One step, two steps, three steps...
Following the footprints left by Ah Chou during the day, Zhong Mingwei finally crawled to the door. He was so tired that he was panting and his whole body was soaked. But he did not dare to delay for a moment. He immediately untied Ah Chou from his body and carefully placed him on the ground. Then he gritted his teeth and supported the door to stand up. Enduring the severe pain in his legs, he opened the door. Suddenly, the cold wind wrapped in snowflakes blew in his face. It was the first time that Zhong Mingwei had seen the cold wind in Ningguta. He almost fell to the ground again. Fortunately, he held on to the door tightly and finally did not fall down.
This was the first time he had walked out of the yard since he came to Ningguta. He looked outside the door. It was a dark snowy night. He could see nothing except the tiny snowflakes blowing in front of him. There was also a row of small footprints on the ground, and his eyes followed the footprints. Then he saw a big mark on the snow, and a large piece of thin ice next to it. It looked like someone slipped and fell. And knocked over the bucket in his hand.
Zhong Mingwei was thinking about the wet black cotton trousers. He suddenly turned his head, pressed his face against the door, and took a few deep breaths of the biting cold wind. When he looked up again, he had returned to normal. He gritted his teeth and moved step by step to the door frame. He leaned against the wall, then grabbed the door with both hands inside and outside. He gathered all his strength in his hands, and then suddenly exerted force and removed the door from the door frame.
“Bang!”
The door fell to the snow with a dull thud.
Zhong Mingwei knelt on the ground, dragged Achou onto the door panel, picked up the hemp rope, and tied Achou to the door panel tightly. Then he carefully pushed the door panel from behind, sliding it up the mountain road little by little.
…
The seventh day of the first lunar month in the thirty-third year of Jiasheng
Ningguta.
Chen Qingxuan's right eyelid has been twitching non-stop since last night, so much so that he can't even read.
"Wealth on the left and disaster on the right," Grandma Chen looked at Chen Qingxuan with a worried look on her face, "Qingxuan, have you offended anyone recently?"
"Grandma, I stay in my house all day reading books of sages. How could I have the chance to offend anyone?" Chen Qingxuan sighed helplessly and put down the book in his hand. He discussed with Grandma Chen, "Grandma, otherwise I will go back to the study tomorrow."
"You've only been back for a few days? The Lantern Festival hasn't even passed yet, why are you so eager to go back?" Grandma Chen got anxious when she heard this. "It's New Year's Day, why don't you stay at home and stay quiet? Why do you have to go back to the study? It's so cold and deserted."
"Grandma, can I just be alone?" Chen Qingxuan's face looked unhappy, and he spoke with some emotion, "I am lively at home, but you have visitors all the time, and you insist on dragging me to accompany you. How can I have the heart to read? It's better for me to go back to the study early and hide away in the quiet."
"Qingxuan, you think grandma is meddling too much, don't you?" Grandma Chen also frowned and looked at Chen Qingxuan with a little annoyance, "You don't like the daughter of the prefect, and you don't like the girls in our village, so tell me, what kind of fairy can you like? If you can just name a name, I will no longer worry about you!"
"Grandma! Look, you're here again!" Chen Qingxuan was speechless. From the beginning of the year to this time, the house has never been quiet. Young girls and wives said they came to talk to Grandma Chen, but they all looked at him. Chen Qingxuan felt indescribably annoyed. Even though he knew that Grandma Chen was angry, he still insisted, "Anyway, I'll go back to the study tomorrow."
At that moment, Chen Qingxuan went into the room without looking back and prepared all the clothes and books he was going to take back.
"You kid! I'm doing this for your own good!" Grandma Chen was so angry that she jumped up and down. She had made an appointment with a matchmaker from a nearby village for tomorrow. If Chen Qingxuan didn't like the girl in the village, he might be interested in girls from other villages. However, looking at Chen Qingxuan's appearance, Grandma Chen knew clearly that she would not be able to have a great-grandson this year, so she went back to her room and sulked.
…
Although she was very angry, Grandma Chen got up before dawn the next day to prepare breakfast for Chen Qingxuan. The two of them finished their breakfast in silence. Chen Qingxuan held his anger for a long time, but finally followed Grandma Chen into the kitchen.
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