Ge Sheng walked down the hill carrying a dangling oil paper bag and walked towards Xiaojiu's igloo.
There were two kilograms of fine plain rice in the paper bag. An Ning’s mother wrapped it with her own hands and asked him to send it to Xiaojiu. Yesterday’s turbulent Emperor’s Oath was experienced in seconds like years, but when An Ning stepped on it gently When we entered the living room, everything was over.
He didn't know why Xiaojiu went down the mountain so early, but it didn't stop him from going down the mountain to find her. An Ning's mother only gave him these two kilograms of rice, but she didn't say anything else.
The road was the same as usual, but at the end of the road, there was no familiar little igloo.
He only saw the crude foundation and the little white man crawling on the foundation.
I didn't have time to think about why the igloo disappeared, so I went up to help, but I saw the little white person turned around and saw him. She couldn't help but curl her lips. She was holding a square ice brick of about twenty kilograms. At this time, her head When it is tilted, it feels indescribably cute.
Ge Sheng looked outside her direction and saw that the man who appeared with Xiao Jiu yesterday was sitting there, waving to him.
Ge Sheng had no choice but to walk over, only to see that the white cat that had been entrenched in his house recently was also here. The man was holding a bunch of small fish in his hand, feeding the cat and watching Xiao Jiu build the house.
Ge Sheng also sat there, reaching out to hold the white cat in his arms. He watched Xiao Jiu concentrating once again on condensing an ice brick out of the lake, and couldn't help but ask: "Why must we use ice?"
Yeah, why use ice? It was freezing cold, and it took a lot of effort just to keep the igloo in shape during the summer.
"Just like why this cat is called Jie Ying." The man did not answer directly. He stretched out his hand and handed the cat a palm-long fresh fish. The white cat grabbed it with both claws and jumped out of Ge Sheng's arms with the fish head in its mouth. "It's just like she doesn't want our help, just like she doesn't eat fish. The reason is simple, but it's meaningless just to say it."
The blond guardian looked at Xiao Jiu with a vague smile as he wiped away the ice particles on the ice bricks, making them as smooth and flat as the fine scales of a carp bit by bit, and then stacked them on the wall exactly. On the already large-scale wall embryo, the running water was frozen in the ice cracks, and finally became solid as one.
This is obviously not something that the ten-year-old girl in front of her should be able to do, but Xiaojiu does it meticulously. Rather than saying it is labor, it is more of a ritual.
A ritual that could only be performed by her alone.
Ge Sheng watched Xiao Jiu silently lift the heavy, cold bricks with her delicate and smooth hands, and carefully stack them up. As the ice wall grew higher, Xiao Jiu's movements became more and more difficult, and fine bricks could be seen on her smooth forehead. Beads of sweat broke out.
"Why is she here?" Ge Sheng hesitated, and finally asked the question he wanted to ask but didn't get an answer.
"Do you remember?" The man answered the question unintentionally: "When she was writing a certain word yesterday, she missed a stroke."
Ge Sheng suddenly fell silent.
"Simple writing, taboo." The man smiled slightly and said: "When a loved one dies, this rule is more for remembering and forcing yourself not to forget."
"If anything." The man said lightly: "This is still an ancient custom that originated from your orchid leaves, but because it is too old, it is now rare like a male cat in three colors, although everyone thinks it is very respectable. , but when it comes to oneself, they are often unwilling to do it.”
"So such a thing that was originally worth writing about has been no longer used for nearly a hundred years. I thought it would be sent to the ancients of history to worship and admire, but there was a little girl who decided to use it herself. I don't know if it was Tai Stupid, but still too smart.”
Ge Sheng suddenly understood what Xiao Jiu was doing, but he didn't want to admit that possibility.
Because as the man said, although this kind of thing is worth writing about, if you see such a person, you would like to record it in history and set an example to the world, but no one wants it to happen to them, and no one really wants to Do this.
