Raising rabbits
On the first day of the new year, Kim Hee-ro was woken up by an urgent phone call. She was listening to the call in bed when she immediately opened her eyes, got out of bed, and started putting on her coat and pants while reassuring the person on the other end of the line. She then slipped on her shoes, pushed open the door, and ran out.
They didn't even notice that Sanhua was sleeping soundly by the bedside.
"Okay, I'm coming right away, Aunt Song, don't worry." Jin Xilu felt uncomfortable after running. She squatted down to take off her shoes, shook her still-dazed head, and prepared to run towards Song Yanan's house. As she ran, she didn't forget to comfort Aunt Song, who was crying on the phone.
"Xi Lu, don't listen to what my mom said. She can make a mountain out of a molehill. It's not that serious. I just tripped and fell." Song Yanan snatched the phone away. Through the phone, Jin Xi Lu heard Song Yanan trying to sound okay, but her breathing was labored and intermittent. Jin Xi Lu was anxious.
"Who do you take me for?" Jin Xilu kicked a piece of firecracker paper, and the wind rushed into her throat, choking her so much that she couldn't keep her head up or her feet up, and she was so angry that she almost couldn't find her way.
She knew Song Yanan would say that. She was a strong-willed person, and her first reaction to any problem was to keep it to herself and bear the consequences alone. Judging from her voice, she knew that Aunt Song was really panicked and could not find any help, so she thought of calling her. Even at this time, Song Yanan was still talking nonsense to her.
"Song Yanan, save your energy. When I get over there and I pinch your ear to talk to you, don't try to dodge."
Kim Hee-ro's mouth is just as sharp as Song Yanan's. When these two heartless, stupid people collide, they either spark or hurt each other. When they were young, they often argued with each other because of their words, and when they got angry, they even pulled each other's hair and fought.
"Okay, remember to use the back door, the front door isn't open yet." Song Yanan sighed. Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, she gave up her coy thoughts. She held onto the wooden handrail and tried to move her feet, but failed and fell hard on her bottom again. She was in so much pain that she was sweating profusely and couldn't stand up. Now she was unsure if her bones were broken.
"You wait here, I'll be right there, I'm hanging up now." Jin Xilu hung up the phone, shoved it into her pocket, and started her first run of the new year. The smell of firecrackers and fireworks in the air hadn't dissipated yet, and half of the frost that had formed on the grass at night had melted.
Under the large banyan tree at the corner, the ground of the earth god temple was covered with a layer of red firecracker debris. New couplets were written on the white walls on both sides of the temple entrance, ink was used to paint the walls, and incense burned continuously.
"The earth can give birth to all things, and the land can bring forth a thousand auspicious omens."
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Song Yanan woke up very early and couldn't fall back asleep. She had something on her mind and hadn't decided whether to tell Jin Xilu. Since she couldn't sleep, she simply sat down and went downstairs to get a drink of water. She heard the creaking and groaning of the wooden stairs.
Before going to the temple to offer incense, she decided to find something to do. While her mother was still asleep, Song Yanan moved the stairs, found nails and a hammer, and got to work.
This wooden staircase has been a source of trouble for a whole year. Every time she said she wanted to find someone to fix it, her mother would say to wait and it would still work. Time and time again, it dragged on for a year. Instead of relying on others, she decided to find out which plank was crooked and caused the problem, and she was determined to fix it today.
She changed out of her yellow coral fleece pajamas, climbed the ladder herself using both hands and feet, and quickly found the broken plank in the wooden staircase. She pulled out the broken nail, replaced it with a new one, and fixed it properly. After aligning the nails, she took out a hammer.
Ding-dong, ding-dong--
Just seconds before the last nail was driven in and the final hammer blow was about to fall, Song Yanan was thinking how capable she was. What did she need a useless blind date or a gigolo? She could manage just as well on her own, raising her mother.
With the hammer blow, the plank tightened at one end and immediately burst open at the other. She watched helplessly as the nail bounced and hopped all the way down, leaving only the last nail she had just driven in. She was dumbfounded; now this step was completely useless.
Just then, her mother, who was resting, came out yawning with sleepy eyes. Her plump body bumped into the stairs, and she screamed in fright when she saw the woman in black hanging from the stairs.
"Emma, wow!"
It would have been better if she hadn't screamed. The scream startled Song Yanan so much that she lost her balance and, clinging tightly to the ladder, still fell from the two-meter-high ladder. She didn't hit her head, but she hit her foot and was in so much pain that she couldn't scream for a moment.
She looked at her delicate mother, who was completely shocked, and gestured with her hand, indicating that she had only wanted to stop her from shouting and to help her up. She didn't know how her mother interpreted it.
She actually thought Song Yanan was gesturing for her to call someone to help her, and she actually did call.
