Chapter 17 Ice Skates He has something for me to give you
"Aju——"
The wicked Yan Xue sneezed loudly as soon as she entered the room.
Qi Fang was washing rice to prepare steamed New Year's Eve rice, and looked over when he heard this.
Before he could say anything, Yan Xue waved her hand and said, "It's okay. I guess someone is talking about me. I just ran into Liang Qimao."
"Does he live around here?"
If it was around here, no wonder he knew they got married here.
Yan Xue nodded, told him her recent discovery, and started preparing to cook.
She had been in business for a long time in her previous life, and although the scale was not large, she still developed a superstitious habit. On important occasions like Chinese New Year, no matter how many people were dining together, she would prepare at least eight dishes.
It is said that in those days, not many people believed in the number eight. During the Chinese New Year, people would buy six bowls. Four was unlucky, and eight reminded people of having scars and lesions, which was also unlucky.
But Yan Xue didn't care. She was determined to get rich and bring her brother Yan Jigang over. She would serve whatever dishes were available, and even if there were none, she would force them. In the end, including plates and bowls, she actually managed to collect eight dishes.
They were busy until almost three in the afternoon, when they finally finished and sat down at the table to have a reunion dinner.
It was just a reunion, but the two of them had no relatives around them, and facing a table full of food, they suddenly seemed lonely.
Yan Xue simply found the leftover white wine from the wedding day, poured herself a small half cup, and poured the bottom of Qi Fang's cup, then raised it up and said, "Happy New Year!"
She really has a pair of beautiful eyes, especially when they are bent, her smiling eyes look like they are dotted with stars, as if she will never have any worries.
Qi Fang watched, then he also picked up the enamel pot and clinked it with hers very lightly, "Happy New Year."
The wine brewed from pure grains has a mellow aftertaste but is spicy at first. It burns along the throat to the stomach, and quickly passes the heart and burns to the face.
Yan Xue didn't know if it was her illusion, but it seemed that not only the man's face, but also his thin lips were a little redder than usual.
She held her chin up and looked at him for a while. "Have you never been able to drink?"
"Well," Qi Fang's voice was still light, "I never drank before I became an adult."
But maybe because it’s Chinese New Year today, at least he said more than just a “hmm”.
Yan Xue picked up some food with her chopsticks and asked, "What about after you became an adult? Have you ever had a drink with the elders at home?"
It's very dangerous for a boy to look like this. If he had been in her previous life, who knows how many people would have targeted him with his drinking capacity.
Qi Fang paused when he heard this, "No, I have lived in the mountains since I became an adult."
"On the mountain?" Yan Xue was surprised.
The man opposite her had already fixed his gaze on her face, his expression deep. "Yes, look at the hangar on the mountain."
For a moment, Yan Xue almost thought that something entangled in shadows was about to rush out of those eyes, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be just an illusion.
She chose her words carefully, "Are you also here for the New Year?"
"Always here." Qi Fang had lowered his eyes, and no emotion could be seen on his usually cold face.
Everyone else has family and wants to go home for the New Year, including the educated youth who went to the countryside to work. Only he has nowhere to go, so naturally he is the most suitable person.
I thought it would be the same this year, but unexpectedly something unexpected happened.
His slender knuckles clasped the rim of the cup, his peach blossom eyes half closed, and he picked up the enamel pot and took another sip with an expressionless face.
Yan Xue didn't know what he was thinking, but it couldn't be a good thing. Otherwise, why would others be reunited with their families while he was alone on the mountain looking at the hangar?
She picked up the bottle and prepared to pour the man some more wine. "You should drink more today and test your alcohol tolerance."
Whether she wanted to test her alcohol tolerance or drown her sorrows in alcohol, it was difficult for her to get drunk, so it would be nice to have someone get drunk for her.
The man held the rim of the cup and refused directly, "No."
Rather than seeking comfort in drunkenness, he obviously wanted to be sober. The bottle of wine just froze in mid-air and was taken back by Yan Xue. "Forget it then."
Without the Spring Festival Gala as background music, the house was a little too quiet. Yan Xue looked out the window covered with a layer of frost and was a little absent-minded for a moment.
I don’t know how Jigang is doing now. After the marriage was decided, she wrote a letter to her family and sent the hundred yuan back with it, asking her grandmother to help pay back the money owed to the team. Grandma should have received it, right?
