Chapter 29 p2
At the Xu family’s house, Xu Yongshan was holding a bamboo strip and weaving something. Hearing the noise at the door, he coughed lightly, his voice a little old. “Who is it?”
“Dad, it’s me.” Xu Qingyan pushed the door open directly, and the daylight from outside instantly illuminated the room. But after a moment, the door was closed, and the room returned to its previous silence.
Xu Qingyan walked in, glanced at the room, and frowned. “Why isn’t the stove lit?”
Xu’s father put down the things in his hand and said with a smile, “I’m the only one at home. Why would I light the stove? It’s a waste of charcoal. I’m staying in bed, and I’m not cold.” As he spoke, he quickly greeted, “You just came back. It’s cold outside. Hurry up and light the stove.”
“I don’t need it. I’m not cold. Let’s wait until Mom comes back.” Xu Qingyan sat on the side of the bed and held his hand. It was cold. How could he not be cold? He didn’t say anything and just asked, “How are you feeling today?”
“Good, good, everything is good.” Xu’s father said with a smile, then, thinking that he hadn’t gone to the woodshed after coming back and had gone straight into the house, he asked, “Didn’t you pick up any firewood when you went out today?”
Xu Qingyan pursed his lips and said, “I did.”
Xu’s father listened to him.
“When I was passing by the back mountain just now, I saw that Lu family’s kid struggling in the ditch. He almost died. I pulled him out and sent him home. Seeing that there was nothing in his house, I left the firewood at his house,” Xu Qingyan said.
Xu’s father was stunned. “The Lu family’s kid? Lu Ze?”
Xu Qingyan nodded.
Xu’s father was a little worried. “How did he fall into the river? Is he okay now?”
Xu Qingyan shook his head. “He was probably drunk in the city yesterday. He smelled of alcohol.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but frown and added, “He’s fine now. He was already awake when I came back.”
Hearing this, Xu’s father couldn’t help but shake his head. “This child…”
He thought for a moment, then said, “You did the right thing. When your Lu family’s grandparents were still alive, they had a good relationship with our family. Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu were also good people and helped us a lot… Now that only Lu Ze is left, we should help him if we can.”
Xu Qingyan said, “I know. I fetched some water for him, and seeing that there was still some rice left in the rice jar, I cooked him a bowl of porridge and came back.”
“Good, good.” Xu’s father nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, “Go and see him again tomorrow. He’s at home alone. Don’t let anything happen to him.”
Xu Qingyan nodded, helped him tuck in the blanket, and said, “You should rest first. I’ll go and cook. Mom should be back soon.”
Xu’s father nodded in agreement. Seeing that he still wanted to pick up the bamboo strip, Xu Qingyan said, “It’s cold recently. You should weave less.”
Xu’s father chuckled. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s probably going to snow in a few days. I’ll save up more so I can sell them before the snow.”
Xu Qingyan pursed his lips and didn’t say anything more. He got up and went to the kitchen to light a fire. A moment later, he came into the room with a burning wooden stick and lit the stove.
Xu’s father stopped him. “Hey, hey, why are you lighting the stove at this time?”
Xu Qingyan looked up at him. “Mom will be back soon.”
Xu’s father immediately fell silent.
Outside, the wind was cold and fierce, and it really looked like it was about to snow. Xu Qingyan went into the kitchen, added water to the pot with familiarity, and opened the rice jar to scoop out half a bowl of rice.
He paused, hesitated for a moment, and then scooped out a little more.
It was cold outside. Mom could also have something hot to drink when she came back.
After Xu Qingyan finished cooking, Xu’s mother also happened to come back from outside. It was cold recently, and there was no work to do. Xu’s mother was not willing to be idle at home, so she went around looking for some mountain products to sell in the county town, which was also a little money.
Xu Qingyan brought the cooked food to the table, freshly cooked porridge, steamed buns made of sorghum flour mixed with white flour a few days ago, and a plate of stir-fried shredded radish.
Xu’s mother’s face was full of fatigue, but she still managed a smile when she saw her son. “Yanyan has worked hard these past few days. After tomorrow, you don’t have to go out to gather pig grass and firewood anymore. While it’s the slack season for farming, you should read some books and review your lessons.”