Ms. Song really knew how to surprise her. Song Yanan had no idea that her mother had Jin Xilu's new number. A few years ago, Jin Xilu left the town of Elk alone, changed her phone number, and went off to fool around for several years. No one knew whether she was alive or dead. No one could contact her. She had only been back for a few days, and her mother had already added Jin Xilu's number.
She had none of them. Thinking of this, Song Yanan mustered her courage and lay flat on the stairs, staring at her yellowed ceiling. She thought carefully about when she last injured her leg. It seemed to be the night Jin Xilu left five years ago. She had actually seen Jin Xilu run out of the ancestral hall.
Song Yanan didn't call out to her, but she was tripped up by her. Fortunately, Jin Xilu managed to escape in the end.
Before I could even feel sad for a moment, the roller shutter door in front of the house was hit with a crisp, loud "bang".
The next second, after waiting a while, Ms. Song had already run over to open the roller shutter. In those few seconds while waiting for the roller shutter to rise, Song Yanan had actually mentally prepared herself.
But as the roller shutter slowly rose, she watched as Kim Hee-ro, wearing a black trench coat and brown boots with tightly knotted laces, jumped off the electric tricycle, grimacing. The wind was blowing from the outside in, making her thin body look like a bat that had been dazed by the early morning sun.
"I've come to save you." Kim Hee-ro ran toward Song Yanan, who was lying on the ground and looked somewhat weak.
"Didn't I tell you to use the back door?"
Song Yanan felt a wave of dizziness. She felt a pang of sympathy for her family's iron gate, and also a pang of sympathy for herself. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, she not only received a mother's love that was "as heavy as Mount Tai" that shattered her, but also suffered a friendship that felt like it was being robbed in the market.
"Are you alright? Did you fall and hurt your head? Do you remember who I am?"
Before Jin Xilu could kneel down and hug her, Song Yanan quickly reached out and stood between the two of them, feeling as if she were still in the real world. She hurriedly said, "Stop! And where did you steal a tricycle from?"
"I didn't steal it. I borrowed it on the way here," Jin Xilu said truthfully. After seeing Song Yanan in person, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was even able to sit up on her own, which really seemed to be just as she had said: she had only tripped and fallen.
However, just to be on the safe side, it was necessary to take her to the hospital for a thorough examination. Later, Jin Xilu and Aunt Song worked together to get Song Yanan onto the tricycle.
At 6:30 in the morning, Song Yanan lay listlessly on the cargo bed of her tricycle, gazing at the clear blue sky, thinking: "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I've eaten my fill and have nothing to do. I should have gone to burn some incense before coming back to fix the stairs."
After a whole morning of fussing, thankfully there wasn't a minor fracture. The doctor used materials to immobilize her bone and put on a cast. He told her family to take good care of her these next few days, and that she shouldn't bother with any staircase repairs after a bone injury. She should just stay in bed and rest for a while.
"Won't it leave a scar, doctor? My daughter is so young, she still has to get married." Aunt Song stood to the side, her brows and eyes furrowed with heartache, her fingers tightly gripping her clothes.
Hearing this, Song Yanan laughed helplessly, then received a slap on the shoulder from Aunt Song. Before she could speak, the doctor stepped forward to speak.
"Don't worry, the little girl won't have any aftereffects," the doctor said responsibly, holding up the freshly taken X-ray.
"That's good. I only have one daughter, she's my precious darling." Aunt Song relaxed her shoulders, but her expression gradually became somewhat conflicted. She twisted her fingers around the hem of her clothes, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "Doctor, how long will it take for her to get better? I've arranged a blind date for her after the New Year."
"If he recovers well, it will take at least two weeks. During this time, it's best to minimize outdoor activities and focus on rest," the doctor said gently, adjusting his glasses.
Aunt Song spoke again, "I only have this one daughter." Halfway through her sentence, Song Yanan coughed wildly in an attempt to interrupt her mother's spell, but it was no use. Aunt Song, who was standing, knew her daughter's little thoughts and spoke more fluently, "I only have her as my daughter, so of course I hope she can get married soon and have her own little family, so I can rest assured."
After talking about Song Yanan, Aunt Song didn't let Jin Xilu off the hook either, concluding with, "How can we parents not worry? Don't you agree?"
Jin Xilu held onto the armrest of Song Yanan's wheelchair, nodded subconsciously, and then, after receiving a sharp glare from Song Yanan, quickly shook her head, not daring to meet Song's eyes. No one could out-argue Song's wits, but she still couldn't help but say something in Yanan's defense.
"Marriage is certainly not a bad thing, but it's better to consider your own wishes."
