Xu Yan felt unworthy of the invitation, so he invited Li Xian to come to Duan San's house for snake soup. Li Xian initially shook his head and refused, but then tied up some firewood and headed down the mountain.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Xu Nuo quickly called out to him, "Wait."
Li Xian stopped and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.
Xu Nuo ran to his side and whispered, "Li Xian, the snake meat is yours. If you don't go, my sister definitely won't want it."
Seeing that he was still hesitating, she quietly tugged at his sleeve: "Come on, come on, and I have something to discuss with you."
She secretly made a two-pointer with her fingers.
Li Xian was even more confused: "Two what?"
"Two ginseng roots." She withdrew her two little fingers and raised her eyebrows at him. "Anyway, you have to go. I have something to tell you."
Li Xian could only nod, and after thinking for a moment, said, "I have to go deliver the firewood first."
In the afternoon, everyone had a good harvest. The baskets they carried were full. Li Xian carried the heaviest basket, and Xu Yan and Luo Chen transported the rest to the oxcart at the foot of the mountain in several trips.
Xu Nuo wanted to help, but she was too weak to lift it. The others were considerate of her foot injury, so they let her carry her small bamboo basket down the mountain with Li Xianxian and wait by the oxcart.
She was panting heavily as she carried the small bamboo basket, her face flushed red. In contrast, Li Xian, carrying a large basket of fruit and two large bundles of firewood, walked steadily without changing his expression.
"Give me the basket." He suddenly stopped, carrying the firewood on one side and stretching out one hand to free up his other hand.
Xu Nuo shook his head when he saw how many things he was carrying. His voice was low: "I used to carry my father up the mountain to chop firewood, which was much heavier than this. Give it to me."
He reached out and took her bamboo basket. Since it contained strawberries and mulberries that don't keep well, he didn't put them in the basket but carried it in his hand.
Xu Nuo walked with her hands empty, very easily, like a little white rabbit, hopping and skipping around in front of Li Xian.
One moment they're picking flowers, the next they're collecting stones.
Li Xian walked behind her, reminding her from time to time, "Slow down."
Xu Nuo picked up a few stones of various shapes and played with them in her hands. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, she tilted her head and asked him, "Why did you carry your father up the mountain?"
“My father was seriously ill, and the commune wouldn’t give him any food. He needed someone to take care of him, and I needed to earn work points, so I had no choice but to take him up the mountain.”
When he talked about the past, he was as nonchalant as ever, as if those things were nothing special.
The usually chattering person suddenly fell silent. Li Xian turned his head to look, and his heart skipped a beat.
Xu Nuo's eyes were red, and when she saw him looking over, she felt embarrassed as if she had been exposed. She glared at him and said, "Don't look. Turn your head away."
He didn't turn his head as instructed, his gaze remaining fixed on her face. He rubbed his index finger and thumb together fiercely, sighed, and then gently stroked her hair. As if afraid of frightening her, he said softly, "Don't cry, it's all over now."
Xu Nuo gave a muffled "hmm".
…
They picked a lot of fruit on the mountain today, and it took Luo Chen and Xu Yan three trips to carry everything away.
Xu Nuo waited idly at the foot of the mountain. Looking at the pile of firewood that Li Xian had built, she excitedly reached out to him: "Li Xian, I want to sit on this. Hurry up and put me on it."
Li Xian's eyes darkened. He put down his cleaver, walked over, placed his hands under her armpits, and easily put her down on them.
Xu Nuo sat high up and looked far ahead, excitedly craning her neck to look around. She wasn't afraid of falling, and Li Xian stood right beside her without leaving her side.
Xu Nuo saw Luo Chen and Xu Yan and patted Li Xian on the shoulder, saying, "My sister is here. Go deliver the firewood, and come to Duan San's house after you're done."
Li Xian placed his hands under her armpits, helped her down, glanced at her, and nodded: "Okay."
The fingertips that touched skin felt as hot as if they were being burned.
…
Li Xian stood there, watching the oxcart disappear into the distance. He walked silently toward the canteen, then quickly ran home to get something before heading to the Duan family's house.
Duan San was surprised to see the newcomer and pulled Li Xian into the room, saying, "Brother Li, what brings you here?"
Li Xian handed a package to Duan San: "Give this to Xu Yan, and tell her to stew it with the snake meat."
Duan San took it, looked at the two small pieces of dried medicinal herbs inside, and asked curiously, "What are these?"
It's Cistanche deserticola, which is beneficial for bone healing.
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