Xu Xingchen did not suffer any minor injuries, so he recovered quickly. He was out of bed the next day and went to see Jun Haoyue first.
When I saw him, he was tending potatoes in the yard. The potatoes had been more or less affected by the heavy snow for several days, and frost had formed on the branches and leaves.
Xu Xingchen walked up, picked up a small shovel and shoveled snow with him. Jun Haoyue noticed her as soon as she came out. After a brief greeting, no one mentioned this dangerous trip.
Their eyes met and they just smiled at each other.
Everything is implied.
The door of the bamboo house behind me was open, and the small yellow flowers on the table were shaking slightly, and the buds had bloomed at some point.
......
As February approaches, the New Year is about to arrive and the whole village is filled with the joy of the New Year.
Xu Xingchen was also dragged by the women in the village to go to the town to buy some New Year items such as couplets, lanterns, peach charms, etc. to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.
After returning home, she put the things she bought on the table. Mendun'er stepped on a stool and leaned in front of the table. She stretched out her little hand and picked up the peach wood board.
"Mother, what is this?"
Munduner put the peach charm in his mouth, bit it, and threw it away with a grumble, "It's wood, it tastes bad."
Xu Xingchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He put him on his lap and tapped Mundun'er's nose with his finger. "Little fool, this is called a peach charm. You write something on it and hang it in front of the door... Hey, what are you doing?"
Munduner blinked and listened attentively. Jun Haoyue came in halfway. When Munduner saw him, he immediately jumped off Xu Xingchen's legs and threw himself into Jun Haoyue's arms.
"You little heartless guy." Xu Xingchen muttered softly.
Jun Haoyue, holding Mundun'er, also came to the table and looked at the peach charm and asked, "Peach charm?"
“I haven’t written it yet.”
"It seems that there are few people in the village who can write." Jun Haoyue said bluntly while looking at the blank peach charms.
Xu Xingchen turned around and took out a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone from the cabinet. "Who said you need someone to write for you? I'll write it myself."
Jun Haoyue: “…”
Seeing that the other party didn't understand the meaning of his words, he left a scholar like him unused and actually wanted him to write it himself.
Soak the brush, grind the ink, and everything is ready.
Xu Xingchen took a peach charm board, which was decorated with dragons and phoenixes in a very elegant and graceful manner.
After finishing, Jun Haoyue fell silent, his thin lips twitching constantly.
Who can tell him if this thing that looks like a ghostly talisman can still be called a peach charm?
Xu Xingchen noticed from the corner of her eye that the person next to her was shaking slightly, so she looked up.
Oh my god, this man is really trying to hold back his laughter!
She picked up the peach charm and held it in front of her. The calligraphy was a little ugly, but it wasn't enough to make her laugh like that! It wasn't like she had ever written calligraphy before!
Xu Xingchen was embarrassed and annoyed by his laughter. He stuffed another piece into his hand and said with puffed cheeks, "Write one for me to see."
Jun Haoyue smiled faintly, sat at the table, lifted his sleeves, and took the brush in Xu Xingchen's hand to write the two words "Yu Lei" stroke by stroke.
Xu Xingchen, who was watching from the side, was secretly amazed. It was no wonder that his handwriting was natural, graceful and round. Even though she was an outsider, she thought Jun Haoyue's handwriting was extremely beautiful.
After finishing writing, Jun Haoyue blew the peach charms dry and showed them to Xu Xingchen for comparison. It was clear at a glance which one was better.
Xu Xingchen grabbed the peach charm he had written and was about to put it away, but Jun Haoyue stopped him: "Where are you going with it?"
"It's too ugly to show it to others."
Jun Haoyue reached out to take it, but Xu Xingchen put his hands behind his back and didn't let him take it.
He said helplessly: "The peach charms come in a pair, one can't be missing."
"Then I'll buy it again."
“It won’t work the second time I write it.”
Xu Xingchen looked at him with some disdain, "Superstitious..."
But she still gave in and gave the peach charms in her hand to Jun Haoyue. It's not that she, a new generation of people, also believed in "superstition", but seeing Jun Haoyue holding the two peach charms carefully and reluctantly, she couldn't help but feel that it was not too bad.
The two of them came to the gate to paste the peach charms. Xu Xingchen craned his neck to check the height, "A little to the left, yes, a little higher..."
"It's a bit high, it's better to lower it."
The sudden sound startled Xu Xingchen, "Oh! Aunt Fatty, you scared me."
Auntie Pang laughed and said, "As for putting up peach charms, my family hasn't put them up yet this year. Miss Xu is really fast."
Xu Xingchen touched his nose and said, "No, no, just sticking close to it for fun."
Jun Haoyue jumped down from the stool, "Why is Aunt Fatty here?"
Aunt Fat clapped her hands and said, "Oh, look at me. My old man killed a wild boar the day before yesterday. I brought some smoked meat to you and your sister." Then she handed the smoked meat to Xu Xingchen.
Xu Xingchen thanked him repeatedly and took it. Hey, it’s quite heavy.
After the smoked meat was served, Auntie Pang looked up at the peach charms and found that the writing on the two peach charms was different. She asked curiously, "Why are the writing on the two peach charms different?"
"Jun Haoyue and I each wrote one."
Aunt Fat was puzzled, "You wrote a couple?"
Jun Haoyue explained, "I read in a book that if family members each write half of the letter, it means reunion."
All the customs in the village were passed down from the ancestors, and no one could tell the truth from the false. But Jun Haoyue learned about them from books, and the words of scholars always hold more truth.
"Oh... that's right. A happy family reunites... and those who have studied are knowledgeable." Aunt Pang agreed with what she heard and did not forget to praise Jun Haoyue.
"Auntie Pang, guess which one I wrote." Xu Xingchen rarely had a playful thought.
Auntie Fatty chuckled, "I can't read, but I can tell that the nice-looking one is Jun Haoyue's, and this dark one with no words on it must be yours."
Jun Haoyue coughed lightly and turned his head. Although there was no expression on his face, anyone could see the smile in his eyes.
Xu Xingchen curled his lips in dissatisfaction, "Auntie Fatty, you are biased. Can't I write the good-looking ones?"
"Xu Xiaoniang, have you forgotten? My old man asked your cousin to write something." Aunt Pang teased her.
Xu Xingchen suddenly realized, and Auntie Pang said again: "Xu Xiaoniang, when the time comes, ask your cousin to write a peach charm for my family."
"No problem, Auntie Pang can call him anytime if you need anything."
The three of them exchanged pleasantries for a while before Aunt Fat left. Before leaving, she reminded Jun Haoyue not to forget to write the peach charms.
Back in the yard, Xu Xingchen carried the smoked meat that Aunt Pang had brought into the kitchen to cook. Jun Haoyue took Mundun out to play, and the cheerful children's voices came into the kitchen from time to time, making the person cooking in the kitchen feel much happier.
She washed the smoked meat, steamed it, and steamed a tray of white steamed buns. She also dug a few potatoes in the yard and roasted them in the stove ashes to eat as a meal after dinner.
The food was served, but Jun Haoyue was nowhere to be seen in the room. Xu Xingchen looked out the window at the yard again, but still no one was there.
Wondering where the person had gone, she went to Jun Haoyue’s bamboo house in the backyard to look for him.
Jun Haoyue was there as expected. He hugged Munduner and held his little hand, teaching him how to draw. He even drew a line on Munduner's face, which looked very funny.
When you get closer, you can see a simple ink painting of lotus tadpoles.
Seeing this, Xu Xingchen suddenly had an idea for making money.
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