Severe winter.

As soon as the sky was bright, camel-colored clouds filled the sky, as if planning a downpour. A few traces of matcha-colored light hung obliquely in the sky, lining the morning light that had just lit up, and it was indescribably cold. The steep wind blew across the mountains, blowing away the frost and snow solidified between heaven and earth, and it became more and more cold to the bone. Even though it's the middle of winter, the mountains here are still wrapped in layers of green, and there is no sign of decay. Hardy wildflowers, like brilliant diamonds, are scattered in the pale green grass, warming the dream of wintering in the mountains.

It hasn't been the Spring Festival yet, but there is news of spring early. In the peach groves that can be seen everywhere, the trees whose leaves have not yet turned green are already full of small buds, and their slightly dewy and powdery heads are completely shy and timid. There are also a lot of rape flowers near the riverbed, and the yellow and clear are dazzling. And those white, pink, and purple pea flowers have long been worn on the little girl's newly tied horns, innocent and fragrant.

Before the flowers and plants were in full bloom, the U-shaped mountains straightened their backs, and their open arms protected the village and the river in front of their chests, shielding them from most of the cold wind. The bright and agitated voice of the early child wakes up the people who are still in their dreams with the fluttering wind. The morning in the mountain village comes alive with the shouting of children, the shouting of adults, and the smell of firewood.

In the corner of a small courtyard, the red plum blossoms are scorching. A few house finches stood on the branches, singing softly, and confiding in each other about the good dreams of the previous night.

Su Wanyan was wrapped in a fat thick cotton robe, standing in the middle of the courtyard and looking at the mountains behind the house. The woods on the mountain are shrouded in a layer of mist, and the sky that had just cleared yesterday is cloudy again, and I am afraid that it will snow.

A red lovesick bird landed on Su Wanyan's shoulder delicately, and did not sing, only kept pecking her white cheek with its beak. Su Wanyan blocked the bird's beak with her fingers, and went into the house with a full cup of bird food and sprinkled it on the clean and slightly damp floor.

Su Shi'an came out of the inner hall with the medicine, and his gray hair swayed slightly with his movements: "Wan'er, it's time to drink the medicine." ”

Su Wanyan replied softly: "Hey, I'll come now." Her voice was low and soft, as if she was afraid of waking up the child in her belly.

Su Shi'an put the medicine on the square table at the door: "Are you lighter?" ”

Su Wanyan sprinkled the last handful of food: "It's not so sore anymore." Eat two more pairs and you'll be fine. ”

Xiao Lanshu came in with a load of water, with a steady gait and dense sweat. He poured water into the vat in the corner, put the pole and the bucket, looked at the lovesick birds that were grabbing the food, and said, "I still think that I will feed them when I have filled up all the water for drinking and miscellaneous use." He wiped the sweat, wiped away the faint depression between his eyebrows, and there was only a bookish air on his clear face.

Su Wanyan said: "If you can't wait for you, it's too late for me." ”

Xiao Lanshu buttoned the buttons of the dark blue thin jacket, fished out the soaked thin strips from the wooden basin, and sat under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard: "Today, at the beginning of spring, I am rushing to the market again, I am going to buy some pen, ink and paper to write couplets and come back." Do you have anything you'd like to buy or eat? ”

Su Wanyan thought of the fruits on the old apricot tree with a crooked neck in summer, and her saliva gurgled out: "I don't particularly want to eat, the food at home is enough." She thought, if anyone can get me a few apricots, I'll buy them for a dollar! She swallowed her saliva and swallowed all the thoughts that were crawling with worms back into her stomach. The apricot tree has not bloomed yet, where to buy apricots?

Xiao Lanshu looked at the bald old apricot tree and said, "It's not a good thing for pregnant women to have such a weak appetite. You have to make sure that your child is healthy and healthy. ”

"Don't worry, you can't lose your child."

Xiao Lanshu smiled, and her nimble fingers quickly interspersed between the thin strips.

Su Shi'an said: "Lan Shu, I put your colleague's medicine on the shelf, remember to bring it." ”

"Thank you, Dad. I made a note of it. ”

Su Shi'an waved his hand and went into the house to fiddle with the herbs.

The acacia bird chirped a few times and spread its wings and flew up to the treetops to find a partner to play.

