From the History of the Republic of China to Raising Children in the 1970s

74

This year's New Year came earlier than usual. It was just a few days after New Year's Day. Although their steel plant had signed a purchase contract with Country D, the equipment would have to float on the sea for at least two to three months, so it would have been March of 1966 when they arrived at their plant.

This year's New Year's Eve was on January 20th, so most people were already preparing for the New Year. People were coming and going on the streets, all buying New Year's goods. Although supplies were scarce now, fish and meat were still needed.

When Li Chengye and his team returned, it had already started snowing in the county. As soon as they got off the car, heavy snow began to fall from the sky. The snow was very heavy and the temperature was very low. Soon, the place was covered in white. If they hadn't come back early, their train might have been stuck on the road. The snow wouldn't stop in a short time, so they definitely wouldn't be able to come back.

Because they had called in advance, a car from the steel plant came to pick them up as soon as they got off the train. The weather was very cold, and the clothes they brought were not enough to withstand the cold. They didn't delay and got on the car.

The car didn't drive back to the steel plant, but took them all home. It was late, and the steel plant had finished get off work. Although Director Zhou and his team were sure that Secretary Chu and the other two had worked very hard this time and wanted to let him rest for two days, Secretary Chu was in a hurry to deal with the procurement, so he was going to work at the steel plant the next day. Since Secretary Chu was going to work, Li Chengye, as his secretary, naturally had no way to be lazy.

Li Chengye was the last one to be sent home. When he arrived at the door of his house, the snow on the ground had already accumulated to a certain scale, and there were no people walking on the street. Except for the sound of snowflakes rustling, there was almost no other sound.

"The road is slippery, so be careful when you go back!" After reminding the driver, Li Chengye got off the car with his luggage. Li's mother knew that he was coming back today, so the yard door was closed.

Li Chengye didn't bring his key this time. After all, he was going so far away, and it would be troublesome if he lost it by accident. Li Chengye knocked on the door a few times, but maybe the sound was too soft, and no one inside could hear it. He had no choice but to shout inside.

"Mom, open the door, your son is back!"

His voice was loud, guaranteed to reach the innermost. Sure enough, after a while, there was a lot of noise inside. Maybe the person was very excited. After a while, the door of the house was opened, and Li's mother ran out from inside with big strides.

"Oh my god, son, you are finally back. It's only a few days before the Chinese New Year. I thought you wouldn't be back this year!" Mother Li was very happy to see Li Chengye, but when she thought about how long it took for her son to come back, she started complaining.

"Hey, mom, how could that be? I will definitely come back for the Chinese New Year!" Li Chengye knew he was in the wrong, so he was naturally very nice and looked like he was begging for mercy. Mother Li was the only one in charge of the family, which was not good.

Mother Li felt bad when she saw the snow. The snow was too heavy and the temperature was low. The rails would be frozen in a short while, and the train would definitely stop running.

She knew that Li Chengye and his friends were coming back from S City, which was a long way to go. It looked like the snow was going to keep falling, and it would definitely not stop for a while.

She was worried, but she didn't expect to see her son at the doorstep tonight. It was really surprising.

"Heh, you said nice things, but you didn't seem to be anxious. You didn't call me back for so long. I just saw it was snowing. If you don't come back today, you will be blocked on the road by the heavy snow. I don't know if you can come back this year."