“Dongdongdong——”
The orderly knocks on the door were particularly noticeable on this quiet winter morning.
In the sky, snowflakes fluttered down along the eaves and alleyways, falling bit by bit...
"Who is it? Knocking on the door so early in the morning?"
The woman's raised voice came from the yard inside the house.
Hua Shi huddled in a narrow alley, standing under the eaves, avoiding the falling snow. Her head and shoulders were covered with fine snow, and she shivered with cold.
"bump!"
The small courtyard door was pushed open from the inside.
"Ah! Who is this? Whose girl is this?"
A woman wearing a flowery cotton-padded jacket and wrapped tightly was standing in the door frame, looking at the young girl with a look of surprise on her face.
"Auntie, good morning."
Hua Shi took two steps back from the eaves, stood in the alley, and greeted the visitor politely.
"What's going on? Come on in! It's snowing so hard outside! You came out without even an umbrella and you're all covered in snow."
The woman looked at her red face from the cold, with an expression as if she had done something wrong, and while speaking, she pulled her into the yard.
Hua Shi followed her force and walked into the yard until they stood under the spacious eaves, where they stopped.
The woman reached out and patted the snow off her shoulder warmly, then urged her to stand by the stove to warm her hands and feet. "Sit down first, warm yourself by the fire. Look at your little face, it's so cold."
Hua Shi didn't expect the woman to be so warm-hearted. She welcomed her into the yard to shelter from the snow and let her warm herself by the fire. She thanked her repeatedly.
The woman went back into the house and soon came out with a bowl that seemed to be filled with hot water. Before she could say anything, the bowl of warm water was stuffed into her palm.
"Drink some hot water first."
The woman waved her hand and said to her.
"Grandma, who's here?"
Suddenly, a child's tender voice was heard from the room, and then a little girl wearing a flowery cotton-padded jacket and wrapped tightly all over her body ran out of the room skipping and jumping.
The little girl was about eight or nine years old, with pigtails that went up into the air. Perhaps she had just come out of a warm room, her little face was baked red, and her big eyes were looking curiously at Hua Shi who was sitting by the fireplace in her house.
"Girl, it's cold outside. Why don't you sleep for a while before coming out?"
The woman touched the little girl's head lovingly.
The little girl didn't know what she was thinking about, and pouted unhappily, "My parents are hiding again and won't let me in. They said they would give me a brother or sister, but it's been so long, and I still haven't seen any brother or sister..."
"Oh, you can't say that." The woman quickly covered the little girl's mouth, feeling a little amused.
Hua Shi drank a bowl of hot water, and her stomach warmed up, and she suddenly felt empty.
She went out at daybreak, but after leaving Hua's house, she walked up the village and knocked on many doors, most of which were turned away. Some who were willing to talk to her turned away without interest after seeing the worthless dates in her basket.
Not to mention being willing to pay for her basket of dates...
This family was the first to welcome her in, and they asked her about her well-being...
After the woman comforted her little granddaughter, she finally looked at Hua Shi. Seeing that she had finished drinking the hot water, she asked, "Whose daughter are you? I don't think I've seen you before. Did you knock on the door so early in the morning? Did something happen to you?"
When Hua Shi lifted the cloth covering the basket, she revealed a basket filled with winter jujubes. Each one was plump and round, and looked pretty good, except...
Although such large and plump white dates are rare in the village, they do exist and are not a rare sight.
"Auntie, what do you think of these winter dates? Would you like to try a couple? If they taste good, would you like to buy some?"
Hua Shi swallowed his dry throat and spoke straight to the point without waiting for her to ask.
When the woman saw this, she immediately understood the girl's intention of knocking on the door. She looked hesitantly at the winter dates in the basket, hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak when her sleeve was suddenly tugged.
It was the girl who pulled her sleeve, and the woman looked down at her granddaughter.
Niu'er blinked her innocent eyes, looked at the winter dates in Hua Shi's basket, then looked at her grandmother and shook her head at her.
The woman didn't understand what she meant at first, but when she saw her little granddaughter's head shaking like a rattle, she realized that she was just telling her not to buy it.
"Grandma, let's not buy them. Those dates are not as delicious as the green fruits in our yard."
The little girl stuck out her chin and looked at the green fruits growing in her yard. As she spoke, she hummed in the direction of the flowers for some reason.
The woman knew her granddaughter's temperament and naturally knew that she was not speaking the truth. "Didn't you say that the green fruit was sour and astringent and you would never eat it again?"
The little girl's face flushed red after her grandmother ruthlessly exposed her words. She stamped her feet in embarrassment, "Grandma...!"
But the woman misunderstood her meaning, thinking that she wanted to eat but was afraid of wasting money, so she said these words.
When she turned to look at the flowers, she was really hesitant this time.
She hadn't originally planned to buy any dates. Her family wasn't well off, and she didn't have much spare money. Even though she had some money, she saved it for buying meat during the Little New Year.
But if her precious granddaughter wants to eat it, she will grit her teeth and buy some.
This thing is not rice meat. She remembered that there were several such jujube trees in the village. They would bear fruit in the early years, but not in recent years. It is not worth spending money to buy it and eat it.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
