How Huang Xiulan was shocked, Han Yu didn't know.
But from her messy steps, stepping on chicken excrement, and almost tripping over a rock and falling face-first, it was clear that she was extremely uneasy inside.
Mrs. Bao shouted from behind: "Han, third daughter-in-law, please slow down. Your mother is lying on the kang. Don't lie down anymore."
Huang Xiulan staggered and rushed into the east room without looking back.
After a while, the twins' cries and Han Hongqing's low-pitched words of comfort were heard in the east room.
Han Lanzhi was sitting next to the chicken coop, holding the braised pig in the water and eating happily. She didn't even raise her head when she heard the sound.
Mrs. Bao touched Han Yu's head with her cracked hands and grinned, showing her gapped teeth: "Oh, Brother Yu is so awesome. It seems that our village is going to produce another promising scholar!"
Children all like to be praised, and Han Yu is no exception.
He blushed at the praise: "This is all the credit of my second brother."
Old Mrs. Bao thought for a long time before she understood, and patted Han Song on the arm: "Hey, Brother Song is also a good boy! You two brothers are really good!"
Han Yu nodded at Mrs. Bao: "Second brother and I are getting along~"
Han Song: "..."
In the hall, Han Fa tightened his hand on the dry cigarette after listening to Mrs. Bao praising Han Song and then Han Yu, but not Han Chun and Han Bai.
The old lady in the box was about to praise her again when she heard Han Fa take the lead: "Brother Song, brother Yu, you two go to the back and take a look. Is there any pig food in the pig pen? If not, cook some pig grass and send it over." .”
Han Song followed the sound and saw that the light in the hall was dim and only a vague figure could be seen.
But he knew that Han Fa was unhappy.
Old Mrs. Bao rolled her eyes: "Go ahead, go ahead. It's really pitiful. A three or four-year-old baby has to work. If it were my little grandchild, I would be very distressed."
Old Mrs. Bao became a widow at the age of twenty. She single-handedly raised her three older sons, two of whom were promising thieves. Not only did they find errands in the town, but their wives were all from the town.
Old Mrs. Bao is famous for her love for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Compared with Qi Dani next door, she is a good elder that is hard to find even with a lantern.
Knowing that her words were sarcastic, Han Fa still sat as steady as a rock, breathing out choking smoke from his mouth and nose.
Until Mrs. Bao went home and Han Song and Han Yu cooked the pigweed, he remained silent, like a silent statue.
The pig grass is out of the pot and Han Song carries it to the pig pen.
Han Yu didn't have enough strength, so she only helped to hold him up, silently labeling Han Fa a "weird".
After working for a while, Han Yu cleaned his hands and ran to the southwest room holding rice paper, pen and ink.
"Second brother, are you free now? I want to learn a few more words today."
Han Song arranged the books in front of him and put them aside, then got the pen and ink: "Come here."
Han Yu stepped forward and started another day of study.
-
In the evening, snow suddenly fell from the sky.
The snow was fierce, swept by the howling cold wind, and covered every inch of the land.
The villagers who were still outside suffered the disaster and hurriedly packed up their farm tools and ran home.
When the snow fell, Han Honghao, Han Hongye and Han Shu were working for landlord Zhang's family in the next village.
Seeing that the snow was getting heavier and heavier, Han Honghao asked to leave, but the steward of Landlord Zhang's family refused. He forced them to finish the work in the field, and then gave them ten coppers as a charity.
"Go back. With these ten cents, you can live a good year."
Han Hongye's body was covered with snow, and there was a light layer on his eyebrows.
He trembled and sneezed, and the chapped cheeks cracked deeper, oozing out traces of redness.
Han Honghao froze his fingers and carefully placed the copper plate: "Let's go back."
The three of them mingled among the villagers who came to do work. As they were leaving the house, they heard the steward take a sip of tea: "A bunch of poor people, if it weren't for the kindness of the master, they would have froze and starved to death in their eight lifetimes."
