Chapter 73 Buying New Year's Goods for the New Year

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Red Star Factory had already kicked off the Spring Festival holiday and began a long rest.

Liu Zhiye first came to the Security Department in the morning, and with his unique calmness and competence, he held a short but important meeting for all the employees who stayed at their posts.

He said solemnly: "Comrades! The Spring Festival is approaching. At this special moment, each of us must shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Red Star Factory and the peace of the people."

"We must be extremely vigilant and work with the utmost rigor to ensure the safety and stability of the factory and allow the people to have a peaceful and harmonious Spring Festival!

"During this period, security arrangements will be as follows..."

He arranged every detail of the holiday security work in detail to ensure that everyone could enjoy the tranquility while celebrating the Spring Festival.

His words were full of care and love for the security guards, making everyone feel deeply warm and encouraged.

After the meeting, Zhou Weiguo found Liu Zhiye alone and reported some of the recent investigations.

He sighed heavily, his voice full of helplessness and frustration: "Chief, our recent investigation seems to have run into trouble, like facing a cunning old fox. Faced with such a difficult problem, it seems difficult for us to find a breakthrough..."

Zhou Weiguo shook his head gently, his face full of confusion and fatigue, but his voice was full of firm belief: "However, there is one thing I am sure of. He must have received professional training, and his anti-reconnaissance ability is very high. He is like a slippery mouse, always cleverly avoiding our pursuit."

After hearing their conversation, Liu Zhiye gently patted Zhou Weiguo on the shoulder and comforted him, "Brother Comrade! Don't be discouraged! Things will always turn around. I believe in our ability, and we will definitely find Guan Tianlin's flaws. Just like the dawn after the storm, the dawn is already faintly visible."

"During this period, you should go home and spend the Spring Festival with your family. I believe everything will be fine. With enough time to rest and adjust, we will have more confidence and courage when we face this difficult problem again."

Zhou Weiguo took a deep breath, tried to cheer himself up, and responded with a smile: "Okay, Chief!"

"Chief! Happy New Year!"

Liu Zhiye also smiled and said, "Xiao Zhou! I wish you a happy new year too!"

"See you later!"

……

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After arranging various safety tasks in the factory, Liu Zhiye rode a three-wheeled motorcycle and happily returned to the courtyard. It felt so comfortable that all the fatigue in his body was swept away.

When he returned home, his sister Liu Zhiruo had been waiting for a long time. Her impatient look made him unable to help laughing.

"Brother, you are finally back. I have been waiting for a long time." Liu Zhiruo said angrily.

"Haha, you naughty boy, brother has something to do today. As soon as I finished my work, I came back without stopping to accompany you to buy New Year's goods." Liu Zhiye gently touched his sister's head and smiled dotingly.

He smiled and nodded to his younger brother Liu Zhitai, and seeing that he also looked eager to try, he thought it was better not to delay any longer.

So he quickly found his military coat and asked his brothers and sisters to put it on. Then he led them out the door while playing with them.

They rode on the "three-wheeled motorcycle" that they had just picked up, and the family prepared to buy New Year's necessities in a lively manner.

Along the way, Liu Zhiye and his friends were in a particularly happy mood, just like the sunshine in spring. He looked at the familiar streets and the friendly smiling faces of his neighbors, greeted them warmly, and shared the joy of the upcoming New Year.

The best place to buy New Year's goods is the Dong'an Market, which is not far from home. There are a wide variety of goods, from New Year's delicacies to various New Year's goods, which will make people linger.

As a poem says: "The newly opened markets are spacious, and shopping is easy. If you want to talk about prosperity, just point your finger and go to Dong'an in the city." The prosperous scene here makes people yearn for it.

When the three siblings arrived at Dong'an Market, it was already crowded and bustling. Various small vendors lined the streets, and the sounds of shouting and bargaining could be heard one after another.

The two main restaurants on the left and right sides of the North Gate are Donglaishun, a Muslim hot pot restaurant, and Wufangzhai, a restaurant that serves Huaiyang and Suzhou cuisine. After entering the North Gate and walking in, there are shops selling cakes and preserved fruits from Beijing, as well as roadside stalls selling fried red fruits, quince, kumquat preserves, crabapples, etc.

