Should keep distance

Wu Meilai hurried down the road and heard her aunt come out and ask worriedly, "What happened to you, sister?"

"A bunch of rotten cats, they don't know how to act crazy." Wu Baizi's voice was flat, as if Wu Meilai was just being unreasonable.

Wu Meilai did not go down the mountain, but went straight up, went into the woods, and dug a hole with her bare hands in a self-torturing manner.

As I dug, drops of warm water hit the back of my hand.

After putting the kittens into a shallow pit, Wu Meilai filled it with soil and covered it with a handful of snow, but it was quickly melted by the hot water.

She knew she wasn't crying for the kittens, she was grieving for herself and feeling sick for this terrible, indifferent family.

After an unknown amount of time, the wind blowing on my body became colder, the sky had already darkened, the trees around me were dimly visible, and from somewhere near and far came the sound of wild dogs barking.

Only then did Wu Mei realize that she had been sitting there for too long. She could no longer make out any outlines beyond four or five meters ahead, only a pitch-black mass.

Wu Meilai thought of the legendary "Old Bear Lady", as if that thing was standing in the shadow staring at her.

Shivering, Wu Meilai walked out of the woods cautiously in the direction she came from. When she returned to the concrete road, she quickened her pace and ran down the mountain.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the light coming in through the window.

Wu Mei came and pushed the door open. The family of three sat on a large bench watching TV, warming their footbath water on the fire. They must have already eaten.

Liu Guiyan turned around and saw her red eyes. She was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Little one is back? I just put away the food, and the soup is still hot."

She explained: "I wanted to call you, but you didn't bring your phone."

"Isn't he very cruel during the day? I thought you had the guts to not come back." Wu Baizi sneered.

The courage to bite him to death was completely gone. Wu Meilai pursed her lips and silently washed her feet. She didn't eat and went straight to bed.

She had felt like a mule more than once, but never as strongly as today.

But what can she do? The house belongs to her father, and when her father dies, it will belong to her brother. Even though Wu Han is a fool who cannot take care of himself, and even though all the income of her family is earned by her, she has no homestead and can only live in "someone else's" house.

The feeling of chest tightness came again, and Wu Meilai planned to play a game to divert her attention.

Turn on your phone.

Zhou Qianling: My aunt will set off fireworks tomorrow night, would you like to come and watch?

It was around seven in the afternoon, and she was still cleaning.

Wu Meilai stayed in the input box for a moment.

She should keep her distance.

Different sounds were heard in the living rooms on both sides. My uncle's family was watching a blind date variety show and laughing heartily, while her family was playing a war movie, and the roars of "Kill!" made her blood boil.

I turned over and the creaking of the bed was still obvious in the darkness.

It’s lively, yet deserted.

Wu Mei replied: OK.

She put down her phone, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

She has to go through hell, otherwise she will be drowned in loneliness.

——

On New Year's Eve, Wu Meilai woke up to the sound of firecrackers. She opened the curtains and saw the air behind the house filled with the color of gunpowder. There was a commotion coming from her uncle's family's house. It must be that some relatives had come to visit.

When Wu Mei got out of bed, she suddenly felt anxious and her legs went weak.

Only then did she remember that she had been busy all day yesterday and had only eaten some banquet food.

I went out shivering to find something to eat and found that Liu Guiyan had already gotten up and was sitting by the fire making dumplings.

"Are you awake? There are still noodles in the pot. Your brother was clamoring for some, so he ate a few bites after it was cooked."

Wu Meilai opened the lid of the pot, and a meaty aroma wafted into the air. There were sauerkraut, green peppers, pork, potato chips, watercress, and kelp. Probably, all the leftovers from yesterday were poured in to make臊子, resulting in a thick layer of oil on the surface. Although it looks like pig food, it is the most delicious!

Wu Meilai was so hungry that she couldn't wait to get a bowl. She just picked up a pair of chopsticks and started eating from the pot.

