Yan Sisi was so frozen that she couldn't help but let out a hiss. It was really too cold today. It felt like winter had fully arrived. When she was sitting in the car, she could still see a thin layer of ice on the small river by the roadside. After a while, it would surely freeze into a thick river of ice, and then she could skate on it.

Yan Sisi followed her parents and found Grandpa Yan, who drove the ox cart to the town every day. She waited for a while until the ox cart was full of people before starting to move.

People who knew them looked at them with their bags and greeted them with a smile: "Aiguo, you're back."

"Ann, what are you doing in town?"

"The oil at home is used up, so we came up to get some. You bought a lot of things again." Cheng Ying, who was talking to them, looked at them coming back with big and small bags. Aunt Tang was still the happy one in their village. The eldest son and the second son were both workers in the city. Especially the second son, he would bring a lot of things every time he came back. Her son, for example, would not earn much money even if he dug in the dirt all year round.

Yan Sisi kept looking at the trees on the roadside and listened to the aunt's voice that had not stopped since she got on the car. After about half an hour, she finally saw rows of bungalows in an orderly manner in the distance. Most of the houses in the village were thatched houses, with only a few bungalows made of red bricks. Under the old tree at the entrance of the village, there were only some children running around without fear of the cold, and occasionally a few adults could be seen walking around in the village.

Yan Sisi, who was sore from sitting, couldn't help but exhale and say, "It's finally here."

The ox cart continued to sway forward. Yan Sisi saw a familiar figure. She looked closely and shouted, "Grandpa."

Yan Dawu looked up at the ox cart when he heard his granddaughter's voice. Seeing that it was his second son and his family returning, he quickly responded, "Hey, Sisi is back."

Father Yan, who was sitting next to him, jumped off the bullock cart and called out, "Dad, where are you going?"

"Let's go check out the field." Yan Dawu walked over and saw that his son's arm was covered in a thick plaster cast. He frowned and asked, "What's wrong with your arm?"

After saying that, he put down the iron shovel on his shoulder, took the package from his son's hand, and asked curiously: "Did you fight with someone?"

His second son has always had a good temper since he was young, and he rarely argues with others. What happened this time that he actually fought with others?

Yan Sisi handed the two cents to the grandfather who was driving the ox cart and jumped off the cart. She looked at her grandfather and father who were walking slowly, then trotted forward and headed towards her old house. Along the way, she met some friends she had grown up with.

"Sisi, are you back?"

"Ann, where are you going?"

"Let's go fishing. Do you want to go?" Yan Guodong invited as usual. Although he already knew that Yan Sisi would not go, he would still ask her every time he saw her.

Yan Sisi couldn't help but be moved when thinking about the lively fish in the river. She looked forward to the door of her home not far away, but still shook her head, "No, I haven't gone home yet!"

"I knew you wouldn't go, so let's go." Yan Guodong smiled and waved his hand, then continued walking towards the river outside the village carrying the wooden bucket.

Yan Sisi walked to the bamboo-enclosed yard of her home, looked at the red-brick bungalow inside, pushed open the bamboo door and shouted loudly, "Grandma, I'm back."

Xu Baoying, who was feeding the chickens, looked back and saw that it was her eldest granddaughter who had returned. She quickly poured the water in her hand into the wooden trough and asked, "You came back alone? Where are your parents?"

"They're in the back with my grandpa, grandma, did you miss me?"

Xu Baoying wiped the dirt off her hands, touched her granddaughter who ran over, smiled and said, "Yes, I miss my little darling every day. Why do I feel that you have lost weight?"

"Have I lost weight?" Yan Sisi touched her face and felt no change.

"Is it because your father didn't feed you enough that my little girl's face has become smaller?" Xu Baoying looked at her granddaughter who had lost weight with distress. Is there no food in the city? Two workers actually starved the child like this.

Father Yan then walked to the door and shouted, "Mom, I'm back."

"Hey, what's wrong with his arm?" Xu Baoying swallowed the words that were about to be cursed, frowned and looked at his son's arm covered in plaster with heartache. It has been such a short time since they last saw him, how come his arm is injured.

"It's just a minor injury. The doctor said you just need to rest." Father Yan had just been scolded, and now seeing his mother's nervous face, he quickly said to his wife, "Aren't we still going to the mountains? Let's go!"

Mother Yan held the package in her hand, looked at her mother-in-law with a distressed look, hesitated for a moment and said, "Sisi and I will go, you should have a good rest at home."

After saying that, without waiting for her husband to answer, she turned around and walked out the door, pulling the stunned daughter to the side. Before she had taken a few steps, she heard her mother-in-law say distressedly: "Who was that bastard who beat you up like this? Have you reported it to the police?"

A series of problems, fortunately she ran fast, otherwise she would definitely be scolded if caught by her mother-in-law. In this case, it is better to hide if you can!

On the winter hillside, white mist rose up around the sparsely green pine trees. Yan Sisi shuttled through the woods with strange shapes and looked around. As far as the naked eye could see, except for the pine trees, everything else was bare. Each tree was similar except for its shape, and there was no way to tell whether there were fruit trees among them.

