On the village road outside the gate, Liu Weimin was leading the way in clearing snow. When he saw her, he smiled.
"Little Jian, have you swept your yard yet?"
He simply breathes on his hands, and when he speaks, white breath comes out of his mouth.
"No, there's no rush. The front yard is only so big, it'll be quick to clean up. I'll move everything to the backyard later."
"That works too. Once it gets warmer, we can melt it and use it on our own land anyway."
Yes, at this time everyone is concerned about keeping the benefits within the family.
Fat……
It has to be said that when something happens, the people of Liujiatun really go all out. After clearing the snow in front of their own houses, almost all the men in the village are clearing the roads. It's quite convenient; they just sweep the snow off the road to the side and clear the road.
Her house is near the village entrance, and she lives alone; hardly anyone else uses this route. Logically, no one could say anything if she didn't clean it up, but these people still cleared the road all the way to her doorstep.
"Little Jian, you should go inside quickly, don't catch a cold."
It'll be so cold after this snowfall.
Yes, it's not cold when it snows, but it's cold when the snow melts.
In a fleeting moment, a meme from later generations came to mind.
"It's snowing."
"Let's go catch a goose!"
As she thought about it, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Should we join in the fun?
Once it snows, it signifies the official start of the winter hibernation in the countryside.
There isn't much work to do in winter, but people in the countryside can't stay idle. Housewives in every household are busy planning their food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. There isn't much strenuous work to do at this time, and with the days getting shorter, every family has switched to two meals a day, and even the porridge has become much thinner.
As for the men, besides clearing snow and gathering firewood, they couldn't do anything else since everything was covered in snow.
Ah, no, there's also an annual project to reinforce the dam, which is a unified action organized by the commune.
There is a small river about two miles away from the village, but between the village and the river, about two or three hundred meters from the riverbank, there is a large dam. This river almost encircles the surrounding villages, and this dam almost connects all the villages in the area into a circle.
In case of a high flood, with the dam as the first line of defense in front and the mountain behind as a retreat route, the geographical location is actually quite advantageous, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities. Therefore, they attach great importance to this dam and conduct maintenance almost every year, but always during the period after the autumn harvest and before the ground freezes.
This year, due to the lack of rainfall, the dam was practically useless, so the maintenance was brought forward. When we arrived, they had just finished their work, which made things easier for them.
However, judging from the intensity of the snowfall, it seems unlikely that we'll be able to avoid it next year.
As Jian Dan was lost in her wild thoughts, the villagers shoveling snow were also discussing the same topic.
"Is it getting cold early this year? I remember it used to snow about two weeks later?"
"It's getting late. Think about it, what were we doing at this time in previous years?"
"After the autumn harvest, we go up the mountain. Ah, right. In previous years, after the harvest, we had to go to repair the dam. At this time, we had just finished repairing the dam and came back."
"Exactly! The closing time for the mountain was short this year. We only went up for a few days before it was closed. Then the authorities left, and it got cold. Plus, they were arresting someone around that time, so we never went back. That saved us a lot of time."
"That's true, the dam took about half a month to build the year before last, right?"
"Yes, yes, sixteen days. The day I come back is my mother's birthday. I remember it very clearly."
"Haha, I didn't realize you were such a filial son."
"How could I not remember? The year before last was the first time I went with them. It was already a bit frozen when we arrived, and the soil was so hard to dig. I was exhausted. Every night when I came back, I couldn't even lift my arms. My mother would soak me in hot water and massage me every day, staying up half the night."
At first I didn't know either. Later, after everything was over and I came back, one day I saw her lighting the stove, and her hands were trembling uncontrollably.
I had heard them say that their arms were sore, but I was puzzled. I thought it couldn't be that bad. At most, they were just a little sore, not as tiring as during the autumn harvest.
Seeing this made me realize that it wasn't that life wasn't tiring; it was that my mother was worried I was uncomfortable, so she massaged me every night. I was wondering why she always looked like she hadn't slept well in the mornings, but she was fine within a couple of days of me coming back.
......
"You little rascal, no wonder you haven't been going out to play with us much since you came back. You've been focusing on helping with chores around the house. Turns out you've become more sensible."
“Hey! You know, my dad passed away early, and it's just the two of us, mother and me. After all these years, if I'm still so irresponsible, how much more will my mother have to worry about me? She's an old lady in her fifties.”
Those around Qingxue slowed down their movements and were momentarily lost in thought.
Jian Dan was standing at the door watching the commotion, thoroughly enjoying himself, when suddenly a voice sounded beside him.
"Little Jian, which one have you set your sights on? Uncle will make the decision for you."
Jian Dan was engrossed in her reading when the sudden voice nearly sent her flying. Still shaken, she patted her chest, not quite understanding what was said, and complained...
"Uncle, you can scare someone to death. Are you trying to scare me to death so I can inherit my house?"
Liu Weimin was speechless. What was this brat talking about?
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm just worried you'll feel embarrassed."
Simple and full of question marks, what happened?
Why should I be embarrassed?
But Liu Weimin is a man who can be incredibly clever at times, and at other times seems to lack common sense.
For example, right now, he's winking at her, giving her an expression that says, "Why are you hiding anything from me? I know everything, I'm on your side."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else. Just tell me, and I'll take care of it for you."
Jian Dan looked completely bewildered. "Make a decision? What decision? What's wrong with me? What happened?"
Liu Weimin looked back at the two people who had just been talking. Hmm, not bad, they didn't slack off.
Turning back, he shook his head in disappointment.
“I’ve already told you, once you come to Liujiatun, you’re one of us. If you need anything, just tell me. Look at you, why are you still acting like an outsider?”
Jian Dan was even more confused, and looked at Liu Weimin with even stranger eyes. Was there something wrong with this uncle? What was she imagining?
"Uncle, I know. After I come here, I'll be one of the people from Liujiatun."
Under your leadership, our Liujiatun village united as one to engage in production and tried every means to survive. Even under this year's harsh natural conditions, you led everyone in helping each other to weather this difficult time, allowing Liujiatun to fully welcome the dawn of hope. Uncle, this is inseparable from your wisdom.”
Liu Weimin was so flattered that he was almost dizzy. His mouth stretched from ear to ear, and a shy blush crept onto his face. His hands were behind his back, and his back straightened unconsciously.
"Well, it's not as exaggerated as you say. It's the result of everyone working together and united. It's nothing to mention."
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