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In early autumn 2016, at the Yinchuan International Convention and Exhibition Center, the banner for the "Ningxia Wine Promotion Conference" was particularly eye-catching under the sunlight.

Ma Defu straightened his dark blue suit and tie, the Party emblem on his chest polished to a gleaming shine.

Behind him, a large screen played a promotional video on a loop: from the drone's aerial footage, tens of thousands of acres of vineyards stretched out like a huge green carpet across the once barren Gobi Desert.

"This is a premium Cabernet Sauvignon from our Ningxia 'Golden Beach' winery," Ma Defu said, raising his wine glass to the guests. "It won a gold medal at the Brussels International Competition last year, proving the terroir potential of the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains."

"Clap clap clap..." Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

No one could have imagined that this eloquent deputy county head was a grassroots cadre who was worried about getting water to the village twenty years ago.

Then Ma Defu continued to introduce the next segment, which naturally drew the attention of the attending guests.

After he finished speaking and stepped off the stage, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

"Old Ma! The children are missing!" Gao Qingxia's voice was choked with sobs. "The tutor said they didn't even go to class!"

The wine glass almost slipped from my hand.

Ma Defu forced himself to remain calm and walked to a corner: "Don't rush, speak slowly..."

"Qiangqiang, Xiaoga, Beibei, and Fusheng, we can't reach any of the four kids!" The sound of rummaging through drawers came from the other end of the phone. "Qiangqiang's piggy bank is empty, and he left a note... I'll take a picture and show it to you!"

My phone vibrated; the photo showed crooked pencil writing: "We're going to find our true home."

Ma Defu immediately dialed Ma Debao's number.

The background noise is from a noisy construction site...

The owner of a construction company who left the Shuihua Group to start his own business is currently supervising construction in the Xihai Gu New Area: "What? Qiangqiang is missing? I'll call Gawa and Shuiwang right away!"

"Okay! We must find them."

"Brother, don't worry! I'll use my connections to find them right away."

Ten minutes later, the promotional event was still in full swing.

Ma Defu apologized to the organizers and left. Mai Miao also rushed over from the headquarters of the Shuihua Group, without even having time to change out of her business suit.

The three families were pacing anxiously around the parking lot.

"He definitely went to an internet cafe!" Ga Wa rolled up his sleeves. "I'll search every single internet cafe near the train station!"

"Could she have gone to see her classmates?" Shuiwang's wife scrolled through her phone's contact list.

Ma Defu, who was standing to the side, suddenly looked up and said another possibility: "Could it be that they... went back to Haiji?"

The air solidified instantly.

That name, buried deep in my memory, was like a key that suddenly unlocked a dusty box.

Ma Debao slapped his thigh: "Definitely! Qiangqiang asked me about the well in my hometown just last week!"

He pulled out his car keys and rushed to the driver's seat, but Mai Miao grabbed him, saying, "Check first!"

Ma Defu made a video call to his sister, Ma Dehua.

The screen shook a few times, and suddenly four small faces, sunburnt red, appeared against the backdrop of familiar loess hills.

"Uncle!" Qiangqiang excitedly waved a handful of wildflowers, "We found the well from our old home! The water is so sweet!"

The adults breathed a sigh of relief, then began to scold the children all at once.

Xiao Ga snatched the phone: "We've had enough of tutoring classes! Bei Bei's piano lessons, Fu Sheng's math olympiad classes... there aren't even weekends!"

The scene shifts, and Ma Dehua shrugs helplessly: "Brother, sister-in-law, I ran into them at the village store. Those four idiots walked five kilometers of mountain road."

On the way back to the city, the three families were still blaming each other.

Shuiwang blamed his wife for enrolling their child in too many classes, while Gawa's wife complained that her husband was always busy with construction projects and neglected the family...

The argument was suddenly interrupted by Ma Defu:
"Since you moved out of the mountains, has any of you gone back?"

The carriage fell silent instantly.

In the rearview mirror, everyone's expression became dazed.

Gao Qingxia gently held her husband Ma Defu's hand: "The last time was when we got married, and we invited the villagers to a feast..."

"The children have made a start," Ma Defu said, turning the steering wheel. "Why don't we all go back and take a look?"

"it is good."

The convoy of three vehicles set off early the next morning.

The autumn sunlight streamed through the sunroof onto the GPS navigator, and the words "Haiji," the destination, made Ma Debao's fingers tremble.

Qiangqiang, sitting in the back seat, leaned out the window and asked, "Dad, is our hometown really as poor as you say?"

"No water, no electricity, we can't even take a bath three times a year." Ma Debao deliberately scared his son, "Your grandfather almost married your aunt off to a house outside the mountains because of a water cellar."

The children gasped in exaggerated surprise.

Mai Miao turned her head from the passenger seat and quietly wiped the corner of her eye.

