The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Sister Xiaoyue, you should try this! The pea flour cake is delicious!"

As Zhao Xiaole spoke, she handed over the pea flour cake in her hand.

"Delicious! Xiao Le, you should try some of mine!"

Zhao Xiaoyue reached out and picked up a piece of pea flour cake, stuffing it into her mouth. She then handed over the glutinous rice cake she was holding.

"I'll try it!"

"Xiaoyue, Xiaole, let's take turns eating. You try my donkey roll, and I'll try yours..."

Seeing this, Tian Qingshan also came over.

"Then you can't eat too much!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole looked at Tian Qingshan with some wariness.

"No, no! Can you give me the middle one?"

Tian Qingshan said upon hearing this.

"That's right!"

The two little girls immediately agreed upon hearing this.

Soon after, Zhao Shijie, Zhao Shixiong, and Tian Xiaocao joined in. The six little ones huddled together, exchanging snacks and having a great time.

Zhao Shi'an watched this scene with a smile. His younger siblings had been thinking about the delicious food he had promised, and they hadn't eaten much that morning, saving their stomachs for this moment.

The little ones ate to their hearts' content, chattering away, and the street became increasingly crowded.

A deep, resonant roar suddenly exploded in the sky, startling everyone.

"The cannons are firing! The parade is about to begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of booming sounds followed.

After the cannon salute stopped, the faint sound of orchestral music could be heard.

Upon closer listening, only faint sounds of brass ensemble could be heard.

Zhao Shi'an knew that the national flag was being raised and the national anthem was being played. The reason he couldn't hear it clearly was because he was far away. Qianmen is about one kilometer away from Tiananmen Square, so it was already good enough if he could hear the ensemble playing.

Tens of thousands of people sang the national anthem, but it was hard to hear clearly from a distance.

"Xiaocao, Shijie, Shixiong, take good care of your younger siblings, the parade is coming soon!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he stood up and helped the group squeeze to the front to ensure they could see the procession as soon as it arrived.

Zhao Xiaoyue, Zhao Xiaole, and the others craned their necks, looking around with anticipation in their eyes!

A dozen minutes later, the parade appeared on Qianmen Street.

Leading the way was the student contingent, with Young Pioneers dressed in uniform, wearing clean white cotton collared shirts and bright red scarves tied around their necks, each one radiating youthful vigor.

The boy had short, neat hair and wore dark blue trousers, standing ramrod straight. The girl had two straight braids, and everyone wore snow-white canvas shoes. They held up paper signs and plain-colored bouquets, with small colorful flags swaying gently in the wind. Their arms were raised in unison, their steps were synchronized, and their spirits were high.

Zhao Shi'an nodded to himself as he watched this scene; it fit his stereotype of this era, since that's how it was portrayed in TV dramas.

Zhao Shijie watched people not much older than himself walking in the parade and felt incredibly envious! He secretly made up his mind that he would study hard in the future so that he could be like them.

He already has a white shirt and white sneakers, which he inherited from his older brother. He has treasured them for many years, and now he's just short of becoming a Young Pioneer.

As the Young Pioneers marched away, students from junior high, high school, and vocational colleges followed closely behind. Compared to the Young Pioneers, most of them wore light gray or beige cotton shirts with dark trousers. There were also groups wearing simple work clothes, presumably student representatives from engineering colleges, and they were wearing rubber boots.

Compared to primary school students, the children's faces had lost their childishness and gained a more mature and composed air as they walked along with banners and colorful flags.

Zhao Shi'an stood there for a long time before finally finding Wang Zhijie and Chen Yongfu in the crowd. He shouted at them a few times, but his voice was drowned out by the surging crowd. He could only watch them walk away with regret.

The parade continued, followed closely by a powerful contingent of workers.

The work clothes for different jobs are clearly distinguishable, and you can tell the general job type at a glance.

The steelmaking and foundry workers wore simple canvas sleeve protectors and held up miniature blast furnace models, steel hammers, steel shovels and gear models, as well as simulated steel ladles. Each prop was heavy and conveyed the power of industrial construction.

The entire contingent of female textile workers wore matching light blue and off-white cotton work tops, paired with dark trousers. Their hair was neatly tucked into white work caps, with not a single stray hair visible at their temples. They carried wooden shuttles, miniature loom models, bundles of cotton yarn, and orderly spools of thread. The orderly procession showcased the meticulous and efficient work of textile workers.

The light industry and construction workers, dressed in simple gray coarse cloth work clothes, carried wrenches, small machine tool parts and other tool models, and walked with steady and powerful steps.

After the workers' procession came a simple group of farmers. Although they didn't have uniform work clothes, their clothes were neat and clean, and they were full of energy.

Each farmer representative carried a farming tool. The front row of members held polished wooden plows, sickles, hoes, carrying poles, and straw hats, while those behind them carried bundles of golden wheat ears, plump cotton bolls, and large ears of corn. Their faces beamed with the joy of harvest as they walked and waved to the onlookers.

In the middle of the procession, several strong men carried bamboo baskets side by side, with models of grains and fruits neatly arranged inside. Behind them, on a float, were displayed complete small plows, old-fashioned waterwheels, as well as various farm implements and agricultural machinery such as tractors.

As Zhao Shi'an watched the workers and farmers slowly disappear into the distance, observing the various tools and models they held, he felt a sense of déjà vu.

Where exactly is it?

He muttered to himself, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

Suddenly I remembered the scene when the farmers' procession passed by. Wasn't it just like more than seventy years later, on the football field, the old folks carrying farm tools, wearing straw hats, and carrying baskets on their backs, confidently and calmly walking the runway?

No wonder he felt a sense of déjà vu; wasn't the scene before him a high-standard modern recreation?

Unexpectedly, after more than 70 years, the farmers' return to the stage has generated a huge response.

Seeing the workers' formation, Zhao Shi'an thought of the towering chimneys at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.

The miniature blast furnace model held aloft by the team reminded him of the molten iron that spewed out at the opening ceremony, instantly forming a golden ring. When the Olympic rings were created by the workers, the art was complete!

Watching the workers' and peasants' formation gradually recede into the distance, Zhao Shi'an fell into deep thought.

As a drumbeat sounded, Zhao Shi'an looked up and saw the team dressed in navy blue and dark gray Zhongshan suits walking away. The Yangko dance team that followed immediately became the focus of the entire audience. Their red and green costumes were very festive, and the team members wore red silk belts around their waists and held red silk, colorful fans, flower umbrellas, and waist drums.

Accompanied by the sound of suona horns, the team members beat their waist drums in unison, their steps light and their rhythm lively, adding a festive touch to the solemn and dignified parade.