Chapter 340 Stealing Hearts
In the biting cold wind, Jiangchuan entered the year 1995.

January is the coldest month of the year, with temperatures usually below 0°. Although Jiangchuan is a small city in the southern inland area, adjacent to Guangdong, snow was not a rare sight in the 90s. There are usually only two seasons here: the scorching hot summer and the freezing cold and wet winter.

The snow this year is particularly heavy and falling heavily.

The air was always humid, and the trees had lost all their leaves, standing alone in the cold wind. Above the city, there was always light blue smoke, curling up. Although the weather was sunny, it was not warm. The sun seemed to be getting farther and farther away from the earth, and could no longer give the world a trace of warmth.

At this time of year, the small southern town of Jiangchuan looks desolate and lonely.

Walking on the streets, citizens wrapped in cotton-padded jackets walked hurriedly, and bicycles were like dense black ants crawling and fighting on the snow-white ground. The hurried crowds looked dull and bored. Perhaps in this cold winter of 1995, the people of this small town did not have the heart to listen to the variations of the tide of the times. Reform and opening up were like a river of spring water flowing eastward, and the air was filled with the taste of milk and honey. However, those grand narratives were too far away from the working people.

In 1995, China's GDP reached 61340 billion yuan, and the original goal of doubling the GDP in 2000 compared with 1980 was achieved five years ahead of schedule. In this year, my country officially implemented a five-day work week, and people with a weekend off finally said goodbye to "fighting Sundays and tired Mondays"; in this year, computer rooms began to appear, and Andy Lau's version of the game "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" became popular in small towns across the country, and the huge cost of 5 yuan per hour still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of primary school students; in this year, the girls strolling on the street who first put on step-on pants or platform shoes would be the fashion icon. After dinner, everyone watched the Japanese drama "Tokyo Love Story" and competed to be the model of Akami Rika. "Rika style" sweaters, scarves, and jackets were the hottest fashion items this year.

This year, the leader of Causeway Bay, Brother Haonan, officially became popular. The line by Liang Kun in the movie Young and Dangerous, "If you are out there in the world, you must admit your mistakes and stand firm when you are beaten," became popular all over China. The streets were always filled with young men with dyed yellow hair and a sloppy look. They gathered in groups of three or five, carrying steel pipes and iron bars, and were dominating the urban and rural fringe areas.

This year, Chinese archaeologists unearthed a national treasure, the "Five Stars Rising from the East, Bringing Good Luck to China" brocade, at the Niya Ruins in Xinjiang. This is one of the greatest discoveries in Chinese archaeology in the 20th century. Scientific historians have calculated that a rare astronomical spectacle of five stars gathering together will occur on September 2040, 9. Astronomical archaeologist David W. Pankenier excitedly said that along with the spectacle of the "five stars gathering together" in September 9, China will once again become prosperous and strong.

Large-scale infrastructure construction, booming market economy, strong desire to integrate with the international community, unprecedented prosperity of popular culture, drastic changes in social classes... The grand process of reform and opening up over the past 40 years has come to a turning point in the rolling tide of the times.

Standing in the long river of history, Zhang Yunqi's vision is never so broad, and his mature wisdom and life experience from the future are so rich.

Perhaps, at this moment, on the construction site next to the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, there is a young migrant worker sitting high up, gazing at this rising international metropolis with confused eyes, thinking about his future.

Perhaps, at this moment, in the delivery room of a hospital, a little life is coming into this world, and his birth brings joy to the whole family.

In the 90s, people's lives were getting better and better. Everyone believed that hard work could change their destiny. In this "upward" social structure, as long as you work hard to move forward, you can always stand out and occupy a good position.

One day after New Year's Day, Zhang Yunfeng and Zhang Xiaonan held a grand wedding.

