As time goes by, the weather gets colder and colder.
In the blink of an eye, more than half the month has passed, and snow has fallen intermittently again, each one heavier than the last. The cold winter in the north has finally arrived.
On this day, Zhu Shenzui got up early as usual. When he opened the door, he saw that the heavy snowfall last night made everything around him white, and even his small courtyard had a thick layer of snow.
With such heavy snow, it would be impossible to box. The snow in the yard was so thick that walking was difficult.
Zhu Shenzui found a broom and shovel and swept the snow in the yard. Not long after sweeping, his sister-in-law Zhang came out of the main house with Qiaoer.
"Thank you for your hard work, uncle." Seeing Zhu Shenzui sweeping the snow, Mrs. Zhang said to him. When she saw Zhu Shenzui's Qiao'er, she ran over excitedly, but the snow on the ground made Qiao'er too small. , Mrs. Zhang quickly grabbed her and said she could play again after the snow was swept away.
"Father! Father! Snow! Snow! Such heavy snow!"
Qiaoer is still a child, and only at the age of three does a child begin to really have memories. Perhaps this is the first real heavy snow she has ever seen since she can remember.
Seeing such heavy snow and the vast expanse of white covering the yard, Qiaoer was so happy that she danced and shouted to Zhu Shenzui, wanting to run over and play in the snow together.
Where is Zhang waiting for Qiaoer to toss in the snow? My child is weak and the weather is cold. What should I do if he catches the cold while playing in the snow? Although Qiao'er is just a girl, she is still the same person as her dead husband. In this world, to Mrs. Zhang, she is the only person closest to her.
But what do children know? Qiao'er, who was already excited by the sight of snow, struggled to get over, but was pulled tightly by her mother. After several attempts, she couldn't break free. Qiao'er's little mouth flattened and she burst into tears, looking pitifully. Looking at Zhu Shenzui, he shouted with a crying voice, "Father! Father! Snow! Snow!"
"Little naughty boy, stop crying. Isn't father here?" Zhu Shenzhui quickly stopped what he was doing and came forward, took Qiao'er from Zhang's hand, reached out and touched her nose to comfort her, and then took something out of his arms. He came with a handkerchief and carefully wiped away her tears.
"Sister-in-law, it's rare to see heavy snow, so let Qiao'er play for a while." After comforting Qiao'er for a while, Zhu Shenzui said to Mrs. Zhang.
"Qiao'er is still young, and the weather is cold."
"It's okay, just don't let her toss the snow on the ground. Come! Look at her first and look at me!" Zhu Shenzui knew what Zhang was worried about, so he said this with a smile, and then handed Qiao'er to Zhang Shi hugged her and told Qiaoer, "Don't worry, just watch."
After finishing speaking, Zhu Shenzhui found a broken basket and put it in a place in the yard. Then he used a shovel to pile the pile of snow he had just swept out onto the basket.
Seeing Zhu Shenzui busy like this, Qiaoer's round eyes widened and she didn't know what he was going to do, but Zhang understood after just two glances, and a smile appeared on her face.
After a while, a chubby snowman gradually appeared. The broken basket piled with snow outside was the snowman's body, and the big snowball rolled out of the snow was the snowman's head.
Watching the snowman slowly taking shape in Zhu Shenzui's hands, Qiaoer's Coke was broken. This was the first time she saw a snowman being built. She clapped her hands and cheered, and even wanted to run over and take a closer look.
"Don't worry, wait until I'm done." Zhu Shenzui turned around and said to Qiao'er, and continued the work at hand.
After a stick of incense, the whole snowman finally took shape. Zhu Shenzui stood up straight and took a closer look, then stepped forward and modified it. Then he went to the corner of the courtyard to find some pebbles and came back. He put the two pieces together. Put a round piece of coal slag of the same size on the snowman's eyes, then use a long piece as a nose, and put the last piece on the mouth. When the snowman has eyes, a nose and a mouth, it looks like More human.
"Does it look good?"
