Chapter 639: Innocent People
Zhang Lu rested on the kang for a short while. The food in her stomach was almost digested, and the desire to play came back.
She pricked up her ears to listen to the noises coming from the outer room. The adults were chatting animatedly around the kang table, all about spring plowing, betrothal gifts, and daily life. She couldn't hear a word they said and felt her eyelids were about to droop.
"It's boring." She muttered softly, slipped down from the kang, stepped on the cold ground with her bare feet, then quickly retracted her feet and put on her cotton shoes.
His eyes swept around the room and finally fell on Zhou Yimin, who was helping his grandfather fill his pipe. He ran up to him as if he had found a savior.
"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law." Zhang Lu pulled the corner of Zhou Yimin's clothes and shook it hard, her little face tilted up and her eyes sparkling.
"I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't understand anything they say. Can you take me out to play? Like this morning, we can go ice skating by the river, or go see the apricot forest."
Zhou Yimin was listening to his grandfather and Uncle Zhang talking about village affairs, but she was so distracting him that he couldn't concentrate. He looked down at the little girl's expectant eyes, and he also had the idea of going out for a walk.
There was a kang burning in the room, so it was warm, but it was stuffy for a long time and I really wanted to get some fresh air.
He patted Zhang Lu's head and asked with a smile, "Didn't you skate enough this morning? Do you want to go again?"
"Not enough, not enough." Zhang Lu quickly shook her head, her pigtails swinging like a rattle.
"I was thinking about it while eating just now. I want to try it again. Maybe this time I can skate as fast as those older kids. Brother-in-law, can you take me with you?"
She tugged at the corner of Zhou Yimin's clothes, swayed her body from side to side, and started to act coquettishly.
Zhou Yimin couldn't help laughing when he saw her like that. He turned to his grandfather and Uncle Zhang and said, "Grandpa, Uncle Zhang, I'll take Lulu out for a walk and get some fresh air. I'll be back soon."
The old man waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, watch the child and don't let her run around."
Zhang Jianshe also smiled and said, "I feel safe letting her follow you. Just don't play too wildly or you might catch a cold."
"knew."
Zhou Yimin responded and stood up. Zhang Lu immediately cheered, grabbed his hand and ran out, shouting, "Sister, my brother-in-law and I are going out to play!"
Zhang Yan was helping her grandmother pick vegetables. When she heard the shout, she looked up and said with a smile, "Come back early and don't play too late."
"I know!" Zhang Lu responded without looking back, and rushed out of the yard holding Zhou Yimin's hand.
The sun was shining brightly, shining on the two of them. Zhou Yimin's shadow was long, and Zhang Lu's shadow was small. They were close to each other and ran all the way out of the village, leaving behind a string of cheerful laughter, which was particularly loud in the quiet afternoon.
Zhou Yimin was dragged by Zhang Lu to the riverside. Just as he turned around the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, he saw a group of children gathered in the threshing ground.
There was a broom stuck in the snow as an arm, a red carrot nose, and a tattered straw hat on his head.
Several half-grown children were busy working around a snowman that was almost finished, and their laughter was crisper than the icicles on the eaves.
"Wow! Snowman!" Zhang Lu's footsteps suddenly stopped, her eyes widened, and she grabbed Zhou Yimin's hand and ran towards the yard, her cotton shoes squeaking on the snow.
"Brother-in-law, look, the snowman they built is so big!"
Zhou Yimin stumbled as she pulled him. He looked down and saw the little girl's eyes sparkling, like a pair of falling snowflakes. He smiled and let go of her hand: "Want to join in the fun?"
"I do!" Zhang Lu nodded vigorously, pointing at the tattered straw hat on the snowman's head.
"I want to put my red scarf on the snowman!"
The children in the yard heard the noise and turned around. Seeing that it was Zhou Yimin, they stopped what they were doing and called out crisply, "Sixteenth Uncle!"
The village pays great attention to seniority, so the father of these children has to call Zhou Yimin "uncle", and they naturally have to call him "great uncle".
Although they are young, they know that the current living standard in the village is all thanks to Zhou Yimin's help.
Therefore, the adults in the village would teach their children not to offend Zhou Yimin, otherwise a beating would be the least of their punishment.
Zhou Yimin smiled and nodded, then took out a wrinkled candy wrapper from the inner pocket of his cotton-padded jacket. Inside was some fruit candies left over from the Chinese New Year.
"Here, one for each of you." He stuffed candies into the children's hands one by one, and the orange candies shone brightly in the snow.
"You made a nice snowman, but it lacks some spirit."
"Sixteenth Uncle, can you come and help us make one?" The little girl with pigtails held up the candy wrapper, her eyes sparkling.
