Chapter 662: Chapter 661 Setting a Private Engagement for Life

Three days flew by, and Sun Yafei was heading home.

She arrived with big and small bags, and when she left, those bags were packed full to the brim.

The villagers gave her all sorts of mountain produce, hazelnuts, walnuts, black fungus… even several wild chickens.

Li Dahe, worrying about possible troubles, even wrote a proof letter for her, separately stamped with seals of Ten Miles Team and the commune, stating the origin of these items to avoid bringing her family any trouble.

Wong Xiao had managed to buy a sleeper ticket for her. Lin Nianhe saw her off, urging, “Be careful on the way, and if anything happens, look for the train staff. And remember to call home once you arrive to let us know you’re safe.”

“Okay.” Sun Yafei nodded repeatedly, holding onto her hand and saying, “Sister Nianhe, when I come back, I’ll bring some tasty treats for everyone.”

“Alright, close the window quickly; it’s cold.”

“Mhm!”

Another person had left, and now the Educated Youth Corps really only had these few people left.

Lin Nianhe and Sie Yufei both felt uncomfortable with the change, while Wang Xue and Miao Hongqi thought this year was much livelier than the last.

Last year, it was only the two of them—now that was truly desolate.

As the New Year approached, nobody could afford to relax.

The girls busied themselves cleaning up the Educated Youth Corps, washing and scrubbing, pasting walls and sweeping dust, never having a moment to stand still.

Sie Yufei spent his days following Su Yuncheng to buy New Year goods, every time so exhausted he’d rant about not wanting to celebrate the New Year ever again.

Busy times flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Chinese New Year’s Eve came with a rare sunny day; the sunlight scattered on the snow, coating the entire village in a golden hue.

Every household started cooking early, and children ran wild around the village from morning on, everywhere filled with the sound of firecrackers.

Sie Yufei got up early to paste couplets and saw Su Yuncheng coming from afar. Breathing out white mist, he greeted, “Brother Cheng, good morning.”

“Morning.” Su Yuncheng nodded at him and asked, “Is Nianhe awake yet?”

“No stir, she’s probably still asleep.” Sie Yufei panted in the cold, “It’s much colder here than in Beijing, my hair’s about to freeze.”

“Hurry up, the glue is about to freeze.”

“Alright.”

Su Yuncheng initially wanted to cook breakfast in the front yard kitchen, but just as he entered, he saw Lin Nianhe coming out.

She was wearing a red woolen coat, making her face look even more pale and tender.

“Isn’t it cold?” Su Yuncheng frowned, pushing her into the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, Miao Hongqi was kneading dough, with the stove burning hot, quite warm.

Lin Nianhe was rubbing her hands from the cold: “I just wanted to fit the festive atmosphere.”

She was truly tired of wearing her military coat. If she didn’t change her clothes, she felt she was going to have a breakdown.

She had a nice thought, but just the short walk from the back to the front yard numb her from the cold.

The northwest wind was the cure for pretensions. The military coat was her eternal love!

Without waiting for Su Yuncheng to say anything, Lin Nianhe stretched out her hand: “Lend me your coat, I’m going back to change.”

She truly didn’t have the courage to go out in this outfit again.

Su Yuncheng chuckled, took off his military coat, and wrapped her up tight, advising, “Put more clothes on; it’s cold today.”

“Mhm, I know.”

Lin Nianhe ran back to the backyard, and her new clothes experience lasted only three minutes.

Once back in her military coat, she finally regained the courage to face the northwest wind.

Back in the kitchen, Lin Nianhe and Miao Hongqi worked together on breakfast after taking off their coats.

“Where’s Sister Xue?” Lin Nianhe asked.

“She’s still sleeping; she went to bed late last night, so I didn’t call her,” Miao Hongqi said, then rubbed her hands together, and a plump white steamed bun appeared on the board.

Lin Nianhe: “…!”

What kind of magic is this!

