When the weather gets cold, people are less inclined to get out of bed.
Xie Zhuo lingered with Xu Yan for a while, and only reluctantly got dressed and got off the kang (heated brick bed) after hearing Da Bao and Xiao Bao get up and start chattering.
Xu Yan slept well the night before, but woke up when Xie Zhuo put on his shoes and went outside.
"Third Uncle, it's snowing!" Da Bao called out when he saw Xie Zhuo come out.
Then he ran over and stood in the yard, looking up at the sky. The snow, like grains of sand, was blown up by the wind and landed on his face.
"It really is snowing," Xie Zhuo reached out and felt the cold touch of the snow on his palm. The next second, he withdrew his hand and looked at Da Bao, "Play for a while and then come inside. Don't let the wind hurt your face."
“Okay,” Da Bao nodded, “I’ll play for a little while.”
Xie Zhuo didn't say much to him. He wrapped his scarf tightly around himself, went to the storeroom in the backyard, carried some chopped firewood, and went into the kitchen.
The weather turned cold early this year, so Xie Zhuo went to the city and bought an extra stove for the kitchen. Before going to bed the night before, he sealed the fire in the stove with coal dust. The next morning, he used fire tongs to poke the embers out from the bottom, so the coal briquettes in the stove would reignite without needing to be relit.
A couple of days ago, an aunt came to borrow a stool. When Xu Yan went into the kitchen to get it for her, she followed him. When she saw the stove they had placed in the kitchen, she made a big fuss for a long time.
"It's one thing that you're lighting a stove before the weather has even gotten cold, but why is there a stove in the kitchen?"
Hearing her words, Xu Yan just smiled and said, "It's cold to cook in winter, so I put one in too."
"It's not that I'm being nosy," the aunt said, glancing at Xu Yan before taking a stool to warm herself by the stove.
"Last year, your uncle helped someone build a house and earned some money. He bought a stove. We're lucky to have a stove. Our kang (heated brick bed) is big, so the whole family sleeps on it at night. During the day, we cook directly on the stove to save firewood."
"You two are young, and there's no adult in your family to manage things. You have some money but don't know how to plan it out. You're just looking for immediate happiness. What will you do in the future if you continue like this?"
Xu Yan smiled but didn't say anything.
“You might find me annoying and talkative right now,” the woman continued, “but I’ve been through this before, and I’m just giving you a heads-up…”
"What reminder are you giving?"
Before the aunt could finish speaking, Xie Zhuo heard the noise, lifted the newly hung curtain in the kitchen, and came in.
He glanced at Xu Yan first, and then turned his gaze to the aunt.
The auntie suddenly fell silent. She didn't know why, but she could say some things to Xu Yan without feeling uncomfortable. However, when she talked to Xie Zhuo, she always felt that he had broad shoulders, long legs, and an imposing height. When he wasn't smiling, his face had an indescribable sense of oppression.
"My aunt taught me how to manage a household," Xu Yan glanced at the aunt, smiled, and then looked at Xie Zhuo, "Why are you back so early?"
"I didn't go to the state-run restaurant today," Xie Zhuo said without much concern. He took the basket off his back and placed it on the table not far from the stove.
“I feel like my two kids have grown taller recently, and I’m worried they’re not getting enough nutrition, so I bought some meat and cooked it myself.”
"We just ran out of peach shortbread at home, so I bought some for them."
As he spoke, he took out the peach shortbread carefully wrapped in oil paper from his basket, quickly opened the bag, and handed a few pieces to the auntie. "Here, auntie, have some peach shortbread."
The aunt who planned to teach Xu Yan how to cook on the stove to save firewood: "..."
What a waste of money!
How can I teach like this?
That's enough!
That's why they say you can't sleep in the same bed twice... no, that's why they say people who aren't family don't enter the same door!
After the auntie left with the peach shortbread, Xie Zhuo put the rest of the shortbread back on the table. Then, he took out a small piece of soft, sweet pastry from his basket and offered it to Xu Yan's mouth, saying, "Try it, I bought it especially for you."
Xu Yan originally wanted to tell Xie Zhuo that they should keep a low profile in front of outsiders, but smelling the unique aroma of the pastries and looking at Xie Zhuo's smiling eyes, he really couldn't say anything to spoil the mood.
never mind.
Let them be high-profile if they want.
Since they met, the two of them have never seemed to have been truly low-key.
Isn't the point of working hard to earn money to enjoy life?
Xie Zhuo first tidied up the stove, then scooped a pot of water and placed it on the stove plate before starting to heat up breakfast.
When Xu Yan came in after washing up, he had just put the steamed buns on to steam and was taking a plate to scoop out the pickled vegetables from the vegetable jar.
"It's so cold," Xu Yan said, wrapping her arms around Xie Zhuo's waist in his usual position before letting go and going to tend the fire by the stove.
"It feels like winter has arrived early as soon as it snows," Xie Zhuo said, scooping out the pickled vegetables and carefully closing the lid of the vegetable jar. "I'll go to the commune primary school later and tell the two kids not to go to school today."
“Yes,” Xu Yan nodded.
Who knew that when I mentioned it to Da Bao and Xiao Bao during dinner, they both absolutely refused to agree.
“We need to go to school,” Xiao Bao said, even before he had swallowed the bun in his mouth.
“Yes, we have to go,” Da Bao put the bun back in the bowl, “and we should bring Kaixin with us.”
Kaixin was squatting by the stove, focused on eating a small piece of meat from its bowl. When it heard its little owner say its name, it immediately wagged its tail and barked.
Xie Zhuo glanced at the puppy before saying, "Why bring Kaixin along on such a cold day?"
Da Bao stopped talking.
Xiao Bao also lowered his head, looking guilty.
Xu Yan glanced at the two boys' faces, then tugged at Xie Zhuo's sleeve, signaling him to eat first.
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