Zhang Lu immediately grabbed Zhou Yimin's arm and shook him: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, can we make one too? It's better looking than theirs!"
Zhou Yimin scratched the tip of her nose which was red from the cold and said, "Since our Lulu wants to see it, let's make one." He rolled up the sleeves of his cotton-padded jacket and blew a breath of warm air into his palms.
"Go, sweep the snow over there. Let's make a pile taller than a man."
"Okay!" Zhang Lu jumped up happily, grabbed the small broom next to her and ran towards the snow pile. The broom was too small, and the snow foam she swept up was not even as high as her cotton shoes, but she was sweating profusely while running.
Zhou Yimin carried a long wooden board from the woodshed and quickly pushed the snow in the corner of the yard into a small hill. The children cheered around the snow pile, and Zhang Lu even stood on tiptoe to throw snowballs onto the snow hill, shouting, "Higher, higher."
"Uncle Sixteen, use this as your nose!" A child ran over holding a red pepper, which was brighter than a carrot.
Zhou Yimin took it and stuck it into the snow pile. He then took off Zhang Lu's red scarf and tied it around the snowman's neck. He replaced the straw hat with his own old military cap, and immediately looked much more energetic.
Zhang Lu stared at the snowman for a long time, then suddenly ran away. When she came back, she was clutching two black coal balls in her hand. "Give the snowman eyes!"
She stood on tiptoe for a long time but couldn't reach it. Zhou Yimin smiled and lifted her up. The little girl carefully pressed the coal ball on the snowman's face. The snowman suddenly came alive, like a grinning red-faced general.
"It's better looking than theirs!" Zhang Lu announced with her hands on her hips. The children all came over to look, chattering and praising the majestic snowman.
When Zhou Yimin put her down, he noticed that the little girl's eyelashes were covered with snow foam, and the tip of her nose was as red as a newly planted chili pepper. He couldn't help laughing: "You look like a little snowman now."
Zhang Lu touched her face, and suddenly grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at Zhou Yimin. The snow flakes fell into his collar, making him shrink his neck because of the cold.
Seeing this, the children also joined in the fun, and snowballs flew everywhere. Zhou Yimin pretended to chase Zhang Lu, scaring her so much that she screamed and hid behind the snowman. His laughter was so loud that two pieces of icicles fell off the eaves.
At this moment, someone shouted "Watch out!" and a snowball flew over and hit the little girl with pigtails squarely on the back, splashing snow all over her cotton jacket.
The little girl was stunned for a moment, then she grabbed a handful of snow, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it in the direction of the snowball, shouting, "Goudan, you dare to hit me!"
The boy named Goudan dodged with a smile, and the snowball hit the snowman, scattering with a "puff" sound, and snow foam splashed all over the snowman's face.
Seeing this, other children also joined the battle. One by one, they threw snowballs, drawing white arcs in the air. The team that was originally making snowmen instantly turned into a snowball fight battlefield.
"Ouch!" A snowball flew past Zhou Yimin's arm and hit the pile of firewood behind him.
Immediately afterwards, another snowball flew towards Zhang Lu. Zhou Yimin was quick-witted and pulled Zhang Lu behind him. The snowball hit his back, and the cold snow penetrated his collar.
Zhou Yimin didn't expect that he could be shot while lying down, but he didn't fight back, which was not like his style.
"Brother-in-law, they are hitting you!" Zhang Lu stuck her head out from behind Zhou Yimin, angry and amused. She grabbed a handful of snow and threw it into the crowd. Although she didn't hit anyone, it was like a fuse had been lit.
Zhou Yimin smiled and ruffled Zhang Lu's hair: "If you dare to hit me, I'll show you how I'll deal with them!"
He bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and rolled it into a solid snowball. He threw it at the boy who had just thrown it at him. The snowball hit the boy squarely on the butt, causing everyone to laugh.
This stirred up a hornet's nest, and the children turned their targets to Zhou Yimin and Zhang Lu.
Zhang Lu was so scared that she hid behind Zhou Yimin and only dared to secretly stick her head out to throw snowballs. Zhou Yimin was like a guardian angel, protecting Zhang Lu while fighting back. The snowballs he threw were accurate and fierce. Soon several children were hit and hid behind the snowman with a smile.
"Sixteenth Uncle is cheating!" a child shouted, but couldn't help throwing a snowball.
Zhou Yimin pretended to be angry and ran towards the child, scaring the child so much that he screamed and ran away. The other children followed suit and snowballs flew towards him like raindrops.
Seeing Zhou Yimin being surrounded, Zhang Lu also plucked up the courage to rush out, grabbed the snow on the ground and threw it at the nearest child. Although she was not strong enough, she threw it very accurately, and it hit the child in the face. The snow foamed all over the child's face, making Zhou Yimin laugh.
