After the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, Yu Fang was a little restless, "Hey, Baochai, do you remember what Brother Zhao said when he left last time?" Did she say she would come back for the New Year? ”

"Yes."

"It's been more than a year, why don't you have any faith at all?"

"It's useless for you to be in a hurry, the child said that he would come back for the New Year next year, maybe something happened? We don't know anything about her here, there must be something, or else,......"

"It's been more than a year since I've left, you don't want to!"

Wu Baokun shook his head with a wry smile, "Why are you pulling me in such a good way?" How do you know I don't want to? ”

"Then you can't write a letter and ask? Is it coming back or not coming back? ”

Wu Baokun scoffed, "Write now, is it too late to go to Yun (South) and Inner (Mongolian) Gu?" ”

Yu Fang thought about it, they were separated from each other, and the letter was not received so quickly, not to mention the child's reply, it would take a long time, forget it, wait a few days, right?

On the twenty-eighth day of the first month, tomorrow will be the twenty-ninth -- there will be no thirty this year -- that is, the last day of the year, and it seems that my daughter will not come back. Yu Fang hid in a place where no one was crying, barely cheered up, prepared dinner for the family, took a few little hedgehogs and little mouse pasta that had been cooled and put them in the steamer, ready to heat them up and eat them, and suddenly heard someone slamming the door outside the door, "Mom, Mom!" Tiny, at home? ”

Yu Fang's heart trembled, this was clearly the voice of Zhao Di! I made a mistake in my busyness, and even the steamer was knocked over, so I grabbed it in one step, opened the door, and the mother and daughter saw each other, and cried at the same time, "Mom! ”

Brother Zhao looked like he was fleeing, wearing a large shear-down hat on his head, an old sheepskin jacket with fur that was over his knees, and a pair of high-waisted thick-soled cotton boots on his feet, his face was dark and red, his cheeks and lips were cracked, and he was looking at her with tears in his eyes, "Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao!" Yu Fang saw her daughter's miserable face clearly, and couldn't help crying again.

"Sister and sister...... Sister sister? Lu Li heard the voice, and hugged his little sister and came out of the house, "Sister? ”

"Tiny?" Wu Zhaodi whimpered and rushed over and hugged the two children together, Lu Li didn't have time to say a word, but Wu Ting in his arms cried first - she only knew that there were grandfathers, fathers, mothers and brothers in her small heart, and suddenly a stranger came, with a smell of earthy sheep, and the child was scared, "Stinky girl, this is your sister, crying?" ”

Yu Fang carried her daughter's luggage and followed her into the yard, "Hurry up and go into the house to warm up, Xiaoxiao, put your sister down and help your sister get something." ”

After a toss, the family entered the room, and went out to call Wu Baokun back, they didn't see each other for many days, although the father pretended to be strong, but he also had red circles, and he quietly wiped it while people were not paying attention, "Brother Zhao, talk to my mother, over there...... What do you think? ”

Wu Zhaodi smiled bitterly, why bother to say more? How can life in the Northeast be so bitter?! A group of young people who have lived and grown up in the city since birth, although they have infinite enthusiasm for the call issued by the great leader, and have great confidence and heroism in taking root in the countryside and building the motherland, the cruel environment of the local area has given these young people a blow to the head! Confidence is like the smashed ice on the surface of the Liaohe River, and the blood in the chest has already turned into scattered snow powder in the 'white-haired wind', which is unbearable.

Hearing her mother ask, she lowered her head and thought about it, and when she raised her head again, it was a pair of bright eyes, "It's good!" It's all good. We, the educated youths, live together every day after working part-time, talk, sing, study and study Mao Xuan, listen to the local peasants talk about the history of revolutionaries, and receive education and knowledge. All...... Pretty good. Mom, Dad, don't you worry, right? ”

"It's good, it's good." Yu Fang cried again, "Look at your face, how did you get this?" ”

"The wind is hard in that place in the Northeast!" Wu Baokun explained on behalf of his daughter: "Brother Zhao, pay more attention to your body." ”

"I know, you can rest assured."

"By the way, have all the people you went with come back? Will you still be gone in the future? ”

"Not all of them will come back, not all of them will come back." Wu Zhaodi said a little proudly: "Only the experts in the production team can go home for the New Year!" No one else can come back. ”

"So, you're an expert?" Wu Baokun didn't seem to believe his daughter's words, "By the way, what are you doing there?" ”

"That is, those farm jobs in the field, when the farm is slack, picking up rivers, digging ditches, removing blanks, building houses, yarding kangs, doing everything, and doing anything."

