Dong Qiangqiang woke up before dawn on the morning of the 24th. He curled up in his sleeping bag and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Although the old lady provided heating, the heater was not very hot. Even if the temperature adjustment handle of the heater was turned to the hottest setting, the heater still did not feel hot. As a result, the room temperature naturally didn't get much higher, so he still slept in his sleeping bag.
But this did not stop him from thinking about things in his sleeping bag until he had arranged all the things he had to do in the morning in order in his mind, and then got out of the sleeping bag.
He rarely closes the curtains when sleeping at night. Although it is not yet bright, he can already roughly see the large dark clouds of different gray levels densely packed in the sky. They are crowded together as if they are afraid of the cold, and they are indistinguishable from each other. You push me and push me, weighing heavily on the distant horizon. Dramatic clouds, dawn light and a vague mist made the scenery before him even more charming.
The apple tree outside the window has long lost its summer prosperity, and almost all the leaves on the branches have withered. When the wind blows at dawn, only a few of the strongest pieces are left shivering in the wind, looking desolate. Most of the water in the pond has evaporated since the beginning of winter, and the remaining water has gradually frozen into ice as the cold gets worse day by day. Ducks and geese come out for food far less often than chickens, as if winter has frozen their courage to test the cold.
The weather forecast has long said that there will be heavy snowfall on Christmas Eve, and there may even be blizzards in some areas. Regardless of whether it rains in the end, judging from the sky conditions in the morning, the atmosphere is already very good. Dong Qiangqiang only knew that Lao Ding would arrive at the Trier train station at noon, and everyone else would drive over. He hoped that Lao Bai and others could arrive as soon as possible to avoid the impact of the bad weather.
He had just put on his clothes and was about to go out for a run to detoxify and produce more dopamine, when he heard a flapping sound from the yard downstairs, and the faint neighing of chickens.
He was startled, and immediately realized that some animal might be attacking the poultry, and rushed downstairs.
When he rushed to the backyard, he saw that the landlord Yulia was wearing work clothes, holding the scissors for pruning branches in his right hand, his back to him, looking at the door in the distance in a daze.
He carefully approached the landlord from behind while carrying a rake for sweeping leaves. At the same time, he asked tentatively: "Good morning, Ms. Yulia. What was that sound just now?"
The landlord didn't look back. He raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the door: "The chicken was taken away."
Dong Qiangqiang walked slowly towards the door. The dewdrops on the grass sparkled under the rising mist, and a string of dark red blood stains and scattered chicken feathers were faintly visible.
There is nothing outside the door, only the endless north wind.
Dong Qiangqiang turned to look at the landlord and shook his head regretfully. He was about to go to the poultry house to take a look, but saw the landlord turning around and walking towards the kitchen without saying a word. He glanced at the chicken coop, then followed in three steps. past.
As soon as he walked into the kitchen, Dong Qiangqiang felt his eyes suddenly light up.
The kitchen, which was still slightly empty yesterday, has been filled with decorations by the old lady: various star lights hanging down along with the kitchen lights, and a rattan reindeer half the size of a real deer is standing in the place where fruits are usually stored. Next to the cloth basket, the person is looking down for food. The large kitchen table used for cooking is filled with various flowers and several bouquets of Christmas garlands that have been tied. Several pairs of big red boots are hung on the top of different furniture, as well as gift boxes. There are silver paper crosses clustered around, various colored lights stuck on the glass windows and colorful sticker pull rings on the ceiling.
Dong Qiangqiang could tell that the old man had put a lot of thought into setting up this scene. As he watched, he thought about what words to use to comfort the landlord who had been shocked early in the morning.
"Sorry, Ms. Yulia, just now..."
But before he could finish speaking, the old lady reached out and said, "Dong, today is Christmas Eve. What happened just now has passed. Today we just need to remember to be grateful to God."
Dong Qiangqiang was still thinking about comforting words. When he heard what the other party said, although he was surprised, he was happy to get off the road: "Oh, okay, then... I wish you a happy Christmas Eve!"
