On the day of the Little Cold Festival, Yanzhou had the heaviest snow since the beginning of winter.

It snowed for two days and three nights. It wasn't until noon on the seventeenth day of the lunar month that there were gradually signs of stopping. Although the wind and snow were a little lighter, the whole sky was still dark, like a large iron pot that had been poured upside down, tightly buckled above the ancient city. The bitter north wind still whined over the city, skimming over the treetops, over the rooftops, and through the streets and alleys of the city. The snowflakes swept in the wind are like countless white butterflies fluttering. The state city, wrapped in cold wind, snow and ice, was still sleeping in silence, showing no sign of waking up. Even the most enthusiastic businessmen and fellows would hide behind the half-open door, yawning lonely as they watched for possible buyers with listless eyes. There are hardly any pedestrians on the snow-covered streets. Occasionally, two or three servants of the yamen would lead a group of men carrying ladders and grasping fences, stumbling and stumbling past. They are there to save people; The snow was so heavy that it crushed many old houses in the city......

When the bell of Shenshi echoed in midair, a young man walked over in a narrow alley in the west of the city.

Now, the wind has stopped, and the snow is lighter, but it has not completely stopped, and the snowflakes are still falling silently; The young man had some white fluffy snow hanging from his hood and shoulders. He walked very slowly. It could be seen that he tried his best to keep his feet in the ditch that the carriage had just run over; This way it is not easy to slip and wrestle. The hot air that erupted from his nose swirled in front of his face, making it difficult to see his face at a glance.

He stopped in front of a house with a blue cloth guise in front of the door, spoke a few words through the door, and then walked in.

By the time he walked out of the stall selling food and wine, the snow had completely stopped. He didn't pull up his hood again, but walked down the narrow alley with a slightly drunken face, his long jacket open, one foot high and one foot low.

Now we can see clearly, this is a very handsome young man, looking about twenty-three or fourteen years old, thick eyebrows, big eyes, the bridge of the nose is as straight as the flagpole of the Daxu Banner at the entrance of the Admiral's Yamen, and the pursed lips are slightly upturned, looking a little playful. Because he did not wear a hood or a buttoned coat, people would be surprised at first glance at the emerald blue soft foot on his head, the blue robe with the collar he wore inside, and the leather belt with silver studs embedded in it! It's a shame, this guy is still a small officer!

He stopped again in front of a compound in the middle of the alley.

This is an ordinary courtyard that is very common in the state town. a low mud wall, and a section of wheat straw can be seen in the cracked mud; Standing outside the courtyard, you can see that the small front yard has three main houses and two side houses. A wooden door with mottled patent leather, and the painting of the door god on the door door was torn to tatters by the wind; Perhaps the owner of the house wanted to build a gatehouse, so there were two wooden stakes standing next to the door, but I don't know how, this "project" of the light lintel was only half carried out and did not continue, and the result was that the two white wooden stakes with the bark stripped of the tree stuck in the green bricks looked particularly eye-catching. Of course, having such a courtyard in such a narrow alley is a dazzling thing. Almost all around are mud-walled, wood-walled thatched houses facing the street when they open the door, and people with bricks and tiles can count them on one hand; Not to mention that the family originally wanted to use blue bricks and gray tiles to build the gatehouse, which is not rich or expensive, who is willing to use those precious things?

The young man knocked twice on the door, and the yellow copper-clad knocker was on.

There was no movement in the yard.

He knocked twice more.

A young woman poked out half of her face in the narrow corridor between the main room and the side room. She glanced at the young man, and immediately let out a low exclamation, and hurried to open the door.

The stone glanced at her and asked lukewarmly, "Didn't you hear me knock on the door?" ”

"No ......" the woman lowered her head, grabbed her apron crampedly, and whispered, "I, I'm ...... in the backyard"

"Where's your father? He didn't hear it either? Stone asked, walking towards the main house.

"He, he ......" the woman was probably frightened by his tone, and couldn't even speak clearly, "his old cold legs are offended, and his knees are swollen and shiny, and he can't get off the kang...... I, I'm decocting medicine...... Didn't know you were coming back today. ”

I didn't know I was coming back today, so I didn't answer the door? What a word! The stone glared at her fiercely. Without further ado, he stomped the snow and mud off his boots under the eaves and entered the house. Fortunately, although he didn't come back for three days, at least they still remember to burn a brazier in the house, and they also burned the kang, and the warm air in the house made people feel comfortable and comfortable at once. The slight dissatisfaction in his heart also faded a lot with this warmth. But he immediately saw the stack of brightly colored red satin covers on the kang, and then he saw the red pieces of paper pasted on the wardrobe against the wall, and ...... The little good mood I had just now was immediately gone!

He sat on the edge of the kang with a dark face, staring at the starry red paper on the window lattice. There used to be a lot of window flowers, all of which symbolized the "boy sending blessings" or "double phoenixes to the sun", but now there are only a few pieces of paper left; Even the color of the paper is no longer red, but a gray and light crimson. There was also a weak red silk thread hanging on the window frame......

The woman, with a pale little face that was still childish, also followed lightly. She immediately took a pair of cotton shoes from the side of the kang cave, and half-squatted and half-knelt on the ground to change the shoes of the stone.

"Go, go!" The stone blasted her away impatiently, pulled off his two boots, tore off the two pieces of cotton wrapped around his feet, and slowly rubbed his frozen toes.

The woman lowered her head and picked up his boots and footcloth, and went out without saying a word. After a while, she returned with a basin of hot water. She also had a dry towel over her shoulder. It seems that she probably went to fetch hot water for the stone to wash her face.

When the stone had washed her face, the woman brought a wooden basin with boiling hot water. This time it's a foot wash. Seeing that the stone was wooden and did not speak, she squatted on the side of the kang, carefully holding the stone with one hand and hanging her feet on the side of the kang, and scooping up hot water with the other......

The hot water poured under his feet, and the somewhat distracted stone took a sharp breath of cool air. He immediately scolded angrily: "Didn't you tell you to get away? Are you deaf and don't hear what I say? Get lost! "The woman was immediately frightened out of the house by him like a frightened rabbit." Come back! The stone shouted again, "Take the water with you!" He cursed and muttered a foul word. …… I don't know if my head was smashed, but I actually found your family to help! ”

…… The house was cleaned.