"I'll pick up Qingying, and by the way, return the food to Aunt Qin's family."

Gu Qingzhu couldn't take a break, so he used the liters at home to measure two buckets of rice and a bucket of noodles, and pocketed two more handfuls, and packed them in bags, while Qingsong carefully hid the remaining grain.

The night was hazy, Qin's house was lit with a bean-like lamp, she was steaming on the stove, the dense water vapor made the small kitchen even more dim and unclear, Gu Qingying and Tie Dan squatted on the ground and teased a small turtle shrunk into a ball of palms with a small stick, this was the only harvest they had in the small ditch yesterday, the two of them kept muttering in their mouths, and they didn't know what to say.

"Auntie, I went to the county today to buy grain, thank you for lending us rice and noodles in the year." Gu Qingzhu put the grain bag on the kitchen table.

"What are you doing in such a hurry, the rice noodles in the first month are not cheap, this time you will pay me back, do you have anything to eat?" Qin added a handful of firewood to the stove, patted the grass clippings on his apron, and walked over to ask.

"We're our own, let's keep it." Gu Qingzhu nodded.

"That aunt won't be polite to you anymore." Qin poured the rice noodles into the rice bowl of the noodle bucket, turned his head and twisted his eyebrows and asked, "Did you give more this girl?" ”

"It's easy to borrow well, and it's not difficult to borrow again." Gu Qingzhu smiled shallowly.

"You don't have a good temperament, it's naturally good to meet a good person, if you meet a bad person, I'm afraid you will suffer a big loss." The Qin family grabbed seven or eight freshly steamed Huang Chengcheng nests in the bamboo dustpan and handed them back to Gu Qingzhu along with the grain bag.

"I'm not stupid, besides, aren't all the good people I meet like aunts." Gu Qingzhu didn't shirk either, took the nest head and smiled mischievously.

It is common for people in the mountains to borrow some rice, flour, oil and salt from each other, or borrow some money to help each other, no matter how long it has passed, the people who lend it will not be happy, because those who owe money, once they have enough money, they will be returned in time.

When it is returned, it is most taboo to talk about profits, and those who owe debts only quietly give some additional heads to thank them, and the people who lend them will not receive them in vain, and they will give something at will, even if it is a little food or vegetables, it is also counted as a gift exchange, and the friendship between the two families is accumulated little by little.

"I said that Qingying is so likable, because of a sister like you, she is the most coaxing." Qin nodded at Gu Qingzhu, pursed his lips and smiled, "You probably just came back, otherwise, stop cooking, call Qingsong over, and eat a bowl of porridge at my place." ”

"No, no, Qingsong stewed sweet potato porridge, I'll take Qingying home." Gu Qingzhu waved his hand and turned his head to call Qingying.

"Sister, why didn't the little turtle come out, is it dead?" Qingying pointed to the shell on the ground and asked with a small mouth.

"Phew, children's words are mowgli, children's words are mowgli!" When Qin heard this, he spat outside the door again and again.

Since the death of the iron father, the Qin family is the most taboo to say the word death, she is strong and spicy in front of people, and she is still a hard-working woman who raises her son alone behind her back, and she has much more fears and difficulties in her heart than others.

Gu Qingzhu half-squatted down, holding the iron egg in one hand, touching his sister's velvet hair with the other, and replied with a smile: "It's so cold, it should have been hiding in the sand and mud at the bottom of the ditch to sleep, you are so tossed, of course it is not happy, wait a few days, hear the insects in the grass, it will come out to play with you." ”

"I see." Gu Qingying nodded as if she didn't understand, and turned to Tie Dan seriously, "I'm going home with Sister A, wait for Ming'er, let's find Brother Qingchuan to dig sand."

"Well, you take it, I'll play with you tomorrow." Tie Dan stuffed the little turtle into Gu Qingying's hand.

"Okay." The little girl did not refuse, and held the little turtle in her hand like her brother holding a book.

"This is an iron egg pick-up, how can you not be humble?" Gu Qingzhu bent down to persuade his sister.

"Let Qingying take it and raise it, what kind of living creature is in the hands of my Han boy, it won't last for three days, small fish and shrimp and the like, this turtle can't lose his life in vain, otherwise it will really be evil." Qin Shi hugged his son and said with a smile.

"Well, I'm willing to send Qingying's sister, really." Tie Dan nodded and said.

"Sister, my aunt and Brother Tie Dan have told me." Gu Qingying blinked her eyes and said innocently.

Gu Qingzhu couldn't, so he had to take Gu Qingying, who was holding the turtle, home, and solemnly found a broken clay pot to put the turtle, there was no sand for a while, only found some broken pine needles and thatch to cover, and made do with it for the time being.

Washed Qingying's hands carefully, when the three sisters and brothers sat down to eat, the sky outside was completely dark, the harsh mountain wind whistled and went straight to the crack in the door, and the aroma of meat buns in the pot was permeated, which made people feel warm in such a cold night.

"Sister, isn't the county seat far away? Is there any caramel for sale? Gu Qingying raised her little face and asked Sister Ah urgently.

She is young, except for Gu Jiaao, she has not been out of the mountain, the county is too mysterious for her, as for the caramel candy, it was Qingchuan who secretly tasted a small piece of it for her last year, which was exchanged with a sheep's horn in the hands of the burden-carrying merchant, and she always remembered the sweet and sweet taste.

"My sister is only concerned about buying food today, next time, I will buy it for you next time, okay?" Gu Qingzhu said with some guilt.

"That's too sweet, it's still a meat bun, hehehe." Gu Qingying shook her head and nibbled on the meat bun with a smile.

"Sister Qingzhu, are you back?" Outside the bamboo fence, Qingchuan's anxious voice suddenly came.