Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

The worker also shook his head. "Haven't you seen Comrade Ye, Gulinar? Xiao Ye didn't like you and dumped you. Look, we workers are not bad either. Otherwise, just find a new boyfriend."

Gulinar raised her head proudly and said, "I won't be dumped, and I won't look for any of you as my boyfriend. I just like Xiaoye."

Her sincerity and frankness caused a burst of laughter from everyone around her, but Gulinar was not shy at all. She said, "What are you laughing at? Don't laugh. Xiaoye and I will definitely get married. You guys just wait for the wedding candy."

Then everyone's laughter turned to envy. Some people began to miss their wives and children at home, while others began to plan, "When I return home from Western Tianshan, I must quickly marry a wife, a wife like Gulinar."

Some people also said, "Gulinar, are there other girls like you in Western Tianshan? Introduce them to us!"

This put Gulinar in a dilemma. There were not many herders near the Western Tianshan Mountains. The younger girls were all sent to school, and the older girls all worked at the foot of the mountain after graduation. Gulinar stayed because she did not want to add burden to her parents and she liked the life in the mountains.

There are really very few girls like her who live honestly in the mountains... Most of those who stay are married women, like Ayala.

Gulinar decided not to take on this responsibility and said seriously, "The girls in Western Tianshan are still young and haven't grown up yet. If they grow up, they will become pigeons in the sky. So there is only me, the only one in the entire Western Tianshan. I belong to Comrade Ye, so don't even think about it."

Everyone laughed again, finding her words very amusing, but after the laughter, they felt a little regretful... After all, Gulinar was so beautiful and adorable, and there was only one Gulinar in the entire Western Tianshan Mountains...

Ye Minglang had actually come from another direction and sat quietly behind Gulinar, listening to her chatting with the workers, and couldn't help laughing.

Gulinar suddenly heard Ye Minglang's laughter among the many laughs. She turned her head and found Ye Minglang accurately. She took his hand generously and said, "Minglang, I have to wish my future parents-in-law a happy new year. Can you give us a video call?"

Ye Minglang had no way of rejecting Gulinar's request in public, so he nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, let's eat and play first, and then go when we're tired."

Gulinar nodded obediently, "Okay!" and then said, "Let me dance for you!"

The music playing was the Kazakh piece "Dark Horse." The entire piece had a cheerful and beautiful melody. As Gulnar danced, her expression was vivid, her movements were soft yet firm, and her movements were boundless. Even the bonfire could only serve as a backdrop for her… By this time, it was already dark, but because of Gulnar's presence, it seemed as if the sky would never get dark again…

Meanwhile, Ling Fengxi was alone, drinking from a table filled with food and wine. There wasn't anything particularly special on the table, just braised pork elbow, a plate of sautéed mushrooms, and two small cold dishes. Fang Ya walked in, carrying freshly cooked frozen tofu and vermicelli stew. Seeing this, she said, "I knew you were alone, so I brought you a meal. Why don't you go to the cafeteria? It's lively there, with workers clapping and telling jokes."

The workers who were afraid of the cold were playing in the canteen, while most of those who were not afraid of the cold gathered around Gulinar's bonfire.

Only Ling Fengxi is alone.

Ling Fengxi took a sip of his wine and said, "I finally don't have to be bothered by them anymore. I can just eat and drink and celebrate the New Year."

Fang Ya smiled as she sat down beside him. "Are you worried about them making noise? Wasn't it you who arranged for everyone to have so much fun today? You were the one who had over a hundred people making dumplings together this afternoon, and you were the one directing them. Wasn't it all so that everyone could eat dumplings on New Year's Eve?"

"It's noisy, but it has its benefits." Ling Fengxi smiled and added, "Captain Wu just sent a message saying everything is fine and they plan to spend the New Year where they are."

Fang Ya nodded. "As long as he can take good care of himself, life won't be boring with him around."

Ling Fengxi nodded, "Yes, his name is 'Wu Yongjie', actually it means both 'yong' and 'jie', so the outstanding person must be Wu Yongjie."

"If you praise him like this to his face, he'll be so happy that he'll float away."

"I'm just afraid he'll get carried away, so I can't let him hear my praise."

"You're not a bad leader, working so hard to find a solution for all of us. Your body should be down the mountain."

"Oh. I'm on leave."

He wants to say that he is free and can be wherever he wants.

Fang Ya's eyes were red with guilt and discomfort. "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have reported it. It would have been useless. You still wouldn't leave Xitian Mountain, and we couldn't force you to leave. Now, we're implicated and unable to fully lead this project. I really..."

"It's okay. It's okay. It's nothing to me."

Fang Ya drank a glass of bitter wine, "I'll drink it as punishment for myself. I meant well but ended up with bad results..."

"There's no harm in being kind, it's good." Ling Fengxi also had a drink with him.

On the other hand, Wu Yongjie was directing everyone to dig snow circles.

This time, it wasn't Portela, Nurlan, or Yeerlan who came up with the idea. It was Wu Yongjie who, based on his "own experience," felt that digging snow circles would make the New Year's celebrations even better. So, as soon as he stopped and took a breath, he immediately started digging snow circles...

He said loudly, "This is the experience I learned last time. It is very useful. Let's try it and act quickly!"

Fortunately, Portela and the other three were not petty people and would not compete with him for credit. They all went to dig snow circles, and soon, five or six snow circles were dug.

According to experience, the snow circle cannot be too big, otherwise it will not block the wind. It is best if five or six people can sit around it and keep each other warm.

Wu Yongjie is smart and has "evolved" this time.

Pitch the tent directly on the snow circle, sit inside and look up at the roof, it feels like sitting in an ancient castle from the distant centuries, and you vaguely feel that you are not here to "fight" but to take a romantic trip.

Wu Yongjie even distributed candles to each tent...

Then everyone started cooking food around the campfire. It was New Year's Eve, so eating and drinking were inevitable. But they couldn't get drunk. In such a snowy place, if they got drunk, they could easily lose their lives due to hypothermia. Of course, there were a lot of supplies, but they couldn't waste them. After all, most of the supplies and equipment were brought up by manpower, and with limited manpower, they couldn't bring too much...

However, each snow circle was given two fresh chickens and a whole lamb chop. There was no complicated process required, just put them on the campfire and roast them.