"Huh?" Xu Nuo looked up at him blankly.
Li Xian's handsome eyes had some dark circles under them, as if he hadn't slept all night.
Last night he went up the mountain to cut down some new wood and made two windows, which he planned to repair at the brigade leader's house this morning.
But what Xu Nuo was thinking was that the bedding and bed in Xia Jie'er's room had all been slept in by Shen Cuiping and the others.
With such a tight schedule, if she stayed at the brigade leader's house, she would definitely have to sleep in someone else's bed.
She didn't want to.
Dozing off on Li Xian's shoulder, Xu Nuo blurted out, "I want to sleep at your place."
Li Xian paused for a moment, looked down at her, and was torn between his inner thoughts and his own.
On one hand, they felt it was wrong, that it would ruin her reputation. On the other hand, they felt it was okay, since no one else would know.
He hesitated and said, "Wait until they're asleep before you run out?"
This is a good idea. Xu Nuo thought it was feasible, mumbled an "Mmm" in her sleep, and fell asleep on her shoulder.
…
The room, with its lights on, was bright and clean, and the hay hanging on the walls emitted a distinctive fragrance.
Xu Nuo was fast asleep, her little face flushed.
Li Xian pushed open the door and came in, still smelling of cooking. He walked to the bedside and patiently called Xu Nuo to get up.
"Nuonuo, get up and have breakfast."
The person on the bed rolled over, hugged the blanket, and rolled to the other side, like a lazy cat sunbathing on a haystack. He closed his eyes and hummed, as if telling him not to disturb him, and seemed determined to sleep forever.
Li Xian found it somewhat amusing, knowing that waking her up was a serious challenge, so he bent down.
The little lazy cat was lifted up by a pair of big hands and taken off its beloved bed, whimpering uncomfortably.
Li Xian pulled her into his arms, gently patted her back, and rocked her a couple of times, asking softly, "Are you awake?"
Xu Nuo opened her eyes groggily, her voice still a little childish, and asked him, "What time is it?"
Li Xian carried her out to the kitchen and said, "It's time to eat, or we'll be late."
call.
Xu Nuo forced herself to wake up, otherwise she would be late for teaching Tie Dan and the others. She hummed softly, "I must sleep in tomorrow."
Li Xian placed her on a chair: "Okay, sleep tomorrow."
The kitchen was already filled with the aroma of porridge, made with bone broth from yesterday, plus lean meat, diced radish, and baby vegetable sprouts.
It has a bright color and a pleasant aroma.
Xu Nuo opened her mouth, grabbed a shiitake mushroom from the top, and chewed it.
Li Xian came in from outside, holding a brand new towel that had been wrung out, for Xu Nuo to wash her face.
"Hehe." Xu Nuo grinned at Li Xian, revealing her white teeth, and tilted her head back, squinting her eyes as she waited to be served.
His usually cold and stern eyes were now filled with a doting smile. Li Xian pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, carefully wiping her face with a handkerchief.
The coolness dispelled her sleepiness, and Xu Nuo felt more awake.
He patted her head gently and coaxed her softly, "Eat up."
"Mmm." Xu Nuo picked up the spoon.
Li Xian had already cooled the porridge; it was still slightly warm and melted in the mouth.
The rice is cooked until soft and sticky, mixed with shredded pork bones and lean meat, without any seasoning, only the aroma of the food itself.
"Mmm, it's so delicious." Xu Nuo puffed out her cheeks and smiled at him with a satisfied look on her face.
Li Xian's heart softened, and the corners of his mouth turned up in sync with hers. He fed her the peeled egg, and Xu Nuo reached out and took it, gesturing to him with her lips: "I can do it myself, you go and get a bowl too."
"Okay." Li Xian stood up, ladled out half a bowl, sat down next to Xu Nuo, and swallowed it in a few mouthfuls.
He had a large appetite. After finishing his porridge, he picked up two wild vegetable buns from the commune canteen, took a big bite, and chewed them with his cheeks bulging.
Xu Nuo tried the wild vegetable bun once; it wasn't good, it was hard to swallow, and it had a strange vegetable taste.
"What's wrong?" Li Xian was a little stunned when he saw Xu Nuo staring at him. He reached up and touched his face. "Was I... too rude?"
When Li Xian once delivered firewood to the commune canteen, he saw an aunt in the village complaining about her husband, saying that he ate rudely and was unhygienic.
He coughed softly, swallowed the hard bread in his mouth, and unconsciously sat up straight.
Xu Nuo chuckled and reached out to poke the dimple on his cheek: "No, it's very cute."
That's utter nonsense. How could a grown man be anything but cute?
Li Xian felt a tickle from her soft fingertips. He reached out, took her fingertips, and gently pinched them, reminding her, "Nuonuo, you're going to be late."
Xu Nuo's smile vanished instantly, and she lowered her head to quickly shovel rice into her mouth.
After the meal, Li Xian took her to her classroom at the foot of the mountain.
Afraid of running into people coming to class, Xu Nuo and Li Xian walked one after the other, keeping a distance between them. When they arrived at their destination, Xu Nuo looked around to make sure no one was there, then made a heart shape with her hands towards Li Xian behind her, smiling as sweetly as a honey.
Li Xian was taken aback, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.
My chest is burning hot.
…
Only five children came in the morning; Chang Tiedan was sick and didn't come.
Chang Tiedan was usually the little tyrant in the class. He had a mouth that was as sharp as a bird's, and he would chatter on and on, making Xu Nuo laugh until she cried.