The noodles are soft and tasty, almost blending into the soup. The red beans in the sauerkraut soup are soft and sandy, blending all the flavors together, making it sticky and rich.

However, Wu Mei had no time to taste these. Her hands were shaking while holding the chopsticks, and she just wanted to fill her stomach quickly.

In a short while, the whole pot of noodles, vegetables and soup were finished. Wu Meilai stuffed the last piece of ginger into her mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

Although my stomach was bloated, I still felt very hungry. Fortunately, I was no longer like a starving ghost with only food in my mind.

Wu Meilai sat next to Liu Guiyan and saw that there was still a lot of dough left. She stood up, washed her hands and started wrapping dumplings with her.

The glutinous rice balls on the fire were bubbling. Liu Guiyan put a few sesame glutinous rice balls in, glanced at her, and said, "If you're not full, have a few more dumplings."

Wu Meilai didn't say anything and just focused on the work in her hands.

Liu Guiyan smiled and said, "Since you like cats so much, let's catch one from Fourth Grandma's house someday. Her black cats just gave birth to a litter a while ago."

A snort of laughter snorted from his nose, "Catch him and let Wu Han kill him?"

Liu Guiyan frowned, "Alright, my dear, you know there's something wrong with your brother's brain."

"You need to be taught a lesson because you have a problem with your brain! If you kill a cat today, you'll kill people tomorrow!"

"What nonsense! He dares!" Liu Guiyan assured: "Han'er knows."

I know nothing.

Wu Meilai didn't want to argue with her, so she threw the round lump in her hand into the pot, stood up and said, "I'm going to ask for pig grass."

After she put on the basket, she heard Liu Guiyan ask, "Why did you become so violent after going to the city?"

Wu Meilai was stunned for a moment, then picked up the sickle and went out.

She hadn't changed, she had simply expressed what she wanted to say and do. If this was called "fierce," then what were Wu Baizi and Wu Han?

——

At 8pm, the Spring Festival Gala began. Wu Mei washed her hair and put on a white down jacket. As she was drying her hair over the fire, her aunt pushed the door open and asked, "Where's your mom? Are both of you going?"

"She's going to the bathroom." Wu Meilai didn't ask where they were going, but she heard Wu Baizi puffing on his pipe and saying contemptuously, "What's so good about a cannon? The one from the Zhou family is just pretending."

"Are you going to Lin Yue's house?"

"Yes, I heard from the people in Laowa Village that they are going to set off thousands of fireworks today."

That's really a coincidence.

Seeing that the two ignored him, Wu Baizi spat at his feet again.

Soon, a few more women came to urge Liu Guiyan.

"I'm coming." Liu Guiyan walked out of the toilet and washed her hands.

Wu Mei didn't come with them. She waited until they walked a distance before applying lip balm and going out.

When they arrived, there was a crowd of people gathered on the dirt road below Lin Yue's house. Wu Mei squeezed in and saw Lin Yue and Zhou Qianling setting up fireworks boxes.

There were many people crowded and noisy, but Zhou Qianling saw her at a glance.

Wu Meilai was a little worried that she would come towards her, so she retreated into the crowd.

Zhou Qianling took a quick look and coaxed the group of children away. After clearing out the crowd, he lit the fire one by one and ran towards Lin Yue's house.

The fuse burned slowly, and everyone talked and waited.

In the darkness, a slightly cold hand suddenly intertwined with Wu Meilai's fingers.

Wu Meilai didn't shake him off, and didn't even move her eyes away from the box of fireworks.

"Fireworks are not allowed near my home, so my mother let me set off as many as I want this time," Zhou Qianling said with a hint of mischief.

"Um."

The fireworks were lit and launched into the air one after another. Wu Meilai looked up, her heart vibrating as the fireworks burst.

She felt a force in her hand and Wu Meilai was obediently pulled out of the crowd.