To please others? It's better to please yourself.

"Waaah—waaah—"

Thick white smoke rose, and the train, accompanied by a whistle, began its new journey with a clang.

This time, Xu Jing'an learned her lesson and bought her train ticket well in advance. As soon as the exam ended, she rushed to the train station. Only after squeezing onto the train did she realize: surprisingly, this train wasn't crowded at all; several carriages weren't even full!

It seemed like good luck was on her side, but Xu Jing'an didn't dare to relax. As soon as she boarded the train, she walked to the left. Once inside carriage number 6, she subconsciously looked around the entire carriage.

Many pairs of eyes, seemingly observing her from head to toe, scrutinized her closely.

"Make way—make way—"

Excuse me—excuse me—

"Come quick—there's a seat here!"

This was right when the crowd was just getting on the bus, and it was a crowded and chaotic time.

Xu Jing'an was neither young nor beautiful, and her outfit was incredibly unfashionable. Even though she was very careful, several groups of people had already come to inquire about her since she got on the bus.

My chest, lower abdomen, and both sides of my waist were all touched. If I'm not mistaken, my handbag was probably already rummaged through.

These pickpockets not only have excellent memories, but they also often have keen eyesight. They can quickly determine which target has money and where it is hidden.

Xu Jing'an didn't stop and decisively walked towards another carriage. With so many pickpockets crammed into one carriage, it was obvious they were all targeting the same person.

Whether she was being paranoid or not, staying away from danger is definitely the first thing an ordinary person should do.

There are so many different kinds of people on the train. You can't tell if the person standing next to you is a human or a ghost. You can't be too careful!

She's also seen "A World Without Thieves"!

Xu Jing'an walked past these people calmly and without changing her expression. Because she had no money! The most valuable thing she had was this train ticket in her hand.

She walked through two carriages before finally feeling relieved. She found an empty seat, sat down, and closed her eyes to rest. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard a "baa—baa—" sound.

Xu Jing'an immediately perked up. These days, people take live chickens and ducks on rides, but now you can even take sheep?

I craned my neck to look outside. Good heavens! A man in his forties was herding sheep onto the truck. After getting on, he tied the sheep to the connecting area between the carriages.

Xu Jing'an counted them, and there were actually six of them, big and small! She just didn't know how many would be left when she got off the bus.

She arrived at the station without any problems and went straight home after exiting the station.

As soon as I entered the house, the aroma of braised pork wafted out. Several children stood in the yard, huddled up in the cold wind.

Xu Jing'an asked curiously, "What happened? Did you make a mistake?"

The children's eyes lit up when they saw their mother return: "Mommy—Mommy—Mommy!" "I missed you so much!" It's so good to have Mom back!

The three children thought they could finally relax after their exams! But their father, Shen He, immediately pulled out another schedule. Not only was there even more to learn, but he'd even already found teachers!

Shen's mother now takes care of picking her up and dropping her off every day. She feels that this life is quite easy.

The three children, however, didn't think that way! They eagerly awaited their mother's return. Even if they couldn't go out to play, at least they could rest for a couple of days!

Shen Yan had initially felt sorry for his friend, Wu Chuang, since his friend's bottom was swollen. Now he realized that he was the one who was truly pitiful.

Wu Chuang got beaten, but it was over after a beating. But what about him? He couldn't see any end in sight!

Mother Shen brought out a bowl of steamed eggs from the kitchen: "Jing'an, come and have a little something to eat. Dinner will be served in a bit."

"Thank you, Mom!"

Xu Jing'an took the bowl and shared it with the children. "You haven't said what you're doing standing there like idiots yet?"

"Ha ha--"

Upon hearing this, Shen's mother couldn't help but laugh. "What are you doing? Smelling it!"

Xu Jing'an looked at Shen's mother with confusion.

Mother Shen: "The Qian family at the entrance of our alley. Their grandson didn't like to eat for a while. He always liked to pick up coal ash, dirt from the corner of the wall, and frozen icicles from the ground and stuff them into his mouth."

"The elderly couple took their child to the hospital. The doctor said the child had worms in his stomach and needed to be dewormed."

"When Old Qian came back, he said that everyone in our area has started buying pagoda-shaped sugar pills to deworm their children!"

Children these days are raised in a free-range environment. Children in rural areas run all over the mountains and fields. By the end of the day, they're covered in dirt.

Extremely hungry, they grabbed whatever food they saw and stuffed it into their mouths. Their motto was, "A little dirt won't hurt!"

Everyone has a few worms in their stomach.

It's a folk belief that roundworms are worm-like, with their heads facing upwards during the first half of the month and downwards during the second half. Therefore, deworming should only be done during the first half of each month, and dietary precautions should also be taken.

There can't be any oil or fat in their stomachs. That means they can't eat meat or anything like that! The Shen family has been eating pickled vegetables, porridge, steamed buns, and boiled noodles for half a month now! The children finally got rid of the worms today.

They couldn't wait to eat meat and insisted on standing in the yard to wait no matter what.

The whole family gathered for dinner. As soon as the meat was served, the children, who hadn't had any meat for half a month, cheered with joy.

Xu Jing'an and Shen's mother were busy preparing for the New Year, cleaning the house, steaming buns, making dumplings, and so on... They began to busily celebrate the New Year.

……

Springtime arrived in 1980.

Northwest

When spring is mentioned, images that come to mind are: drizzling rain, lush green grass, and willows budding...

But at that moment, Xu Jianguo was braving the heavy snow to get somewhere.

Spring has arrived, and it's a crucial time for planting trees in the desert. Xu Jianguo went to the farm headquarters and loaded a truckload of saplings.

It was dark, and the road was difficult to travel. Xu Jianguo lowered his head and pulled the cart with all his might, trudging forward with each step.

But the more I rushed, the more problems I encountered. Halfway there, I stumbled and almost twisted my ankle. Then I saw a car wheel stuck in a sand pit.

Xu Jianguo pulled forward with all his might, but he didn't have enough strength and the wheel rolled back. After several attempts, the wheel only sank deeper and deeper.

He was panting heavily as he stared at the sandpit, then looked around in the light. All around him were sand and freshly fallen snowflakes; there was nothing to fill the pit with.

The saplings on the truck must not be moved. The couple will be able to leave this place this May; nothing can go wrong!

Xu Jianguo gritted his teeth, took off his cotton-padded coat, and placed it under the wheel.

He took a deep breath, exerted all his strength, and pulled the car out of the sand pit. Without stopping, he picked up the cotton-padded coat from the pit and put it back on, shivering.

Xu Jianguo waited for a long time but did not return. She wrapped her cotton-padded coat tightly around herself and crawled out of the dugout, constantly looking around.

Xu Jianguo was so cold that he was completely dazed, and all he could do was instinctively pull the cart.

"Jianguo—Jianguo—, what's wrong with you?" Xu Jianguo asked for a long time but didn't get a reply.

She quickly helped her husband into the dugout and kept patting him.

Xu Jianguo has already fainted!