Chapter 56 If We Could Get Wet in the Snow Today
The next day, Uncle Xu drove out with a mule cart loaded with charcoal. Aunt Xu was about to get the wooden rack for carrying the firewood. Sang Zhixia quickly put down her water bowl and said, "Aunt, you stay home and tend to the charcoal pit today."
She grabbed the wood and said very naturally, "The smoke from the charcoal pit is giving me a headache. Let's switch. You prick my eyes for a few days while I carry the firewood."
Aunt Xu said helplessly: "Xia Xia, how about..."
"Second Aunt, please give me a chance to shirk my responsibilities."
Sang Zhixia said casually, "It's just right that I can go with you to the mountains to see if I can find some wild vegetables. If I can find any, it would be nice to have them as an extra dish for dinner."
"Xu Yu, are you ready?"
"Here I come."
Xu Yu grabbed the wooden frame from her hand and said, "Let's go."
"Second sister-in-law, please keep an eye on Yanran for me. Don't let her roll in the mud."
Aunt Xu said with a smile, "I don't know what happened to this girl yesterday. I rubbed her clothes with soap nuts for half an hour but they still couldn't be washed clean. If she keeps doing this, she'll really become a clay doll."
Aunt Xu was suddenly startled and realized why this happened. She reflexively covered her wrist which might reveal the mark.
But none of the people who were rushing out turned back to look at her.
Everyone was in a hurry to stock up on firewood before the snow started. Xu Mingyang looked around to make sure the old lady was not there, then ran over and stuffed a small bottle into her hand.
"Mingyang, this is..."
"Shhh."
Xu Mingyang said nervously: "My sister-in-law said that grandma can't see this."
He grabbed Second Aunt Xu's sleeve and pulled it down to cover his palm. He leaned over and whispered, "This is the medicine my eldest brother brought back for my eldest sister-in-law. She told me to give it to mother quietly."
"Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Second Aunt Xu clutched the medicine bottle in her hand and tears instantly burst out. Xu Mingyang was too frantic to wipe them away and shouted in panic, "Brother!"
“Brother, you…”
"What are you arguing about?"
Xu Minghui put the bucket on the ground, looked down at his palms that were red from being strangled by the hemp rope, and said softly, "Mingyang, don't panic."
Even if they have an incompetent father, they must not panic.
As long as the old man is alive, the Xu family will not collapse.
As long as the Xu family still exists, the bad apple will never make a ripple at the bottom of the pot.
Before going, Sang Zhixia was mentally prepared to have her shoulders rubbed.
After all, burning charcoal for two months is a job that will leave everyone in the family with skin broken. She had been able to avoid it by luck before.
But in the end, all her preparations were in vain.
Xu Yu didn't let her get involved at all.
He seemed to think that he was leading a group that was just there to pass water around to create an atmosphere.
After being forcefully slapped away by Xu Yu for countless times, Sang Zhixia said with a mixture of laughter and tears, "Brother, are you planning to do the work for two people?"
Xu Yu looked at her with a half-smile in his eyes: "What's so great about calling me big brother?"
Sang Zhixia blinked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
"It's only right for Xu Mingxu and Xu Jinxi to call me Big Brother. If you really want to, you should call me Brother too."
He lowered his head and leaned closer, staring straight into Sang Zhixia's misty eyes and said, "Zhizhi, call me brother."
"Brother will give you a bundle of firewood filled with 200, and you can carry it for half a day at a time. How about that?"
Sang Zhixia's mind went blank as she realized that this person was teasing her. She pushed him away in annoyance and burst into laughter before she could say anything.
"elder brother?"
"You think it's nice to take advantage of me."
"Go away, go away, don't show yourself here."
Xu Yu sneered with the tip of his tongue against his side jaw, saying playfully, "If you don't want to be called, then don't interrupt. It's none of your business when Big Brother is doing things."
"Help me get the hatchet, I'll take you to another place."
Brother Xu is indeed capable.
From chopping wood, bundling it up, to carrying it down the mountain on his back, he single-handedly demonstrated the might of an entire team.
When they met at the foot of the mountain, Sang Zhixia couldn't pull out the firewood rack with one hand. His premeditated voice echoed in his ears: "I'll carry these back home. Zhizhi, you go with grandfather to look at the fields over on the south side of the mountain. Grandpa said he wants to see the difference between poisonous wheat and normal wheat."
The old man nodded seriously: "I should go and take a look."
Even though there might not be anything strange to see, but now that he has found the reason, he should at least take a look, otherwise the old man would be uneasy.
Sang Zhixia had been here all day and couldn't think of what he had done. He sighed and said, "Okay."
"Grandfather, this way."
The old man followed with his hands behind his back. Xu Yu squatted down and threw the two bundles of firewood onto his back.
Uncle Xu put down the water bag in his hand and looked at the dark sky above his head. He took a breath and said, "Looking at this situation, I'm afraid it's going to snow."
Xu Yu took a look and said nothing, but just silently quickened his pace.
He carried the load twice at a time, and after three trips back and forth, only the last bundle of firewood was left. He felt a chill on the tip of his nose, and when he reached out to touch it, the chill turned into a drop of water on his fingertips.
It's really snowing.
Xu Yu was wondering if there was an umbrella at home. When he delivered the last bundle of firewood home, he saw Aunt Xu looking out the door.
Aunt Xu didn't bother to brush off the snow on her shoulders and hurried over to help take it over: "Come on, just put it here."
Xu Yu didn't let her help put the firewood in place. He rubbed his aching shoulders and said, "Why don't you go inside and take shelter?"
