There was an apricot tree in front of the window of Gu's house, and its branches sounded for most of the night when they were torn by the wind.

Gu Yulan couldn't sleep well every time the weather was bad, and she woke up several times at night, and every time she woke up, she had to tuck the red quilt. She herself was covered with a lot: a quilt with a cotton jacket and pants on the quilt, and a cotton blanket pressed on top of the cotton jacket and pants. But she still felt cold. Because the cold air drilled hard from the side of the pillow and from the corner of the quilt to the bed.

When Gu Yulan woke up in the morning, it was still dark. At this moment, in addition to the heat exhaled from the mouth, only a trace of residual heat can be felt from the kang under him. If you are someone else, you will be greedy for this residual warmth in such a cold. However, Gu Yulan did not. After waking up, although she also subconsciously shrunk her neck, she did not hesitate, and in less than half a minute, she stretched her arm out of the bed, crossed Hongli, and pulled the string that hung down the wall and connected to the light switch—intuitively, she knew that it was almost time to get up.

Five forty-five minutes.

Gu Yulan hurriedly sat up.

Despite the underwear inside, the cotton jacket and pants are still as cold as ice when they are on the body. Gu Yulan couldn't help but fight a cold war. If it is someone else, even if you don't lie back in the quilt in this case, hesitation is always inevitable. However, Gu Yulan didn't, she quickly got dressed and went to the ground, and she didn't delay for half a second because of the cold. There are only her and her daughter in this family, and they have to go to work at seven o'clock, so they have no choice but to hurry.

The first thing Gu Yulan did when she got off the kang was to make a fire. It's been like this every day as long as it's winter, and it's been for many years. In no more than 6 minutes, there was a whirring sound in the stove. Then, with the stove as the center, the heat began to spread around, and the room became alive again.

Gu Yulan warmed up the rice. When she washed her face, Hongli asked, "Mom, are you ...... Are you up? "Listening to the voice, you know that she is not fully awake.

Gu Yulan said: "The meal is ready, you are in good spirits, let's get up!" ”

I heard that the meal was ready, but Hongli was in a lot of energy, and asked, "Mom, what did you eat this morning?" ”

Gu Yulan said: "Steamed buns, and porridge." ”

Hongli said: "Steamed buns again? She was clearly not happy with such a breakfast.

Gu Yulan said: "Get up and eat, and read a book for a while." ”

Hongli said, "You eat!" I don't eat it. After saying that, he turned over and pulled the quilt upward, his face facing the wall and did not move.

Gu Yulan said: "You have to eat breakfast, otherwise it will not be good for your health." ”

Hongli said, "I'm not hungry. Gu Yulan urged several more times, but when she saw that Hongli still refused to get up, she had to cook for herself. She didn't put the small kang table, but put most of the bowl of porridge and a plate of pickles on the writing table, holding steamed buns in her left hand and chopsticks in her right hand, and stood up for breakfast. When she was cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks, Gu Yulan urged her daughter again, saying, "Hongli, let's get up early!" We have a meeting in our office today, and we have to clean the auditorium before the meeting, so I have to leave a little early. You have to watch the stove and add coal to it in time to prevent the fire from going out. Midday...... If you don't like steamed buns, there are noodles in the small cupboard, so cook some yourself. ”

Although Gu Yulan's work unit is well-known and is an influential research institute, her work is not very good, she is just a cleaner in the cleaning team under the General Affairs Office.

Before going out, Gu Yulan said, "I'm leaving." ”

Hongli was confused and said, "Mom, I'll get up now." ”

Gu Yulan said: "Don't be too late for coal, if it's too late, it will be extinguished." ”

Hongli's tone was obviously impatient, and she said, "Mom, I know. If the stove is extinguished, I won't be able to draw it again! ”

Gu Yulan said: "I'm afraid that you won't be able to get cold at home." ”

Hongli said: "It's cold at home, but it's not cold in the store, and it's not cold in our classmates' offices. If the stove goes out, I can hide anywhere for a day, so you can relax and go to work! ”

Gu Yulan wanted to speak and stopped, and swallowed back the words that came to her mouth. She walked to the edge of the kang, picked up the down jacket that was folded on the tip of the kang, usually at home she wears a thin cotton jacket with a smock, only when she goes out will wear a down jacket, after arriving at the unit, she will take off the down jacket and change into a blue coat.

Just now, Gu Yulan was cooking and waiting for the pot to boil, and she was busy with a lot of things: adding coal to the stove. There are several times; Clean up the house. She loves cleanliness and wipes down the house every morning; Dress yourself. In addition to brushing her teeth, washing her face and combing her hair, she also used a little bit of the cheapest skin cream.