To her embarrassment, she had been in the countryside for nearly two years, and still couldn’t make any wheaten food; she’d been eating supplies from her space.

But everyone thought she could make food, and that she was very good at it.

Facing such a scene, Lin Nianhe was quite poised, directly saying, “Tiechui, you start with the steamed buns, I’ll chop the vegetables.”

“Okay.”

Miao Hongqi was never afraid of hard work, she said, “Take your time, I’ll help out later.”

“No problem.”

Lin Nianhe and the knife were well acquainted; she wouldn’t even let Su Yuncheng take over.

Breakfast was simple—millet porridge and steamed buns with a side of pickled mustard strips.

After breakfast, they did some final tidying of the house before beginning to prepare the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner.

In Ten Miles Team, the tradition was to start the New Year’s Eve meal around four or five in the afternoon, followed by another round of dumplings later in the evening.

Now that times were better off, every household had meat dishes on the table, and the Educated Youth Corps was no exception—in addition to meat, they also had a large carp that Wu Genmao had caught the day before.

Starting early in the morning, kids came over to play, and Lin Nianhe had anticipated this, stocking up on sunflower seeds, peanuts, candies, and hazelnuts just waiting for them.

But when the children did come, not one of them came empty-handed.

One mom would bring a bowl of braised pork, another grandma a plate of fried meatballs…

Lin Nianhe: “Why do I suddenly feel like we don’t actually need to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner?”

The contributions from all the families could feed them until the eighth day of the lunar month.

Wang Xue and Miao Hongqi had experience with this. Wang Xue said while frying meatballs, “The food we prepare isn’t only for us to eat… When the kids come by later, keep them here, and once the meatballs are ready, have them deliver them.”

Lin Nianhe had never anticipated such a scene during New Year’s in the village. She quickly nodded in agreement and called for the children to run the errands.

Frankly, among all the Educated Youth Corps across the country, only theirs received such a feeding from the entire village.

It wasn’t just because Lin Nianhe had led the whole village to prosperity, but also due to their earnest responsibility in teaching the children to read.

The villagers remembered their good deeds.

They just didn’t speak of it openly.

Amidst the sounds of firecrackers, night fell.

This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner had an extremely rich variety of dishes, with Lin Nianhe in particularly high spirits. She ran back to her own cabin to get two jar bottles and poured two bottles of red wine into them.

“Come and taste this, I bought this wine from a fellow villager back in Sui City.”

Everyone poured the red wine into bowls and toasted joyously.

After taking a sip, Lin Nianhe squinted her eyes with pleasure.

She didn’t forget to ask the others, “How is it?”

Sie Yufei smacked his lips with a look of discomfort, “It has a tartness like crushed grape seeds mixed into the wine… Xiao He, did you get scammed?”

Wang Xue and Miao Hongqi nodded in unison, “Right.”

Lin Nianhe: “…”

What a pity for her Romanée-Conti that cost a million per bottle!

Sie Yufei turned around to get a bottle of Maotai for Wang Xue and Miao Hongqi, “Here, drink this.”

After glancing at the three of them, Lin Nianhe took another sip of her wine, and then turned to Su Yuncheng, “What do you think?”

The corners of Su Yuncheng’s eyes were filled with smiles, “Anything you buy is delicious.”

“Wow—”

The three rascals hooted in unison.

Lin Nianhe’s lips curved lightly, ignoring their teasing, she filled Su Yuncheng’s cup, “Never mind them, we drink.”

The aroma of food and rich wine filled the air, leaving Lin Nianhe with a small regret—

According to her original plan, she should have been engaged to Su Yuncheng by now.

Glancing at the three who were dizzy from drinking, Lin Nianhe gestured for Su Yuncheng to come closer.

When he leaned in, she called him softly, “Brother Yuncheng.”

“Mhm, what’s up?”

“Let’s make a lifelong commitment to each other in private.”

“…!”