When An'an woke up the next day, she found her mother was still there. She smiled and rolled into her mother's arms to hug her. Song Qing had a nice smell, not the smell of laundry soap, but the unique smell of her mother. She just lay on her mother's neck and inhaled it again and again.

Before Song Qing woke up, she felt a little person jump into her arms. She smiled and hugged the person tightly, and the two slept for a while longer.

She folded her clothes and put them on the table before going to bed last night. Luckily, Yang Qing really came to find her the next morning, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to get out of bed. It was too cold outside, and Lu Yang had been tormenting her for quite a while last night.

I feel exhausted and just want to lie on the warm kang (heated brick bed), with a warm little person in my arms.

Lu Yang had already gotten up and prepared breakfast. There was a thin layer of snow in the yard, so he swept the yard clean and fed the chickens and goslings.

When he returned to the room, he saw his wife and daughter still hiding under the covers. He smiled and simply brought the food in and put it on the table.

After finishing all his tasks in the house, he went to his sister's room and knocked on the door. Lu Ronghui had already gotten up and was sitting in bed, unwilling to move.

Should I bring your food in?

After arranging breakfast for both sides, he went back to his room to get dressed, and Song Qing sat up to look at him.

Where to?

Both of them were stunned for a moment as soon as she said it. Her voice was a little hoarse, probably because she had caught a cold yesterday.

Lu Yang got dressed and went outside to pour her a cup of hot water. An'an was still lying in bed, unwilling to move, so Song Qing took the water and drank it.

The man still frowned. "How about I make you a bowl of ginger soup?"

After drinking the water, Song Qing felt much better. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "No need. If it's not ready by now, I'll cook it myself. Where are you going?"

"I went into the mountains with Jianqiu."

"Into the mountains?"

Normally, Song Qing wouldn't have been suspicious, but it had just snowed outside, and he was going in with Jian Qiu, not Jian Dong. Jian Dong would only take him to catch some rabbits and pheasants.

"What are you doing in the mountains? The animals in the mountains are fierce in winter, and you don't have guns. It's too dangerous."

In winter, people always go up the mountain in groups, and they need an experienced hunter to lead the way. The experienced hunter carries a hunting rifle so that they won't be in danger if they encounter fierce animals.

"It's not a hunting trip, don't worry, there's no danger. I'll be careful."

After breakfast, take a nap. I'll just make a simple lunch, and I'll cook dinner when I get back.

After giving her some more instructions, she got dressed and was about to leave when she turned back and kissed Song Qing on the forehead.

Song Qing glared at him and slapped his hand away. "Be careful."

Lu Yang wanted to kiss her again, but when he turned his head, he found his daughter's little eyes were secretly watching them. When she noticed her father looking over, she turned her head and buried her head in the quilt, pretending that she was still asleep.

Lu Yang: "..."

He smiled before turning around and leaving, making sure to close all the gates in the yard.

After a while, Song Qing patted her daughter's bottom and said, "You're awake now, so don't sleep anymore. Get up and eat breakfast, or it will get cold."

An'an then got up, and Song Qing helped her get dressed. The two ate breakfast and took everything out.

Lu Ronghui also got dressed and came out. An'an quickly grabbed her aunt's hand, wanting to take her to the yard to see the snow. But when she opened the door, the yard was very clean.

"...Where's the snow?"

Could she have misremembered? It didn't snow yesterday, but Dad said there would be snow in the yard today.

Lu Ronghui opened the gate of the courtyard and led her out. They walked from the alley next to the house toward the back mountain, and only then did they see that the ground on the back mountain was covered with a thin layer of snow, and the withered yellow soil that had been there before was no longer visible.

"Wow"

Her eyes lit up immediately, but unfortunately there wasn't enough snow to have a snowball fight.

A few snowflakes clung to the trees on the mountain, and the area under the trees was a vast expanse of white. An'an knew that her father was going to the mountains today, so she craned her neck to look up at the mountain.

Song Qing closed the door to her house. "Let's go to the village."

After it snowed, they didn't ride bicycles. The three of them slowly walked to Yanghe Village, where Aunt Tian was warming herself by the fire. She pulled them in.

"Come in quickly, the snow is half a month late this year, but it's estimated that it will snow heavily in a few days."

They stayed at Aunt Tian's place all morning, even having lunch there. Song Qing was going to see Guan Lian in the afternoon, but An An didn't want to leave, so they decided to let the two of them stay. They figured Lu Yang would also come back here first before going home in the evening.

"I need to speak with your Aunt Guan. You stay here with your aunt and don't go outside; it's too cold."

Guan Lian opened the door and welcomed her in. Her home was very clean and tidy. Although there was only one room, it was divided into an outer room and an inner room by a cabinet.

The youngest son was sitting obediently at his desk reading a book. When he saw her come in, he shyly called out "Auntie."

"I'm sorry, Xiao Song, it's so cold, why did you have to come all this way?"

"Sister Guan, there's no need for us to be so polite."

She sat down and helped Guan Lian start, explaining the acupuncture techniques to her.

It turned out that Guan Lian had bought some yarn at the supply and marketing cooperative a few days ago, but she didn't know how to knit. When Song Qing heard that he could teach her, the two made an appointment for this afternoon, but unexpectedly it suddenly snowed today.

There were still some walnuts left from the ones we picked on the mountain last time, so Guan Lian roasted them in the fire and cracked them open for her.

Song Qing took one and handed the rest to Junsheng, who was standing to the side.

Junsheng smiled sheepishly, reached out and picked one up, slowly eating it. Despite being a boy, his movements were remarkably delicate.

After Song Qing taught her for a while, Guan Lian slowly started knitting on her own. She glanced at it and frowned slightly; it seemed like Sister Guan had something on her mind.

She didn't know whether she should ask or not, and hesitated for a while before Guan Lian noticed the struggle on her face and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Song, I..."

"It's alright, Sister Guan."

She didn't want to pry into other people's privacy and wanted to change the subject, but Guan Lian sighed deeply and simply started talking to her.

"As you know, I have an older son left in my hometown. I promised him before that I would bring him over as soon as I settled things here, and I wouldn't let him stay in that house alone."

I called him last time, and he promised to come, but I don't know why I haven't heard back yet.

"Didn't you call back again?"

“My former in-laws refused to answer my calls and wouldn’t let me contact my eldest son. I sent a letter to my parents, but they haven’t replied yet.”

Guan Lian's brows were furrowed. The teachers at the city's No. 1 High School had agreed to let him transfer to their class as long as his ranking was high enough after the exam. Everything had been arranged, but he still hadn't arrived.

Junsheng clenched his fists.

As Guan Lian spoke, her eyes reddened. If her son stayed over there, nothing serious would happen to him, but she still felt very uneasy.