This hailstorm was even bigger than the previous one, pounding against the roof with a crackling noise that kept everyone awake. Furthermore, psychologically, the weather felt a bit colder.
Everyone in the brigade was tossing and turning in their beds, unable to sleep. They were worried about whether the hail, which was falling so fast, would damage the crops in the fields or the roofs of their houses.
The cold air seeped in through the gaps, making people unable to think anymore and curl up in the quilt, absorbing the last bit of warmth.
Those who had built a kang at home had firewood burning underneath. They slept on it and felt so warm that they even felt the sound of hail outside was no longer noisy, and they slowly fell asleep.
A few days ago, Zhou Hongxing hadn't told her son and daughter-in-law, but she already felt like she couldn't make it any longer. It was so cold that no matter how many quilts she covered herself with, she couldn't get warm at all. She spent the whole night half asleep, half awake, and when she woke up in the morning, there was no warmth under the covers.
But today, despite the snow and hail outside, she didn't feel cold at all; it was warm as if it were spring. Lying beside her were her two grandchildren, who had also fallen asleep in the comfortable warmth. Zhou Hongxing gave them a loving look, pulled the quilt over her, and finally had a good night's sleep.
Before going to bed, Feng Guizhi found that it was hailstorm outside. Baoya's dream reminded her of hers, and she couldn't help but think of Zhou Hongxing. However, her family's kang had been built, so she thought that what happened in the dream would not happen again.
When I woke up the next day, the snow had stopped, but the hail was still falling.
Seeing that the weather was even stranger than in previous years, the team members didn't dare delay and began to work on building the kang. It was too cold, and while it was bearable for a day or two, if it lasted longer, not only the elderly and children at home, but even they themselves would not be able to bear it.
So, even though hail was falling outside, some people didn't dare to stop, just wanting to finish building their kangs as soon as possible. However, most of those who had registered to build kangs had already prepared the red bricks and other materials, and some of the base pillars were also fixed. They just needed to continue with the rest of the work inside, so even though hail was falling outside, it didn't have much of an impact on them.
However, for another group of people, the impact is much greater. These people are those who were unwilling to build a kang before, so of course
They hadn't prepared anything. Now they regretted it, and they had to start all over again. They braved the hail and went outside to move bricks and dig soil, but they had obviously underestimated the power of the hail. Hailstones as big as stones fell one after another, and soon they had big bumps on their heads.
"Ouch, ouch, I can't take it anymore. This hail is hurting so much. My head is swollen."
"What should I do? It's so cold out here. I told you to do it two days ago, but you didn't. Who can you blame for this now?"
"How could I have known it was going to hail? If I had known, I would have definitely done it. No, we can't do it today. Let's wait until the hail stops before we continue with the kang."
"No! You have to keep working even if it means cutting. You don't mind the cold, but my son can't be left freezing like this. Hurry!"
"I...I..." In the end, the struggle was futile, and I could only continue to endure the pain and carry all the things back and forth into the house.
It was hailstorming outside, so no one in the Song family went out today. Taking advantage of this rare free time, the brothers built a kang for Feng Guizhi in her room.
I started working in the morning and by the time dark came, I had finished most of it. I just need to work for another morning tomorrow and it will be almost done.
At the dinner table, everyone was eating and chatting: "The day after tomorrow is Chinese New Year, it's going by so fast."
"Yeah, I don't know if the hail will stop before the New Year."
"Of course, next year will definitely be a good year."
After talking for a while, Chen Xiuxiu thought of Shen Yibei and the others again: "I wonder how Uncle Zhao and the others are doing. The hail is so heavy, can the cowshed hold up?"
This was also a problem that the rest of the Song family was worried about. Song Jianshe and Song Jianye were both interested in going over to take a look, so they said, "I'll go over and take a look tomorrow."
"Bring another bottle of salt water over. I'll put some rice, flour, and other things in it later. You can deliver them together tomorrow morning." Feng Guizhi said.
"Okay." Song Jianshe agreed.
Shen Yibei and his friends, who were worried about by the old Song family, were also having dinner at this moment, next to a nearly completed kang. And because of the hail, Xu Zhijin was also called over to eat together today.
It was freezing cold outside, so Jiang Qiuli made a pot of hot dumpling soup and steamed a few sweet potatoes. Everyone ate their fill and felt much warmer.
"Xiaobei, come and sleep over here with me today. It's too cold. It's warmer on the kang." Xu Zhijin said.
Shen Yibei: "
No need, teacher, I can just sleep here."
Although Zhao Rongsheng and Jiang Qiuli felt sorry for Shen Yibei, they didn't want to trouble Xu Zhijin, so they said, "The kang on our side is almost ready. I guess we can sleep on it tomorrow night, so tonight won't be a big deal."
Xu Zhijin had no choice but to stop trying to persuade them. However, remembering the leak in the roof today, he reminded them, "Sleep lightly tonight and pay more attention to the roof."
Although he quickly found something to plug the leak after discovering it, he was still a little worried. The hail was so heavy, I didn't want it to be damaged.
Zhao Rongsheng agreed and kept this matter in mind.
