1417：鸡飞狗跳的庄家

小巷的街道被扫的很干净。 年关将至，小巷里的各家各户都开始准备着过1981年的这个新年，市里的百货商店，人满为患。 周末。 庄家父母跟庄桦林一道来到小巷，带着依旧面容黝黑的鹏飞，向鹏... 小巷的街道被扫的很干净，这是因为在即将过的新年里，每个人都想要让自己的家和生活环境都像是一片洁白的winters冻。ZhuangJie，ZhuangJing"shusband，waswalkingalongthestreetswiththeirchildren，lookingforwardtowelcomingtheNewYear.Thehousesinthesmallalleywerealldecoratedwithfestivelightsanddecorations，makingthewholeareafeelwarmandcozy. Astheywalked，ZhuangJiecouldn"thelpbutnoticethateveryonearoundhimwasbusypreparingfortheholiday.Somepeopleweredecoratingtheirhomeswithcolorfullanternsandstreamers，whileotherswerecookingtraditionaldishesinthekitchen.Thestreetswerefilledwiththedeliciousaromaofroastingchestnutsandsteamingdumplings. ZhuangJiesmiledtohimselfashewatchedhischildrenplayingwiththeirfriendsinthestreet.Theywerehavingsomuchfun，laughingandchasingeachotheraround，completelycarefree.Hefeltgratefulforthismoment，surroundedbythepeopleandthingsheloved. Astheyturnedacorner，ZhuangJiespottedalargebannerthatread“HappyNewYear“inboldletters.Belowit，therewasapictureofacoupleholdinghands，withthecaption“Wishingyouahappyandprosperousnewyear“.ZhuangJiecouldn"thelpbutfeelasenseofnostalgiawashoverhimashelookedatthebanner.ThiswashisfirstNewYear"sEvewithouthisfamily，anditfeltespeciallybitter. Butfornow，hepushedthosethoughtsasideandfocusedonthepresentmoment.Hesmiledathisasbusypreparingdinnerintheirkitchen.“Hey，how"sdinnercomingalong?“heasked，tryingtolightenthemood. “It"salmostready，“shereplied，herfaceflushedfromcooking.“Whydon"tyougograbsomefreshairwiththekids?It"sabeautifuldayoutside.“ ZhuangJienoddedandheadedoutintothestreetwiththeirchildren.Thesunwasshiningbrightlyoverhead，castingawarmglowovereverything.Hebreathedindeeply，feelingthecoolbreezefillhislungs.Thiswaswhatheneeded?amomentofpeace，surroundedbythepeopleandthingsheloved. Astheywalked，ZhuangJienoticedthatthestreetswerefilledwithpeoplefromallwalksoflife.TherewerevendorssellingtraditionalNewYear"streatsliketangyuanandniangao，aswellasmusiciansplayinglivelytunesontheirinstruments.Theatmospherewaselectric，fullofenergyandexcitement. ZhuangJiefelthismoodliftevenfurtherashewatchedagroupofchildrenputtingonaminiatureplayaboutthelegendoftheMonkeyKing.Theywerealldressedupincolorfulcostumes，theirfacespaintedwithexaggeratedsmilesandeyebrows.ZhuangJiecouldn"thelpbutchuckleattheirantics，feelingasenseofjoythathehadn"tfeltinalongtime. Astheafternoonworeon，ZhuangJiemadehiswaybacktohishouse，feelingmorerefreshedandrejuvenatedthanhehadallweek.Hetookadeepbreathashesteppedinside，gratefulforthissmallsliceofhappinessinanotherwisedifficultworld. Butjustashewasabouttoheadintothekitchentohelpwithdinner，heheardaknockatthedoor.Itwastheirneighbor，Mrs.Wang，whohadcomebearingagift?abeautifulbasketfilledwithfreshfruitsandvegetablesfromhergarden.ZhuangJiesmiledwarmlyather，feelinggratefulforthissmallactofkindness. “Thankyousomuch，Mrs.Wang，“hesaid，takingthebasketfromher.“Thisisexactlywhatweneededtobrightenupourday.“ Mrs.Wangsmiledbackathim，hereyesshiningwithwarmth.“IjustwantedtowishyouallahappyNewYear，“shesaid.“AndIhopethatthissmallgiftcanbringalittlebitofjoyintoyourlives.“ ZhuangJiefelthisheartswellwithgratitudeashelookedatMrs.Wang.Thiswaswhattheholidayseasonwasallabout?connection，community，andkindness.Andinthismoment，surroundedbythepeopleandthingsheloved，hefelttrulyalive. ButjustashewasabouttothankMrs.Wangagain，acommotionbrokeoutoutside.Thestreetwasfilledwithpeopleshoutingandpointing，theirfacesaglowwithexcitement.ZhuangJiefollowedtheirgazeandsawastrangesight?alargetruckhaddrivenintothealley，anditwasdecoratedwithcolorfulstreamersandlights. Thetruckwasemblazonedwithagiantbannerthatread“ChenXue"sBirthdayParty“.ZhuangJie"seyeswidenedinsurpriseasherealizedwhomustbedrivingthetruck.ChenXue，theiroldfriendfromschool，hadcomebacktotownfortheholidays. ZhuangJiecouldn"thelpbutfeelasurgeofexcitementashewatchedChenXueclimboutofthedriver"sseat，hisfaceradiantwithhappiness.Hewascarryingalargecakeandabunchofballoons，whichheproceededtoinflatewithaloudwhooshingsound. AsChenXuemadehiswayintothealley，ZhuangJiecouldn"thelpbutfeelasenseofnostalgiawashoverhim.Thiswasthefirsttimethey"dseenChenXuesincegraduation，anditfeltlikenotimehadpassedatall.Theyexchangedwarmhugsandgreetings，theirfacesfilledwithsmiles. Therestoftheafternoonwasspentinabluroflaughterandcelebration，asChenXuebroughthisinfectiousenergytotheparty.ZhuangJiewatchedwithamusementasChenXueproceededtosetupaministageinthealley，completewithamicrophoneandaloudspeakersystem. Astheyalltooktheirseats，ChenXueraisedhishandsforsilence.“Okay，everyone，“hesaid，hisvoiceboomingacrossthestreet.“It"stimeformyspecialbirthdayperformance!“ ThecrowderuptedintocheersasChenXuebegantostrumalivelytuneonhisguitar，themusicsendingshiversdownZhuangJie"sspine.Hefelthisheartswellingwithjoyashewatchedtheirfriendperformwithsuchpassionandenthusiasm. Andthen，justastheywereallgettingcaughtupinthemoment，everythingchanged.Aloudnoiseechoedthroughthealleyway，makingeveryonejumpinsurprise.ThelightsonChenXue"struckflickeredwildlybeforegoingoutcompletely，plungingtheareaintodarkness. ZhuangJiefelthisheartsinkintohisstomachashewatchedtheirfriendstumblebackwards，hisguitarslippingfromhisfingers.Itwasasiftimehadcometoastandstill，andallthatexistedinthismomentwasChenXue"sprecariousbalance. Withouthesitation，ZhuangJiesprangforwardtohelphisfriend.Thesoundofhisvoicecarriedacrossthestreet，calmandclearevenamidstchaos.“ChenXue，areyouokay?“heaskedfirmly. Butbeforetheycouldanswer，afaintcryechoedthroughthenightair?thecriesthatcamefromnoplacebutthosewhowerecloseby.