Yan Sisi followed her mother and climbed towards the middle of the mountain. The bare forest was full of fallen leaves, and a crunching sound could be heard as they walked on them.

After walking about a third of the way, Yan Sisi was just about to take a rest when she heard a clear female voice coming from the front, "Tang Mingze, I like you."

When Yan Sisi heard this, she was about to go and see which girl was so amazing that she confessed her love to her cousin, but her mother grabbed her and made her hide behind a tree.

Yan Sisi turned her head and looked at her mother and blinked in confusion. Why was she pulling her?

Yan's mother frowned and shook her head as she looked at the girl's excited expression. This matter concerned the girl's reputation, so it was better not to go forward to watch the excitement.

The next second, I heard my cousin's deep voice, "I'm sorry, I just treat you as a friend."

Xie Yiyi's heart, which had been beating wildly just now, stopped instantly when she heard the unexpected rejection. She had always thought that they were in tune with each other, and she didn't understand why she was rejected even though she took the initiative to confess. She suppressed her embarrassment and asked unwillingly, "Do you really not like me at all?"

Tang Mingze looked at Xie Yiyi who was expecting something. His face was not moved at all. He said in a cold voice, "I'm sorry."

Xie Yiyi couldn't hold back the tears when she heard this. She said in a sobbing voice, "It's not your fault. I'm just not good enough."

The crying voice made Yan Sisi, who had been eavesdropping, couldn't help but soften her heart. She turned her head to look at her mother, but saw that she was standing in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking.

Yan Sisi stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her mother, and asked softly, "Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Mother Yan came to her senses and asked softly, "Is everything okay? Is he still there?"

Yan Sisi stuck her head out from behind the tree and saw only a figure running away quickly. She turned around and said to her mother, "Let's go. Can we get out now?"

"Wait a moment!"

Before Yan Sisi could agree, she heard her cousin's stern voice not far away: "Who is in there? Come out."

Yan Sisi stupidly stretched her head to look towards the place where the sound came from, smiled and said, "Brother, it's me."

Tang Mingze was relieved. It was good that it wasn't someone else. He walked over with a relaxed smile and asked, "Where's my aunt?"

Yan Sisi pointed to her mother behind the tree and signaled with her eyes. Tang Mingze blinked to indicate that he had received it. He quickly walked over to take the package from his aunt and asked, "When did you come here?"

Yan Sisi smiled brightly, "It came when someone was pursuing you."

After saying that, he was afraid that he would be beaten by his cousin, so he quickly ran to the front and ran towards the mountain.

Mother Yan looked at her handsome nephew and thought that if nothing had happened at home, he might have been married long ago. Why is he still single now?

Thinking of this, Yan's mother asked tentatively: "Mingze, do you have someone you like?"

"No, aunt. I have no mind to talk to anyone in my current situation. It will be suffering if you follow me." Tang Mingze's eyes dimmed. He didn't know when the problems at his family could be solved, so why bother delaying other people.

"These are only temporary. The situation is much better now. If you really like the girl, why reject her so bluntly." Mother Yan looked at her frail nephew. She knew that he was feeling bitter, but she still hoped that he could think positively and work hard to live his life, instead of dwelling on the sufferings of the past.

"Don't worry, auntie. I know what I'm doing." Tang Mingze didn't want to talk more and followed silently with the package in his hand.

Yan Sisi, who was walking in front, didn't have so many thoughts. She either ran here or there to look along the way. During the time she was preparing to go to the countryside, she took her father to the mountains to find some space to plant trees.

Soon the three of them reached the middle of the mountain. Yan Sisi looked at the silent huts, walked to the innermost hut, opened the door and shouted, "Grandma, I'm here."

A frail old man with gray hair was sitting on the bed. He looked towards the door when he heard the voice. He couldn't help but smile and waved, "Sisi, you're here. Come in quickly. It's cold outside."

Yan Sisi trotted into the house and her mother, who had caught up with her, walked silently behind. Every time she saw her father living in a small thatched house without even a decent piece of furniture, she felt sad but could not change it. Every time she came, she could only bring some food and did not dare to buy anything even slightly noticeable. She did not know when such days would end.

Yan Sisi felt that it was much warmer inside the house than outside. The originally flat place had a small depression. She took a look curiously and asked, "Brother, why is there a depression here?"

Tang Mingze put the package on the wooden bed, poured a cup of water and handed it to his aunt, saying, "I read in a book that this can be used to keep warm in winter, so I tried making one. It is indeed warmer than burning wood in a porcelain basin before."

Yan Sisi immediately thought of someone in the city who lit a fire in the house to keep warm in winter and then got poisoned. She said seriously, "This is too dangerous! Someone in the city lit a fire in the house and was sent to the hospital. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, otherwise..."

Yan's mother also disagreed and said, "That's right, Mingze. I asked someone to buy two hot water bottles this time, one for you and one for dad. If it's not enough, I'll think of a way."

"Mingze, are you home?"