si-mexico Chapter 318 Another Spring Chapter
Chapter 318 Another Spring Chapter
February 16, 2026, also the 2th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lunar New Year's Eve. Yesterday, Li Chenglong, along with Yunlan, Li Xue, Qin Fangyu, and Han Xiaoling, spent the whole day making a lot of fried foods, such as millet cakes, fried sugar cakes, twisted dough sticks, fried dough twists, fried fish, fried meatballs, fried tofu, and fried crispy pork. Qin Fangyu also steamed a lot of flower-shaped steamed buns. Han Xiaoling, seeing how beautiful her godmother's steamed buns were, wanted to learn how to make them, but because the process was so complicated, she couldn't master it even after a long time.
The New Year celebrations in the North, especially in the area where Li Chenglong lived, were relatively simple, unlike some places in the South. Before his death, when Li Chenglong was on leave, he took Li Xue and a comrade from the South to his place to celebrate the New Year. The New Year activities there lasted for a whole month, from the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and were very lively.
Because I've basically finished all the preparations these past two days, I'm actually quite free today. For safety reasons, fireworks and firecrackers are not allowed near the Shuguang Building. Each residential area also has its own designated location for setting off fireworks. However, there are quite a few of these locations set up for people's entertainment.
Li Chenglong carried the little one to the study, took out the memorial tablets and portraits of his parents and grandparents, and also took out an incense burner, placed offerings on it, and lit incense. A moment later, Li Xue also entered, solemnly bowed, and then told the little one who was in each of the four photos. Actually, Li Xue had the deepest impression of her grandfather, as he had passed away when she was 15. Her parents, on the other hand, had both passed away when she was two or three years old.
Li Chenglong didn't say anything to the little guy. The child was still young, and although he was very smart, there was no need to bring up some old stories now. After a while, Li Chenglong carried Li Yunhao and Li Xue outside. Yunlan was cooking with Su Qian at the moment. Su Qian wasn't planning to go home for the New Year this year either, because only her brother Su Nan lived there, and Su Nan had already settled down in Shuguang City, so it wasn't convenient for her to keep bothering him. After telling Li Chenglong, Li Chenglong and Yunlan warmly welcomed her, saying she should treat the place as her own home and spend a reunion New Year with her.
They ate a quick lunch, and the afternoon was for decorating. The couplets were distributed free of charge by the Shuguang City government, one pair per person. Besides the couplets, they also distributed window decorations, "Fu" characters, and other essential Spring Festival items. Li Chenglong had Li Yunhao ride on his shoulders while he and Han Xiaoling pasted the couplets together. Yunlan and Qin Fangyu decorated the house, while Zhao Liying and Chen Xiaoke, who came to help, picked vegetables.
Although both of them had their own homes on the 7th floor of the Shuguang Building, they were both alone during the Spring Festival. Li Chenglong thought that one or two more people wouldn't make a difference, so he invited them over as well, so that there would be nine people to have a reunion dinner together.
At 8 PM, the preparations were finally almost complete. Since Li Chenglong and Yunlan had other matters to attend to, they left Yunlan's mother at home to oversee the New Year's Eve dinner. Their destination was the Shuguang City Network Broadcasting and Television Bureau. The Shuguang City Television Station had relocated once, moving into a newly built eight-story building. This building was one of the results of Li Chenglong's "work-for-relief, building a new Shuguang City" plan. Even before construction began, professional architects considered its suitability for television station use, eliminating the need for later modifications.
The venue for the Spring Festival Gala remains the Shuguang City Grand Theater, as only this venue has sufficient space to host such a large-scale program and accommodate over 30,000 spectators. Li Chenglong and Yun Lan, led by Jiang Hui, first toured the building, and then went to the Shuguang City Grand Theater with relevant staff. The final rehearsal ended yesterday, and this afternoon was spent handling some details, as many performers had not yet arrived, even though there were still several hours until the gala.
Li Chenglong, Yun Lan, Ma Tiancheng, Zheng Yong, Feng Tian, and other high-ranking officials from Dawn City and the Dawn Army who had time came to the Grand Theater to shake hands with the staff and actors and offer their New Year's greetings. Shen Menghua and Yun Qian would be watching the Spring Festival Gala tonight, and Feng Tian and Zheng Yong from the military would also be there. As for Li Chenglong, he decided to spend time with his family and wouldn't be coming tonight.