"Observe filial piety in the Ice House." The man spat out words as cold and hard as four nails: "According to your ancient Lanye ritual, whenever a close relative dies in the family, the eldest son should stay in the Ice House in front of the tomb and observe mourning for three years. Wear bright brocade and silk clothes, you are not allowed to eat fishy and fishy food, you are not allowed to kill living creatures, and you are not allowed to marry."
"How many people in the world are willing to stay in front of their parents' souls for three years and live in such a cold and ancient ice house just to fulfill their filial piety. This is what a strong man can do to torture him, so he was deliberately Forgetting is also inevitable.”
"But here's this fool who wants to do this thankless and thankless thing alone."
Only then did Ge Sheng understand why An Ning only made the simplest vegetables and tofu when she was left to eat.
It turns out that she already knew what Xiaojiu was doing, so she made the most delicious food for her within the bounds of etiquette.
Ge Sheng bit his lip: "Is she the only child in her family? Even if someone should do this, it should be the eldest son."
Rather than a girl who is even younger than himself who should bear such cruel etiquette.
"Yes and no." Seeing that the white cat had eaten the fish until only a few bones were left, the man shook his head and threw another one over, his face full of regret.
Then he looked back at Xiao Jiu, who was still building the ice house there, and said, "There was no such preparation in her family. In other words, that funeral had nothing to do with this girl at all."
"Half a year ago, many people saw that beam of light rising in Lanlan. They saw many things from that light, but in the end they all remained silent."
"On that night half a year ago, a girl left her home alone and traveled all the way here. She silently built the now-burned igloo and lived there alone. She didn't need to bear the burden alone. It’s her responsibility.”
After this sentence, Ge Sheng asked the man many more questions, and the man also answered Ge Sheng many times, but until the end, the boy still didn't know who Xiao Jiu was and why he had to stay here alone.
But he understood many other things.
Why did this girl meet him that day, why did she care so much about the green leaf-shaped jade, why was she willing to play with him, and why did she ask him to borrow the "A Brief History of Orchid Leaves".
Sometimes loneliness is like a white fox, sneaking around you silently like a white and cool mist. You can't notice its existence, just like you can't notice the loneliness itself. By the time you realize it, it is already entrenched in your chest, its sharp teeth have bitten your wrist, greedily sucking the hot and bright red blood, but you can't feel any pain, only more and more coldness. Coming to me like a tidal wave.
Ge Sheng suddenly didn't dare to think about how this girl spent that dead half a year, alone and alone.
Why can't she speak? It's not that she can't speak, but.
forgotten.
Such an unreasonable explanation is actually so unreasonable as to be callous.
Ge Sheng thought this and then stood up.
"Hello--"
He shouted with all his strength, but it was still a child's voice, so it was somewhat crisp.
But it was enough. Xiaojiu turned around with a little confusion.
It was the face of a child. Although the facial features were exquisite, the eyebrows and eyes were still condensed together like unfinished jade. Her eyes and hair were the same clear and clean aqua blue, so she had a quiet feeling.
Ge Sheng watched Xiao Jiu turn around, with thousands of words stuck in his throat. He wanted to speak, but couldn't find what he wanted to say. Only at this moment did he hate himself for being so stupid. He obviously had thousands of words to say to her, to encourage and comfort, I want to say that I admire her very much.
But the words came to my lips.
"You are so beautiful!" Ge Sheng said loudly, and the boy shouted almost hysterically, opening his mouth and biting his lip to finish.
Xiaojiu was stunned for a moment, not understanding why the boy suddenly said these words, but she suddenly felt very warm in her heart. The heaviness and sadness of building an igloo, the anger and fear of being assassinated, all weighed on this The head of the ten-year-old girl was like a cold, dead mountain.
The mountains were still heavy and dead now, but suddenly she no longer felt so cold.
Even Xiaojiu didn't know why, because she had already heard that answer coming out of her mouth.
Quiet and crisp, just like the sound of a young girl's voice ringing from a spring in a deep valley.
"Thanks."
Xiaojiu replied with a smile.
