Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day: A 13-Day Holiday

Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day: A 13-Day Holiday

This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day are right next to each other, so many universities across the country have combined them into a 13-day long break. Our university leadership was generous enough to follow this trend. Once the holiday notice was released, the whole campus celebrated in joy, and train tickets were snapped up in an instant.

Wishing all my dear readers a happy holiday, a joyful family reunion, and all the best!

On the night of September 24th, I took a train back to Beijing. I will be spending the next 13 days of this long holiday at my home in Beijing. I plan to keep my family company and help my child get their health in good shape, trying to avoid any lingering after-effects.

It has been less than a month since the semester started, and we already have such a long break - how delightful! I have to say, compared to my working days, university life is so comfortable now, with more than enough holidays to enjoy.

But the month after the break won't be that easy. We will have to make up for the missed class hours on Saturdays throughout October. So we will only have one day off per weekend instead of two. Each weekend, I can only go home on Saturday evening and must return to campus by Sunday afternoon after lunch. Therefore, I won't be able to schedule any meet-ups on weekends in October.

During the holiday, I want to spend quality time taking care of my family and properly tend to my vegetable patch. Before I started school, my garden already looked a bit messy; after going to full-time school, it became even more untidy. During the summer vacation, I planted some Chinese cabbage and radishes, and also sowed some onion seeds. The onion seedlings are now growing well and ready for transplanting.

Growing my own vegetables not only gives me some exercise and adds joy to life, but also helps me avoid buying cabbage treated with formaldehyde - three benefits in one, totally worth it. This holiday, I plan to tidy up my little garden and plant some other vegetables that can survive the winter.

I have been growing vegetables in Beijing for seven years. Since I started gardening, our family has never lacked fresh seasonal vegetables. However, the variety I grow isn't rich enough, and I tend to plant too much of each type, so there's always more than we can eat when they're ready for harvest. I need to plan better - expand the variety of crops and reduce the quantity of each, so it better meets our family's needs.

Farming and studying take up much of my energy. When I keep busy, worries fade away. Without negative emotions, life easily falls into a positive cycle, and most of the time, my life is indeed in such a good loop.

I always tell my family that I have had a very happy life. I married the woman I wanted to marry, lived the kind of life I wished to live, and pursued every goal I ever dreamed of. If I happen to pass away before them someday, I hope they won't feel sad for me, because I have fully enjoyed what I loved and have no regrets. I'm very satisfied with my life.

I have a very clear plan for the next few decades of my life (if I'm lucky enough to live that long), and now I'm just carrying it out step by step. By age 55 at the latest, I will be a primary-care doctor holding both TCM and Western medicine prescription licenses, as well as a medical researcher and science communicator. I'll be living a life of farming and reading with my family in some scenic, peaceful place in the suburbs of Beijing. No matter how the world changes, I'll stay steady and calm.

I have less than two years left until graduation. During these two years, I want to fully enjoy this quiet and beautiful life. I'll enjoy the pleasure of learning while at school, and the joy of family reunions and celebrating festivals together during holidays.

The phrase from Buddhist scriptures, 'No worry, no fear,' is the greatest kindness a middle-aged person can show to themselves.