Lin Xue said: "I borrowed two yuan from my master. I couldn't pay my salary a few years ago, and my salary was not high, only 47 yuan a month, and I was sick and old. Before I retired, I still owed more than 100 yuan to the factory, which had to be slowly deducted from my salary. I want to see you off today, I'm out of the way, it's not itchy if there are more lice, anyway, I will pay my salary in the future, and I will pay it back slowly. ”

Yu Songyuan took out the money and gave her twenty yuan: "Return the master's money, and the rest will be used as our food expenses." ”

Lin Xue hurriedly waved her hand: "I can't help it, I can't help it, you still have to take the college entrance examination, so I will have a salary in the future." ”

"Remember catching badgers and pythons? The snakeskin was sold, guess how much? ”

"How much?"

"Three hundred and sixty yuan, it's amazing."

Lin Xue stuck out her tongue and said with infinite envy: "Wow, Brother Yu, you are too good, you can also drop money from the sky." ”

Yu Songyuan said: "The money for the college entrance examination and the food expenses for both of us are available. ”

"That's your money, I'll always have a salary for my food." Lin Xue blushed when she heard this, and whispered shyly with her head bowed. Yu Songyuan knew that she was embarrassed and didn't argue with her.

On the afternoon of the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, Lin Xue finally had a holiday. She hurried back to her dormitory, and the general opened the door early and rushed out to meet her. Now, she has also become accustomed to the special etiquette of the general. Yu Songyuan was leaning on the bed reading a book, she happily rushed in with the general, and asked excitedly: "Brother Yu, when are you leaving?" I'm on vacation. ”

Yu Songyuan said: "It's very convenient, more than ten kilometers, and I can walk back with the general at any time." ”

Lin Xue asked in surprise: "There is snow on the ground, you don't take the car?" ”

Yu Songyuan said: "Yes, my home is only so far from this county, two or three hours to push the cart casually, and it will be there, and I like to walk on the snowfield with the general, how poetic." Your home is so far away, I'll drop you off tomorrow morning. Lin Xue's home is on the edge of a seaside farm, seventy or eighty kilometers away from the county seat.

"When will you be back after that year?"

"I'll be back at the tenth day of the new year, enter the situation in advance, and get ready to sprint!" Yu Songyuan said this deliberately.

Lin Xue heard that Yu Songyuan would come back on the tenth day of the first month, and her heart felt extremely warm. In fact, she knew that the cram school would only start at the end of the month, and the school-run factory would work on the 15th day of the first month. He arranged it this way, obviously to accommodate her.

Yu Songyuan asked: "You are going to wear this work clothes to go home for the New Year." ”

Lin Xue stretched out her fat overalls and said, "Yes, how good, I like it." When she came to the factory from home to report for duty, she wore a padded jacket and cotton pants and cotton shoes, which were made from her mother's old clothes and are now covered with patches. The cotton shoes are made by herself, and the soles are also stitched by her.

Since she was 10 years old, she has made the shoes on her own feet, the shoes worn by her mother and two younger brothers. My mother was the most beautiful girl on the farm that year, and she married him because my father ate public food. Her mother couldn't work or take care of the housework, so she had to rush up and be the pillar of the family.

She likes the thick blue canvas overalls the most, which are clean, handsome, neat and sturdy. Putting on work clothes over the cotton jacket and cotton pants, and then putting on the suede leather cotton shoes issued by the factory, she was like a heroic young female worker, and she was very satisfied. It's just that she is too small, and the smallest female worker's cotton shoes have two layers of cotton pads inside, which are still a little too big.