"Happy Christmas Eve!" The old man put on his glasses on the kitchen counter, smiled and pointed to the side with his hand as if what happened just now had never happened, "Your breakfast."
"My breakfast?"
Dong Qiangqiang and the old lady usually eat their own meals, and the old lady never prepares breakfast for him, and he never pays for the meal. What is going on today?
He turned his head in confusion and then noticed a rich breakfast on the table: milk, eggs, cereal, croissants, baguettes, bacon, cheese, various types of ham, dried fruit, salad, and three or four more Jam jar.
"What are you doing?"
"Today is Christmas Eve, I hope you are safe and happy." The old lady said with a kind face, "Try my cooking, it may be different from the German food you have ever eaten." Finally, she added, "It's free."
Dong Qiangqiang did not expect such a good thing, and quickly thanked you: "Ms. Yulia, thank you for your hospitality first. I will eat these when I come back from my run later. There is also something else I want to report to you. There are some friends tonight You came from another city to find me, so I won’t come back at night. Can you look at it for a while and I’ll read the magazine to you first?”
Hearing what Dong Qiangqiang said, the old lady put the scissors in her hand back on the kitchen table, took off her glasses, and looked at him intently for a moment, seeming to be quite surprised by his words: "Well, you won't be back at night? But today is Aren’t they with their families on Christmas Eve?”
"That's right, Ms. Yulia, my friends are all Chinese students, and their families are all in China. We used to spend every holiday together. Now I go to Trier to go to school alone, and they all miss me, so So we all came over. In the afternoon we would visit the Christmas market in Trier, and in the evening we would cook and chat, which might make it late, so I stayed with them in a B&B to avoid driving at night, I heard. There’s still snow today.”
"It seems that your friends all like you." The disappointment on the old lady's face was almost imperceptible. If Dong Qiangqiang didn't deal with the old lady every day, he wouldn't have noticed it at all. He was surprised. He thought the old lady would be happy to finally be quiet. Thinking about how the old lady got up early to make breakfast for him, lost the poultry, and had to spend Christmas Eve alone by the fire at night, Dong Qiangqiang suddenly felt He couldn't bear it. He felt that he was a little cold or even cruel, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.
"Then please pay more attention to safety." The old lady looked concerned, "Stop eating randomly."
Dong Qiangqiang knew that the old lady was teasing him about eating horse chestnuts, so he smiled and nodded.
"In addition, I have ordered a Christmas tree. It will arrive at about 12 noon. If you are free at that time, you can come back and help me move it. If you are not free, forget it. I can do it myself."
"No problem, I can come back in time." Dong Qiangqiang hurriedly agreed. He didn't want to hurt the old lady's heart too much.
Just as he turned around to leave for running, the old lady suddenly said from behind him: "I think you can actually get a hunter's license."
"What did you say?" Dong Qiangqiang thought he heard wrongly.
"It seems that the wild boar will not leave here for a while," the old lady said, focusing on the scissors in her hand. The scissors are like a strange eating beast, swallowing all the thorns on the flower branches in one bite. She carefully bent the flower branch onto the looped wire. "I don't want to give it all the poultry."
"But didn't you say before that you found a local hunting club?"
"They are too busy, and there is probably only one here. They don't want to cause trouble. I can understand." The old man put down the garland he had made and picked up a loop of wire. "Don't worry, I'm as big as you." I already had a hunter's license when I was here. If you are willing, I can guide you, and you don't have to worry about weapons."
After the old lady finished speaking, she raised her head and looked behind Dong Qiangqiang. Dong Qiangqiang followed her gaze and turned around, seeing a long double-barreled weapon with a dark brown butt and a cold air that he had seen before, fixed on the wall. Barrel shotgun.
"This is the shotgun my grandfather used. Although I haven't used it for a long time, if you can get your hunter's license, I think you might be able to use it."