She tried her best to write with characters that Jigang could understand. Jigang should be able to stumble through a few sentences, but what he had learned before might be wasted, as grandma couldn't read...
Most of the meal passed in silence until there was a noise outside the yard and someone came in.
The window glass was covered with frost, and it was difficult to see the scenery outside from inside. Yan Xue thought about it and put on her shoes and went out to take a look.
The ones who returned were Guo Changping and his family of three. She had seen Guo Changping the day he took someone to the hospital, but this was the first time she had met Guo Changping's wife. She didn't know if it was because she'd been too busy lately or if she was in a bad mood, but she looked a little serious and didn't smile much.
They had known for a long time that there was a new tenant in the house, so they were not surprised to see Yan Xue. They greeted her before bringing the child into the house. They probably had to go to the hospital after the New Year to take over from Aunt Guo.
But what he didn't expect was that Guo Changping didn't take this opportunity to rest at home. Instead, he blocked Li Shuwu's house and beat Li Shuwu up.
"I think even with the scolding Li Shuwu's wife gave Auntie Guo, he lost two teeth," Liu Weiguo said when he came to visit. "Now it's bad enough. It'll take ages to get a denture at the town hospital, and the logging team went up the mountain on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year without even joining us. Li Shuwu will probably be living with his teeth chipped for over a month."
He spoke in a tone that seemed to show that he was looking at a joke, and it was obvious that he did not like Li Shuwu, who caused harm to others for personal gain.
However, although this incident became a topic of conversation for many people after dinner, it was not very popular after all, and everyone's enthusiasm was still more focused on the Chinese New Year.
Although the forest farm is located in a remote area, forestry has always been one of the pillar industries of the national economy. Every year, the Forestry Bureau supplies hundreds of millions of cubic meters of timber to the country, making it a large local unit.
Therefore, the Forestry Bureau has always had a special department responsible for showing movies in each forest farm. During the New Year, there will also be activities such as yangko dancing to enrich the entertainment of forest farm employees and their families.
During busy logging seasons, an art troupe would visit the mountain camp to give performances specifically for the loggers. Yan Xue had arrived late, but she had heard that last year's troupe included a singer who had been transferred from Beijing, and that they sang exceptionally well. Many of the workers' families had gone up the mountain to listen, and returned with rapturous tales of their performances.
Liu Weiguo did not come to visit alone. Liu Chuncai also came with him to invite Yan Xue to go with her to watch the yangko dance.
Qi Fang never participated in this kind of activities. The brother and sister asked him symbolically, and when they saw that he was indeed not interested, they pulled Yan Xue out.
There were quite a few people in the yangko troupe, beating gongs and drums and playing suona. They were all in costume, waving fans and walking on stilts, with big-headed kids running behind them.
The yangge dance was performed along the main road of the forest farm. Men, women, old and young in the forest farm gathered on the street to watch. Yan Xue also felt the New Year atmosphere of this era. This kind of activity no longer existed in her previous life.
Seeing her come back with a smile on her face, Qi Fang asked her, "When are you planning to go to town?"
"Go to town?" Yan Xue didn't remember the man mentioning this to her.
"Go buy the things I didn't buy last time," Qi Fang said, "while I still have a few days off."
Last time, because of time constraints, Yan Xue went alone, and indeed there were still some things she hadn't bought. Yan Xue thought for a moment and said, "Let's stop by Aunt Qiu Fang's house. I didn't run into her last time."
"Aunt Qiufang?" The man glanced at her.
"It's my great aunt's eldest daughter. Have you forgotten? Her family lives in town. I am here thanks to her."
Qi Fang really didn't know how many relatives the Yan family had, so he didn't say much. "Okay."
As for Qi Fang's aunt, since Qi Fang had spent the previous few years alone in the mountains during the New Year, if Qi Fang didn't mention it, Yan Xue naturally wouldn't mention it either.
The two of them went to town, but once again, they found nothing. Shan Qiufang and her family had gone back to her mother-in-law's house to celebrate the New Year, and wouldn't be back until the sixth day.
The day they went there was the fifth day of the New Year, which happened to be the day for sending off the New Year. It was not easy to go to the forest farm once, so the two of them naturally could not go there a second time, so they had to entrust the things to the neighbor next door.