Second Aunt Xu retracted her gaze from outside the door and said with a wry smile, "Your second uncle hasn't come back yet. I'm a little worried about him."
Normally, after a round trip from the county town to here, I should have reached home long ago.
But there is still no sign of anyone, and it happens to be snowing.
Aunt Xu was muttering about how difficult it was to walk on the road because of the snow, but when she saw the water in the stove was boiling, she hurried over.
Xu Yu pursed his lips with a complicated expression, washed the mud off his hands and said, "Mom, do you have an umbrella at home?"
Xu Wenxiu had just wrapped Xu Mingxu and Xu Jinxi in their newly made jackets when she answered from inside the house, "Yes, what do you want an umbrella for?"
Xu Yu squinted his eyes at the snowflakes gradually accumulating on the ground, exhaled a breath mixed with white mist and said, "Grandfather and Zhizhi have gone down the Nanshan Mountain. I'll go meet them with an umbrella."
"You should go and pick it up, but you're wearing too few clothes."
Xu Wenxiu handed the umbrella to Xu Yu and frowned, saying, "Didn't Xia Xia stuff cotton into your clothes? Hurry up and go into the house and change into something thicker, so you don't have to..."
"It's no problem."
"I'm sweating so much, let's go get the person first."
He walked out holding the umbrella. Just as he walked a little, he ran into Sang Zhixia who was holding a basket over his head. "Grandpa, hurry up! If you're slow, you'll get soaked by the snow!"
A long basket covered two heads, one old and one young, and they were running with white air coming out of their mouths.
The old man had a canopy over his head and an umbrella with calligraphy that was worth a fortune, but this was the first time in his life that he ran wildly with a basket covering his head.
He walked hurriedly, breathing heavily, but a thick smile lingered in his voice: "Girl, lift the basket up a little, I can't see the road clearly."
"Hey, aren't my arms short?"
"Grandpa, please make do. We'll be home soon!"
She turned around and cheered the old man on. The old man glanced at who was coming and immediately moved to the side to get out of the coverage of the basket.
Before Sang Zhixia could react when she saw the person suddenly moving away from her, a big hand pressed down on the basket.
The entire basket fell on her head, and the scene in front of her was instantly cut into stripes by the stripes of the basket. She saw the black on Xu Yu's cuffs through the gaps.
"cough."
The old man held up the dignity of an elder and walked in calmly and confidently: "I'll go in and change my clothes first."
He left after he finished speaking, and Sang Zhixia stretched out her arm to pull Xu Yu's evil hand.
"Let go."
Get my head out!
Xu Yu bent down to look at her through the basket, suppressing a laugh and saying, "You and your grandfather ran back together like this?"
When did the old man become so uncouth?
Sang Zhixia said confidently: "What's wrong with running back?"
"There's drizzle mixed with the snow. If you don't run fast, you'll get wet and it'll be troublesome."
She could handle it herself, but the old man couldn't.
I'm so old, what if I get sick from the cold?
After she finished speaking, she continued to pull Xu Yu's hand: "Xu Yu, let go of me quickly, or I will..."
"What about you?"
Xu Yu controlled the strength of his hands to ensure that he could hold her head without causing her any pain.
Seeing that no one was around, he felt angry and even flicked the outside of the basket with his fingers: "Zhizhi, call me brother."
"Call me brother and I'll let you go."
"Hey, you're really persistent."
Sang Zhixia tried to break free a few times but failed. He sneered and said suddenly, "Hey boys, come on!"
Xu Yu turned his head in confusion. There were a few howling sounds from inside the door. The little guys led by Xu Mingyang rushed out and hung on him in an instant.
"Brother, you're under arrest!"
"Brother, surrender!"
"Catch Big Brother!"
A few shouts were followed by the child being covered in blood. As soon as Xu Yu loosened his grip, Sang Zhixia overturned the basket.
She spun around a few times with the basket in her hand, then raised her eyebrows provocatively at Xu Yu: "How about it? Will you lower it or not?"
She had seen these little ones a long time ago.
She has plenty of help!
Xu Yanran was too embarrassed to hang on to Xu Yu, so she took Sang Zhixia's hand affectionately and said, "Brother, just surrender."
You can’t defeat them when they are outnumbered.
Xu Yu pinched his brows, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and raised his hands in agreement: "I surrender."
Sang Zhixia was satisfied. She embraced Xu Yanran and waved her hand: "Retreat, retreat, retreat, we can retreat now!"
"Wow! We win, we win!"
"Big brother admits defeat!"
Xu Mingyang cheered and picked up Xu Jinxi, swinging her around in the air. Xu Wenxiu said, "Ouch! Don't fall, both of you!"
"Everyone, come inside and take cover. Don't get wet in the snow outside."
Sang Zhixia put the basket back to its original place, and Xu Yu followed her into the west shed.
She was resentful of Xu Yu's teasing and kept silent, but Xu Yu suddenly said, "Zhizhi, don't move."
"ah?"
"What's wrong?"
Sang Zhixia stood still, and Xu Yu stretched out his hand and gently placed it on her hair.
He picked up a handful of clear snowflakes from the end of her hair and placed them in front of her eyes, smiling and saying, "Zhizhi, this is the first snow we have been in together today."
If we can get wet in the snow together today, we can grow old together tomorrow.
"Zhizhi, I..."
"Xu Yu! Xu Yu, come out quickly!"
Suddenly, Xu Wenxiu's anxious voice rang out from outside: "Something seems to have happened to your second uncle!"
"What?"
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