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Lu Heng said with a smile, "The company happened to rent me a small apartment near Yanjing University Affiliated High School. Once Mom and Dad move over, Big Brother and Little Sister can apply to be day students."

Especially his little sister, Lu Miao. Lu Heng's schedule had been unstable before, and middle school let out far later than elementary school. Other than picking her up on weekends and bringing her home for better meals, there was nothing else he could do.

But if their parents could move to Beijing, things would be different. The Lu family's fleet had already been established, they had earned their first pot of gold, and the logistics company had basically taken shape. For the next stage of development, setting the headquarters in Beijing would actually be more beneficial for the future than keeping it in Lu Family Village or J City.

They returned to Lu Family Village a little after two in the afternoon. When Father Lu's car drove into the village, the villagers who had been keeping an eye out all came forward to greet them.

Country folk were naturally simple and warm, without too many formalities. Knowing that the five members of the Lu family had rushed back from Beijing and probably had not eaten properly, Father Lu's elder brother and sister-in-law immediately invited them over for a meal.

"...We knew you wouldn't have eaten well after such a long journey. The food's all ready and still warm on the stove. Hurry over to our place and eat."

Uncle Lu scooped Lu Miao up in his arms, then said to Lu Chi and Lu Heng, "My two big nephews have grown so tall! You're really promising now."

Then he pulled Lu Heng over and bombarded him with questions.

"You made quite a bit of money filming movies, didn't you?"

"Are those big stars really as good-looking as they seem?"

"Are Beijing schools especially strict? I heard you have to learn English and computers too. Can you keep up with the classes?"

All the villagers hurried over to Uncle Lu's house when they heard the news. Sitting on and around the kang bed, they began chatting about everything under the sun.

Between the lines, everyone envied the Lu family's three children for getting to study in the big city, envied Lu Heng for becoming a big star and making money. Quite a few of the younger kids chased after Lu Heng, asking for autographs from other celebrities.

Lu Heng agreed with a smile. On his second day back in the village, those kids dragged him over to the village middle school.

The village middle school, which had once consisted of only single-story houses and a dirt playground full of potholes, had changed beyond recognition. There was a row of three-story buildings, a level playground and library, spotless shelves packed with extracurricular books, bright and clean classrooms with brand-new desks and chairs, and even a fully equipped gymnasium...

The children looked at Lu Heng and eagerly said, "The road outside was newly paved too. The school even has school buses now. We used to have to walk several hours to get to school, but now we can just wait for the bus at the village entrance. It only takes half an hour to get here."

"...Too bad you won't be studying here anymore."

Surrounded by the children from the village, Lu Heng looked at the school blanketed in white snow and heard them sigh sincerely, "...We like that show, and we like Brother Wei Linxuan too. Will he come back to Lu Family Village?"

Lu Heng smiled faintly. "Even if he doesn't, you all need to study hard. How about going to Beijing to see him yourselves someday?"

His words stirred the children's ambition. One after another, they raised their hands and swore that they would study hard and get into a university in Beijing. Then they could go see Brother Wei Linxuan.

However, Lu Heng never expected that just half a month after he said those words, Wei Linxuan would actually arrive in a cloud of dust with members of the Exchanging Lives production team.

Watching Wei Linxuan get surrounded by children playing at the village entrance as soon as he arrived, then make his way grandly to their doorstep, Lu Heng asked in surprise, "It's the New Year. Why did you come all the way here?"

Wei Linxuan flashed a brilliant smile, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. Pointing at the production crew behind him carrying long-lens and handheld cameras, he said with a grin, "I'm here to make a show~"

That October, the second season of Exchanging Lives aired on Huaxia TV as scheduled. Its explosive ratings and enthusiastic public response likewise fueled viewers' desire to know how the young guests from the first season were doing now.

Many loyal viewers wrote to the TV station, asking about the current situation of the first season's guests. The station relayed those requests to the company. After Wei Linxuan found out, he simply made the decision to produce Exchanging Lives: New Year Gratitude Season. They would invite the young city guests who had participated in the first season to return to the rural families they had stayed with during filming and visit their rural "parents."

Because the production team was short-handed, filming for this New Year Gratitude Season was entirely voluntary. Wei Linxuan and the crew had assumed many young guests would not want to travel such a long way during the New Year, but to their surprise, after being persuaded by the production team, most of the guests agreed to take part. Several of the children's parents even wanted to accompany them to the countryside to visit their child's other "parents."

As a result, the Exchanging Lives production team had no choice but to temporarily pull staff from the TV station to help with filming.

Wei Linxuan's group arrived at Lu Family Village on the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

Seeing Wei Linxuan and the production crew with faces reddened from the freezing wind and snow, Father Lu and Mother Lu hurriedly ushered them inside.

The young director smilingly handed Lu Heng two large woven sacks of letters, all written to him by viewers. Because they did not know the Lu family's exact address, most viewers had sent their letters to the TV station. Wei Linxuan had already passed a batch along to Lu Heng before; these were the ones that had arrived recently.

Mother Lu urged the group into the inner room and onto the kang bed. The cameraman instinctively raised his camera and began filming everywhere.

Half a year had passed, and the Lu family home had changed dramatically as well. The walls and ceiling, once covered in newspaper, had been whitewashed and looked especially bright. A new large color TV had been added to the main room, and the wardrobes and standing cabinets were all newly bought. Two desks had even been installed in the west wing where Lu Heng and Lu Chi lived, their surfaces piled with textbooks and extracurricular reading.

After counting the guests, Mother Lu hurried to the kitchen to cook porridge, steam buns, and boil eggs. Less than half an hour later, golden millet porridge, soft white steamed buns, and home-raised eggs were placed on the kang table. Mother Lu then cut open more than ten glossy salted duck eggs and set out all kinds of simple cold dishes. Smiling, she said, "There isn't much good food for breakfast. Have some porridge first to fill your stomachs and warm yourselves up. Auntie will make you something delicious for lunch."