Gu Yulan put on a down jacket, put on a headscarf, and put on a mask, and then carried the cloth pocket containing the lunch box in her hand. However, as soon as she pushed open the door of the inner room, she took back the foot that had stepped out again, and said, "Hongli, get up in a moment, while it is warm at noon, if it is ...... Just go to the talent market again, in case ...... You might just be able to find a suitable job. ”

Gu Hongli graduated from secondary school in the summer. She has been to the job market several times in order to find a job, but each time she has gone empty-handed.

Hongli didn't say anything.

Gu Yulan knew that Hongli must have heard her words, but she didn't agree because she was afraid to go to the talent market, so she didn't say anything more, and only hesitated for a few seconds before coming out of the back room.

There is a cotton curtain inside the door of the Gu family's outhouse. Gu Yulan first picked it up with her left hand, and then twisted the button on the lock with her right hand. What made Gu Yulan wonder was that the lock was opened, but the door couldn't be pushed open as if something was on the outside.

Gu Yulan turned around and put the cloth pocket containing the lunch box in her hand on the kang stove, and then returned to push the door vigorously. Thankfully, despite the effort, the door finally opened a crack. When she looked out through the crack in the door and saw that the ground outside was full of snow, she understood why she couldn't open the door.

She pushed the door harder again. When the door finally opened for a short time, Gu Yulan squeezed out of the door and went outside.

It's a lot of snow! It's half a foot thick.

Last night it was windy, and the apricot tree in front of the window whistled. I expected it to snow, but I didn't expect it to be so heavy.

Gu Yulan thought: "Thanks to the snow that has just fallen, it is still soft, if you wait for the snow to be solid, not to mention opening the door, it is difficult to open a crack." I have to sweep the snow in front of the door, otherwise, I will have to wait for Hongli to open the door in a hurry. Then he thought, "With such a heavy snowfall, the road ...... It looks like I can't ride my bike to work today. By bus...... It's a shame, you have to be late to get to work on the bus. ”

Although she had realized that she would be late for work by bus, Gu Yulan still walked a few steps in the snow with one foot at a time, took out a shovel and a large bamboo broom from the small building next to Xifang Mountain, and began to clear the snow outside the door.

In front of Gu's house is a small courtyard. This small courtyard is surrounded by walls on three sides. The door to and from the courtyard opened on the west wall and was painted dark blue. Above the door there was a canopy with two slopes covered with linoleum paper. The small courtyard is not big, 8 meters square. The Gu family moved here 18 years ago. According to neighbors who live here, the bungalow was built in 1956, more than 40 years ago.

When the Gu family first moved into this house, the surrounding situation was different from now, not only did the Gu family not have a small courtyard surrounded by a courtyard wall, but the entire front of the house was empty from east to west.

As soon as you get out of the outhouse, a dozen steps to the east is the door of the neighbor's house, more than ten steps to the south is the back wall of another house, and seven or eight steps to the west is a road to the south and north, with many potholes and depressions. The place where the Gu family dumped the dirty water was on the side of the road. The public toilet is also more than 20 meters to the north. At that time, at night, whether it was winter or summer, there was always a mess in the empty space in front of the house, not only many children playing around, but also many adults wandering around, and there was no sense of security at all living in such an environment.

Especially the Gu family, although the beautiful grandmother Gu Shuqin was still there at that time, the family of three was all women, and they were even more worried about safety. Therefore, Gu Yulan had the idea of using a fence to enclose a small courtyard for her home at that time, and told Gu Shuqin. Of course, Gu Shuqin also knew that it was a good idea to use a fence to enclose the yard that would be safe and tidy, but when she calculated it, she shook her head when she knew that she would have to use about 6,000 bricks, and that it would cost three or four hundred yuan to buy these 6,000 bricks—the Gu family didn't have that much money.

From then on, Gu Shuqin not only put aside the matter of enclosing the courtyard with a wall, but also thought that Gu Yulan was just talking. However, half a month later, as soon as Gu Shuqin entered the door after work, she found that there was one more thing at home - a wheelbarrow.

The car was bought from the thrift market by Gu Yulan carrying Hongli on her back. Eighty percent new. In front of him is an iron bucket that can turn forward. It cost 20 yuan.

Since she got a wheelbarrow, Gu Yulan pushed it into the cart or walked three or four miles, or five or six miles, to the places where the old houses were picked, and picked up or disassembled the abandoned old bricks and transported them home.

