The warm embrace made Yang Donghu feel a long-lost sense of security. He was held tightly, unable to move, and whispered, "I miss you too."
Zhao Fangchu was so frightened by Zhao Luochuan's open hug that he didn't even have time to pick up the clay sculpture. He ran back to the inner room in fear.
The men who were about the same age as Zhao Luochuan were particularly noisy. Someone among them shouted "Give me a kiss", and the onlookers immediately burst into laughter.
Yang Donghu's ears turned red with embarrassment. He pushed Zhao Luochuan away and stood still, looking outside the yard. The entrance was surrounded by people. He was so embarrassed that he didn't even dare to raise his head. He turned his back in a panic.
The crowd outside was enjoying the excitement, and Zhao Luochuan was afraid that they would be too careless and scare Yang Donghu again, so he laughed and scolded the man outside who was making the loudest noise: "Get lost, go back and kiss your wife, and kiss her however you want."
The man was the first to ask them to kiss. He didn't get angry when he heard that. He said with a playful smile: "What's the big deal? You two kiss and let me see. Later, when I kiss my wife, I'll ask you to watch. Don't let anyone get away with it."
Zhao Luochuan smiled and picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it at the man, but the man dodged it nimbly. Before he could say anything else, his wife grabbed his ear and took him away: "Everyone knows you are so shameless. What nonsense are you saying outside? Why are you doing this in broad daylight?"
The man was held by his wife's ear and left while crying out in pain. The sound of him crying out in pain could be heard all along the way.
When the crowd saw that the troublemakers had left, they all gave up and dispersed noisily. At the end, they still shouted: "Dachuan's wife, we didn't see anything. You two continue, continue."
Yang Donghu didn't know whether he heard it or not, but he lowered his head even lower.
After the young men dispersed, the older ones surrounded Zhao Fangyu and looked at the prey on the cart, touching it with their hands and making salivating sounds.
The crowd came and went quickly, and soon only the Zhao family was left at the bustling courtyard.
Zhao Fangyu envied Zhao Luochuan for getting married, so that he would have a beautiful woman waiting for him when he returned. However, he had come down from the mountain exhausted, but not only could he not get a soft embrace, no one even offered him a sip of water. The more he thought about it, the more indignant he became. He turned around and went into the kitchen and gulped down several big gulps of water, which barely suppressed the sourness in his heart.
Zhao Luochuan turned around and looked at Yang Donghu, a gentle smile on his face. "Are you shy? I haven't seen you in so long, and I miss you so much. I feel itchy when I see you. I used to stay in the mountains for a month without feeling tired, but this time, it's only been two days and I feel like several months have passed. I can't stop for a moment in the mountains. I have to find something to do, otherwise I'll just be thinking about you and not be able to do anything."
The hard work and loneliness in the mountains are unbearable. It is no exaggeration to say that each day feels like a year.
Yang Donghu missed Su He as much as he did. At noon, because of the anger in his heart, he felt nothing left when he saw Zhao Luochuan.
"I also feel like it's been a long time. I'm looking forward to you coming back every day."
These words made Zhao Luochuan feel sweet inside, and all his tiredness was swept away. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that the person you miss is also thinking about you.
He chuckled, pulled Yang Donghu to the side of the cart, and pointed to the litter of puppies.
"This litter of rabbits is still young and can't be sold. How about we keep them for ourselves?"
This litter of rabbits was born not long ago. When Zhao Luochuan found them, they were hiding in the grass nest built by the mother rabbit, with their whole bodies buried in it. Zhao Luochuan was afraid that the rabbit cubs would not survive, so he carried the rabbit nest onto the cart.
The rabbit's fur hadn't fully grown out yet, and it couldn't open its eyes. It stuck its head outside and sniffed around, like a chubby little meatball.
Yang Donghu screamed and his eyes lit up. If he didn't know that this was a litter of rabbits, he would have thought they were newborn puppies.
"Okay, okay, that's so cute. We just happen to have a bamboo basket in the kitchen left over from raising chickens. We'll replace the hay inside later. We have a lot of unwanted clothes in the house, so we can put them in there too. It'll be warmer."
"Okay, the female rabbit's leg is injured. I've already applied herbs on the wound. I'll find a clean cloth to bandage it later. It will heal faster."
Yang Donghu was completely attracted by the nest of rabbits. He shouted loudly for Zhao Fangchu to come out and see. The two were very excited to see the rabbits. When they heard that they should put some torn clothes under the rabbit nest, Zhao Fangchu volunteered to pull Yang Donghu to the house to look for old clothes.
Zhao Luochuan also felt very thirsty, so he let his two brothers make a fuss and went to the well to fetch water to drink.
The yard was quiet for a while. He was planning to clean up the prey later and put the living and the dead separately. He had to rush to the town to buy some tomorrow, so he had to buy the dead ones first.
The live ones can be kept for two days, but now the weather is getting warmer, the meat can no longer be kept. The meat will lose its flavor once exposed to the sun.
Zhao Luochuan was lost in thought and even splashed several handfuls of water on his face. He didn't even notice someone coming in. It was the visitor's cough that caught Zhao Luochuan's attention.
Su He took a while to pack herself up, and she couldn't walk fast with the child. By the time she arrived, everyone had left, and only Zhao Luochuan was left in the yard, wiping his face by the well.
After not seeing each other for a long time, Su He was a little at a loss when she saw Zhao Luochuan for the first time. She tidied her hair again and made sure that she was not being rude before she spoke to remind him.
Zhao Luochuan narrowed his eyes and looked towards the door. The person in front of him seemed very familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was all of a sudden. He just felt that she looked familiar. After thinking carefully, he realized what was going on and asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law?"
His call of "sister-in-law" was like a bucket of cold water poured over Su He's head, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably. She didn't expect that Zhao Luochuan would actually call her that.
Su He's husband, Chen Chaolai, grew up in the same village as Zhao Luochuan. He is a few years older than Zhao Luochuan and Zhao Fangyu. Since they were young, he liked to take them to the river to catch fish and shrimps and run around the village.
But later, when Chen Chaolai had to go to the town to work, he gradually became estranged from Zhao Luochuan and the others. However, because of their childhood friendship, they would get together from time to time to chat.
Even though Su He didn't want to respond to his word "sister-in-law", she had to.
She trembled her lips and forced a smile, hiding her emotions well: "Dachuan."
"Why did you come back so suddenly?" Zhao Luochuan stood up, shook off the water on his body, and glanced at the child beside Su He: "Is this Xiao Shanli? He has grown so big."
Su He quickly pushed Xiao Shanli forward and signaled her to call for help.
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