After finishing their meal, Xie Yan didn't want to wash the dishes in the dim light of the kerosene lamp, so she decided to wash them the next morning. The two of them simply rinsed the dishes with water and set them aside.
As Xie Yan tidied up, she couldn't help but miss the electric lights. She thought to herself, "I wonder when we'll get electricity here. If we had electric lights, life would be so much more convenient."
When I lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed), it was already past ten o'clock.
Having slept well during the day, the two were not sleepy at all.
Xie Yan turned his head, looked at Yu Yuehui's wide-open eyes, and asked softly, "Can't you sleep?"
Yu Yuehui nodded gently, saying with a hint of helplessness, "I slept too much during the day."
Xie Yan leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against Yue Hui's cheek. A gentle smile curved his lips as he asked, "Do you want to fall asleep quickly?"
Yu Yuehui nodded again, a hint of expectation in her eyes.
As she nodded, Xie Yan slowly lowered his head and gently kissed her pink lips.
His fingers gently ran through her disheveled hair, as if caressing a precious work of art, slowly deepening the kiss.
Yu Yuehui's breathing gradually became erratic, and her heartbeat accelerated involuntarily, as if the whole world had been reduced to just their breaths.
After the kiss ended, Yu Yuehui was slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed. She gently pressed Xie Yan's hand down, her voice trembling with worry, "Isn't this too frequent? Isn't it bad for the baby?"
Xie Yan tried hard to suppress the impulse in his body, his eyes full of affection and tenderness, and said softly, "It's okay, I'll be gentle."
Yu Yuehui felt her heart tremble as Xie Yan's hot breath burned her. Hearing him say that, her worries lessened slightly, and she slowly let go of Xie Yan's hand.
Soon, embarrassing sounds came from inside the room, intertwined with each other's heartbeats and breaths.
Feeling the even breathing of the person next to him, Xie Yan sighed almost imperceptibly, thinking to himself, "It's good that he's asleep."
Even he, who doesn't usually tend to the crops, felt a heavy weight in his heart after witnessing the fire, and was extremely distressed. Not to mention Yu Yuehui, who spends every day in the fields and has poured countless efforts into the crops.
Her inner turmoil was no less than Yu Shan's, but she was pregnant and knew she couldn't let her emotions get too agitated, so she could only forcefully suppress them.
But Xie Yan knew that things would go wrong if this continued, so the only solution he could think of was to use this intimate approach to exhaust her energy and leave her with no extra strength to think about those troublesome things.
The next day, after a day of rest, although the people had not fully recovered from the shadow of the disaster, the burdens of life did not allow them to dwell in grief for too long.
In the adult world, there isn't much time for sadness.
Early in the morning, the light from outside the window shone through the cracks in the window onto the kang (a heated brick bed). Xie Yan got up early, sharpened his knife, and took his sickle. The remaining wheat in the field still needed to be harvested; if it wasn't harvested soon, it would be too ripe and out of season.
When he arrived at the field, he saw many villagers already working there.
They all kept their heads down, silently cutting the wheat again and again. The only sound in the field was the "swish, swish" of the sickles cutting the wheat, as if everyone was pouring all their emotions and strength into this simple and repetitive action.
Without any official organization, the villagers seemed to have reached a silent understanding.
Everyone naturally and silently worked with their usual wheat-harvesting partners.
Xie Yan walked silently to his partner Gu Bin with a solemn expression and heavy steps.
Gu Bin heard someone approaching and looked up to see Xie Yan. He nodded slightly, trying to force a smile as he always did. However, the smile vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving only bitterness and helplessness on his face.
The once lively conversations on the entire hilltop have completely disappeared, replaced by a deathly silence.
Only the rustling sound of the wheat swaying gently in the breeze, and the crisp yet slightly heavy slicing sound of the sickle cutting the wheat, intertwined together, as if playing a mournful melody.
When Xie Yan returned home at noon, he inadvertently glanced at the people sitting on the ground, lost in thought.
Their eyes were vacant, as if their souls had been ripped away by the sudden disaster; they simply sat there mechanically, motionless.
Xie Yan felt a sharp pain in her heart and turned her face away in distress, unable to bear to look any longer.
On the way to the field today, Xie Yan heard many heartbreaking stories.
Many families have stopped eating dinner because of the fire, and are now eating only one meal a day. Although Yu Yuehua had previously said that the commune would distribute some food, it would only be enough to ensure everyone's basic survival and prevent them from starving to death.
A heavy, oppressive atmosphere, like a gloomy haze, hung over Xiliu Village for a long time.
The children who used to play and laugh in the village, full of energy, are now nowhere to be seen.
Just as Xie Yan was wondering what was going on, he turned around and saw a group of people digging for wild vegetables on the mountain.
Most of the people there are elderly people and children who can't do heavy work.
At this time, wild vegetables may not be delicious, and some may even be bitter and hard to swallow, but when faced with hunger, who cares whether they taste good or not?
As long as it can fill your stomach, it is food that can save your life.
Xie Yan had just returned home when he saw Yu Yue carrying a basket on her back, also preparing to walk up the mountain.
His heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward, grabbed Yu Yuehui, and said firmly, "Don't go!"
Yu Yuehui looked anxious, her eyes filled with worry, and hurriedly said, "We won't be able to get that much grain this year! How will we survive this period if we don't dig for wild vegetables?"
Xie Yan gently pulled Yu Yuehui under the eaves, where dappled shadows of trees fell on them.
He looked into Yu Yuehui's eyes, his gaze firm, his tone calm, "I know, wife, don't be anxious, listen to me, okay?"
Although Yu Yuehui was full of doubts and did not understand why Xie Yan was stopping her, she still stood there obediently and watched him quietly.
Xie Yan gently took the basket off her back and said tenderly, "Let's go inside, and I'll tell you slowly, okay?"
Although Yu Yuehui was somewhat unwilling, she still put down the basket with Xie Yan's help and was pulled into the house by him.
Upon entering the room, Xie Yan hurriedly poured a glass of water and handed it to Yu Yuehui.
Under Yu Yuehui's anxious yet expectant gaze, he slowly spoke, his voice low and steady, "Wife, we have money. Although it's not a lot, it's enough to buy a lot of food, more than enough to get through this year."
Upon hearing this, Yu Yuehui frowned instantly, her tone full of disapproval, "You want to buy grain and distribute it to the villagers?"
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