When I was leaving the alley, I ran into a few young men talking and laughing as they walked towards the alley behind.
Qi Fang only glanced at her and then looked away. Yan Xue naturally didn't notice. However, someone over there turned around to look and was scolded by the person next to him, "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, I must have seen it wrong."
This time I finally bought everything. The only inconvenience was that there were no plastic bags in those days, so everything was either wrapped in brown paper or tied with brown paper rope.
Yan Xue took off her scarf and gloves and said, "You're going up the mountain on the eighth day of the first lunar month. Do you need me to prepare anything?"
"No need." Qi Fang refused without a second thought. After he finished speaking, he realized something and looked up at her again, "I can do it myself."
"Then I don't care." Yan Xue originally wanted to give him the newly bought cookies to decorate the room, but he didn't want it.
While she was packing her things, a flight attendant passed by. After walking away, she turned back and stared at Yan Xue.
Yan Xue noticed it and asked, "Comrade, is there anything wrong?" Qi Fang also looked over.
"Did you give Qi..." As if he thought she might not recognize his name, he changed the subject, "Did you give someone a painting of shoes?"
"Are you talking about roller skates?" Yan Xue had only given this thing to others before.
Sure enough, the other party nodded, "It's the ice skates with four wheels on the bottom."
He glanced at her again, and at Qi Fang who was sitting next to her, "He wants me to give you something. Wait a minute while I get it from the lounge."
"Do you have something for me?" Yan Xue was obviously surprised.
"Don't worry, it's nothing valuable." The flight attendant turned and left.
Qi Fang sat by the window and looked at Yan Xue without asking any more questions.
Yan Xue, on the other hand, was the type to speak her mind without hesitation. "I once ran into Old Man Wang at a small market, trying to rip people off by selling inferior goods as good ones. I exposed him right there and then, and it was him who almost got ripped off. Later, I ran into him again in the car, and he saw me drawing a picture and asked me for it, so I gave it to him."
"You said you were not happy at all, is that why?"
"Not entirely." Yan Xue admitted that she wasn't that selfless. "I had some friction with Old Man Wang before. He cut the sack that held my pine nuts."
This is one thing after another...
Qi Fang had a hunch that there was something else going on. During the days they had been together, Yan Xue didn't seem like someone who would take the initiative to make enemies. She was even very good at dealing with people. This could be seen from the attitudes of the Liu family and Aunt Gu towards her.
But Yan Xue didn't say anything, so he didn't ask. Not long after, the attendant came back and said, "That's it. They let me on the train two days ago, but I haven't seen you since."
He placed the thing in his hand in front of Yan Xue, and it turned out to be a pair of roller skates made of wood.
"Please don't ask me to return it," the flight attendant said. "This thing has different sizes. If I return it, no one else will be able to wear it."
This is the truth. Yan Xue is not tall, so the roller skates made according to her size are naturally not big. Not to mention men, even women with bigger feet may not be able to wear them.
She didn't refuse anymore and accepted it generously, "Tell him thank you for me."
He also took out a few frozen treats and gave them to the other party, "Happy New Year, comrade. This is a little gift from me and my wife. Please help us pass it on." He handed over a bag of biscuits.
As soon as the words "My lover and I" came out, the flight attendant couldn't help but look at Qi Fang beside her.
But the man was very meticulous in his work. Not only did he return the gift, he even gave him some fruit as the one who helped carry the things. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give it to him for you."
When he returned to Xiaojinchuan, he first went to Qi Fang with his things and asked, "Did you know that he got married?"
Qi Fang was washing clothes and was confused when he heard this. "What do you mean, do I know?"
"I'm showing you the girl in the picture. Didn't she help you before? I met her on the train today," said the flight attendant.
Qi Fang stopped immediately and asked, "Did you give her the roller skates?" She actually cared about this first.
The flight attendant was speechless. "She gave it to me as soon as we met. Look, she even asked me to bring you a gift in return."
Upon hearing that there was a return gift, Qi Fang quickly wiped his hands before daring to take the paper bag.
Seeing him carefully put the things back inside, the flight attendant couldn't help but say, "I said she's married, and I even ran into her lover on the train."
"What does it matter to me whether she gets married or not? I just want to thank her, nothing else."
Qi Fang muttered something and continued to wash clothes with his head down.
However, the flight attendant noticed that he had just put a pair of pants that had been washed back into the water and soaped them again.
