Beijing, at the Li family home.

Today, Li Huan’s family was going to Mr. Li’s house for New Year’s Eve. Shang Yuqi went into Li Huan’s room and gently patted the girl, who was refusing to get out of bed. "Wakey wakey, little sleepyhead," she said with a smile. "Your dad and your brother are already up. You’re the only one still in bed, and we have to go to your grandparents’ house for New Year’s Eve today. We need to get an early start."

Speaking of Li Huan’s grandparents, they had lived through the toughest of times and made outstanding contributions to the country. They were now retired, enjoying their golden years at home.

The old couple had two sons and one daughter.

Their eldest son, Li Fenghuo, had followed in his father’s footsteps. He held a high rank in the military and was already a Major General. In previous years, he was often away on missions, and it was common for him not to return home for a year or two. Only in the last couple of years had he been stationed permanently in Beijing, allowing him to spend the New Year with his family, though he remained incredibly busy day-to-day.

Li Fenghuo and Shang Yuqi had married for love and had a very good relationship. They had two sons and a daughter. Their eldest son, Li Yong’an, was also in the military and rarely came home due to his demanding duties. Their second son, Li Yongxin, and Li Huan were fraternal twins; he had just started university last year. Their daughter was Li Huan, who had failed her college entrance exam last year and had been staying at home, preparing to take it again this year.

The old couple’s second son, Li Fengshan, was a senior engineer and a workaholic. He married late and had only one son with his wife, Song Qingwen. Their son, Li Yongkang, was just eight years old and still in school.

The old couple’s daughter was named Li Yuan. When she was born, the military unit was in the middle of a transfer. Because Li Yuan was a newborn, her parents feared she wouldn’t survive the journey. Coincidentally, there was another family in the area, also with the surname Li, whose wife had just given birth to a daughter as well. So, they entrusted Li Yuan to this family’s care, not only providing child support but also helping to name the family’s own daughter.

But who could have known that when they returned two years later to find that Li family, they were gone? This sort of thing was common back then. After all, in an era of war, it was normal for common people to flee the chaos and relocate. But the old couple never gave up. They finally found the family over a decade ago and brought Li Yuan back home.

After Li Yuan returned, her parents arranged a good marriage for her. She married the second son of the Zheng family, Zheng Jianjun. The two had two sons, Zheng Jiang and Zheng Hai, who were both still in school.

Every New Year’s Eve, all the members of the Li family who were in Beijing would gather at Mr. Li’s house to celebrate together.

"Aah, just let me sleep a little longer," Li Huan whined from her bed, hugging Shang Yuqi’s arm.

"Get up now. We’re leaving as soon as we finish breakfast," Shang Yuqi said with a laugh as she pulled Li Huan up.

Li Huan, still groggy, let Shang Yuqi pull her up. She leaned against her mother’s embrace, still trying to act cute, and closed her eyes to doze off again.

"Huanhuan, you have a package!" Li Yongxin shouted from downstairs. "I brought it in for you!"

The moment Li Huan heard that, her eyes shot wide open.

’A package for me?’

Li Huan immediately thought of the package Su Qing had sent her. She had assumed it wouldn’t arrive until after the New Year and never expected it to come today! Instantly, Li Huan cheered, "Coming, coming, I’m coming!"

With that, Li Huan joyfully dashed out of the bedroom and bolted for the first floor, leaving Shang Yuqi at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. "This child!"

Shang Yuqi helped Li Huan fold her quilt. When she went downstairs, she saw Li Huan happily unwrapping the package.

"Ooh, these must be the pastries and candies from Chuncheng."

"Ah, and there are rabbits and a pheasant!"

"This has to be wild boar meat."

Li Huan’s cheerful voice was infectious. Li Yongxin smiled and asked, "Huanhuan, who sent you the package? You’re so happy."

"A good friend." Li Huan’s eyes sparkled. When she saw the beautiful scarf, she let out a little "Ah!" and wrapped it around her neck. "Dad, Mom, Brother, doesn’t my new scarf look good?"

"It’s beautiful." Shang Yuqi also loved the scarf the moment she saw it. The striking foreign style and the vibrant clash of colors were simply stunning. You couldn’t find a scarf like that even in Beijing. "Your friend has good taste."

"Huanhuan, that scarf really suits you," Li Yongxin added with a smile.

Li Fenghuo looked at the scarf and nodded. "That’s the style of the Dai Clan. Is your friend from Yun Province?"

"No." Li Huan shook her head. "She’s from the Northeast. She was traveling in Yun Province. We met on the way to Beijing." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Then, Li Huan went on to tell her dad and brother the whole story of how she met Su Qing.

Li Fenghuo had no objection to Li Huan making new friends. "As long as she’s a good person, it’s great to have more friends."

"Of course! Su Qing is a great person," Li Huan nodded eagerly, pointing at the package. "Look, she even sent all this meat."

Shang Yuqi looked at the contents of the package and smiled. "I remember your grandpa loves rabbit. Why don’t we take this rabbit over to his place and add it to tonight’s dinner? Huanhuan, what do you think?"

Li Fenghuo and Shang Yuqi had always been open-minded. Even though they were the parents, the gift was addressed to Li Huan, so they still had to ask for her opinion.

Li Huan waved her hand with a wide smile. "Su Qing sent so many things, she must have meant them for the whole family. Mom, you can decide. Anyway, I’m wearing this scarf today."

"Alright, it’s settled then," Shang Yuqi said, nodding with a smile.

After the family finished breakfast, they left the house carrying New Year’s gifts for Mr. Li and Mrs. Li, along with the smoked wild rabbit.

Li Fenghuo was a Major General, so his assigned house was in the same military compound as Mr. Li’s, just a short distance away. It was about a ten-minute walk.

Because Li Huan had woken up a bit late, Li Fengshan’s family and Li Yuan’s family had already arrived by the time Li Fenghuo’s family got there.

Seeing her most beloved granddaughter arrive, Mrs. Li beamed and waved Li Huan over. "Huanhuan, come to Grandma."

Li Huan happily ran to Mrs. Li’s side and greeted both Mr. Li and Mrs. Li sweetly, "Grandpa, Grandma, Happy New Year!"

"Happy, happy! Grandma is happy just seeing my Huanhuan," Mrs. Li said, lovingly pulling Li Huan to her side. She beamed at her as if she could never get enough of looking at her.

Sitting to the side, Li Yuan gently pursed her lips. Ever since she had returned to this family, Mrs. Li had always treated her with a subtle, almost imperceptible distance. Even though she was the aunt, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy seeing how much her parents doted on Li Huan.

When she saw the scarf Li Huan was wearing, Li Yuan found that she quite liked it too and asked, "Huanhuan, where did you buy that scarf?"