The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

Hearing Zhao Shi'an's promise, the group of kids finally had something to look forward to and all clamored to help.

Seeing the group of people working so hard, Zhao Shi'an encouraged them, then went back inside to wash his hands and eat.

The exams continued in the afternoon, and the last exam was completed the following afternoon. The No. 11 Middle School then began its May Day holiday.

Zhao Shi'an walked out of the examination hall, intending to go to the Intermediate People's Court to see how Wang Zhijie and Chen Yongfu's training was going. However, when he arrived, he found the court empty. He went to Class 1 of Grade 11 and asked his former classmates, only to find out that everyone in the school had gone to the district for intensive training.

Tomorrow is May Day, and we've been training all day today.

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Shi'an couldn't help but sigh. Although he had adjusted his mindset, he still felt some regret whenever he thought about it.

After leaving the school, Zhao Shi'an went home. When he got home, he learned from Uncle Tian that his parents were busy in the vegetable garden. He thanked him and went to the vegetable garden as well.

The science, engineering, agriculture and medicine classes have a total of seven exams, while the humanities classes have six.

With the May Day holiday coinciding with the weekend, the humanities and social sciences class gets two and a half days off, while the science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine class has to take an extra exam, which is equivalent to leaving school two hours early.

In this era, there is only one day off for May Day, meaning that May Day is a holiday.

There are only seven statutory holidays throughout the year. They are one day each for May Day and New Year's Day, two days for National Day, and three days for Spring Festival, totaling seven days.

In addition, on holidays such as International Women's Day, May Fourth Movement Day, June 1st, and August 1st, the corresponding groups will have half a day off.

Fortunately, although the holiday was short, there was no make-up work schedule.

Taking this year's May Day holiday as an example, tomorrow, which is this Saturday, is May Day, a statutory holiday, and we will have a normal day off. The day after tomorrow, Sunday, is also a normal day off. The two days together make up a two-day weekend.

Of course, this year's May Day holiday is too coincidental. Fortunately, the government has regulations in place that if May Day, National Day, or other holidays happen to fall on a Sunday, a compensatory day off will be given on the following Monday.

As early as 1949, the State Council clearly stated in the "National Holidays and Commemorative Days Regulations" that: if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, a compensatory day off should be given the following day; if a holiday falls on a partial holiday, no compensatory day off should be given the following day.

The seven-day holidays such as May Day and National Day are public holidays, and if the holiday falls on a Sunday, a compensatory day off will be given. Children's Day and Youth Day are holidays for certain groups, and if they fall on a weekend, no compensatory day off will be given.

Zhao Shi'an is a high school student who has just finished his exams and has a two-day holiday.

Next Monday is May 3rd. I'll have a full day of classes and then the May Fourth holiday, so I'll get half a day off.

Looking at it this way, it seems like they're living a very comfortable life.

When Zhao Shi'an arrived at the vegetable garden, he found his two younger sisters staring intently at the melon and watermelon seedlings, completely unaware that someone had come over.

Seeing the two earnest little girls, Zhao Shi'an slowed his pace and walked up behind them, asking:

"Xiaoyue and Xiaole, what are you doing?"

"We're looking for Little Melon Flower, brother. Why are you back so early?"

Zhao Xiaoyue stood up from the ground as she spoke.

"Brother, we've been looking for days, but we still can't find it! Is it because we don't have the little melon flower you mentioned?"

Zhao Xiaole felt very down when she thought about how she had been looking for flowers with her older brother and sister these past two days!

"Don't rush! It's only been a few days, they need time to bloom! Maybe they'll bloom tomorrow? Tomorrow's a holiday, how about I take you out to play?"

Seeing the two sullen little ones, Zhao Shi'an suggested taking them out to play. He also wanted to take advantage of the May Day holiday to explore the capital city of this era.

Having been in this era for over a month, he had stayed in the vicinity, the furthest he had ever been was the Chongwenmen Gate Tower and the old course of the Yongding River, his activity range not exceeding two kilometers in radius.

In modern times, the Chongwenmen gate tower has long been demolished, but in 54, Beijing had not yet begun large-scale demolition and construction, and many ancient buildings were still intact, so it was a good time to take a good look at them during the May Day holiday.

"Going out to play? Great! Big brother, where are we going?"

Upon hearing about going out to play, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole immediately perked up and started chattering away. Every time their older brother took them out to play, he would buy them delicious treats. Just thinking about it made them want to go play right now.

"Tomorrow is May Day, let's go to Qianmen to watch the parade, and afterwards I'll take you to Dashilan for some good food! How about it!"

Looking at the excited little girl, Zhao Shi'an smiled and talked about tomorrow's plans.

The celebration parade will proceed along Chang'an Avenue and Qianmen Street. Except for the core area of ​​Tiananmen Square, which will be under martial law, people can stop and watch from other areas.

It's about two kilometers from Longxugou to Qianmen Street; you can walk there.

My younger siblings are still small, so it will take them a lot of effort to get there.

Fortunately, there is a tram right outside, and you can take it all the way to the front door.

I've been in this era for over a month now, and I see these old-fashioned retro trams every day, but I haven't ridden one much yet. I can take this opportunity to experience it properly.

"It's delicious! Big brother, you're so kind!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole exchanged a glance, secretly delighted, and immediately nodded vigorously!

"Go out and have fun tomorrow, so get to work properly today!"

"Big brother, I might do it."

"That's right! We've pulled up all this grass..."

Upon hearing that they had to work, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole pointed to a pile of weeds at their feet to show their older brother how capable they were!

"Good job! Keep it up, I'll buy you both something nice to eat tomorrow!"

Zhao Shi'an praised it and then inspected the vegetable garden.

"Boss, what brings you here?"

Upon seeing his eldest son, Zhao Youtian put down his hoe, raised his head, and asked.

"Hey, I've finished my exams. Tomorrow's May Day, school's out, so I came to check on the fields!"

"What are you looking at? Your mother and I are here in the fields. Just focus on your book and go back to your room! It's almost dry!"

Listening to his son's words, Zhao Youtian began to offer advice.

"Just finished the exam, let's go out for a walk! Don't stay cooped up!"

"Big brother, the melon flower should bloom in two or three days. Once it blooms, you and my mother need to pollinate it so that it can bear fruit. Relying solely on the wind and bees may not be enough..."

Zhao Shi'an explained and instructed his parents to prepare for artificial pollination in the next two days. It is best to complete the pollination on the same day the female flower blooms, as this is much more effective than relying solely on wind pollination and bees, resulting in faster fruit set and ripening.

In the days before greenhouses, melons that hit the market in late May or early June were priced as high as the first harvest of leeks.

The price is several times higher than during peak fruit season.

Speaking of bees, Zhao Shi'an thought that one day he would have the chance to collect a few beehives and put them in his space, so that he would have a continuous supply of honey to eat.

"We know, your mother and I watch over it every day!"

Zhao Youtian carefully noted that while other people's melons were just sprouting at this time of year, his were already flowering. Once pollination was complete and the melons ripened, he could make a lot of money.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi'an gave a few more instructions and then helped with weeding.

The next day, May Day, just as dawn was breaking, the four little ones, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole, got up early, eagerly anticipating their eldest brother taking them out to play.

Seeing this, Zhao Shi'an didn't delay. After breakfast, he took his younger brother and sister and went outside.