zhengnian. “It’s not like you don’t see snow every day. What are you thinking about?”

Cen Zhengnian snapped out of it and swallowed his dumpling. “Nothing.”

Seeing the snow had reminded him of the drawings Chuxia and Huaian had sent him.

The snowman they built looked great, and Chuxia’s drawing was well done.

Although Huaian’s drawing was a bit childish, it still conveyed what he wanted to express.

Cen Zhengnian felt a twinge of regret that he couldn’t be with them to build the snowman.

A family wasn’t complete with one person missing, and that absence was felt.

Just then, Fang Lingling sat down with her own bowl of dumplings, smiling softly. “These are beef dumplings my family made. Would you like to try some?”

Cen Zhengnian had already eaten his fill, so he stood up and replied, “I’m full, so I won’t try any.”

Yu Tian, curious about the taste of beef dumplings, was about to try one, but seeing that Cen Zhengnian was leaving, he quickly said, “No, I won’t try them either. I have work to do.”

As they left, Fang Lingling’s expression darkened.

Yu Tian, puzzled, remarked, “Why does the leadership let someone like Fang Lingling just waste time here?”

Cen Zhengnian, washing his bowl, replied calmly, “She’s well-educated and has some capability.”

The most important factor was her parents’ connections.

Since the base was affiliated with the military, and her educational background was relevant to the base’s work, her parents had likely used their influence to place her there.

Moreover, she hadn’t made any serious mistakes and could handle some peripheral calculations.

Given this, the leadership was inclined to give her parents some face.

Besides her tendency to cling to Cen Zhengnian, she hadn’t done anything more egregious.

Since they didn’t interact much due to his busy schedule, the leadership likely wasn’t even aware of the situation.

Yu Tian quickly grasped the implications of Cen Zhengnian’s words and sighed. “I wish I had good parents too!”

Cen Zhengnian smiled and patted his shoulder. “You’ve done well on your own. Our project wouldn’t be the same without you.”

---

Chuxia woke up on the first day of 1982 feeling warm and cozy, though she wished she didn’t have to go to work.

Having just wrapped up the New Year’s program, the Propaganda Department didn’t have much to do, just some follow-up work from the performances.

The Trade Union was also helping out.

When Chairman Zheng saw Chuxia, he greeted her warmly. “Chuxia, I didn’t see you the night before last. Did you watch the program?”

“I did, but An’an and I left early, so we didn’t see the whole thing,” Chuxia replied as they worked together to organize the costumes from the performance.

Chairman Zheng sighed regretfully. “You should have stayed a bit longer. The factory set off fireworks later on.”

Chuxia smiled. “No worries. We’ll see plenty of fireworks during the New Year.”

Chairman Zheng nodded in agreement. “True, there’ll be even more fireworks then, and they’ll be even more spectacular.”

As they chatted, Chuxia, unfamiliar with the preparations for the Lunar New Year, took the opportunity to ask Chairman Zheng for advice.

Chairwoman Zheng, being much older and having worked in the factory union for so many years, knew all the traditions and preparations for every holiday better than anyone else.

She loved to talk, and the backstage area of the auditorium was filled with the sound of her voice.

Chuxia, holding her notebook, listened attentively, jotting down notes as Chairwoman Zheng spoke with even more enthusiasm.

Some of the young members from the Publicity Department and the Union who didn’t know much also listened in secretly, their expressions showing how fascinated they were.

They learned the story behind Laba porridge and the tradition of sweeping dust on Little New Year’s Day.

While they were listening, someone called for Chuxia from outside.

Chuxia looked out and told Chairwoman Zheng, “Madam Chair, I’ll go see what’s going on. I’ll come back to listen later.”

Chairwoman Zheng waved her off. “Sure. This isn’t urgent; you can hear it anytime.”

Chuxia thought it might be the department head calling her for some work arrangement, but it turned out her mother, Wang Yulan, had come to the factory to find her.

In the factory, Chuxia couldn’t avoid meeting Wang Yulan.

No matter what, in the eyes of outsiders, they were still mother and daughter.

Even if they had deep-seated grudges, blood ties couldn’t be severed entirely, and she couldn’t completely abandon her mother.

If Chuxia openly declared that she had cut ties with her parents, even if they were in the wrong, she would be seen by everyone as unfilial and criticized.

Of course, there was no need for her to make such public statements; she could just keep her distance privately.

As long as Wang Yulan still hoped to gain benefits from her, she wouldn’t publicly admit their strained relationship.

Chuxia didn’t meet Wang Yulan in the office but took her outside, showing no signs of affection.

“What do you want?”

After Cen Zhengnian left, Wang Yulan had come to her house a few times but was turned away each time.

As the situation with the Luo family and Sister-in-law Luo grew more chaotic, she eventually stopped coming.

Now, seeing Wang Yulan showing up at the factory in a state of desperation, Chuxia could tell that something serious must have happened with the Luo family.

“Chuxia, please save your brother! If you don’t help him, he’s going to die!”

Chuxia forcefully pulled her arm away from Wang Yulan’s grasp, frowning at her. “What happened to Luo Chuming? The last time I saw him, he was smug and didn’t even want to acknowledge me. Why would he need my help?”

Before she could finish speaking, Wang Yulan’s face was already drenched in tears.

Covering her mouth, she sobbed bitterly. “He’s lying in the hospital right now; there’s not a single part of his body that’s unharmed. The doctor said… whether he wakes up or not depends on fate…”

As she spoke, Wang Yulan’s sobs became even more hysterical. Chuxia, however, remained unaffected by her sorrow.

She had no emotional attachment to Luo Chuming, and ever since learning he worked in the transport team, she had a feeling he would eventually get into trouble.

Luo Chuming was bold and likely smuggled goods during transport, which meant he was either going to be caught and reported for illegal trading or end up in some kind of accident.

She just didn’t expect his downfall to come so quickly.

In the end, Chuxia still followed Wang Yulan to the hospital.

After all, Wang Yulan had come all the way to the factory to find her; not going would be unreasonable.