Chang Xiaohong said loudly, "Uncle Tiedan caught a cold while playing in the water yesterday, and his dad won't let him come."
"Okay, let's start class. Take out your notebooks, I'll check the homework first."
Chang Xiaohong was very confident in her homework and was the first to take it out. Xu Nuo took it and looked at it. She lowered her head slightly, her hair falling down, revealing her beautifully curved neck.
Li Xian was carrying firewood down the mountain when he saw this scene.
Xu Nuo kept her head down, looking at her homework, and didn't look outside.
Li Xian was so focused on watching that he didn't even notice when Chang Xiaohong turned her head away.
Chang Xiaohong was looking around when she suddenly saw the person standing at the door. She shrank back in fright, remembering what her mother, Shen Cuiping, had said: "When you see that bastard, run away, you hear me? He's not human, he's a wild beast. He goes up the mountain to eat people every day."
Shen Cuiping is a person full of flaws and is used to talking nonsense. Chang Xiaohong was too young to believe it and has always been afraid of Li Xian. However, since Li Xian did not appear in public before, she had hardly ever seen him.
This time, not only did they see the person, but Li Xian also stopped outside, his eyes seemingly fixed on this side.
Chang Xiaohong was a little scared.
"Teacher Xu... Teacher Xu." Children's eyes easily well up with tears when they're scared. Xu Nuo looked down at her, startled, and squatted down: "What's wrong?"
She followed Chang Xiaohong's gaze and saw Li Xian standing there.
Today, Li Xian was going to work, so he wore an old coarse cloth outfit that revealed his strong arms.
Xu Nuo winked at him playfully.
Li Xian then snapped out of his daze, glanced at her, shouldered the firewood, and turned to go down the mountain.
“My mom said he’s not human,” Chang Xiaohong blurted out unexpectedly. Xu Nuo was taken aback: “What?”
Liu Jun tilted his head and said innocently, "Yes, he's a bad guy, a bastard, but why does he look different from a dog?"
Isn't that an insult?
Xu Nuo puffed out her cheeks in anger, then thought for a moment. These children didn't understand anything; it was all due to their parents' subtle influence. She sighed and said softly, "What nonsense are you talking about? He's just like us; he's a human being."
Chang Xiaohong glanced at Xu Nuo and said weakly, "But my mom said he's a wild beast that comes up the mountain to eat people every day."
Xu Nuo put down Chang Xiaohong's homework and asked them, "Did you see the firewood he was carrying?"
The children said in unison, "We saw it."
"He carried so much on his back."
Xu Nuo then asked, "Do you know why he carried that firewood?"
Chang Xiaohong knew this, and she replied, "Go home and cook."
Liu Jun said, "It's for boiling water. My dad uses firewood to boil water when he washes his feet."
The little brats were all talking at once, saying all sorts of things.
Xu Nuo raised her eyebrows and said mysteriously, "Neither."
Liu Jun: "Huh?"
Chang Xiaohong: "What's that for?"
Xu Nuo asked, "Where do your parents go to eat after work?"
Liu Jun, afraid that Chang Xiaohong would answer first, quickly said, "The commune canteen."
Xu Nuo: "Does the commune canteen need to burn firewood for cooking?"
Chang Xiaohong nodded, and Liu Jun's dark face wore an exaggerated expression: "We need to burn lots and lots of firewood."
Xu Nuo nodded: "All that firewood was chopped by Li Xian alone, just so that everyone could have food to eat."
Xu Nuo sat on a small stool, holding a broken branch from outside, looking just like a shrewd pyramid scheme leader, patiently persuading: "He's just like everyone else, a human being, not some wild beast or a dog. These insults are wrong. You say he's a bad person, but what bad things has he done?"
"Uh..." The villagers were speechless. They had all heard it from their families, who said that Li Xian was a bad person, a bastard, and that he should get out of Luxian Village.
But as for why they were bad people, they didn't know.
"He didn't do anything wrong. His grandfather made a mistake, but if his grandfather made a mistake, is it his fault?"
Children don't have such a strong sense of right and wrong. They all looked confused and didn't say anything. Xu Nuo asked Liu Jun, "Liu Jun, your brother made a mistake, but everyone is scolding you. Do you think that's right?"
This time, Liu Jun reacted quickly and distanced himself from the situation: "No, they shouldn't have insulted me."
"Hmm." Xu Nuo nodded, then suddenly heard Liu Jun scratch his head and say strangely, "But I don't have a brother."
“…”
"I was just using an analogy. You see, he didn't do anything wrong, but you're all criticizing him. Isn't that wrong?"
Chang Xiaohong nodded: "Yes, we shouldn't have scolded him."
"Yes, I told you before that you should be polite and respect others, so that you can earn their respect in return."
“Yes.” The little bean sprout with the missing tooth remembered it most clearly: “You have to respect others, and then others will respect you. If you bully others, one day others will bully you, because there are always people better than you, and there is always a higher mountain to climb.”
The little bean sprout remembered so much, and proudly straightened its back.
Xu Nuo patted his head: "By the way, he's a very good person. You should respect him and not talk badly about him behind his back, understand?"
"knew."
The clear voices of children came from the open doorway, followed by Liu Jun's voice reading a story.
"Moonlight shines before my bed, uh..."
Chang Xiaohong reminded her: "It's suspected."
Liu Jun: "I suspect it's because I'm thinking of my hometown."
Alright, I've written a new poem.
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