A professor's rebirth: I entered Tsinghua University in 1977.

"You guys are on vacation now?"

Ai Xiaoyu now tries not to call Liu Hongyi by his name when talking to him.

Calling her "Liu Hongyi" is too unfamiliar, and calling her "Hongyi" makes the little girl shy.

Unlike Liu Hongyi, the boy is thick-skinned and just calls out "Xiaoyu Xiaoyu".

"I'm on a business trip."

Liu Hongyi said with a smile.

Without being polite at all, he walked straight in, put down his bag, and saw a small table in the corner of the "living room" with a honeycomb coal stove in front of it. Liu Hongyi ran over, sat down, and stretched out his hands to warm himself by the fire.

"It's so cold..."

The New Year is almost here, and the weather in the south is so damp and cold that the chill can penetrate into your bones.

After all, the Little Ice Age ended only a few decades ago.

It was freezing cold on the long-distance bus.

Ai Xiaoyu hurriedly poured him a large cup of hot water in an enamel pot.

"Quick, warm your hands..."

Liu Hongyi smelled a very faint scent of cold cream on this small enamel jar and realized that this was the cup that Ai Xiaoyu used to drink water.

"Where's Uncle Ai?"

Liu Hongyi held the enamel pot, took a sip of hot water, felt much better, and asked.

"I've gone to the countryside and won't be back until tomorrow."

After saying this, Ai Xiaoyu's fair little face turned slightly red for no reason.

Liu Hongyi laughed.

This reminds me of a joke from later generations - come to my house tonight, there is no one there.

Liu Hongyi's smile made Ai Xiaoyu even more shy. She stamped her feet lightly and turned her head away, not daring to look at him.

"Xiaoyu, what have you been doing all this time, staying alone in the compound?"

Liu Hongyi quickly brought up the topic to avoid embarrassment.

In fact, Ai Xiaoyu told him all these things in detail in the letter.

"Just reading... and I've been learning embroidery lately..."

The little girl said a little excitedly.

After following Ai Gaofeng back to the district compound, Ai Xiaoyu didn't go to school again. She was still a little afraid of Kang Hongmei and those little hooligans. Although Ai Gaofeng had been reinstated, Ai Xiaoyu's psychological trauma was not so easy to dispel.

Subconsciously, I always feel that the only way to be safe is to stay in the regional compound and with Ai Gaofeng.

"embroidery?"

Liu Hongyi was slightly stunned.

The teacher Shen he was looking for when he returned to Chuzhou this time was the master of Jingjiang embroidery.

"Yes, I'll show it to you."

Ai Xiaoyu ran into her bedroom and took out a dough fan. It was a picture of a lady, which had just been embroidered.

"Quite good looking……"

Liu Hongyi praised casually.

In fact, he didn't understand this craft, but as Ai Xiaoyu was a beginner, his level would naturally not be very high.

"Why did you want to learn embroidery?"

"It's Sister Qingqing from next door. She works in an embroidery factory. Seeing that I was bored every day, she taught me how to embroider this."

Even if you are a top student, you cannot read books every day.

"Let's go, call Sister Qingqing and go to the embroidery factory. I just need to talk to Teacher Shen Wenshan about something."

Liu Hongyi put down the enamel pot and stood up.

"Ah, are you going tonight? Have you eaten yet?"

Ai Xiaoyu asked with concern.

Liu Hongyi smiled and said, "I ate at the state-owned canteen at the bus station."

"Oh...what do you want to see Teacher Shen Wenshan for?"

Ai Xiaoyu was a little curious.

"Ask her about Professor Chen Jiayou's whereabouts. I need to talk to Professor Chen about something... Oh, Professor Chen is Teacher Shen's lover."

"Is it related to the work at your research institute? Let me change my shoes."

After a while, the two of them went out together and went to look for Sister Qingqing next door, but she was not there. She said she had gone to the Workers' Cultural Palace to watch a model opera.

"It's okay, we can just go over there."

The embroidery factory is about two miles away from the district compound.

The entire Chuxin County is only this small.

Liu Hongyi was tall and straight, and Ai Xiaoyu was charming and lovely, accompanying him like a little bird. Although it was already night, the district compound still had streetlights, and this scene was seen by many people.

Naturally, this caused some discussion behind the scenes.

Ai Gaofeng's sudden return to the prefectural committee compound and his replacement of Kang Jisheng as first deputy director had already caused a stir in the region, with speculation mounting about a potential political upheaval.

Are all the old comrades who were overthrown in the past going to come back?

What about Kang Jisheng and the other "newcomers"?

After Ai Gaofeng comes back, he is still the second in command. So what will happen if Huang Anping comes back?

Be the boss?

How should Gao Yuntian act?

Headache……

And now, Ai Xiaoyu openly "goes out together" with a tall and handsome young man, which has caused even more speculation.

"Well, Uncle Liu and Aunt Xiao, when will you return to the district?"

Ai Xiaoyu asked in a low voice.

She had originally thought that her father's first move upon returning to the region as Second Secretary would be to transfer Uncle Liu and Aunt Xiao back to the region, but unexpectedly, nothing happened for two months.

The little girl was very surprised.

If Xiao Yawen came back, she could go to Xiao Yawen's place every day to sit and chat.

Her mother passed away a few years ago, and in her mind, Xiao Yawen and her aunt took her place.

Now, besides reading and learning embroidery every day, she occasionally visits her uncle's house at the vegetable company. Her uncle and aunt also visit her and her father at the district compound from time to time.

Liu Hongyi smiled and said in a low voice, "Maybe after the New Year. Uncle Ai's idea is for my dad to continue taking care of Uncle Huang and the others at the farm, and then we'll consider letting my parents go back to the city once we find a suitable replacement."

Nowadays, the person Ai Gaofeng trusts the most is Liu Chuan.

Ai Xiaoyu nodded in agreement, "Yes, Uncle Liu is a good person. My dad is worried about the others being on the farm..."

The two talked as they walked, and everyone they met along the way greeted Ai Xiaoyu politely, and some even had obvious flattering looks on their faces.

Very realistic.

Leaving the Prefectural Party Committee compound, they turned onto a small street. The streetlights were broken, leaving only dim lights from the houses on both sides of the street, barely enough to see where they were walking. Ai Xiaoyu couldn't help but move closer to Liu Hongyi, pressing against him tightly. Liu Hongyi could clearly sense the tense atmosphere.

Liu Hongyi suddenly reached out and held Ai Xiaoyu's soft little hand.

Ai Xiaoyu let out a low cry of "Ah" and pulled back reflexively, but was held by Liu Hongyi and could not move forward.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

Liu Hongyi's calm voice rang out in the darkness.

Ai Xiaoyu only twitched once and then stopped struggling. She hummed a low "hmm" and followed him obediently. Her heart was beating like a drum, "bang bang bang", and her steps were a little unsteady.

Liu Hongyi seemed to have expected this and deliberately slowed down his pace.

After a moment, Ai Xiaoyu's palms were soaked with sweat.

He kept his little head lowered all the time and didn't dare to raise it.