This made the flight attendant sigh inwardly. Baba asked someone to do it and specifically asked him to pay attention on the bus. It didn't look like he just wanted to thank them.
Qi Fang might not even care that much about his blind date, as the matter still hasn't come to any conclusion.
But the girl is already married, and even if she isn't, he might not have a chance.
Qi Fang is too honest and not very talkative. He is a good man, but unfortunately he is not liked by girls at all.
On the other hand, Qi Fang didn't care much about the person who sent the gift, but he was rarely interested in the gift.
He took the things out of the car, and as soon as he touched them, he could tell that they were made of very solid wood.
The wheel axle is made of steel needles, which are probably oiled. It rotates very smoothly and there are some grooves engraved on the surface, which should be used to prevent slipping.
Unfortunately, it was also made of wood. Plastic would definitely be more suitable. He put the roller skates on the edge of the kang and asked Yan Xue, "Did you come up with this?"
"No, I've seen others wear it before."
Yan Xue admitted that she did not have that creative ability, and she did not take credit for it. After all, to her, the previous life was also in the past.
Qi Fang didn't ask any more questions, "Master Jia, are you still going?"
They said that his family had a mutation of the honest gene, and as soon as he saw the roller skates, he guessed what she had wanted to do with the carpenter before.
"Go ahead, I have something else I want to do." Yan Xue put the things she bought in order, came over and picked up the roller skates, "I'm going to Chuncai's house."
"Is this for Chuncai?" Qi Fang was really surprised.
He knew that Yan Xue had asked him about Chuncai's inability to skate, but he didn't expect her to take it so seriously and actually come up with a pair of roller skates that could be used to skate without going on ice.
Seeing what Yan Xue brought, Liu Chuncai asked twice in disbelief, "Sister Yan Xue, is this really for me?"
Liu Chunni, the second daughter of the Liu family, and Liu Weibin, the youngest son, also gathered around, as if they were watching some rare animal.
Liu Chunni was okay, as she was rather shy, but Liu Weibin reached out to touch her, but Liu Chuncai glared at him, and he retracted his hand, sticking out his tongue.
"It's okay, it won't break if you touch it." Yan Xue pushed the shoes towards Liu Chuncai, "Try to see if the size fits."
She originally wanted to find someone to make it herself, but she didn't expect that someone had done it first. Fortunately, although Liu Chuncai was three years younger than her, he was about the same height as her, so he should be able to wear it.
I tried it on and it worked. It was a little loose, but I tightened the straps a little and it was fine.
Liu Chuncai sat on the edge of the kang and slid down. She immediately heard the whirring sound of the wheels. "It feels even more magical than ice skates!"
When Liu Weibin heard this, he became even more anxious, "Sister! Sister, let me try!"
"Can you put it on?" Liu Chuncai was reluctant to give it to him.
"Why can't I wear it?" Liu Weibin protested. "My mom always says I grow so fast, whoosh."
He couldn't get any more, and when he heard Huang Fengying coming back from the cellar, he simply ran out, "Mom, I want roller skates too!"
"Why do you need skates? You're not allowed to skate on the river. What if something happens?"
It was obvious that Huang Fengying was used to being scolded, and she didn't even raise her head.
"You're not sliding on the ice, you're sliding on the ground!" Liu Weibin shook her arm anxiously.
Huang Fengying had no choice but to put down the basket and follow him inside. "What did you see? You keep coming up with new ideas." She was startled to see Yan Xue when she entered the room. "Little Yan is here?"
"Well," Yan Xue smiled and pointed at the unique shoe covers on Liu Chuncai's feet, "I'm here to give Chuncai roller skates."
Liu Chuncai couldn't help but want to show off her treasure to her mother. "Look, Mom, I can skate even without being on ice. Isn't it amazing?"
The smile was so big, brighter than the spring sunshine, that it actually stung Huang Fengying's eyes.
Looking at the other children, they were also staring at the skates with excitement and envy. Huang Fengying smiled in agreement, "That's pretty impressive."
"Sister Yan Xue is still so good to me~" Liu Chuncai immediately hugged Yan Xue's arm. She was taller than Yan Xue when she put on roller skates, and rubbed her head on Yan Xue's shoulder.
Yan Xue patted her and said, "Try skating quickly. If it doesn't work, I'll find someone else to correct it."
