Picking stems and withered grass, holding them in their mouths, chewing them, sucking the taste of winter, and bathing in the winter sun along the embankment of the Qishui River - the farmers' wishes for winter are always full and heavy, and they are promised from spring. There is no singing and dancing, no neon flashing, and the winter in the countryside is all tangible.

The room was very quiet, Zheng Lijuan was breathing "sizzle-sizzle-" with a sweet smile on her face, and fell asleep. Maybe there was wind, and there was a slight sound in the crack of the door, very slight but very violent, scattered and neat. The old cat lay by the fire, snoring and falling asleep, the flames seemed to have burned its tail, and remained motionless, and a pot of hot tea, tumbling on the stove, ruined the long-standing fragrance.

"Brother Xian" quietly walked into his bedroom, put down his things, helped Zheng Lijuan take a blanket, and gently covered her body; tiptoed again, poured a cup of water from the teapot, rotated back and forth in his hand, and walked out of the house lightly; put the hot cup on the stone table, sat on the steps of the kitchen, squinted his eyes, and basked in the warm sun. Even the footsteps of Liu Jianshe walking into the yard were blocked in a lazy state; Liu Jianshe held the drawings in his hand, and looked at them while walking with his eyes on the bridge of his nose, and walked straight towards the shed, and then climbed on the desk to correct the drawings.

"Brother Xian" his arms were a little numb, he got up and moved over to pick up the cup, and as soon as he drank it into his mouth, Liu Jianshe shouted happily: Guixian, when did you come back? "Brother Xian" couldn't help but be startled, and his mouth full of tea sprayed on the ground, complaining and shouting: Dad, why don't you gnaw-

Liu Jianshe smiled and said: I just came back, I didn't pay attention to you! "Brother Xian" wiped the tea on his lips and said happily: It's okay, forgive you—what are you going to tell me? The sound of the two of them waking up Zheng Lijuan, sleepy-eyed, hazy shouted in the room: "Who—Brother Jianjian?"

Liu Jianshe took off his glasses, put them on the desk, and shouted into the room: Guixian is back, don't you know! After speaking, he heard a rush of footsteps, lifted the cotton curtain, and saw "Brother Xian" standing at the door, turned around and put on his shoes, and rushed out and said: Brother Xian, why don't you wake me up?

Zheng Lijuan brushed her hair, picked up a hand towel and wiped her hands, and said: I'll hurry up and give you the following, I'm already hungry, I must have eaten in the morning, right? Before "Brother Xian" could answer, Liu Jianshe also put down his work, quickly followed Zheng Lijuan's footsteps, and the two entered the kitchen together.

"Brother Xian" also took the cup, poured a cup of tea again, just walked to the cotton curtain, and saw through the gap that the two were sneaking in the kitchen, Liu Jianshe kept looking at the door vigilantly, and vaguely heard Liu Jianshe say: Don't say it yet-Zheng Lijuan said: I feel it's quite appropriate to say it now-Liu Jianshe looked at the door again, hugged his fist and said: Please, Juanjuan, it's not the time yet-

"Brother Xian" wanted to continue listening, but curiosity forced him to want to know more about something, so he lifted the curtain and walked out, shouting towards the kitchen: "Auntie, dad - what are you going to tell me, and it is still mysterious!" Liu Jianshe hurriedly gave Zheng Lijuan a begging look and said: Nothing!

The two of them didn't say anything more, just concentrated on making a "façade" for "Brother Xian" - from their series of actions and flickering words, "Brother Xian" sensed that there must be something he didn't know, and paced back and forth in the courtyard with a teacup in his hand.

The sun had set in the west, perched on the ridges, releasing the last bits of warmth, but it was clearly cold in the courtyard. Zheng Lijuan held a big bowl of dry noodles, looked at "Brother Xian" still walking around the yard, and shouted a little angrily: Oh - Brother Xian, why are you still outside, hurry back to the house!

