The heavy snow fell from nightfall to dawn, and from dawn to noon, showing no signs of stopping.
The rooftops were covered with a thick layer of snow, and the snow on the ground was already above the calves.
An Moxue still remembered that if the snow fell heavily, she needed to shovel the snow off the roof. She picked up a long wooden stick that she had prepared in advance for shoveling snow off the roof in winter, and gently pressed it on the roof like cutting tofu, and then gently slid it down the eaves. At first, she had no experience and got snow all over her neck and face.
The cool, refreshing snow felt wonderful on my face.
An Moxue was having a great time, and the two boys were running around her, chasing after the falling snowflakes.
When Wu Sicheng arrived, he saw this scene: a person and two little wolves were clearing snow from the eaves while playing around.
The girl wore a green military coat and a bright red scarf. In a world of ice and snow, all I could see was you.
Hearing the sound of footsteps in the snow, the two little ones ran towards Wu Sicheng. An Moxue stopped what she was doing, turned around, and saw that Wu Sicheng was already standing in the middle of the yard, quietly watching her.
Looking at him like this, An Muxue inexplicably thought of a line: "In the north there is a beautiful woman, peerless and independent."
Wu Sicheng saw Amo Xue turn around, smile at her, and then walk towards her.
"Mo Xue, where have you been these past few days? I've come twice, but I couldn't find you either time."
"Oh, the villagers are so hospitable, I can't handle it, so I've gone to hide in the mountains."
Wu Sicheng took the stick from his hand and swept the snow off the roof in a few strokes, then stood the stick up under the eaves.
"Did you see the cage and hitching post I brought? Are they working well?" the two men asked as they walked into the house.
"I see. Thank you! It works great. I didn't know you had such skills; the cage is so exquisite."
"It's nothing, I just had some free time, so I polished it a bit more. This cage can be used until they reach adulthood, and then we won't need to replace it."
The two went inside, brushing the snow off their bodies. An Moxue took off her clothes and hat.
"Hmm, with such heavy snow, why did you come?"
"I came twice and didn't see you, so I was worried. I thought, with such heavy snow today, you wouldn't go out again!"
"It's alright, no one came this morning. If more people had come, I might have had to go out again this afternoon."
"What did they do to make you keep your distance from them?"
"Don't even mention it. It's fine if it's just casual chatting, but some people I don't even know are touching me inappropriately and groping me. I just can't stand that."
“Indeed,” Wu Sicheng agreed. For someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, this was an unbearable thing.
......
In the afternoon, the heavy snow continued to fall. An Mo went out to shovel the snow off the roof again. As she was shoveling the yard and heading to the front gate, a group of people approached from a distance and began calling out from afar, "Mo Xue, Mo Xue, oh my, you're finally home today!"
An Moxue stopped what she was doing, looked up, and saw Aunt Guo, Aunt Meihua, and several other aunts, all of whom were familiar to her.
An Moxue raised her hand, waved, and said, "The aunties are here, wait a moment!"
After saying that, he stood the broom against the wall, ran into the yard, put the two little ones into the cage, and said to them, "Be good and don't make a sound. I'll let you out after everyone leaves."
Without waiting for their response, he went out of the house again.
As she walked to the gate, several of the aunties also arrived at the gate.
"Mo Xue, you're sweeping snow!"
"Almost done sweeping, aunties, hurry inside."
The group of people went inside while talking.
"Mo Xue, what have you been busy with these past few days? I couldn't find you even after I came here."
An Moxue smiled, took off her hat and gloves, patted the snow off them, and said, "I heard that it was going to snow heavily in the next few days, so I thought I'd go up the mountain to chop more firewood, just in case. This is my first year spending the winter here, and I'm figuring things out as I go, so I'm afraid I won't have enough. I didn't expect it to snow so heavily today."
Several women sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). An Moxue said, "Aunties, take off your shoes, get on the kang, warm up. If anyone wants water, I'll pour it for you."
They were all old acquaintances, so there was no need for formalities. The women touched the kang (heated brick bed) and found it to be very warm. They all took off their shoes, formed a circle, and sat together.
"Mo Xue, you come too. No need, I won't drink now, I'll pour some when I'm thirsty later," Aunt Guo waved her hand and said.
An Moxue took the thermos and a water cup and said, "I'll bring them over. Whoever wants to drink can come and get some."
After saying that, he filled a small bowl with sunflower seeds and hazelnuts, placed it among the group, and said, "Help yourselves and eat them, don't be shy."
Aunt Meihua said, "It's been a long time since we've seen you. We missed you, so we all got together to come and see you."
An Moxue sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), turned to the side, and said to the group of people, "It's been a while since I've seen you ladies. I've been too busy lately. I didn't expect you ladies to come even though it's snowing."
Aunt Gui said, "What can you do on a snowy day? It's a good day to stay indoors and chat."
As he spoke, he took out a small bag from his pocket and started sewing shoe soles while talking. The others also took out their things, some shoe soles, some clothes and socks, none of them were empty-handed.
Seeing how busy they were, An Moxue said, "Aunties, it's snowing today, so the light is dim. Let's do it again when the weather gets better!"
"Oh, it's alright. The paper covering in your room makes it bright. It's fine. We can chat while we work. It won't delay anything. It's good."
"Alright! How about I light the oil lamp? Auntie is really good at managing the household."
"Why waste that money? It's unnecessary. It's nothing. Mo Xue, you've had a really exciting time these days. Tell us about it!" Aunt Gui asked with a look of curiosity.
My dear girlfriends braved the wind and snow to come and hear her gossip, so we have to oblige!
"Auntie, ask whatever you want to know."
"Did those Red Guards really kick them one by one back then?"
"yes."
The eyes of the aunties shone, and they all looked at her.
Suddenly, Aunt Ge blurted out, "A heroine! If this were ancient times, wouldn't she be just like Sun Erniang?"
Aunt Gui retorted, "No, it should be Mulan. What do you guys think?!"
Afterwards, he looked at the other people besides An Moxue and Aunt Ge, his face seeking approval.
An Moxue was both amused and exasperated. What was all this about?
“Auntie, I only taught a few Red Guards a lesson. How can I compare to these two?”
"Yes, you can." The others nodded in agreement.
Aunt Meihua asked, "Did you feel bad about donating a thousand yuan?"
An Moxue said playfully, "Aunties, you don't know how much it hurt me. That huge stack of money, I still can't sleep when I think about it!"
After saying that, he even beat his chest and stamped his feet, looking heartbroken and distressed, which made the group of people laugh so hard they couldn't stop.
Aunt Guo's stiff smile eased slightly as she asked, "When you received the award, your Uncle Guo said your speech was amazing, very charismatic. Were you nervous then?"
An Moxue cooperated, glanced at the group of people, and said, "Auntie, you have no idea. When I went on stage, I was only thinking about finishing my speech properly and didn't think anything of it. But I was scared when I got off the stage. My legs were weak. But I didn't let anyone see it. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself on stage."
He let out a long sigh of relief after saying that.
......
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