At 10 p.m. on January 2nd, the cold wind was biting, and sparse snowflakes drifted from the sky. Li Hongying, Ding Weihuo, Xu Ancheng, Ding Anguo, and Ding Anmin stood on the platform, wearing felt hats and scarves.

In addition to the Ding Family, there were also many people carrying burlap sacks, bamboo baskets, and yokes waiting to board the train.

Li Hongying looked at the pitch-black train tracks longingly. Ding Weihuo held her arm, "Hongying, when the train comes, it’ll be loud, and there are a pair of big headlights on it. You’ll definitely see it right away. Let’s go inside and wait out the snow first."

Ding Weihuo glanced at Xu Ancheng, who stepped forward to support Li Hongying on the other side, "Mom, let’s wait inside. We aren’t in a rush."

Hearing Xu Ancheng’s words, Li Hongying looked away and stood under the wooden eaves.

Ding Weihuo took off his gloves, "Put these on, your hands are stiff."

Li Hongying’s hand trembled as Ding Weihuo helped her put them on.

Li Hongying had left the house wearing gloves, but somewhere along the line, they had slipped off, and she hadn’t paid much attention. She was cold, but didn’t really feel it, as her mind was focused elsewhere, a determined spirit keeping her going.

Li Hongying had seemed perfectly normal before, but now she was anxious, and her family understood.

"Rumble—" In the quiet night, the sound of the approaching train traveled far. Hearing it, Li Hongying grasped Ding Weihuo’s hand tightly as they moved forward together, waiting for nearly ten minutes before the pair of yellow lights gradually lit up the surroundings in the darkness.

"It’s here, it’s here." Li Hongying’s joyful voice was tinged with tension, "Ancheng, help Mom keep an eye out. There are a lot of people getting off, don’t miss it."

"Yes, alright." Xu Ancheng, Ding Anguo, and Ding Anmin all responded.

The green train slowly approached, finally stopping by the platform. The carriage doors opened, and the conductor stepped out, "First off, then on, the stop time is ten minutes, there’s plenty of time. Please don’t crowd, comrades."

With the conductor’s announcement, the waiting crowd stood fairly patiently, although everyone still jockeyed for the front positions.

Not many people got off the train, since Huaixi County was a small station, but there were still dozens who did, all wearing thick cotton coats and hats, making it hard to see their faces clearly at first.

This train had come from the north, where people dressed even more warmly than in the south, yet many shivered after getting off, some muttering about the harsh southern wind penetrating to the bone.

Li Hongying turned her head, searching the disembarking crowd with Ding Weihuo beside her, while Xu Ancheng and the others spread out slightly to search within the crowd.

These days, Li Honghua’s legs had been hurting terribly, almost making it impossible for her to stand. Throughout the journey, Dai Zhenhua had occasionally given her massages and used a warm water bottle on her knees. Having been on the train for forty-two hours, aside from bathroom breaks, Li Honghua lay down the whole way. When she finally got out of bed, she almost couldn’t stand up at all, only managing to with Dai Zhenhua’s support.

Dai Zhenhua carried a rattan box on her back, holding a mesh bag in her hand, and supported Li Honghua as the last few to get off the train, moving slowly. Fortunately, they came out of the door where Ding Anguo had been looking, making them easy to recognize since Li Honghua bore a resemblance to his mother, Li Hongying.

Wearing a scarf that nearly covered her chin, Dai Zhenhua bore at least a five-point resemblance to Ding Anmin, and Ding Anguo recognized her at a glance, "Big Brother, Auntie’s here."

With Ding Anguo’s shout, Xu Ancheng and Ding Anmin quickly ran over, while Ding Weihuo helped Li Hongying hurry over as well.

After Ding Anguo called out, he moved forward to help Li Honghua, transferring her from Dai Zhenhua’s shoulder to his own, not forgetting to introduce himself, "Hello Auntie, I am Ding Anguo, the second son of Comrade Li Hongying."

Li Honghua was delighted to hear this, and despite her discomfort, her heart softened, "Hello Anguo, I’m Li Honghua, your aunt."

"Your aunt," the others who had rushed over also heard Li Honghua’s response, breathing a collective sigh of relief as a closer feeling and excitement welled up inside them.

"Hello Auntie, I’m Ding Anmin, the twin of Ding Anguo." Ding Anmin was the first to greet, then took the mesh bag from Dai Zhenhua, winking, "Hello Zhenhua." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Xu Ancheng took the rattan box from Dai Zhenhua and nodded at her before turning to Li Honghua, "Auntie, I’m Xu Ancheng."

"Good, good." Li Honghua looked at the three young people, each better looking than the last, with increasing satisfaction, seeing how her younger sister had raised them so well.

After looking at the children, Li Honghua turned her eyes to meet a familiar teary gaze in the distance, aligning with memories of a childhood silhouette, her expression softening, "Little Sister."

Hearing the words "Little Sister," Li Hongying’s tears began to spill over, crying like a child as she wiped her tears and walked towards Li Honghua, "Big Sister, Big Sister—"

As though facing immense grievance, Li Honghua opened her arms, into which Li Hongying tearfully threw herself, crying uncontrollably.

Ding Weihuo, watching from the side, also wiped his tears away, his face beaming with happiness, repeatedly saying it was good. Ding Anmin was also moved to tears, followed by laughter—seeing their mother cry like that for the first time, how wonderful it was.

Time seemed to stand still, as after a full ten minutes, the train’s whistle signaled its departure, and the group separated, laughing and crying.

"Auntie, Mom, let’s go home first, eat something and get some rest." Xu Ancheng reminded.

"Yes, yes, Big Sister, Zhenhua, let’s head home." Li Hongying said with a smile.

On the way home, Ding Anguo carried Li Honghua on his back, while Li Hongying secretly shed a few tears over her sister, unable to walk.

Yi Roujing, due to her pregnancy, didn’t join in picking up at the station. She stayed home with Xia Xingchen, taking care of boiling water.

Hearing footsteps in the distance, Xia Xingchen excitedly opened the door, seeing the group coming from afar and calling out, "Big Sister-in-law, Big Sister-in-law, they’re back, they’re back."

Yi Roujing emerged from the kitchen to welcome everyone inside.

Tonight, Xu Ancheng and Ding Anguo would sleep together, while Yi Roujing and the three women were to sleep, making room for Li Honghua and Dai Zhenhua. Knowing of Li Honghua’s leg issues, Ding Anguo carried her directly into the room.

In the room, a brazier kept the space warm. After everyone came in, Ding Anmin moved the brazier outside, and the bed was made up with thick mats, the quilt sewn from soft new cotton, sunny-warmed, incredibly cozy, with an additional blanket laid over.

Xu Ancheng brought in a wooden basin filled with a gray medicinal broth, while Yi Roujing followed with a box of silver needles.

"Auntie, this is a medicinal foot bath to warm your feet. After soaking, I’ll apply some acupuncture, and you’ll feel better. Then, we can eat. What do you think?" Yi Roujing asked with a smile.