Seeing several sets of beautiful little girls' clothes on the bed, he picked them up and gestured and said, "Buy them for your three little sisters and three little nieces, you have a lot of vision, wow, it's good to have an older brother and uncle." ”

Yu Songyuan held the book in his hand, but secretly looked at her from the corner of his eye and said, "Don't you have a brother?" There will be a new atmosphere during the Chinese New Year. When I bought clothes for Yu Ya, Xiaohui, Chen Jing and my three little nieces, I also bought you a set, which is exactly the same, and a pair of cotton leather shoes, you can try it. ”

Lin Xue was surprised: "Ah, you buy me clothes?" With that, he hurriedly ran back to the room, and after a while, he walked in with his clothes and said, "Brother Yu, these clothes and shoes are so good, but I really can't ask for them." I'm bothering you enough, I'm embarrassed to ask for the clothes you bought again. ”

Actually, what she really wants to say is, I'm not someone from you, how can I ask you to buy something.

Yu Songyuan's heart was like a mirror, "I just want you to dress beautifully and happily for the Spring Festival, and change your work clothes to change a good mood." If you don't want to be careful, just wait until your salary is paid and then pay me back. ”

Hearing Yu Songyuan say this, she happily took her clothes back to change them, and came back happily, so that Yu Songyuan could see if it was good.

Yu Song looked at it from a distance, and it fit perfectly. She is more than two years older than her sister Ya'er, but she is only a little taller than her sister. "What a bitter boy." Yu Songyuan sighed in his heart.

Lin Xue suddenly said: "Brother Yu, do you know, I used to use my mother's old clothes to wear them, but this is the first new set of clothes in my life." ”

Yu Songyuan looked up and down, "How old and small you are, it's only a lifetime." Yo, these shoes are really right, you look so good in them. Lin Xue, who has changed into new clothes and new leather shoes, is actually an out-and-out, petite and invincible beautiful girl.

"You really know how to buy it, this sole is not afraid of snow, and this kind of leather surface is easy to take care of. Brother Yu, it's hard for you! After finishing his joy, he looked at Yu Songyuan again and said, "Brother Yu, you don't actually need to buy it for me, you should buy yourself a new set of clothes." ”

Indeed, Yu Songyuan in autumn and winter, turned over and over a set of clothes, an old blue "card" tunic jacket, a pair of yellow really good army pants, and a thin cotton jacket and cotton pants inside. On his feet, he was wearing a pair of second-hand suede yellow leather cotton shoes bought from the street.

"I'm a man, just dress smartly and cleanly. You're different, girl, you should dress up nicely. Yu Songyuan teased her. Yu Songyuan knew that she had borrowed the fare from her master, and wanted to buy her some New Year's goods to take back, or give her some pocket money to take with her, knowing that she would try her best to refuse, just think about it.

After breakfast on the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, Yu Songyuan took the general and happily sent Lin Xue to the station. Lin Xue said goodbye to them sweetly, but the tall and mighty general had a childlike heart, and kept rubbing Lin Xue's trouser leg when parting.

Lin Xue was wearing new clothes, a big scarf, only two big round eyes were exposed, and she was wearing new leather shoes. Holding a thin small blue cloth burden in his hand, holding the general's neck and inseparable, this scene made many returnees in a hurry stop and pay attention.

After the bus departed, Lin Xue put her hands in the pockets of her new clothes and found that there was a squarely folded note inside. I took it out and unfolded it, and there were forty yuan stacked inside, and it was written on the paper fairly: "Pay attention to safety on the road, and after getting off the bus at Binhai Farm, buy some New Year's goods for the family to take home." Don't cry, laugh during the New Year! ”

Lin Xue's eyes were moist, but she was still very obedient and smiled infinitely happily!

As soon as she carefully put away the note and money, the sister-in-law next door asked, "Little girl, you are so handsome, such a little little person, you have found a good object." It's really nice to send you a tall handsome guy just now, is that your object? ”

Lin Xue blushed, but nodded with infinite happiness and said, "Yes." ”

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Lin Xue took a car from home to return to school. Due to the snow on the road, it was already afternoon when I arrived at school. From the station to the school, the road was several kilometers, all the way was muddy, and the body was covered with snow and cement water. The school was deserted, and the road from the vegetable patch to the dormitory under the embankment was covered with snow. But she was not afraid at all, like a happy bird, humming a movie flower interlude, and hurried to the dormitory.