After finishing his meal, Xu Zhijin didn't stay any longer and returned to his own place. The stove in his room was not located underground, but outside. He had built a small stove with a pot on top and a fire underneath. This allowed him to boil water and cook while also heating the kang.
However, it was still hailstorming at the time, so Xu Zhijin did not cook anything. He pressed the top of the kang with red bricks and put firewood underneath. Soon the kang began to heat up.
Xu Zhijin took off his thick cotton-padded jacket, lifted the quilt, and lay down. A wave of warmth came over him. This winter didn't seem as hard to endure as he had thought.
The sky was getting darker and darker, but the hail was still crackling down. Tonight was destined to be an unusual night.
Wang Dacheng and his wife had already gone to bed. It was so cold that they went to bed early while their bodies were still a little warm after soaking their feet in hot water, otherwise they would be too cold to sleep.
After a whole day of hard work, the materials for building the kang are finally ready. I can just wait until tomorrow to start building the kang. In two or three days, it will be ready in time for the New Year and I can sleep on it.
At this moment, drops of snow dripped down and landed on Wang Dacheng's face. The icy cold made him unconsciously raise his hand to wipe it away, and his consciousness was momentarily clear. However, Wang Dacheng did not wake up in the end. He just turned over and continued to sleep.
After a while, more snow began to drip, and a little bit of snow fell onto the quilt. Wang Dacheng, sound asleep, was completely oblivious to all this. It wasn't until a particle of ice hit his face that he suddenly woke up.
He opened his eyes dazedly, raised his hand to touch his painful face, and then found that the quilt was wet.
piece.
Realizing that the roof might be leaking, but now it was dark and hail was falling, Wang Dacheng did not get up, just thinking about repairing the roof tomorrow. Then he turned over, moved to the side and continued to sleep. Until -
"ah!"
"Ah! Hiss!" In the middle of the night, a scream mixed with cries of pain rang out.
Wang Dacheng covered his head, his face wrinkled in agony. He felt a dampness on his hands, which he assumed was snow.
There was a hole in the roof of their house, and the snow and hail piled up on it fell down along with the broken tiles, waking up the two people who were sleeping soundly.
The cold snow covered their faces, and the tiles hit Wang Dacheng on the head. Blood immediately flowed out, flowing down from his forehead, and soon half of his face was covered with blood.
Wang Dacheng's wife was startled awake and quickly stumbled out of bed and lit the kerosene lamp. Turning her head, she saw Wang Dacheng sitting up with blood all over his face. Especially against the backdrop of the snowflakes on his body, he looked even more terrifying, and she screamed in fear.
Wang Dacheng's wife was frightened by the scene in front of her, and then she hurried to him: "Dacheng, Dacheng, are you okay?" As she said this, tears came out of her eyes.
Wang Dacheng was startled by her reaction and frowned, saying, "What are you doing? It's just snow falling on you, why are you reacting so strongly?"
As he spoke, he reached out to brush the snow off his chest and body, only then did he realize that his injuries were all covered in blood, which frightened him so much that he stepped back.
"What is this? Where did the blood come from?"
Only then did he remember that he had placed his hand on his forehead. He touched it with his other hand and saw that it was stained with bright red blood, which scared him a lot.
His voice trembled: "Why is there so much blood! Quick, go find Old Yang!"
That night, the Wang family was in chaos and no one could sleep for half the night.
Tonight, it wasn't just their roof that leaked. The Zhou family's roof also leaked, but because the snow on top had been cleared over the past few days, only a small amount of water leaked. In the second half of the night, half a tile fell off, but no one was hit.
Originally, the bed was facing the bed, but because of the kang, the bed was moved, so no one was injured. Moreover, although there was a cold wind blowing in from above, the bed was still warm due to the kang, and Zhou Hongxing did not feel it.
I felt cold and spent the whole night peacefully.
......
The next afternoon, the hail and snow stopped, leaving only the occasional cold wind. Everyone was still busy building the kang, but since we were all from the same brigade, no one could hide anything.
It didn't take long for the news that Wang Dacheng's house was broken and his head was bleeding from being hit by tiles to spread out, and it became a topic of conversation among everyone after work.
"Hey, I just heard from Liu's wife that Dacheng got hit on the head by a tile last night and bled a lot!"
"What? Got hit on the head? What happened? So how is Dacheng now?"
"I don't know. It seems that there was too much snow on the roof of his house and it hadn't been cleared. The hailstones couldn't get down into the snow and slowly broke the tiles above. Then the heavy snow pressed down and the tiles fell down with a snap. It hit Dacheng on the head and he bled right away."
Chen Guangyou listened with a sigh of relief: "A few days ago, I heard him say that the team leader had nothing better to do and had to clear the snow. He definitely wouldn't do this. I didn't expect..."
"You really can't blame anyone else. Besides, how did it just happen to hit him on the head? His wife next to him was fine."
"Although it's pitiful that he got smashed, the captain had already told him about this. He was too lazy to do anything, so he deserves it."
“…”
When they were having dinner that night, the people in the Song family also heard the news—
The author has something to say: Ah, a row of neat little red flowers, so beautiful [intoxicated]
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