When the first snow swept across Dujia Village, the whole village began to stay at home, and Du Jiang was no exception.
Nestled in the bed, Du Jiang tucked the bedding under her body to prevent any cold wind from blowing in. The fire in the stove beside the bed was burning brightly, making the earthen kang warm. Du Jiang lay on the kang with her textbook in her arms, turning a page from time to time. The iron box beside the pillow was wide open. In addition to her own money, there was also the harvest of hairy chestnuts from last time. It must be said that Huo Yang was really efficient. He sold out the hairy chestnuts in less than half a month. Although Du Jiang also helped during this period, her efforts were very small compared to those of the Huo family. So when it came to dividing the money in the end, Du Jiang insisted on her 30:70 split. Huo Yang couldn't persuade her and could only let it go.
Turning his head to look at the sixty yuan rolled up into a ball, Du Jiang was very satisfied. With this money, his savings would be enough for him to have a good New Year without touching them.
Thinking of this, Du Jiang's eyes focused on the sack against the opposite wall. There was a bag of unshelled chestnuts piled up there. Du Jiang was going to send it back as a New Year's gift. Although it was not a good thing, it was filled with affection. He didn't think Du's father and mother would say anything. Thinking of this, Du Jiang endured the cold, lifted the quilt, quickly got out of bed, carried the sack to the bed, and wrapped the quilt around himself again. Du Jiang shivered for a while before he recovered and said to himself, "It's really cold today."
Looking at the sack of raw chestnuts, Du Jiang sighed. It was not easy to eat chestnuts, but he still resigned himself to reaching out from under the quilt to untie the rope on the sack. Then he picked up the work gloves and hammer on his mouth, resignedly lifted a corner of the mattress and began to peel off the outer shell.
It was clearly only one sack, but Du Jiang peeled it into what felt like a mountain. When night fell, Du Jiang, who had been staying in bed all day, looked at the work gloves on his hands that had been stained black, sighed, and resigned himself to getting out of bed to cook.
“Knock knock~knock knock~”
Du Jiang, who was scooping water, suddenly turned to face the door and asked warily, "Who is it?"
"I, beautiful"
Hearing Qian Meili's voice, Du Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the coat on the bed, put it on, and walked over to open the door, "Sister Qian, why are you here?"
As soon as Qian Meili entered the house, she felt the heat wave and said, "You've been burning firewood all day."
Du Jiang tugged at her collar, which was letting in the wind because of the door opening. "I can't help it. I feel a bit cold. Sister Qian, please sit down first. I'll pour you a glass of water."
"No, Du Jiang, don't bother. I came to you to ask if you want food. Jiefang and I are going home for the New Year and want to exchange some of the food." Qian Meili thought for a while, and her eyes swept around the village and the educated youth point and finally fixed on the educated youth point, especially Du Jiang. She didn't know about other people, but Du Jiang had always made money from medicinal materials. This was not hidden from anyone. Although Du Jiang's clothes were quite worn, he still had the necessary cotton coats and cotton boots, not to mention food. Qian Meili knew that Du Jiang had never been short of food. Although they were separated by a wall, the occasional aroma of eggs and meat could not be concealed.
"Exchange for food." Du Jiang paused in pouring water, then continued, "If you exchange for food, will it be enough for you when you come back after the New Year? I remember you said last time that your family had already bought tickets and mailed them over."
"Yes," Qian Meili smiled happily when she mentioned her family. "We don't have to pay for the train tickets, but we have to buy something to bring back home. Otherwise, it would be inappropriate to go home empty-handed. After all, I have an older brother who is probably getting married now. My mother-in-law bought the train tickets for me. Although Jiefang is an only child, I still have to show the proper etiquette, otherwise I'll always feel inferior to my mother-in-law."
"Have you told Brother He about this?"
"I said, Jiefang agreed, otherwise I couldn't come out to exchange for food."
Since Qian Meili said so, Du Jiang readily agreed, "Okay, then see how much you can share. It's best to ensure your own share first."
"Okay, I'll bring it over after the food is distributed the day after tomorrow," Qian Meili nodded, and then looked around the room again. Finally, her eyes fell on the densely packed broken pots and jars against the wall. She was particularly surprised to see the green plants growing inside them. "You've moved the vegetables into the house."
"Yes," looking at Qian Meili's shining eyes, Du Jiang stood up with pain and picked a handful of leeks and handed them to Qian Meili, "There's no way, it's too cold outside, and I don't store many vegetables in the summer. I can exchange them with the villagers, but you also know that I don't have many work points in the pig house, and the food I get is only enough to keep me warm and full." Du Jiang never felt ashamed of being called poor, and he was really poor at the moment.
Qian Meili looked at the leeks in her hand, then at the patches on Du Jiang's body, feeling a little pity. "That's true. Everyone envies the work in the pigsty, but they forget that the work points are not high, and you have to constantly cut grass for the pigs, clean the pigsty, and cook pig food. It's not an easy job."
Du Jiang just smiled and didn't say anything. Qian Meili knew Du Jiang's personality, so after chatting for a few more words and agreeing on the price for exchanging grain, she got up and left.
After Qian Meili left, Du Jiang continued to lift the mattress and peel the chestnuts. Although the process was boring and tiring, she was very satisfied when she saw the basket full of fruits. As for the chestnut shells, Du Jiang did not intend to throw them away. She picked them up and spread them on the windowsill, waiting to dry them before burning them. After all, in Du Jiang's eyes, everything can be used to burn firewood, and because she had been staying up all day, her firewood consumption was greater than that of others.
Dinner was dumpling soup. The dumpling soup with mushrooms was very delicious, not to mention that Du Jiang also beat an egg in it. Looking at the eggs in the bamboo basket on the shelf that were gradually consumed, Du Jiang thought of adding two handfuls of straw to the chicken coop under the corridor in the wind and frost.
Lying by the window, drinking the hot soup in the bowl while admiring the flying white snowflakes outside, like catkins, falling from the sky, one petal next to the other, densely packed and endless. The white snowflakes immediately blended into the dark brown ground after touching it, but as more and more snowflakes fell, a layer of white was painted on the dark brown ground, from the sparse snowflakes at the beginning to the white ground today. Du Jiang moved closer and looked up at the sky. All the snowflakes fell from above, and even had a tendency to gradually grow larger. Looking at the white roof in the distance, Du Jiang slurped another mouthful of the dumpling soup.
Auspicious snow indicates a good harvest. Du Jiang inexplicably thought of this sentence. Perhaps the crops in the fields will really be abundant next year, so that everyone will no longer suffer from hunger and cold, and can fill their stomachs while also earning more.
With such a beautiful dream, Du Jiang slept very soundly that night. Even though it was freezing cold outside the window, the house was warm.
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