There are also handmade snacks here, such as Fuling Cake and Chestnut Yokan. Later, they were industrially produced in factories.

Chestnut yokan is a cube-shaped dessert that is sweet like red bean paste, but it is also called lamb liver soup. Cooked lamb liver has a bitter taste, but this soup is sweet and greasy, and has no lamb flavor at all.

The one you can hold in your hands and play with is the Fuling sandwich, which is two round pieces of "white paper" with a little sesame, walnut, honey and other fillings sandwiched in between, like a plaster.

You can tear off the "white paper" part, roll it up, and put it in your mouth first; fold the "plaster core" with filling again and again, and knead it into a ball before swallowing it.

Here, they fully enjoy the temptation of delicious food and feel the strong New Year atmosphere.

Liu Zhiye and his brothers and sisters walked through the bustling crowd, tasting mutton liver soup and eating Poria cocos sandwiches. They ate while selecting various New Year goods, full of festive atmosphere.

At the south gate of Dong'an Market, Longji Food Store has a long table facing the market exit. Several large porcelain plates are filled with all kinds of freshly-made candied haws. There are many more on the stands next to them. Each string is carefully made, with a large glass cover on the outside and illuminated by a large light bulb. It looks like various famous actors on stage, colorful and attractive.

"Brother, I want that candied haws." The little sister shouted, pointing at a string of candied haws.

"Okay, I'll buy it for you." Liu Zhiye agreed with a smile. He put his arm around his sister's shoulders and walked towards the candied haws stall.

"Comrade, give me two strings of candied haws." Liu Zhiye said to the boss. After taking the candied haws, he handed it to the girl, "Be careful, don't burn yourself."

Next, they bought all kinds of candies, dried fruits, meat, vegetables, etc., as well as some couplets and New Year pictures for the New Year. Throughout the market, Liu Zhiye and his two siblings shuttled among the crowd, their faces filled with happy smiles.

"Please give me a bowl of braised liver, fried tripe, fried bean juice, fried dough rings and noodles with soybean sauce." The three of them ate a lot in the snack street, and then continued to walk around.

They then came to a bustling department store, where he had to buy some clothes for his younger brothers and sisters and his loving parents.

This six-story department store stands out among the bungalow buildings on Wangfujing Street.

Even among all the department stores in the capital, it is a towering building and has been revered by citizens as a department store since its opening.

The first to third floors of the department store are open to ordinary people. There is a rich variety of daily necessities here, ranging from clothes, shoes, socks to various daily necessities.

They were selecting items from floor to floor, choosing suitable items for their families. The fourth floor, high up, was the mysterious "special supply department" - Supply Department No. 34, which provided high-end products for special groups of people.

As night fell, the three returned with their bags of New Year goods in their hands. Even with Liu Zhiye's extraordinary physical strength, he began to feel a little overwhelmed. When they arrived at the motorcycle parking area, a scene of exhaustion came into view.

After a busy day, they rode their three-wheeled motorcycles back to the familiar courtyard in the afterglow of the setting sun.

At this time, it was late at night, the surrounding street lights were flickering with faint lights, and the lights in every household had been turned on, as if spreading warmth in the cold winter night.

When they got home, Liu's mother had already prepared a sumptuous meal. Seeing the siblings carrying back large and small bags, she felt sorry for their money and couldn't help but scold them.

"You have a few lousy bucks, but you don't know how to spend them well. Don't you want to live a good life?"

"And you two, why didn't you stop your eldest brother from spending money recklessly? Didn't you know that he was going to get married last year..."

At the dinner table, the aroma of food and the scolding voice of Liu's mother were intertwined, warm and homely.

After hearing their mother's reproach, the brothers and sisters all looked a little embarrassed, but they also knew that their mother was saving money for them.

After dinner, the family sat around the warm kang, sharing the joys and sorrows of the past year. They talked and laughed, as if all the fatigue was dispelled by the laughter.

They talked about the past year, recalled the happy times, lamented the passing of time, and looked forward to the arrival of the new year.

(End of this chapter)