Liu Jianshe heard Zheng Lijuan urging "Brother Xian" to enter the house, so he quickly took something in his hand, grabbed in front of Zheng Lijuan and "Brother Xian", helped lift the curtain, and followed him into the house. Zheng Lijuan asked "Brother Xian" to sit in front of the stove and said: Hurry up and eat, taste it first, and see what else you want - then turned to look at Liu Jianjian, couldn't help but smile, and said: I asked you to take the vinegar with you, what are you going to do with a bucket?

Liu Jianshe looked down, smiled embarrassedly, touched his head and went to the kitchen with a bucket again; "Brother Xian" felt more and more strange, looked at Zheng Lijuan and asked: Auntie, my dad, is my dad okay, are you okay?

Zheng Lijuan also looked at the door alertly, and just as she was about to say something, Liu Jianshe came in with a vinegar bottle; Zheng Lijuan took a long breath and said: Your father, that's something on your mind! Liu Jianshe smiled "hehehe" and explained: There is something on the mind, there is something on the mind-

"Brother Xian" stopped his chopsticks, looked at them seriously, and said: Then hurry up and talk about it, don't hold it back and get sick! Zheng Lijuan and Liu Jianshe looked at each other, both revealing an unspeakable expression, and competing eyes, Liu Jianshe was in a hurry, and said first: Someone introduced you to your daughter-in-law, I said that you are still a student, now is it time to say this, your aunt feels that you can get to know each other now, and then talk about marriage after you graduate-

After speaking, she turned her head and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, Zheng Lijuan saw that the general trend had gone, so she gave up, and continued along Liu Jianjian's "lie": What is the current situation and progress between you and Xuemei?

"Brother Xian" swallowed the food in his mouth and said: "That's it, you two are still mysterious and sneaky--when I finish eating, I'll tell you in detail!" Zheng Lijuan stood up, poured Liu Jianshe a cup of tea, and added some water to the pot; and then added some carbon to the stove, and the room was quiet, only the sound of coal burning, the sound of Liu Jianshe drinking tea, and the sound of "Brother Xian" eating—

Zheng Lijuan looked at the "Brother Xian" gobbling up, and said to Liu Jianjian: Look at what the child is hungry for! Liu Jianshe also poked his head to look at the eating image of "Brother Xian", and said: Eat slowly, our lunch is also fast, if it is not enough, we will eat some later, let's pad it first-

"Brother Xian" put down the bowl, burped, stretched out his legs and said: It's not that I'm hungry, it's my aunt who cooked, it's so fragrant! After Zheng Lijuan and Liu Jianshe heard this, both of them laughed "hehehe". "Brother Xian" asked: Whose woman is it?

Both of them were stunned, and Liu Jianshe reacted, and hurriedly said: Recently, I made some corridors and pavilions in the garden for a unit family courtyard in the next county, and met one of their leaders, and chatted, his daughter is also going to school in the provincial capital, I didn't say it clearly, so I said that I would let you help take care of it-

"Brother Xian" smiled and said: "People in the city—we are a rural baby, we can't afford to climb high!" Zheng Lijuan has been eager to say something, Liu Jianshe ripped off her arm from time to time, Zheng Lijuan asked helplessly: What is high and not high, three generations up, all of them are farmers-Liu Jianshe hurriedly interjected: Don't say three generations, one generation is, their family is in the mountains!

Zheng Lijuan asked: What about you and Xuemei?

"Brother Xian" sneered twice and said: Come back with me today, and you are going to work in the city! Zheng Lijuan asked anxiously: What, what happened, I listened to what you said on the phone yesterday-

"Brother Xian" told them the ins and outs of the matter one by one - after listening, both of them were immersed in the development of the matter. After a long while, Zheng Lijuan said: Brother Xian, things are already like this, let it be! Liu Jianshe also echoed: That is, you are still young, you don't understand anything, you have to have a chance!

"Brother Xian" smiled and said: Don't worry, I don't want to put my mind on this matter for the time being-after hearing this, the two of them will also be heartbroken, and they will smile with confidence.