Her phone contains photos taken when she left Haiji years ago...

Cracked fields, low mud-brick houses, and her slender figure standing at the village entrance with her backpack.

As the convoy passed the boundary marker of Minning Town, Ma Defu's voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie: "Turn right and take the newly built tourist route."

"Shouldn't we be taking the old route?" Ma Debao asked, slowing down in confusion.

"Just leave when I tell you to."

The scenery outside the car window gradually changed.

Rows of solar panels gleam in the Gobi Desert, while bright red goji berries weigh down the branches in the goji berry plantation.

What's most surprising is that wide canal...

The blue sky is reflected in the rippling water, and the reeds on the shore sway in the wind.

"This is... a dry ditch?" Ga Wa rolled down the car window and stared incredulously at the ditch that used to only have water during the rainy season.

When the navigation indicated "5 kilometers from the destination," Mai Miao suddenly sat up straight: "Wait, is this Haiji?"

On the hillside ahead, white-walled and gray-tiled houses are nestled among the green trees in a neat and orderly fashion.

A stone tablet at the village entrance is newly engraved with the six large characters "China's Sweetest Village," and next to it is a newly renovated old well...

Now it has become a tourist attraction, with a constant stream of tourists taking photos.

"We've arrived." Ma Defu stopped the car, his voice slightly choked.

The crowd stood frozen in the parking lot, as if they had traveled through time.

Qiangqiang tugged at his father's clothes: "Dad, what about the great desert you were talking about?"

Xiao Ga pointed to the lake not far away: "Isn't that the water pit you always talked about where it's hard to get drinking water?"

Ma Debao's legs went weak, and he squatted down to scoop up a handful of soil...

The damp black soil smelled of fresh grass, completely different from the gravel that could cut his hands in his memory.

"Your Uncle Su's ecological migration project..." Ma Defu explained softly, "returning farmland to forest, diverting water from the Yellow River for irrigation, soil improvement... ten years..."

The wheat seedlings walked towards the old well.

A sign next to the well reads: "Witnessing the poverty alleviation efforts in Xihai Gu: From bitter and salty water in the past to sweet spring water today."

She turned the well pulley, drew up a bucket of water, and drank it all down in the children's astonished gaze.

"Is it sweet?" Beibei asked, blinking.

"Sweet." Mai Miao handed the water ladle to her daughter. "It's even sweeter than the water I drank in my dreams when I was little."

As the sun set, the three families sat in the pavilion in the village square.

Ma Dehua brought over freshly picked grapes and goji berries, while Qiangqiang and the others chased and played with the free-range speckled chickens. Suddenly, Ma Defu's phone rang; it was a notification from the county that an inspection team would be visiting the next day.

"I have to go back." He stood up and brushed the bits of grass off his pants.

The return journey was unusually quiet.

In the rearview mirror, the lights of Yongquan Village gradually faded into the distance, merging with the starry sky.

Ma Debao suddenly spoke up: "Qiangqiang, shall I bring you to stay for half a month during the summer vacation?"

"Really?" His son jumped up from the back seat and hugged his neck. "I want to see the earthen bed that Dad slept on!"

Mai Miao quietly opened her phone's photo album and placed the photo of her leaving her hometown twenty years ago next to the one she took today.

The same location, one a desolate farewell, the other a warm return.

She pressed send, and the photo was uploaded to the Water Splash Group's work group with a title of only two words:

"go home."

……

The vineyards at the foot of Helan Mountain gleamed in the setting sun.

In the autumn of 2025, 65-year-old Suning gently swirled his glass of red wine, and the rich aroma of Cabernet Sauvignon filled the air.

Li Shuihua, who was standing next to her, wrapped her camel-colored shawl tighter and pointed to a particularly lush grapevine in the distance: "Look, that's the first batch planted in 98."

Beneath their feet lies land that was once known as "dry sand beach," now stretching across thousands of acres of fertile fields.

Further away, the buildings of Minning Town shimmered in the twilight, with the highway winding through them like a silver ribbon.

More than 20 years ago, this place was just a few mud-brick houses on the Gobi Desert.

“Old Su, do you remember the bet we made?” Li Shuihua suddenly laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes like blooming flowers. “Back then, I said this land couldn’t grow any crops.”

Suning took a sip of wine: "Who knew that French grapes could actually be grown?"

He pointed to a white building at the foot of the mountain, "Now even the winemakers have settled here."

"Old Su, this is all thanks to your efforts."

"Even without me, this land would still rise up."

"No! You are indispensable! I couldn't be this happy without you."

"Shuihua, if there is an afterlife, would you still be willing to marry me?"

"Of course! I will be your woman for all eternity."

The evening breeze carried the faint sound of laughter.

At the entrance to the manor, several young people are taking a group photo...