Su Wanyan sat down beside her husband: "Brother Lan, you are a teacher with outstanding talents, and it is reasonable to teach well, why do you still do the work of a craftsman?" And it's done so well. ”

Xiao Lanshu's hand did not stop, and soon, the small shau basket had already seen the prototype: "The day before yesterday, my father said that he wanted a small small shau kei charge, and this should be the right size." ”

"You have a heart. No wonder Dad always compliments you. ”

"That's our dad lifting me."

"You still don't know Daddy's temperament? If he says hello, he approves of you from the bottom of his heart. ”

"I know that. Our father traveled all his life to the north and south, curing diseases and saving people, and he is a well-known living Bodhisattva. I don't dare to accept his compliment. ”

"You don't dare to accept Dad's praise, but what about mine, do you dare?"

"Yours? You can't even praise me if you don't praise me. Xiao Lanshu stopped what she was doing and sorted out the emanations in Su Wanyan's ears, "You are my wife and my child's mother." ”

Su Wanyan rubbed her hands, happy as the lovesick bird that was full of food and drink. Thank you for your kindness to this man! "The child's mother is going to add food, do you want to eat more?"

"Pregnant women are terrible creatures! Just after eating, before I had time to wash my rice bowl, I was about to start eating again. ”

"I eat alone, two people make up, you nerd know what."

"Don't call me a nerd. Where did I stay? ”

"Still not staying? If you don't stay, how can you be willing to stay in this poor country and become a rural teacher? ”

A trace of loneliness flashed from Xiao Lanshu's eyes: "Who said that this is a poor country?" In my opinion, this is a paradise on earth. ”

"I'm glad you can say that." Su Wanyan entered the side hall, leaving Xiao Lanshu alone under the osmanthus tree in a daze.

The red sun was suspended, as if someone had covered her face with a veil, and it was empty and did not show its true face. The sunlight is also a layer of dim yellow void, and it does not feel warm when it shines on the body. The elderly who have nothing to do, as usual, bring their own chairs and stools, gather under the old elm tree at the head of the village to bask in the sun, do homework, and pass the time. Not far away, there were a few little boys, who were not afraid of the cold and lay on the ground playing with marbles. Lost, won, cheated...... The endless but not fresh rhetoric provoked a certain anxious old man to shout: "A rabbit cub who has no prospects, if he loses, he loses, can he have a man?" The crying man immediately stopped his voice, blew his nose fiercely, gritted his teeth and slapped the remaining marbles on the ground: "Come again!" This voice is quite heroic and chic, which caused the old people to laugh more than once: "The guy who hasn't grown all his hair knows that he is ruthless!" ”

There is no crop work to do in this season, and the days are very leisurely. The daily work of the women is nothing more than serving the life of the whole family, washing, washing, dusting, and preparing New Year's goods; The men began to clean the gutters, repair the houses, build ancestral graves, chop firewood, and decorate the lintels. And the children were playing happily while looking forward to the excitement and food of the New Year. Although the clarion call for reform and opening up had been sounded, in the spring of 1980, in this mountain village, far from the city, supplies were still very scarce, and life was still so hard. If the heavens are beautiful, reward a good year, and then make careful calculations, you can basically be self-sufficient. During the festive season, meat is indispensable on the dining table of every household, although the portion is limited and like an ornament, and the taste is not very delicious, but for children who rarely see meat on weekdays, it is undoubtedly enough to miss the delicacies of the year. Fortunately, the mountains are lush with vegetation and wild animals. In winter, the men bring homemade muskets and join groups to hunt hares, oil badgers, and pheasants. Towards the beginning of the year, bamboo poles are set up at the door of each house to smoke the game obtained from hunting. Smoke from the pine and cypress branches lingers over the village, carrying the smell of animal-specific oils and fats for a long time. The so-called peaceful life, fireworks people, probably like this!

At noon, the sun didn't know what to do, and suddenly it was shining. The ferocious heat made people dizzy. The morning fog disappeared without a trace, except for the green mountains and green water swaying in the hot and humid wind. The half-dried cured meat hung in the sun, and the oily direct flow oil was shiny, and the thrifty housewife had already connected the large-caliber container underneath. How can such good oil be wasted? Add pepper and salt to boil, refine into chemical oil, wait until March, when there is no green and yellow, and use it to eat noodles for the monkey cubs who are growing up, which is very delicious.