The villagers heard clearly, but no one stopped to argue with him.
Just as the steward said, ten cents is enough for them to live a good year.
If they offended Landlord Zhang, they might not even have this light ten cents.
Han Hongye and the others walked for half an hour in the wind and snow, and were soaked when they returned home.
I don’t know if it’s snow or sweat.
The night was dark, and the oil lamps in the main room and the east room were all out. Only the two rooms in the west had a faint light coming from the cracks in the door.
It was these wisps of light that made them feel the warmth of home when their whole bodies were cold.
Han Honghao stamped his feet, and the snow fell to the ground. He nodded with Han Hongye and led Han Shu into the southwest room.
Han Hongye pinched the ten cents he was going to hand over tomorrow, exhaled a breath of frost, and pushed the door open.
Xiao Shuirong was doing embroidery work under the lamp, and Han Yu was wrapped in a quilt and sitting cross-legged on the kang, carrying a book while shaking his head in an upbeat manner.
The three sisters on the side held their chins in their hands and acted as the audience, applauding with admiration on their faces.
"Brother Yu is so awesome!"
"No, Brother Yu is no worse than anyone else!"
"Brother Yu, please...ah, dad is back!"
Following Han Lanyun's cry, five eyes fell on Han Hongye.
Xiao Shuirong put down the half-embroidered purse and took out three wild vegetable buns the size of an adult man's fist from under the quilt: "It's still a little warm, eat it quickly."
Ever since Qi Dani was bitten by a snake, she was half paralyzed and lying on the bed unable to move. Her temper was getting worse day by day, and she would curse at the slightest noise.
The two sisters didn't want to offend her, so they steamed some wild vegetable buns while cooking dinner and waited for the three of them to come back to eat.
Han Hongye didn't want Xueshui to dirty the stool, so he squatted on the ground and ate the steamed buns with big mouthfuls.
"How much did you make?"
"Shiwen."
The couple asked and answered each other, but there was no communication after that, only the sound of chewing was left.
Han Yu watched quietly, feeling quite uncomfortable.
After a hard day's work, he only earned ten cents.
The chapped blood on his face and hands was mottled, and the cracks were white. He was obviously used to seeing blood, but it was the first time that it felt dazzling.
Han Yu squeezed his palms and tried to pretend as if nothing had happened.
After Han Hongye washed up and put out the oil lamp, he fell asleep after a long time.
.......
Han Yu slept lightly all night, and when he woke up the next day, the wind and snow had stopped.
Xiao Shuirong was worried about Han Yu's health and added the last piece of clothing to him.
Han Yu stretched out his arms and swayed left and right like a penguin out of the door.
It was cold before the frost and then cold after the snow. Han Yu obviously felt that the temperature was getting lower.
It was completely white, and the trees and roofs were covered with a thick layer of snow.
There are icicles hanging under the eaves, crystal clear under the morning sun.
Xiao Shuirong and Miao Cuiyun were preparing breakfast in the kitchen, brother Han Hongye was sawing wood in the yard, and the children in the second room of the big house were also busy.
Han Yu saw the snow scene for the first time and couldn't move his eyes away for a while. Everything he looked at felt strange.
The chickens in the chicken coop were clucking. Han Yu guessed that they were hungry, so he grabbed a handful of rice husks and sprinkled them into their special food bowls.
He noticed that Han Song was also up and reciting in a low voice. After thinking about it, he decided not to go and recited the article silently after returning to the house.
"time to eat!"
Following Miao Cuiyun's shout, the sound of opening the door came one after another.
When no one was paying attention, Han Yu picked off a leaf from Xiaobai and put it into Han Hongye's bowl.
The green leaves disappeared in an instant, as if they had merged with the brown rice porridge.
Han Yu gently rubbed Xiaobai's empty stem and said apologetically: "Xiaobai, I'm sorry, your recovery may have to be delayed for a few days."