This poor man who had been digging in the soil since he could remember was obviously a microcosm of countless proletarians in the 90s who quickly crossed the class and became rich through fate and their own efforts. His wedding was not simple, the motorcade was luxurious, the bride was beautiful, and the sound moved Jiangchuan City!
On the wedding day, the Zhang family of Yunxi set up 38 large tables in the most upscale Songlin Hotel in Jiangchuan City. The hotel was full of guests. The big screen played the wedding photos of Zhang Yunfeng and Zhang Xiaonan in a loop. The music was cheerful and the atmosphere was warm. The red carpet in the center was decorated with garlands and the lights focused on the newlyweds on the wedding stage.

Ji Ling, Chu Jian and Chun Lan stood at the side door of the stage, watching the wedding ceremony with great interest. The three girls have been busy these days. Last night they prepared wedding dresses, accessories and bouquets with their sister Xiao Nan. They felt it was new and had the yearning of little girls for the most important ceremony in their lives. But now they had some free time.

Zhang Chunlan watched her eldest brother get married. Although she was still ignorant about love, she couldn't help but sigh like a little girl, saying: "It's really not easy for Sister Xiaonan and my eldest brother over the years. I used to think they couldn't be together. In fact, they have been good friends since they were young, just like my second brother and Sister Ji Ling."

When he first saw her, he was stunned for a moment and said nothing.

Ji Ling, wearing a black hoodie and navy blue jeans, leaned against the white wall with his hands in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the center of the stage, and smiled: "It's old news." Chunlan seemed to realize that her words were a bit ambiguous, and stuck out her tongue and said: "I'm going to my mother's place to take care of things, Sister Ji Ling, I'll come to see you later."

Ji Ling watched Chunlan leave, turned his head to look at Chu Jian, and suddenly asked: "Are you together?"

This bright girl spoke as directly as ever.

When he first saw it, he was stunned for a long time. When he understood the meaning of Ji Ling's words, he felt a little panicked and clenched his fingers.

In fact, this was not the first time that Chu Jian had encountered such a problem. What happened at the New Year's Eve party spread far and wide in the No. 1 Middle School in the city and was almost known to everyone.

Every time she went to Zhangji for lunch with Zhang Yunqi, there would always be strange looks behind her. Wang Xiaokai and Tian Zhuangzhuang were even more mischievous. Every day when they met at school, they would wave and shout at each other from a distance, calling her sister-in-law. Then everyone around her looked at her strangely. Several female classmates who were good friends in the first year of high school also ran over to ask her: "Chu Jian, are you really together with Zhang Yunqi?"

At this moment, although she was flustered when she first saw him, she felt an indescribable happiness in her heart. But for some reason, when faced with Ji Ling's question, her heart was hanging in the air.

It feels like I'm a thief.

When I first met her, I remembered what Chunlan said, "Sister Xiaonan and my eldest brother have been good friends since they were young, just like my second brother and Sister Ji Ling."

This should be the fact, and it is also a grain of sand in my heart that is difficult to melt when I first see it.

At this time, in the center of the wedding banquet stage, Chu Jian saw Sister Xiaonan’s father handing her hand to Brother Yunfeng. Brother Yunfeng said to Sister Xiaonan in his rough voice, I will treat you well all my life.

Sister Xiaonan started crying.

No one knows what this childhood sweetheart went through to achieve today's happy ending, but no matter what, Chu Jian felt that she should be braver. Ji Ling was her best friend, but she was really sorry that there were some things that could not be compromised, so she said to Ji Ling: "Yes."

After a long silence, Ji Ling smiled, her clear face still carefree: "Great! You even hid it from me, tell me honestly, how long have you two been secretly hooking up!"

******
PS: Sorry for the slow update. There is no need to worry about the book being finished. It is impossible. I will definitely finish the book. If the update is too slow sometimes, it is probably because I am working overtime every day. It has been like this recently. The work is piling up. If I am not working overtime, then I must be working overtime.

To be honest, when there was no update, I didn’t even dare to read the comments on the posts. I felt so sorry!

(End of this chapter)