It's good that Lu Li doesn't understand, but Wu Baokun frowned deeply, none of the kinds that his daughter said casually are easy to do! It is a work that requires great effort to complete, although the younger brother is not a delicate girl at home, but his parents love him, his sister takes care of him, and he has not suffered a lot, and when he ......arrives in the northeast, he turned his eyes and suddenly saw his daughter's hand, and he felt a pain in his heart: the child's originally very tender and smooth hand back, everywhere there are chilblains! Paste it hastily with a plaster, there is no medicine at all, and when you go into a warm environment, you will drip pus from the wound!

"Brother Zhao, show your hands to Dad."

"No ......"

"Hurry up!" Wu Baokun couldn't help but pull his daughter's hand, and sure enough, he was not mistaken, "Yu Fang, hurry up and get medicine for the child!" ”

took the ointment, brought a basin of water for his daughter, and washed his hands, only to find that the child's palms were full of calloused cracks, and he didn't know how much he had suffered in the northeast!

The husband and wife wept while applying medicine to the child, "Dad, don't cry," Wu Zhaodi's eyes were full of tears, and he smiled and comforted, "As soon as winter arrives in the northeast, the ground is frozen, and there are actually not many days that can work, this is the first time I have been there, I have no experience, and I will be fine in the future." ”

Yu Fang looked up at her daughter with tears in her eyes, "Brother Zhao, aren't we going?" Mom raises you, turn around and call your eldest sister back, mom raises you two sisters for a lifetime! Baochai, okay? ”

How could Wu Baokun bear to see his daughter go back to suffer again? But their sisters are not alone, how can the state open such a door for these two people? Not going? Let's not mention the food relationship first, there are two people missing out of thin air, can you ignore it? If a document is sent to Tian (Tianjin), people will definitely be taken back, not to mention, but also to carry punishments, then it will be troublesome! "Don't talk nonsense, everyone goes, why don't you go? And what about those who can't come back for the New Year? And how to say? ”

Yu Fang knew that what her husband said was good, she asked just now, but she was just a fluke, seeing her daughter suffering, the mother couldn't help at all, and stomped her foot hatefully, "If you knew this, you should have learned from others, and you won't leave in the end, and in the end, won't you also arrange work?" ”

"That's it! What are you talking to your child for? Hurry up and get cooked! ”

Yu Fang hurriedly agreed, went out to prepare dinner, Wu Zhaodi turned his head to look at his younger brother, and sat in his arms, timidly looking at the little sister who looked at him, "Xiaoxiao, Xiaoting, do you want to sister?" ”

Luli nodded, his heart filled with the great joy of seeing his relatives, "Little little little ...... Ting, called ...... Call people. ”

Wu Ting looked at the strange sister in front of her, and smiled shyly, "Sister, sister, ......"

"Huh?" Wu Zhaodi was stunned, "Dad, why did Xiaoting stutter?" Xiaoxiao, I learned it all from you, right? ”

Lu Li smiled embarrassedly, there is no way, Wu Ting was born with him, the two brothers and sisters eat together, sleep together - it is too dangerous to let children climb ladders at night - play is even more together, he is stammering, Wu Ting is naturally not much better, "Sister......" He looked at his sister's hand and face, "It hurts...... Does it hurt? ”

"It doesn't hurt very much." Wu Zhaodi said, "By the way, Xiaoxiao, are you well-behaved at home?" ”

Lu Li naturally nodded vigorously, "Good! ”

"It's good to be good, listen to your parents more at home in the future, help them take care of their little sister, don't always be so naughty, you know?"

After the family hastily ate dinner, Yu Fang took out a handkerchief and counted the money in it, "Brother Zhao, wait a while, Mom will take you out and take a bath." I changed my clothes, and by the way, how many days can you stay at home? ”

"After fifteen, we have to go."

"Okay." Counting that she and her daughter can get along for half a month, Yu Fang became happy and asked again: "By the way, has your eldest sister written from you recently?" ”

"There was a letter when I first arrived, and then it was gone. What about at home? ”

"It's the same at home, a letter came at the end of June, and there was no more news."

"Maybe it's too far away, it's inconvenient on the road, right?" Wu Zhaodi put down the dishes and chopsticks and wiped the corners of his mouth, "It's still comfortable to eat at home." ”

Yu Fang's heart twitched, "What, can't you eat enough over there?" ”

"It's enough to be full, but it's not as delicious as eating at home and my mother's cooking."

Wu Baokun saw that his daughter was tired, and said to his wife: "Let's take the child to take a bath tomorrow, let her rest for a day today." ”

"That's okay, Brother Zhao, you go up to sleep by yourself, and I'll call you again tomorrow."

After taking the train for two days and one night, Wu Zhaodi was really tired, nodded strongly, climbed the ladder, and after a while, he heard the sound of steady breathing.