I make a living solving crimes.

January 1th, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Chang Wei finally rushed home on this day.

Chang Long hid behind him, poked half of his head out, and only felt relieved after confirming that he would not be beaten today.

"Your brother is back, I'll let you off this time." Yang Min gently put down the spatula and ignored Chang Laoliu.

Chang Long felt a little proud for a while, then swung her arms, raised her legs high, and followed Chang Wei out of the kitchen, with traces of tears still on her face.

Chang Da sighed with a hint of regret: "Why didn't you get beaten?"

"Big sister, you lied to me." Chang Long shouted angrily, and when Yang Min glared at him again, he instantly wilted, and followed closely behind Chang Wei, muttering: "I was beaten when Big Brother didn't come back, and I'm beaten again when Big Brother comes back, so didn't Big Brother come back for nothing?"

Chang Da would never indulge her. She wiped the tears from her face, pinched her little face, squinted her eyes and asked: "Tell me, when have I ever lied to you?"

"Brother said it was a caesarean section, not a shrew's birth. You deliberately mispronounced the word to harm me." Chang Long stiffened his neck and refused to accept it.

Chang Da was stunned for a moment, her cheeks flushed, and she was embarrassed to admit that she had pronounced the word wrong.

Chang Long thought she was deliberately harming him, and muttered, "My eldest brother is the only good one in this family. You are all liars, trying to trick me into getting beaten every day."

Childbirth is so difficult.

Chang Da originally felt guilty, but after hearing her say this, she clenched her fists, but finally endured it.

Today is Laba Festival, and my brother just got back, so it’s not easy to make a scene.

Yang Min sighed, "Xiaotian has been sensible since he was young, but this kid, I don't know if he was picked up, he doesn't look like one of our family members at all."

Chang Wei didn't think being sensible was a compliment. He smiled and protected Chang Long by his side, defending her, "I was naughty when I was a child. She is far worse than me."

"Yes, she hasn't peed in anyone's water tank, nor put glue in anyone's hat." Yang Min slapped her son in annoyance, and she and Chang Da took the bags from his hands.

Chang Long was very happy to have someone protecting him, and he held Chang Wei's arm tightly and refused to let go.

As an old saying in Beijing goes, the seventh and eighth days of the twelfth lunar month are so cold that crows will freeze to death.

This is the coldest day of the year.

Everyone in the family was warming themselves around the fire in the main room. When they saw Chang Wei coming back, they were immediately delighted and stood up to ask about his well-being.

Xiaoman cried for a while, then curled up in his arms. Seeing that everyone was watching her, she lowered her head shyly, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise. Occasionally, she looked up and took a peek, her eyes filled with both shyness and expectation.

When she met the gaze of her mother Chang Da, she snorted proudly, turned her head and hugged Chang Wei's neck tightly.

Chang Da was so angry that she laughed!

You have the ability not to cry next time you wet the bed.

The old lady was pressed on a wooden chair by Chang Wei. Looking at the children and grandchildren in the house, she sighed, "This house is missing you. Once the child comes back, the house will be lively."

Chang Wei pulled a chair and sat between the old lady and Grandma Chang, put Chang Xiaoman on his lap, and said with a smile: "Of course, the old ancestor loves me the most."

The old lady really loved him the most. She stroked his back and smiled happily.

Of course, the incident of falling into the water could not be mentioned, so Chang Wei talked about his meeting with his second uncle and second aunt.

Hearing that Chang Lun and his wife were living a good life in Fengtian, the old people all said it was good with satisfaction.

His younger brothers and sisters also gathered around him to listen to his interesting stories about the Northeast.

The little guy was amazed by the scene of beating roe deer with a stick and scooping fish with a ladle.

They have never left the capital, which can be considered a way to broaden their horizons.

Exclamations and laughter echoed in the main room from time to time. The fire was burning brightly, just like the warmth of home.

Xiao Man sat on Chang Wei's lap, swinging her short legs proudly back and forth, listening to his stories, occasionally looking up, her round black eyes filled with all the curiosity and innocence in the world, and when she smiled, shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Suddenly she smelled a fragrance.

Today is Laba Festival, we should eat Laba porridge.

While Chang Tian was listening to the story, he was stirring the pot on the stove with the spoon in his hand.

In the early years, Laba porridge was made by poor families who would clear out the leftover rice grains, beans and fruits in the cupboards, wash them clean and cook them into a pot of porridge.

It must be boiled until thick, stirred constantly with a spoon, and finally all the ingredients are mixed together in a paste.

The Chang family doesn't need to clean out the cupboards now, as there is no shortage of all kinds of rice, millet, red beans, mung beans, dates, chestnuts, raisins and peanuts at home, using up all eighteen kinds of ingredients.

When the fragrance spreads in the house, children and the elderly alike will immediately feel a sweet and sticky feeling in their mouths.

Chang Xiaoman sucked the saliva that she could no longer hold back, swallowed, twisted her little butt to get off Chang Wei's legs, and ran to Chang Tian. But she didn't dare to get close to the fire, so she could only stand on tiptoe, stretch her neck, and point with her little finger.

"Uncle, there are bubbles in the pot."

Chang Tian held Xiao Man by his side, scooped up the food with a spoon, looked at it, and said softly, "It's not ready yet. You can eat it later."

"Oh." Xiao Man was not disappointed. She jumped up and raised her hands, "Uncle, can you pick me up and have a look?"

So Chang Tian picked her up and watched the bubbles rolling in the pot and the rich fragrance rising.

Chang Wei glanced at the greedy little cat, smiled helplessly, and said to Chang Da: "Sister, I brought back a lot of things, including a few flying dragons. I will make soup in the evening."

"Flying dragon?" Chang Da was surprised. "There really is a dragon?"

"It's a kind of pheasant. It tastes delicious, so people in Northeast China call it flying dragon. It tastes like dragon meat."

He brought back a lot of things from Northeast China.

The serial robbery and murder case was solved and the stolen money was recovered. Everyone in the Longcheng City Bureau was grateful.

Director Li, who wanted to give him a warning, was detained in Beijing by the ministry, so no one dared to underestimate him.

When the Dragon Team was leaving, the Municipal Bureau prepared a sack of local specialties for each of them and delivered it directly to the platform.

Chang Wei and Fan Tuaner are two sacks.

If a species is edible, it is not often encountered by the Chinese.

If it's tasty, it will become rare.

If it could be used as medicine, it would become rare.

If it can also enhance sexual performance, then it must be endangered.

I don’t know whether Feilong can be used as medicine or as an aphrodisiac, but the soup made from it is indeed delicious.

Winter nights come quickly. Before five o'clock, it is already dark.

The afterglow of the setting sun slanted across the alley. People who had just got off work walked in the light, leaving long shadows on the bluestone roads and mottled walls.

The smoke from each household climbed up the chimney to the middle of the sky and continued to float with the wind, trying to spread the smell of fireworks to farther places.

Chang Wei scooped a big bowl of Feilong soup for the old lady. Seeing Yang Min and Chang Da serving Grandpa Chang and Grandma Chang, he called his younger brothers and sisters to the table.

He didn't know how the rules of the family were formed. Although Chang Long and Chang Xiaoman would sometimes run to the kitchen to steal food, once the food was on the table, no one else would touch it until the old lady started eating.

Grandpa Chang was like this, so was Father Chang, and it was also like this in Chang Wei’s generation.