The other two younger ones also urged her to do so, but Liu Chuncai just stood there for a long time without moving, her face flushing red. Finally, she was pushed to the limit and said, "Is it okay if I can't skate?"
Everyone in the room laughed at once, and Liu Weibin even squinted his eyes and stuck out his tongue to make fun of his sister.
"I've never skated before, so it won't be a big deal." If Liu Chuncai hadn't been wearing ice skates and didn't dare to move, she would have pulled his ears this morning.
"It's okay, you'll get it with practice." Yan Xue comforted the little girl, "If you're good at skating, I have the blueprints and can find someone else to do it."
When they heard that they could find someone else to do it, the two little ones' eyes lit up and they immediately urged Liu Chuncai to go to a spacious place to practice.
After the children left, Huang Fengying looked at Yan Xue again with a complicated look in her eyes, "You are so thoughtful."
"I didn't make this either. I just drew a blueprint from memory. Please don't think I'm meddling."
"What's the big deal? I can't thank you enough. If you didn't mean to, who would think of doing this for Chuncai?"
Huang Fengying's eyes moistened as she spoke. "I know I'm too strict with my children and have often made them the laughing stock of others, but I can't help it..."
While a child's happiness is important, no parent is willing to take the risk of losing their child again.
Yan Xue held her hand and said nothing. At this moment, Huang Fengying might not really need anyone to comfort her.
Until Liu Weiguo came back from outside, he exclaimed "Wow" as soon as he entered the door, "Chun Cai is wearing something new, where did you get it?"
Huang Fengying quickly calmed down. "Look at me. I was so busy talking that I forgot to get you some vegetables. I just chopped some cabbage and packed two for you." She hurried out. "You and Xiao Qi got married late, so you didn't have time to stock up on vegetables. If you don't have any vegetables to eat, come to me and get some. I bought over a thousand kilograms of cabbage and two hundred kilograms of radishes last year."
He picked out two cabbages with good cores, added three large radishes, and a dozen potatoes to the basket, and said, "I haven't been polite to you, so don't be polite to me either."
"How long will it take us to finish this? Qi Fang will go up the mountain in two days." Yan Xue really felt the other party's heavy intentions.
Huang Fengying even wanted to pretend again, "Let's eat the radishes first. Radishes are not tasty in spring. Just find a cool place to store the cabbage and ground beans. They won't keep for many days."
"I'll take it." Liu Weiguo squatted there, studying the roller skates for a while, and came over to take the basket. "It just so happens that I have something to ask Qi Fang. I went to town to look for the gear last time, but couldn't find it. I have to ask him what to do. I went there this morning, but you two weren't home."
When the two of them entered the room, Qi Fang had already lit the kang and was sitting at the table drawing something.
Yan Xue took a quick look and found that it was Liu Chuncai's pair of roller skates. The style, proportions and details were exactly the same, as if it was painted based on the real thing.
Her memory is too good. Even if she were to draw by herself, she might not be able to draw in such detail.
Liu Weiguo, however, didn't pay much attention. He told Qi Fang about the matter as soon as he came in. "I've searched everywhere and only found one that's similar. Can you see if it works?"
As he spoke, he took out a gear from his pocket. To be honest, based on memory alone, Yan Xue found it difficult to tell whether it was different from the original one.
Qi Fang closed the notebook, took a quick look, and said, "It's a little bigger, about half a millimeter."
"What should we do?" Liu Weiguo sat down on the edge of the kang and stroked his hair. "My dad went to ask Uncle Xu, but he said there was nothing he could do. Then we have to go to the county to look for it. We have to go up the mountain the day after tomorrow, but we don't have the time, and we may not even find it. We can't ask my mom and the others to just wait and see, right?"
Huang Fengying is still okay, but the younger ones have to go to school, especially since the Chinese New Year is late this year and school will start in a few days.
Qi Fang stroked the gear with his long fingers without saying a word.
After a long while, Liu Weiguo was ready to give up. He finally asked, "Does the small repair shop at the forest farm have any machine tools?"
"Of course we have welding machines and machine tools. How can we repair them without them?" Liu Weiguo didn't understand why he asked. "What's wrong?"
Qi Fang placed the gear on the table and said, "If you're in a hurry, go ask the small repair shop to borrow their machine tool."
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