Su Shi'an was busy flipping through the dried goods: "Wan'er, if you want to eat, tell your father." Although we are not rich and noble, we can still afford to eat good food and good food. You are pregnant, and you must not be wronged. ”

Su Wanyan was immersed in embroidering purses: "I know." If there's anything you want to eat, I'll tell Brother Lan. ”

"Lan Shu's monthly salary is only more than 20 yuan, what do you tell him? Just tell your dad directly. Dad has money. ”

"Keep your money for yourself. Lange has food stamps and oil stamps every month, and we don't have to worry about food and clothing. ”

"The supply tickets are all limited, how can you eat and drink? Lan Shu's salary was spent on poor students, and there was no surplus every month. ”

Su Wanyan threaded the needle and thread to embroider the last flower branch on the purse: "He loves those student babies, let him go." ”

Su Shi'an picked up a pheasant and looked back and forth: "The heat of this chicken is just right, and it will be stewed at night to replenish your body." He sang and carried the chicken into the kitchen.

Su Wanyan rubbed her sore legs and leaned into the room to take a rest.

Wake up to the twilight of the sunset. The sky was overcast, and gradually the wind and clouds were surging, and gradually the snow was falling.

Xiao Lanshu pushed the door in, holding a bowl in his hand: "It's snowing, it's cold." Cover up, but don't catch a cold again. ”

Su Wanyan shrank into the quilt: "Then I'm too lazy to get up, otherwise I'll have to make a fire." Where's Daddy? ”

"Busy in the kitchen! I made a lot of dishes and said that I would make up for you. ”

"Make-up? If I make up for it, I won't have any clothes to wear. ”

"If you don't have any clothes to wear, you have to make up for them. If you don't eat it, the child is lacking in nutrition, and the father will have to be anxious with you. ”

"He's just so worried that his hair is so white." Su Wanyan was gloomy, "It's been too hard for him all these years!" ”

Xiao Lanshu handed over the bowl: "There are no apricots you want to eat in the market, is it feasible to replace them with malt milk essence?" ”

Su Wanyan's eyes lit up: "How did you buy it?" How expensive this thing is! ”

Xiao Lanshu folded the corners of the quilt and sat down on the edge of the bed: "Mountain people have their own tricks. ”

Su Wanyan said: "Who is talking to my father outside?" It sounds strange. ”

"It's a traveling teacher. When I went home, I saw that it was still early, so I went to the back mountain to see the humanoid He Shou Wu that my father found, and met Mrs. Shi on the way down the mountain. She had gone the wrong way, sprained her foot, and had nowhere else to go, so I invited her to our house. ”

Su Wanyan immediately put down the bowl: "Then you should wake me up early." Mrs. Shi is a monk, and my father is inconvenient to bandage, so I have to go. ”

"The teacher didn't let me, saying that it doesn't matter to you, and I'll talk about it when you wake up."

"How's that going to work!" Su Wanyan got out of bed, quickly found a lotus-colored cotton robe to change into, and curled up her loose hair. "Sprains need to be dealt with in time, I'll go."

Xiao Lanshu hurriedly put on a thick coat for her: "It's surprisingly cold this day, you can add more clothes." ”

A gray figure stands quietly under the laurel tree, overlooking the mountains and fields, as if admiring the snow. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned around, and there was an indifferent smile on her thin cheeks and bright eyes. "Poor Ni Mo Yan. Today, thanks to Lord Xiao Shi, otherwise, the mountains are deep and dense, and the people are rare, and on such a snowy day, the poor nuns are afraid that they will not be able to live. ”

Su Wanyan hurriedly returned the salute: "Ji people have their own natural appearance. Master, you are serious! Please come in and let me see your injuries. ”

"I'm tired." Master Mo Yan dusted off the falling snow on his gray cotton robe and slowly moved his steps.

A roaring fire had already been lit in the hall, and the aroma of cypress wafted with the heat.

"I didn't hurt my muscles and bones, just rest for a few days." Su Wanyan re-scalded the already very clean cup with boiling water several times, poured it full of water and brought it to Mrs. Mo Yan, "My father and my husband are both pure and kind people, please rest assured." ”

Master Mo Yan thanked him too much, and then settled down in the main hall.

PS: Dear readers,

From today, the "Love and Floating Life" series will be serialized vertically and horizontally, welcome everyone to read! My novels are slow to heat up, I hope you have enough patience to follow my strokes and look for those youth, lovers and past lost in the years......