"Okay! Okay!" Qiao'er clapped her little hands excitedly, her happy little face flushed. She was so rare about this snowman, not to mention how cute it was with its chubby appearance. How could a child have any resistance to such a thing? force?
Let Mrs. Zhang take Qiaoer to see the snowman. With the attraction of the snowman, Qiaoer no longer cares about playing in the snow. Mrs. Zhang thanked Zhu Shenzui and felt relieved. Zhu Shenzui smiled and waved his hand and said that it was all a trivial matter, as long as Qiaoer was happy. Then he continued to sweep the snow that he had not finished sweeping just now, and waited until the snow was gone. After cleaning them all, Zhu Shenzui was sweating profusely.
"Thank you for your hard work, uncle. Go and change your clothes. I've made ginger soup. Remember to drink a bowl. Be sure not to catch a cold."
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Zhu Shenzui responded and hurriedly went to the house to wipe and change clothes. This era is not the future. If you have a cold, just go to the hospital and get a bottle of water or take some cold medicine at home.
We don't have this condition now, and a minor illness can often kill someone. Although Zhu Shenzui has always been strong, he can't be careless. He doesn't want to fall down just because of a cold, especially in a country where there is no specific medicine. this era.
I went inside to wipe my sweat, changed into dry clothes, and drank ginger soup again. After finishing it, Zhu Shenzui came to the main room. Breakfast had been laid out, and Mrs. Zhang and Qiaoer had also finished their breakfast. Mrs. Zhang took Qiaoer to watch the snowman and played with her for a long time, and now she was carried into the house. inside.
After eating simply as usual, Zhu Shenzui took the bowls and chopsticks to rinse them, and then put them in the kitchen.
Before he could leave the kitchen, he heard someone knocking on the door outside.
After answering the door, Zhu Shenzui walked out of the kitchen and walked quickly towards the door. When he reached the door, he unbolted the door and asked who was outside. A familiar voice came in from outside the door.
"Sixth Master! It's me! The second grade of junior high school!"
"The second grade of junior high school? Why are you here?" Opening the door, it turned out to be Wang Chu'er standing outside the door. This kid, wearing a sheepskin coat, stood cheerfully at the door and smiled naively at Zhu Shenzui who opened the door. Zhu Shen saw him. Zhui hurriedly greeted him to come in, and at the same time wondered why he came here so early in the morning? Did something happen to Wangjiacun?
Wang Chuer answered the door and entered. He didn't come empty-handed, he also brought something. There were quite a few things, including a piece of bacon, two pheasants, and even a honey dog.
Wang Chuer came in and put down his things. He said that except for the bacon, Wang Jinwu went into the mountains to catch the rest. It was getting colder and colder. Wang Jinwu went into the mountains a few days ago and was lucky enough to catch some prey and kept it for himself. Wang Chuer was asked to bring these to Zhu Shenzui specially.
It was impossible to go into the mountains in this weather. It was Wang Jinwu’s early New Year’s gift to his cousin. This time when Wang Chu came to Pingyang on the second day, he followed the large convoy passing by back to Pingyang. The large convoy was going fast, and it was dark for them. Then they set off. Not only did they enter Pingyang City, Wang Chuer arrived directly at Zhu Shenzhui's place first.
Asked if he had used food, Wang Chuer smiled and said that he had already used it. Zhu Shenzhui greeted him into the room and went to the kitchen to bring him a bowl of ginger soup prepared by Mrs. Zhang to drive away the cold.
After taking the ginger soup, Wang Chuer thanked him, took two sips and drank it. After finishing the drink, he put the bowl aside and started talking to Zhu Shenzui.
When I came to Pingyang this time, in addition to coming to the city to purchase some things, the main purpose was to deliver prey to Zhu Shenzui and meet him.
Nearly a month has passed since the last time Zhu Shenzui returned to Pingyang from Wangjiacun. Zhu Shenzui made explanations and arrangements when he left Wangjiacun. This time Wang Chuer also came here with the task of reporting.
"Sixth Master, the people over at Yangtou Mountain have passed by, and the news came back that they have settled down." Although it was at home, Wang Chuer did not dare to speak loudly, and spoke to Zhu Shenzui in a low voice.