Xiaobai shook the remaining leaves.
"But dad works hard, and I don't want him to work so hard."
Xiaobai can provide energy to the host and survive hundreds of battles without getting tired. Its leaves and petals will also have the same effect if others take them.
Han Yu had no intention of doing this at first, but Han Hongye was everywhere in his dream last night.
Han Hongye took him home, coaxed him awkwardly, and brought him back roasted bird eggs... and a chapped face.
Han Yu especially cherished this hard-won family relationship, and after a fierce ideological struggle, he decided to sacrifice Xiaobai a little.
It only takes five days for the leaves to recover after picking them. He wanted to make his father less tired.
This is the only thing Han Yu can do for his family within his current capabilities.
Xiaobai understood this.
If the owner is happy, the dog is happy.
When everyone gathered, Han Hongye and the other three handed over the copper plates they had earned from yesterday's work in front of everyone.
Han Fa counted: "Twenty-four cents, six cents less than last time."
Han Honghao and Han Hongye looked at each other and did not respond in tacit agreement.
Han Fa didn't have any doubts. He only complained that Landlord Zhang was getting more and more stingy. While talking, he picked up his chopsticks and took a sip of porridge, while others used their chopsticks one after another.
Han Yu watched Han Hongye drink the entire bowl of porridge with his peripheral vision, and quietly raised the corners of his mouth.
very nice.
.......
After breakfast, Han Song continued to teach Han Yu how to read and write.
Han Yu cooperated and "learned" a hundred words, then went back to practice on his own.
In the afternoon, Han Yu sat under the eaves, basking in the sun for Xiaobai and enjoying the hard-won tranquility.
Just when he was so comfortable that he fell asleep, there was a sound outside: "It's a snowball fight!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Lanyun pulled her three sisters out of the kitchen: "Brother Yu, get up quickly, let's go have a snowball fight!"
Han Yu had never had a snowball fight before, so he hesitated before agreeing: "I want to go with my second brother."
Han Lanyun was a little annoyed: "Why do you think about your second brother in everything?"
Han Yu smiled with crooked eyes, instantly making her lose her temper.
"What are you still doing? Hurry and go!"
Han Lanyun's hard-mouthed but soft-hearted look made the three Han Lanying sisters burst into laughter.
Han Yu couldn't help but laugh, put Xiao Bai away, ran to the southwest room, and pulled on the door frame: "Second brother, second brother, let's go have a snowball fight together."
Han Song had heard it a long time ago and said calmly: "Go by yourself."
How could he, an adult, get involved in a child's playfulness?
Han Yu, however, refused to let him go. She came up and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door with all his strength: "Second brother, just go. Brother Yu really likes to play with second brother~"
The sound came back a thousand times, and goosebumps appeared on Han Song's arms.
Han Song: "I don't..."
Han Yu: "You don't want to go? I knew the second brother would definitely agree! Okay, second brother, let's go out quickly, it will be fun to have a snowball fight!"
Han Song: "..."
What a powerful mouth, he can turn black into white.
Han Song was stunned for a moment, and then Han Yu took the opportunity to drag him out.
When Han Lanyun saw him coming out, she couldn't wait to open the courtyard door.
Han Yu walked at the back, struggling to step on the snow that covered his feet, trying to avoid the invisible threshold.
I'm just afraid of what will happen.
Han Yu's body was already a bit weak and his steps were unsteady.
Leng Buding was tripped by the threshold and couldn't even steady himself.
Han Yu exclaimed and fell into the snow in front of everyone.
Han Song: "..."
Han Lanling exclaimed: "Brother Yu, are you okay?"
As he spoke, he turned around.
Han Song was one step ahead of her and lifted Han Yu up from the snow.
Then, it shook twice.
The snow on the top of his hair slipped into his collar, and Han Yu shivered.
He was just lifted up in the air and looked at Han Song.
Han Yu: QAQ