After saying a few words, Jin Xilu received a hint from Song Yanan, gripped the handrail tightly, and pushed her quickly out of the examination room. "Um, I just remembered, I'll take her downstairs to the window to get the medicine first. Aunt Song, could you please remember the doctor's instructions?"
"Phew, the painful memories of coming back from doing naughty things with you when I was a kid, and then turning around to see Aunt Song with a feather duster, are flooding back." She said, holding her chest and catching her breath as she walked into the lobby of the town hospital.
After Aunt Song paid, Jin Xilu originally wanted to find another car to take Song Yanan back, but she refused.
"It's not that complicated. Besides, your tricycle driving skills are pretty good. I'm sure you can get me home safely."
As a result, when Jin Xilu pushed Song Yanan to the front of the tricycle, they were captured by an old man who jumped out from in front of the vehicle.
"Hey! Car thief, you're finally back!" Jin Xilu was hit hard by the old man who jumped out, and she stumbled, bending over and forced to stare at the hissing ants on the ground. She looked like a groundhog running away in fright when it saw its grandfather.
Before being beaten herself, Jin Xilu did not forget to comfort her good friend. She turned her back and pushed a wheelchair carrying Song Yanan, and pressed herself in front of the wheelchair, which had been pushed several meters away, in a strange posture of bowing at a ninety-degree angle. She was now bent over and the same height as Song Yanan sitting in the wheelchair.
This prompted Kim Hee-ro to exclaim, "What the hell?"
"What the hell? Your grandpa is here!" Li Quan hadn't missed her cowardly and confused posture. Seeing that Jin Xilu didn't say anything, he pouted and let go. Finally, he laughed and scolded, "Where are you going? Quickly look up and apologize!"
"Oh my god, what the hell?" Song Yanan, who was sitting in a wheelchair and wanted to get up to get to the bottom of this, but couldn't, was anxious. Her gaze darted back and forth between Jin Xilu and the robust old man, finally settling on the bunch of keys on the old man's waistband.
When Song Yanan found out, she forced a smile but couldn't manage it. She quickly picked up a stone from beside the wheelchair and threw it at Jin Xilu's feet, but Jin Xilu easily dodged it. Song Yanan immediately snapped, "Jin Xilu, stop looking at those ants on the ground! Did you ride the wrong bike?"
Jin Xilu was innocent. She didn't really want to stare at the ants. If it were anyone else, they would have twisted their back after being repeatedly "elbowed" by the people around them. Fortunately, she had learned how to avoid Jiang Yilin. Every day, she would either look for him behind her head or above her head, which had given her good physical fitness.
It was a hellish explanation, but after hearing Song Yanan's words, Jin Xilu still subconsciously explained, supporting her back as she straightened up and spoke, her tone somewhat aggrieved: "No! I borrowed the tricycle from the steamed bun shop owner, and he agreed before I took the key."
"I'm so sorry, I hurt my leg this morning. My friend was worried about me, so she grabbed the wrong keys in her haste. I'm really sorry." Song Yanan held her injured leg, secretly resolving that she would be the one to talk to Jin Xilu when she got back.
"Hmph, it's alright now. It's all that damn third brother's fault. He was so busy at the shop that he didn't point out which car to you. Don't worry, I'll yell at him for both of you later." Li Quan snorted, and a few loud grumbling sounds came from beside him, interrupting his rant about the steamed bun shop owner.
This is Jin Xilu and Song Yanan's stomachs growling. They had been to the hospital early in the morning and hadn't eaten anything. Now they were so hungry that they even wanted to steal some sugar from the ants carrying the sugar cubes. Of course, this was just a dream.
"Hey, I was going to buy these for my granddaughter, but you little girl are so skinny, like a juvenile gourd. The buns are a bit cold, so take them and eat them. You can't go without eating."
When Li Quan mentioned his granddaughter, a gentle light unconsciously appeared on his face. He still couldn't bear to see a girl go hungry.
Now that it's clear it was a misunderstanding, Kim Hee-ro felt apologetic. In the end, Lee Kwon drove the three women home safely in his tricycle.
After getting off the bus, Aunt Song thanked Li Quan repeatedly and even pulled him aside to invite him to stay for a meal as a token of her gratitude.
Li Quan couldn't handle all the polite formalities of thanking and asking for thanks. He simply said that he had a lovely granddaughter waiting for him to come home, so he wouldn't stay for dinner. He didn't need to thank him, and he just hoped that everything would go smoothly on the first day of the Lunar New Year and that the misunderstanding would be cleared up.
When Aunt Song heard that he was leaving, she finally remembered why he looked familiar: "You must be Xixi's grandfather. It's no big deal. Come and have dinner. There's food at home."
"Wait, whose grandfather are you talking about?" Kim Hee-ro reacted first.
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