"Who will uncle arrange to go there? How many people?"
"There were five of them when they left, and two were left behind. One was Yinsheng and the other was Tieshu."
Zhu Shenzui nodded. He was familiar with these two people. They were both from Wangjiacun who followed Zhu Shenzui on the salt run. Needless to say, Wang Yinsheng is the brother of Wang Chuer and one of the main members of the gang. As for Wang Tieshu, he is also a member of Wangjiacun. Although he is young, he is very down-to-earth and very safe in his work. His uncle Wang Rongchao The two of them went to Sheephead Mountain after careful consideration.
"How is the situation over at Sheep Head Mountain?" Zhu Shenzui asked.
"There's nothing going on over there. There's a heavy snowfall right now and Li Hu and the others can't do anything. However, the residences have been built. Although they're not as good as the houses in the village, there's no problem with the people living in them. In addition, Mr. Liu's previous arrangements, the mountains There is no shortage of food for the time being, and Yinsheng and the others brought some food utensils with them when they went there, so there will definitely be no problem in getting through this winter."
Hearing what he said, Zhu Shenzui felt relieved. The geographical location of Yangtou Mountain was important. Now people like Li Hu had taken refuge with him. Wang Yinsheng and the others were responsible for the future salt road in the past. These things must be arranged properly.
When the snow melts in spring next year, Yangtou Mountain will play an important role. Zhu Shenzui is very concerned about Yangtou Mountain. He told Wang Rong privately about this matter before leaving Wangjiacun, and Wang Rong naturally understands this.
"How is the situation in the village? Is everything okay?"
"The village is doing well. I came to Pingyang this time to help the village buy some New Year goods. Thanks to you, Mr. Liu, for the past two years..." Wang Chuer said with a grin, but was interrupted by Zhu Shenzui raising his hand before he could speak. .
"There's no need to say this anymore. I'm also from Wangjia Village. How can I be considered a human being if I don't help my own people?"
Wang Chuer looked grateful. Although Zhu Shenzhui said so, Wang Chuer also knew how to repay his kindness. Doesn't Wang Chuer know what Wangjiacun was like before and what Wangjiacun is like now? If Zhu Shenzui hadn't led Wangjiacun to break out of this salt road, how could Wang Chuer have such a good life today?
"By the way, in the second year of junior high school, how are the two people you brought back now?"
"You mean Master Zhang and Li You?"
Zhu Shenzui nodded, and Wang Chuer smiled and said: "Li You is a good boy. Although he is as naive as his father, he is a real person. He has been practicing boxing with Uncle Jin Wu these days. Uncle Jin Wu accepted him as his apprentice and has changed his mind. Call me Master."
This made Zhu Shenzui a little surprised, but after careful consideration, it was not surprising.
Wang Jinwu and Li Hu were both straightforward men. Although they had a fight, after that fight, instead of becoming enemies, they became friends.
Especially now, Li Hu has taken refuge with Zhu Shenzui, and everyone is considered one of his own. Li Hu's son followed him to Wangjia Village. As Li Hu's friend, it is natural for Wang Jinwu to take care of him.
Moreover, Wang Jinwu's boxing and kicking skills are good. Although Li You is young, he has learned some boxing and kicking from Li Hu since he was a child. The two have become familiar with each other over time. It is natural for Wang Jinwu to teach Li You some boxing and kicking. However, Wang Jinwu actually directly accepted Li You as his apprentice. This was something Zhu Shenzui did not expect, but this was not a bad thing, but a good thing.
The current master and apprentice are not the nominal master and apprentice in later generations. The relationship between heaven and earth is almost as close as that of father and son. Li You worshiped Wang Jinwu as his disciple, which was equivalent to becoming a family member. This would be of great benefit to Zhu Shenzui's future arrangements.
"What about Master Zhang?"
"Master Zhang..." When it came to Zhang Xijun, Wang Chuer did not answer immediately. Seeing his hesitant expression, Zhu Shenzui immediately became vigilant.
