New Year's Eve, frosty white moon, red lanterns and colorful couplets, laughter and laughter, gathering and reunion.
The sound of firecrackers brings not only the joy of family reunion and saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, but also the sadness and loneliness of being a stranger in a foreign land and missing family members even more during the festive season.
Looking at the twinkling lights outside the window and the gorgeous fireworks over the city, Wu Hao's eyes couldn't help but feel moist.
A gust of cold wind finally brought him back to his senses. With a lonely look on his face, he looked at Li Wenming in front of him who was concentrating on driving and asked, "This is the New Year, so we can't let you go home to reunite. Are you homesick?"
Li Wenming smiled and shook his head while driving the car: "I have been in the army for seven or eight years, and I have long been used to it. It is definitely homesick, but I don't think as much as I did during the Chinese New Year in my first year as a soldier.
We were still in the recruit company at that time. As soon as the familiar melody of the Spring Festival Gala sounded, we all burst into tears. Fortunately, the instructors and monitors were with us, and while everyone was playing with each other, this longing was alleviated a lot.
It got much better in the second year. Although I missed home, I had learned to control myself by that time. In the third year, I and a group of veterans started comforting the new recruits. "
Haha, Wu Hao smiled when he heard this and said: "When you have free time after the new year, you can also take a vacation to go back to see your parents, or directly invite them over, and the company will reimburse the round-trip air tickets, food and accommodation."
"Thank you, Mr. Wu." Li Wenming said excitedly: "Speaking of which, my parents also want to thank you in person."
'Thank me? "Wu Hao asked curiously.
Li Wenming nodded and smiled: "Yes, thank you. When I first returned, there was nothing to do. I spent a lot of money to find several jobs through my family's connections, but none of them were ideal.
Now that I am here with you, I am really happy to be with a group of comrades. It feels like we have returned to the days when we were in the army. Everyone trains together, goes on duty together, and plays together. It feels so good.
Moreover, the work is relatively easy and stable, the living conditions are excellent, and the salary is generous. It is much better than our small county. "
"It's my duty to thank them. They understand the righteousness of sending their children to the military camp to defend the country. And they are still willing to let you come to me after you retire. If I don't treat you better, How can I be worthy of them?" Wu Hao shook his head and smiled.
Comparatively speaking, with the continuous improvement of material life now, how many parents are willing to send their children to military camps. Moreover, he was able to support his children until they became sergeants. In the past seven or eight years, they will be separated from each other. You can imagine how much your parents miss you.
Serving as a soldier is everyone's obligation and responsibility, but how many people have fulfilled this obligation and responsibility. The stable life that we ordinary people enjoy does not have such a group of people working silently behind the scenes.
The years are quiet and peaceful, just because someone is carrying the burden for you.
Speaking of which, he felt that he was quite cruel. After all, his child was honorably discharged and was about to enjoy the happiness of a family. But he dragged these people away from their parents, not allowing them to go home during the Chinese New Year.
"Mr. Wu, we're here!" Li Wenming interrupted his thoughts.
"Okay, let's go up and pick up the things." Wu Hao came back to his senses.
Then the two took the contents of the trunk and entered the elevator. Today was New Year's Eve, and he definitely couldn't spend it alone, so he took Li Wenming to buy some things, and then went to spend the New Year with Wei Bing and the others.
"Mr. Wu, why are you here? Please come in!" After seeing Wu Hao, a veteran who was opening the door quickly greeted excitedly: "Mr. Wu is here to see everyone!"
"Mr. Wu!" After everyone who was still playing in the living room saw him, they all stood up and shouted.
Wu Hao handed the things in his hands to the veteran who came to pick them up, and then smiled at everyone: "It's the New Year today. I know it's a pity that you can't go home, so I came over to see everyone. Let's celebrate the New Year together."
"Thank you, Mr. Wu!" Everyone applauded.
Wu Hao pressed his hands and said with a smile: "Actually, the main reason is that I have nowhere to go today, so I came here to eat with you."
Ha ha ha ha……
After laughing for a while, Wu Hao looked at everyone and asked, "No one is here."
Wei Bing smiled and said: "Zhao Jiaping and the others are not here, they are on duty in the company. After twelve o'clock, we will go to change shifts, and they can come back to rest."
Wu Hao nodded when he heard this: "It's the Chinese New Year, everyone has to work hard on duty!"
"Mr. Wu, this is what we should do." Wei Jun said with a smile.
"Okay, I won't talk about it then." Wu Hao looked at the dough and fillings on the table and said with a smile: "What's wrong, you are making dumplings."
"Haha, you can ignore the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening, but you must eat the reunion dumplings, otherwise it will not be counted as the New Year. This is also the tradition of our army." Wei Jun said with a smile.
“That’s right, this Chinese New Year can be celebrated without big fish and meat, but it cannot be celebrated without dumplings.”
"That's right, although living standards are pretty good now and everyone can eat dumplings on a regular basis, the significance of this dumpling meal at Thirty'er's night is different."
“You’ll get tired of other things if you eat too much, but you’ll never get tired of dumplings, especially the ones stuffed with green onions that my mom makes.”
"What's the big deal with green onions? The ones stuffed with leeks made by my mother are delicious."
"Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer. If you ask me, it must be the benefit of radish's large meat, which is both nourishing and ventilating."
…
Hearing everyone's heated debate, the corners of Wu Hao's mouth slowly turned up. Yes, compared to them, this little thing of mine is nothing.
Dumplings are very common. As long as you want to eat them, it is very easy to make them yourself or go to a restaurant to eat them.
But who knew that in the north, for many people, dumplings often represent the Chinese New Year.
Just like glutinous rice balls in the South, although they are no longer scarce, no matter how sumptuous your New Year’s Eve dinner is, you still cannot miss this bowl of delicious glutinous glutinous rice balls.
Without it, the New Year is not complete.
Even though the styles of New Year's Eve dinners are constantly changing, only these two remain unchanged, because thousands of years of continuation have given people too many emotions for these two.
They are no longer just a kind of food, but more of people's emotional sustenance for a better life.
We are all strangers in this foreign land, so we can only use this method to get rid of the longing in our hearts.
During the fight, Wu Hao also joined everyone in making dumplings. At this moment, he is just like these veterans, they are all wanderers in a foreign land.
I have to say, what kind of person makes what kind of dumplings. They are all big men, so the dumplings they make are big and thick. But fortunately, the skin is thin, the fillings are abundant, and when paired with white wine, it has a unique taste during this special festival.