Executives from MaiMiao and ShuiHua Real Estate have just finished their quarterly meeting.

She has been the president of Waterbloom Real Estate for three years and is now shifting her focus and expanding into other industries.

In front of the camera, she habitually adjusted the badge on her left breast, which was the "Outstanding Employee" medal she received when she worked in Fujian.

……

“Ma Debao has sent samples again.” Li Shuihua pointed to the beautifully packaged gift boxes on the table. “His organic farm now supplies more than 30 high-end supermarkets across the country.”

Suning picked up the box and examined it: "'Golden Beach' trademark is used quite well."

He recalled the young man who once looked worried about growing mushrooms, who is now the president of the Ningxia Organic Agriculture Association.

At this moment, the butler quietly approached and said, "Mr. Su, the interview outline from the TV station has arrived, about the 30th anniversary celebration of Minning Town."

Suning and Li Shuihua exchanged a smile.

This "model couple for poverty alleviation," who are interviewed dozens of times every year, still maintain their initial tacit understanding...

Suning discusses policies and philosophies, while Li Shuihua talks about practices and data.

In the study, Li Shuihua opened a photo album.

The yellowed first page features a photo from 1996: in front of an adobe house, young Su Ning is explaining the relocation policy to the villagers, while she stands aside holding a simple mushroom cultivation manual.

Turning the pages, each page marks a milestone: the first bottle of wine was bottled in 2001, the first Shuihua Plaza opened in 2008, and the "National Poverty Alleviation Award" was received in 2016...

"We should thank them the most," Su Ning said, pointing to the familiar faces in the photo...

Director Zhang, Teacher Bai, Professor Ling, Chen Jinshan, Ma Defu...

Some have passed away, while others remain active on the front lines.

As night deepened, granddaughter Su Xiaohe made a video call.

She's a junior at Fudan University, with the brightly lit library in the background: "Grandpa and Grandma, my rural revitalization research project won an award! It used all our family's case studies!"

Looking at the vibrant young faces on the screen, Li Shuihua suddenly remembered the girl who was forced to marry for the sake of a water cellar.

The gears of fate have turned a full circle, returning to their starting point, but the scenery is now completely different.

On the day of the 30th anniversary celebration of Minning Town, the sun shone exceptionally brightly.

The main venue is located at the place where the first group of immigrants settled, which is now a public square that can accommodate 10,000 people.

When the host announced the "Lifetime Achievement Award," the entire audience stood up and applauded.

"Please allow me to read a passage from the award speech." Ma Defu is now a city official, but his voice is still as clear and bright as when he was a college graduate serving as a village official. "Comrade Su Ning and Ms. Li Shuihua have spent thirty years demonstrating what it means to 'dare to change the world'..."

Sitting in the audience were familiar faces: Ma Debao, who became an outstanding farmer-entrepreneur; Mai Miao, who became an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage; Li Dayou, who founded a university for the elderly after retirement; and Ma Hanshui…

The descendants of those immigrants who lived in dugouts back then are now wearing school uniforms, work clothes, or suits, witnessing this moment together.

During his acceptance speech, Suning only spoke for three minutes.

Finally, he took his wife's hand and raised the trophy: "This award belongs to everyone who has fought for this land."

In the instant the flash went off, Li Shuihua vaguely saw her younger self standing in the crowd...

The girl carrying her backpack as she walked out of the mountains was giving her a thumbs up.

After the celebration ended, the two quietly left and drove to the old site of Haiji Yongquan Village.

Today, this place is an ecological park, and the former brackish water well has become a cultural relic protection area.

Su Ning squatted down and stroked a deep rope mark on the well platform: "This is what I left for your father when he was drawing water."

Li Shuihua took out a cloth bag from her small bag, inside which was a clump of dried fungus and a few goji berries.

She scattered them into the well: "Dad, do you see? Now the whole village has running water."

The last stop was Jintan Village Primary School.

In the morning sunlight, Su Xiaohe and her classmates are participating in the "Heritage Forest" tree planting activity.

She carefully planted a grape seedling in the hole, looked up and saw her grandparents, and waved excitedly: "I planted Cabernet Sauvignon! I'll make my first barrel of wine when I come back after graduation!"

On the return trip, Li Shuihua rested against her husband's shoulder.

Outside the window, a brand-new high-speed train is heading into the distance, with endless arrays of photovoltaic panels and goji berry plantations on both sides of the tracks.

And in the more distant mountains, the rugged paths they once traversed in their youth have now become broad avenues leading to hope.

Suning gently held his wife's wrinkled hand.

These hands have built mushroom sheds, signed million-dollar contracts, and brought warmth and hope to countless people.

In the rearview mirror, the rising sun shines on the brand-new school sign of "Shuihua Hope Primary School," and the row of poplar trees at the school gate has grown taller than the teaching building.

...(End of chapter)