Xu’s father asked her, “You’re not going up the mountain tomorrow?”
Xu’s mother sighed. “There’s nothing in the mountains. It’s a waste of time to go. It’s better to stay at home and do something, and also leave some time for Yanyan to study.”
Xu Qingyan did not object and said, “It’s good not to go. It’s so cold outside. If you stay there for so long every day, you’ll freeze.”
Xu Qingyan broke off half a bun for his father. Xu’s father waved his hand. “I don’t need it, I don’t need it. I’ve been lying in bed all day and haven’t moved. I’m not hungry.”
Xu Qingyan paused. Xu’s father smiled and picked up his bowl. “I’ll have some porridge. I’ll be warm after some porridge.”
Xu Qingyan pursed his lips and forced the bun into his father’s hand. “You eat it. If you break off half of it, it won’t be good to heat it up again tomorrow.”
Xu’s father couldn’t refuse and could only take it helplessly. “You child…”
Xu Qingyan then said to Xu’s mother, “I’ll go and gather the firewood. You can just do your thing at home.”
Xu’s mother directly objected. “You just focus on your books. Don’t run around.”
It was the middle of winter. Even if there was firewood outside, it would have been picked up long ago. To say that he was going out to gather firewood was just to try his luck in some remote places. If he was lucky, he could get some firewood. If he was unlucky, he might not even get two sticks in a morning.
Xu Qingyan was about to say something, but Xu’s father said, “Listen to your mother. Don’t argue with her.”
Speaking of firewood, Xu’s father remembered what his son had done and told Xu’s mother about it again.
Xu’s mother’s reaction was more or less the same. She sighed and said, “The Lu family couple are both good people. How could they have a son… sigh.”
“I’ll go and see him tonight. Don’t let anything happen to him if no one is taking care of him.”
Xu’s father nodded. “You should…”
The family ate in silence. Although the dishes were simple, the atmosphere was warm.
After dinner, Xu’s mother went out again. Xu Qingyan read a book in the room for a while and felt so cold that he couldn’t stand it. He came out and saw that his father was still in the room, squinting and weaving a bamboo basket. He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. He turned around and quietly went out.
He had said not to let him do anything, but Xu Qingyan couldn’t be idle either. He remembered that there were a few pine trees at the foot of the mountain he had been to last time. They didn’t look like they would survive. A few days had passed, and he didn’t know if they were dead yet.
When he reached the foot of the back mountain, this place had not yet been discovered. What was even more fortunate was that the few pine trees had already withered, and the dry pine needles and pine branches looked like they could provide a lot of firewood. A rare hint of joy appeared on Xu Qingyan’s face. He quickly packed up the things, tied them into a bundle with the rope he had brought with him, and was about to carry them home.
Just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from not far away. Xu Qingyan paused, looked back, and saw that the person who had come had obviously come down from the mountain. He was carrying a fat rabbit and a pheasant in one hand, and he was even dragging a sheep in the other!
It was not a good time to hunt, especially for an animal like a sheep! Xu Qingyan couldn’t help but be surprised when he saw this, and when he found out who the other party was, his face couldn’t help but show a strange color.
Lu Ze glanced at him and nodded at him as a greeting. Xu Qingyan also nodded in a daze. Seeing that he hadn’t spoken or moved, he took the initiative to speak after a moment of silence, “Are you okay?”
Lu Ze said, “There’s still some medicine at home. I’m much better after taking it.”
Xu Qingyan nodded, secretly exclaiming at his good physical fitness, and then they were silent again.
The two were not familiar with each other, so naturally there was nothing to talk about.
It wasn’t until Lu Ze looked at him and said, “Aren’t you leaving yet?” that Xu Qingyan got up and walked back.
On the way, Lu Ze followed behind him, not too close and not too far. At first, Xu Qingyan was a little uncomfortable, but later he slowly didn’t take it to heart and just pretended he didn’t exist.
It wasn’t until he reached his own door and was about to push it open that Lu Ze also followed him in. Only then did he realize something was wrong and turned around. “This is my home.”
Lu Ze glanced at him. “I’m going to your home.”
