"Sister, let me carry it." Seeing Gu Lili panting, Gu Erniu quickly tried to take the basket from her.
Gu Lili refused, saying, "Erniu, we've already filled the basket with a lot of things. Let's take turns carrying it. It's about to rain, let's hurry up and go."
The sky seemed to grow increasingly gloomy, and the north wind seemed to be blowing harder and harder. The two of them looked increasingly thin in their clothes.
Today isn't market day, so there's no oxcart. The two of them will have to walk home, and it looks like they're bound to get rained on today.
As Gu Lili spoke, she quickened her pace and led Gu Erniu toward the outskirts of the city.
It takes more than an hour to get from Donghai Town to Guzhuang, which is about three hours.
Gu Lili and Gu Erniu took turns carrying the baskets on their backs. When one of them got tired, the other would carry it. They walked home without stopping, hoping to get home before the rain started.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. After walking for about an hour, it started to rain.
As Gu Lili walked, she felt increasingly uneasy. The rain was stinging her skin. She looked at the puddles by the roadside; they had already frozen over.
Isn't this freezing rain?
Their clothes gradually became wet, and the cold made their skin ache.
Just then, Gu Erniu was carrying a basket on his back, and Gu Lili quickly called for him to stop.
She reached into the basket on her back and pulled her hand out, finding two raincoats in her hands.
Gu Lili deliberately chose two dark-colored outfits so as not to attract attention.
Even so, Gu Erniu couldn't help but become curious.
Gu Erniu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; he had never seen anyone wear clothes like this before.
What kind of style is this? It's really quite novel.
"Sister, this dress is so strange. I've never seen anyone else wear it before."
As Gu Lili put on her clothes, she urged, "I just bought these by the roadside. Quickly put down your basket and put on these clothes. I saw that it was going to rain, so I bought these clothes specifically. The shopkeeper said they can keep you dry."
Gu Erniu nodded hurriedly, put down his basket, and put on the raincoat like Gu Lili.
The freezing rain seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, mixed with hail, making the roads increasingly difficult to travel on.
The hailstones hit them hard.
"Sister, look, isn't that Huanhuan up ahead?" Gu Erniu asked, pointing to a thin and small figure ahead as he carefully walked forward.
Gu Lili looked closely and realized that it was Gu Huanhuan.
The girl seemed to be carrying a raincoat, probably because she didn't know the way. She stopped and waited by the roadside near the beach.
She seemed to be holding a raincoat in her hand, and the wind made her shiver.
"Huanhuan! We're here!" Gu Lili called out, waving at Gu Huanhuan.
Gu Huanhuan had actually noticed the two people in front of her a long time ago. They looked familiar, but the clothes they were wearing seemed different from those of her older brother and sister, so she didn't dare to walk forward.
It wasn't until he heard Gu Lili calling his name that he was certain that the two people in front of him were his older brother and sister.
Gu Huanhuan ran forward with the raincoat in her arms, but the road was too slippery, and she accidentally fell to the ground.
This broke Gu Lili's heart. Ignoring the slippery road, she ran quickly towards Gu Huanhuan.
Just as she ran ahead of Gu Huanhuan, Gu Lili also slipped and fell.
Gu Huanhuan, who was in pain, couldn't help but burst into laughter when she saw her sister also fall on her bottom.
Gu Lili looked at Gu Huanhuan, who was laughing heartily, and couldn't help but smile as well.
"You silly girl, you shouldn't be running around outside in the rain," Gu Lili scolded playfully.
Gu Lili's eyes welled up with tears. Her younger siblings were so young, yet so sensible, it broke her heart.
Gu Huanhuan smiled and helped Gu Lili up, saying, "Sister, I was worried that you and Second Brother would get wet in the rain, so I went to Aunt Zhang's house to borrow raincoats to pick you up. What are you and Second Brother wearing? They look so good."
As Gu Huanhuan spoke, she pointed to Gu Erniu, who had just walked up to them.
"This is a raincoat my sister bought. Here, put it on quickly. It's very warm, and the wind can't get in." Gu Erniu said before Gu Lili could explain.
Gu Erniu was about to put down his basket and take off his raincoat to give to Gu Huanhuan when Gu Lili raised her hand to stop him.
Gu Lili smiled and said, "Erniu, you don't need to take them off. I bought one for each of you. Stand still, and I'll take Huanhuan's out right now."
Upon hearing this, Gu Erniu bent down again to make it easier for Gu Lili to take out the raincoat.
As Gu Lili spoke, she went around to the back of Gu Erniu, fiddled around for a while, and bought two more raincoats inside.
Gu Lili handed one of the dark red dresses to Gu Huanhuan and helped her put it on.
"Wow, sister, this color is so beautiful!" Gu Huanhuan couldn't help but exclaim.
Ancient commoners didn't have many colors in their clothes, so it's no wonder Gu Huanhuan found them beautiful.
"If you like it, that's good. Come on, let's go home quickly, the rain is getting heavier and heavier," Gu Lili said.
Gu Erniu and Gu Huanhuan nodded in unison and hurried home.
The three of them were already soaked, and even with raincoats, they were still freezing.
What should have been a journey of less than half an hour took the three of them almost an hour because of the freezing rain.
When they got home, all three of them had purple lips from the cold.
"Brother and sister, you're back! Aren't you cold?" Gu Siniu's voice trembled as he saw his older brother and sister shivering from the cold.
He was originally going to go with his third sister to deliver the raincoats, but his third sister said that Aunt Zhang's family only had three raincoats, so he waited at home by himself.
Gu Lili was so cold that she could barely speak. "Hiss... Si Gou, we're fine. Huan... Huan, Er Niu, you two... Hiss... quickly change out of your wet clothes, or you'll catch a cold."
"Sister, you and Huanhuan should switch first. I'll switch after you're done," Gu Erniu said, leading Gu Erniu towards the kitchen.
Their kitchen was a simple thatched hut, just enough for their daily cooking.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Gu Sigou led Big Black into the house.
The chickens and ducks were also brought back by Gu Sigou in another basket.
Gu Lili and Gu Huanhuan quickly changed into dry clothes.
After changing into my clothes, I finally felt a little warmer.
When Gu Lili brought Gu Huanhuan to the kitchen, Gu Erniu had already started boiling water in the pot.
"Erniu, go change your clothes, I'll cook," Gu Lili said.
Gu Erniu was already freezing cold, so he stood up and went inside to change his clothes.
Gu Lili called Huanhuan to the stove. While warming herself by the fire, she used a dry cloth to wipe Huanhuan's hair.
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