Anyang County.
Winter has arrived, and the entire Anyang County is covered with heavy snow. This year is much colder than in previous years, and the villagers have started hibernating at home early.
At around eight in the morning, the door of a mud brick house opened and a thin young man walked out. He was only wearing a thin cotton-padded jacket. The cold wind blew in his face, making his already handsome face even paler.
He carried a bamboo basket filled with chopped cabbage leaves and walked towards the chicken coop built with earthen bricks at the base of the wall.
The four chickens in the chicken coop were huddling together for warmth, all crowded in the corner. They didn't move at all when they heard the sound of feeding.
Ran Qiu looked at their listless appearance and thought about finding a time to move them into the house.
The weather is so cold, I hope these chickens don’t freeze to death.
The family is counting on them to lay eggs to provide nutrition for Dabao and the others. They are in the growing period now, so Ran Qiu will cook an egg for them every morning.
When Ran Qiu finished feeding the chickens and returned to the house, the three little ones had woken up.
"Brother Qiu, good morning."
They were all wrapped in thick cotton jackets, but they still shivered when the cold wind blew in, and they became much more awake instantly.
"I'll serve you some food, go wash up."
Ran Qiu looked at them and said.
The three little ones nodded repeatedly, and walked over the threshold as if they had made a great decision.
"It's too cold, take a shower quickly."
Dabao fetched water from the well and quickly called Erbao and Sanya.
The well water is even warm in winter, but the temperature outside is too low and the water becomes cold in a short time.
The three little guys quickly washed their faces and ran into the house.
The kitchen is the warmest place in the whole house, especially since Ran Qiu had just cooked and there were still a few sticks of firewood burning in the stove, making the entire area around the stove warm.
The three little guys all walked to the stove with their meals in perfect harmony, squatted down, and ate while warming themselves by the fire.
The three of them were very satisfied with the light white rice porridge with pickles.
After filling my stomach, my whole body felt warm.
Ran Qiu made a cup of malted milk for each of the three of them.
The three little guys took it one by one and drank the fragrant and sweet malted milk. They couldn't help but think of Song Zhi.
This malted milk was also specially left for them by Song Zhi.
San Ya drank malted milk, drooping her cheeks, and muttered, "I wonder when Sister Zhizhi will be able to come home?"
She missed Song Zhi a little.
Ran Qiu paused, his thin lips pressed into a line. He said nothing, just lowered his eyes and continued eating.
But he put down his chopsticks after taking just two bites, feeling that the food was bland.
"I kind of miss Sister Zhizhi. She's been gone for a long time."
"Yes, Sister Zhizhi has been gone for a long time. I wonder if she will come back. Will we be able to see her again in the future?"
The three little heads gathered together and discussed in a low voice. When they talked about this, the tone of the three little ones was tinged with sadness.
They knew very well that Song Zhi was not from the same world as them.
I'm afraid they may never see each other again.
Thinking of the gentle and considerate Song Zhi, the three little guys were filled with melancholy.
"Pack up and go to school."
Ran Qiu silently cleaned up the dishes and then took out the three of their schoolbags.
The three little guys put on their schoolbags and walked slowly to school.
Ran Qiu watched their backs disappear before turning around and walking home.
He hasn't been to school these days. A wall at home collapsed, so he took a leave of absence to repair it at home.
At this moment, someone called him outside the door.
"Ran Qiu."
Ran Qiu turned around and saw Sun Dazhu from the same village.
Sun Dazhu was carrying a large snakeskin bag and greeted Ran Qiu enthusiastically. When he saw him coming, he quickly spoke.
"This is the food the brigade has put out for you. Do you want me to help you carry it into the house?"
Ran Qiu was stunned for a moment, then thanked him, stepped back and let him in.
Sun Dazhu carried the food into the house, then raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Ran Qiu, you are really amazing. You are the only one in our village who was admitted to university."
Sun Dazhu looked at Ran Qiu, praised him sincerely, and asked again.
"Is school about to start? Once you go to college, can you go to a big city? I haven't even seen what a big city is like!"
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but envy Ran Qiu.
By the time Ran Qiu went to college, he had completely left their small village.
"School doesn't start until February, so there's still a long time to go."
Ran Qiu was not a talkative person, so he just replied lightly.
Sun Dazhu was quite talkative and asked a lot of questions. Ran Qiu patiently answered a few of them and then became silent. The other party then realized something and quickly said goodbye.
After sending Sun Dazhu away, Ran Qiu moved the bag of food into the kitchen.
After the news of his admission to university spread, the brigade gave him a lot of rewards.
Not only was he given a bonus of 300 yuan, but he was also given a lot of extra food and various tickets every month.
The gate that was originally ignored attracted countless people to come and make friends with him because he passed the exam.
He even attracted the attention of all the matchmakers in the surrounding area. A while ago, the threshold of his house was almost broken down by the nearby matchmakers.
The house was lively for a while because of this.
However, because he repeatedly refused, no matchmaker could find him a marriage, which caused his reputation to be ruined among the matchmakers.
Ran Qiu still remembers their words.
"He's been admitted to university, but he can't get into the girls in the village. His standards are so high. I don't know if the girls in the city will be interested in a peasant. He's so old now, the girls in the city will definitely not like him. I'm afraid he will be a bachelor for the rest of his life!"
From that day on, no matchmaker came to his house again.
And these words also spread in the village.
His house returned to its former deserted state.
Ran Qiu didn't care. He didn't like the crowds anyway.
But his life seemed to have come to a sudden halt because of Song Zhi's departure.
He had never felt this empty before.
He walked towards the room where Song Zhi used to live, which was still in the same state as before.
He stood in the room and couldn't help but recall the time when Song Zhi lived here.
When Song Zhi first rented here, his home was also very lively.
Ran Qiu lowered his eyes, and a thick dark color flashed across his eyes.
She said before that she would come back, but there has been no news for so long.
I'm afraid I won't come back...
At this moment, there was a clear car bell sound outside the door, followed by a loud shout.
"Ran Qiu, there's a letter for you, sent from the capital!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