The two returned home at 5 PM. Qin Fangyu originally intended to cook, but Li Chenglong insisted on preparing the New Year's Eve dinner for everyone. Since their kitchen was large, it was no problem for both of them to work at the same time. Qin Fangyu and Han Xiaoling stir-fried vegetables on the left, while Li Chenglong and Chen Xiaoke did so on the right; he took charge of the cooking, and Chen Xiaoke assisted. Yun Lan, Li Xue, and Zhao Liying were in the living room using their Crystal Phones, chatting with friends in a group chat on "SuperChat," occasionally bursting into laughter. Little Li Yunhao was playing with Su Qian.
A while later, Qi Guoan arrived. He had lunch with officers of battalion and deputy battalion level or above from his division that day and chatted for quite a while, which was why he was late. Yun Lan used the "Super Message" function on her crystal phone to send red envelopes in several groups. These red envelopes weren't for money, but for points. Because everyone's crystal phone is linked to their identity card, the points recorded on the identity card are displayed on the phone in real time. The limit for sending red envelopes is not long, and since it was New Year's Eve, and Yun Lan had a lot of points, she sent out quite a few. Li Xue, who was next to her, both sent and received points, and within an hour, she had accumulated more than 1000 points.
Because Dawn City is internally stable and has abundant resources, it is basically self-sufficient and can even earn crystals through exports. Therefore, the purchasing power of these points is quite good. Dawn City points are divided into accumulated points and circulating points. Accumulated points are earned from the moment you apply for your identity card, and all points are accumulated. There are many tiers of points; reaching a certain tier will increase the rewards you receive during holidays and each month. Circulating points are points that can be used for consumption.
Currently, Li Chenglong has the highest total score, exceeding 160 million. His active points are roughly the same, as he doesn't use them much, and his psionic space can meet most of his needs. Yun Lan has the second highest score, currently accumulating 100 million points. Although she hadn't fought for a long time due to pregnancy, after giving birth, she has been killing Kiel aliens and level 11 zombie guardians, and contributing a large amount of high-grade Dawn Rice every month, causing her points to rise rapidly.
Combatants generally have higher scores. Among non-combatants, Yun Qian has the highest score, followed by Shen Menghua, and then Ma Tiancheng, Zhao Xin, Liu Dongliang, and others. Yun Qian has 5400 million points, Shen Menghua has 5100 million, and Ma Tiancheng has 4020 million. The reason non-combatants have lower scores is mainly because Li Chenglong encourages them to participate in combat in the apocalypse to fight against the alien species. Moreover, in terms of sheer danger, those who participate in combat face far greater danger than those who remain in Dawn City, hence the consistently high score rewards.
At 7 p.m., the Spring Festival Gala in Shuguang City officially began. Li Chenglong's family, along with Zhao Liying and Chen Xiaoke, who were invited by him, made up a total of nine people sitting around a large table, watching the Spring Festival Gala, chatting, and eating delicious food and dumplings, looking very happy.
Just after midnight, everyone who owned a Crystal Phone received New Year's greetings from the Central Computer Office of Dawn City. Li Chenglong, Yun Lan, and others went to the designated fireworks and firecrackers area behind the Dawn Building and lit fireworks and firecrackers to celebrate the Spring Festival.
At 7 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Li Chenglong and Yun Lan took the little guy to Qi Guoan and Qin Fangyu to pay their respects. According to custom, they should give lucky money, but Qin Fangyu and Qi Guoan didn't know what to give. At present, the legal tender in Dawn City is crystal. After discussing it, the two put a purple crystal in a red envelope and gave it to the little guy.
A little while later, Li Xue and Han Xiaoling also came to wish them a Happy New Year. Li Chenglong gave them each a red envelope containing a purple crystal. Although their levels no longer required crystal upgrades, they could still use them to buy many things. At 8 a.m., Li Chenglong arrived at the Dawn City Television Station and delivered a live New Year's greeting to all the people of Dawn City, outlining his plans for the new year and looking forward to the future.