Seeing her daughter working so hard, Gu Shuqin said: "6,000 bricks is not a small amount, you have a child and a cart, how can you stand it!" Magnolia, don't pick it up, let's wait until you have the money to buy back the bricks before you build them! ”

Gu Yulan said: "Mom, Hongli is not heavy, it is very convenient to carry her to work." ”

Gu Shuqin said: "Convenient...... The road is not easy to walk, it is difficult for a man to push a cart of bricks, you take a child...... Besides, it's so messy outside, what if ...... What if something happens? ”

Gu Yulan said: "Mom, don't worry, it's okay, I'll pay attention!" 6,000 bricks is a lot, but you can pick up one more piece, there is always enough time, you can rest assured! ”

Gu Shuqin said: "You reassure me...... I have to look at the children, and I have to ...... I heard that there will be a salary increase recently, and next year, at most, we will have enough money for the year after that, and it will not be too late for us to buy bricks and repair the wall. ”

Gu Yulan insisted: "Mom, don't worry about me, it's really fine." Stay at home and stay at home, you just let me go! ”

At that time, Hongli was only more than 2 years old, and when Gu Yulan went out to pick up bricks, she either carried her with a cloth bag, or took advantage of Gu Shuqin's rest at home for her grandmother to watch. Gu Shuqin "coughed" and said, "Such a big car, loaded with so many bricks, and carrying the child's cart to go so far, how can you stand it!" ”

Gu Shuqin is right, this cart picking up bricks is not only tiring, but also despised, it is indeed not a woman, especially not a young woman's work. However, although Gu Yulan was only 19 years old at the time, she not only did it, but also worked it for more than half a year. Seeing that the stones and bricks were piled up like a hill in front of the door, it was enough to build the courtyard wall, so Gu Yulan stopped picking up bricks.

In the spring of 1981, seeing that Gu Yulan wanted to repair the courtyard wall by herself, Gu Shuqin tried her best to stop it, saying: "Yulan, the work of repairing the wall is dirty and tiring, and you can't do it yourself." ”

Gu Yulan said: "Mom, a brick is less than 5 catties, and I can't get tired." ”

Gu Shuqin said: "Besides, you won't, let's hire a master bricklayer and hire a small worker!" ”

Gu Yulan said: "Mom, I have seen a master bricklayer laying bricks on the construction site, first hanging on the line, laying the bottom, and then a shovel of ash, a brick, and then kneading and squeezing, so that the bricks are aligned with the line." ”

Gu Shuqin said: "This kind of technical work is easy to say, but it can be done ......."

Gu Yulan said: "Mom, don't be afraid. I'm not in a hurry, I'll build it slowly. A piece is a piece. ”

In this way, Gu Yulan finally persuaded Gu Shuqin to start work. She first dug a ditch and yarded stones, and then built bricks with mud herself, and it only took more than a month to not only repair the wall, but also use the wall and the west gable of the house to build a small partial building, and the coal, halberd, and common tools used by the family are all placed in the partial building when not in use. The reason why the house where the Gu family lives now has a yard is that the neighbors looked like it at that time and built it after the Gu family.

With the wall, the Gu family is indeed much safer, not only does they no longer have to worry about Hongli being bullied by other children when she plays outside the house, but those idlers who are not indiscriminate can no longer wander around in front of the door.

After the wall was repaired, Gu Yulan built a red brick road from east to west under the eaves against the wall, leading to the courtyard gate, and used a shovel to turn over the ground in the courtyard one by one.

In the spring of the following year, Gu Yulan turned the ploughed land into a small vegetable garden, planted a few small vegetables in it, planted more than 50 tomatoes, more than 30 peppers and a few eggplants. The small cabbage, peppers, and eggplants all grow very well, but although the tomatoes grow tall and strong, and the fruits bear more, the ripe ones are less, so that Hongli always goes to the field to look for red and yellow tomatoes but can't find them.

Later, Gu Yulan consulted a sister-in-law who sold eggs in the street in the countryside, and learned that the reason why persimmons bear more but are less ripe is because she didn't pinch the persimmon seedlings in time. Since then, tomatoes have been planted in the courtyard of the Gu family every year, and the harvest is particularly large every year.

It took Gu Yulan a full 10 minutes to sweep the snow from the outhouse gate to the courtyard gate. By the time she returned the shovel and bamboo broom to the side building, took out the cloth bag from the outhouse, locked the outhouse door and courtyard gate, and hurried to the bus station, it was already 7:15 a.m.