The general did not open the door to greet her as usual, she stood in front of the dormitory door, stunned for a moment. The footprints on the snow in front of the door are clearly new, but what about them? Is it gone again? Her heart couldn't help but sink, and the more she walked towards the dormitory, the tears couldn't help but fall down.

She trembled and pushed the door of Yu Songyuan's room with her small hand, the door was open, the bicycle was covered with thick yellow mud from top to bottom, and Yu Songyuan's backpack and food bag were still tied to the car. She was pleasantly surprised, and almost jumped up with joy, obviously, Brother Yu and the general had just arrived, but what about them?

She put the burden in her hand on the bed and walked around the perimeter of the dormitory, where there was snow everywhere, it was cold, and the north wind blew on the river embankment, making a chirping sound. She went to the toilet first, and she had already suffocated along the way. After going to the toilet, I faced the north like a knife, followed the footprints of the snow, and bravely climbed up the embankment.

I saw the general running happily and playing on the wooden trestle, playing alone. Yu Songyuan spread out his limbs, his back was facing the sky, lying flat on the thick snow on the trestle, and he didn't move.

The general suddenly spotted her, and rushed through the snow, knocking her down on the snow of the riverbank. She held the general's huge head and giggled. After enough trouble, he followed the general to walk up the trestle bridge through the snow, and then squatted in front of Yu Songyuan, wanting to see what he was doing.

Yu Songyuan looked up into her eyes and teased her: "It's so strange, it's more than ten degrees below zero, and there was a light rain just now?" ”

"Not really."

"Don't pretend, there are tears in your eyes."

Lin Xue hurriedly wiped her eyes: "What's the matter, it's the snowflakes that have drifted into the eyes." ”

Yu Songyuan teased her and sang: "Isn't there a song, 'My sister is looking for my brother to cry, but I don't see my brother feeling sad, looking through my eyes and looking forward to my relatives, and the flowers bloom and fall in spring and autumn." 'Ah, it's even more sad to find my brother!' ”

Lin Xue, who was already fifteen years old, lowered her head in shame: "You hate it, I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for a general." ”

Yu Songyuan scratched her nose, "Okay, okay, you're looking for a general, not me." However, you only go to work on the fifteenth, why do you want to come so early? ”

Lin Xue wrapped her head with a big scarf so that only two eyes were exposed, looked at him with long eyelashes, and then sat down silently beside Yu Songyuan, and said faintly: "It's not interesting at home, it's better to come to school." ”

“weishenme？”

"Brother Yu is not afraid of your jokes, I'll just tell you."

The Chinese New Year was a major event in the rural areas of northern Jiangsu in those years. In the middle of the wax moon, each household should steam steamed buns (actually steamed buns filled with rodishes, dried vegetables, and dried beans), fried meat dumplings, buy silver carp, salted fish, and kelp, etc., as well as large cakes (glutinous rice cakes), fruits (fried bran crispy cakes), fried melon seeds and peanuts, etc. Ask the door god, paste couplets, buy firecrackers, and clean up.

In those years, the rural areas of northern Jiangsu were too poor, but even if they were poor, each family had to prepare more food, paste red couplets, and let the children have a new set of clothes as much as possible. From the first day to the fifteenth day of the first month, it is to eat and greet the New Year. The theme of the so-called Chinese New Year is to eat from house to house and visit relatives to greet each other.

Lin Xue's mother didn't know how to work in the first place, coupled with laziness, the home was deserted, and there was no meaning of the New Year at all. Lin Xue's two younger brothers are both growing their bodies, and no one cares if the cotton pants and cotton jackets are a lot shorter. It's the twenty-eighth day of the lunar month, and there is no movement at home, no annual loan has been prepared, and even couplets have not been posted.

In previous years, the girl was busy with the wind, but this year the girl went to work in the county seat, and she couldn't go home until the twenty-eighth or ninth of the lunar month. The pots and stoves at home are cold, and there is no anger at all, and the sick foresters can only sigh.