There was a melee in the snow, with screams, laughter and shouts coming one after another.
Zhou Yimin's military cap was knocked askew and Zhang Lu's red scarf fell to the ground, but the two of them were having a lot of fun.
Zhang Lu was hit on the cheek by a snowball. The cold feeling made her stunned for a moment, but then she reacted, smiled, grabbed more snow and threw it out.
I don’t know how long it took, but everyone was exhausted and panting, sweating profusely, with snow all over their faces and bodies, like snowmen who had just crawled out of a snow pile.
Zhou Yimin pulled Zhang Lu and stood in the snow. Looking at each other's miserable appearance, he couldn't help laughing. The children laughed too. The laughter echoed in the empty threshing ground for a long time.
When the sun reached the top of the head, the two snowmen on the threshing ground were still standing there, but their bodies were covered with snow, as if they had been through a battle.
Zhang Lu leaned against Zhou Yimin with a satisfied smile on her face. Although she was tired from playing, she was extremely happy.
Everyone was having a lot of fun. They didn't expect Zhou Yimin to be so friendly. He didn't say anything when he was hit by them, and he didn't use much force when he fought back and threw snowballs.
Otherwise, with Zhou Yimin's physical fitness, he could sweep away everyone by himself.
After the snowball fights stopped, everyone on the threshing ground looked like they had been fished out of a snow pile.
The children's cotton-padded jackets were half soaked by the snow, ice chips were hanging on their trouser legs, and there were still unmelted snow grains hidden in their hair, which fell down when they moved.
Zhou Yimin's military cap had flown away long ago, and the strands of hair on his forehead stuck to his sweaty forehead. The snow on the back of his neck melted into water and flowed down his collar, leaving a dark mark on his dark cotton jacket.
Needless to say, Zhang Lu had half of her braid loose, her red scarf was tilted on her shoulders, there was a layer of fine frost on her eyelashes, and even some snow foam in her nostrils, making her look like a glutinous rice ball that had just rolled through the snow.
"Come here." Zhou Yimin wiped the sweat from his face and took out a wrinkled candy wrapper bag from the inner pocket of his cotton jacket. There was still half a bag of fruit candy left in it.
He stuffed one into each child's hand, even the girl with pigtails whose head had been hit by the iron pot, and said, "Take it and warm yourself up."
The children's eyes lit up instantly, and the embarrassment of playing snowballs just now seemed to be swept away by the candy.
Someone immediately peeled off the candy wrapper and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling "Thank you, Uncle Sixteen"
Someone put the candy in his pocket and patted it carefully, as if he was hiding a treasure.
Some people hold up the candy wrappers to the sun and watch the transparent cellophane reflect colorful light.
No one expected that they could get another candy after having a great snowball fight. Everyone smiled with their gap teeth showing, and they didn't even bother to wipe the snow foam that fell from the corners of their mouths.
Zhou Yimin saw Zhang Lu squatting in the snow, fiddling with the orange candy with her red, frozen fingers. He walked over and squatted down. "Lulu, do you still want to go ice skating?"
Zhang Lu shook her head, her little head swaying like a rattle. She'd just rolled around in the snow so hard that her calves were still weak, her heart was pounding, and her throat was dry and tight. Even standing up was a struggle, let alone skating.
She peeled back a small corner of the candy wrapper, licked the candy that was revealed, and whispered, "I don't want to go anymore. I'm so tired."
"Then let's go home." Zhou Yimin reached out and pulled her up. The little girl's cotton shoes made a heavy "puff" sound when they stepped on the snow. It was obvious that they were soaked.
He bent down and patted the snow off her trouser legs, then took off his cotton jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Although it was also covered in snow, it was warmer than her wet one.
Zhang Lu, wrapped in a loose cotton jacket, like a little insect in a cocoon, obediently followed Zhou Yimin out of the field.
As he passed the group of children still licking their candies, Zhou Yimin stopped and shouted, "Stop playing around here. Go home and change into dry clothes. Make some ginger soup on the stove, or you'll be coughing tomorrow."
"I know, Uncle Sixteen!" the children responded in unison. Some of them were already running home, with the candy wrappers in their hands fluttering in the wind like little butterflies.
Some people listened to Zhou Yimin's words and began to go home. After all, if the cotton clothes got wet and could not be dried in time, the warmth effect would be greatly reduced.
You know, making a sweater nowadays is not an easy thing. It may take a whole family a long time to make one.
You can imagine how precious cotton clothes are.
Some people were reluctant to leave. They squatted in the snow, counting the buttons they had knocked off during the snowball fight, humming a tuneless song.
(End of this chapter)
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