There are nearly 200 households in Yuchi Village, most of whom are surnamed Yan. The rest of the surnames Kong, Meng, Han, Wang, and Zhang range from three or four families to eight or nine families, and they are all locals who have lived here for generations. There is only one foreign household, surnamed Niu. It is said that it was Grandpa Mao's hometown who moved here from distant Hunan.

Yuchi Village is located in Baoji, Shaanxi, and it can indeed be called far away if you want to migrate from Hunan. When Mr. Niu told his grandchildren about the process of leading his family north, his expression was excited. Lao Niu's family did not know how many difficulties and obstacles they had crossed along the way, first entering Hubei, then Henan, and then Gansu, and finally settled in Shaanxi.

The old man Niu's official name is Niu Chuanqing, and his wife is Wang, with a single name. The old couple had a total of nine children, four boys and five girls. At the end of the sixties of the last century, when the family first settled in Yuchi Village, the eldest son of the old couple, Niu Yongfeng, had only recently gotten married, and his daughter-in-law came from his hometown in Hunan, surnamed Xiong.

At first, the old Niu family lived on the half hill behind the village, and dug four holes in the upright loess cliff wall. By the time they moved to the lower part of the hill and lived in a newly built bungalow, it was already in the early 80s after the reform and opening up.

In 1984, Niu Chuanqing and his wife Wang Ying's second son Niu Yonghou also got married, and the daughter-in-law was called Tian E, and her mother's home was in Tianjiazhuang, Longxian County. Daughter-in-law Tian E's stomach is very competitive, and she added a grandson to the old couple in the next year. The grandson's nickname is Yunyun, and when the moon is full, Niu Chuanqing officially named him "Cultivator" according to the family characters.

After less than two years, her daughter-in-law Tian E became pregnant again, and when the child was born the next year, it turned out to be a pair of twin boys. At this time, although the country's family planning policy has been implemented, it is still relatively relaxed for some rural areas, after all, this time two were born, even Niu Yonghou and Tian E were unexpected.

Also unexpected are the children's grandfather Niu Chuanqing and grandmother Wang Ying, the old couple is happy, worried about the two grandsons' household registration problems, but fortunately, after some twists and turns, the matter was resolved. Niu Chuanqing breathed a sigh of relief and named the twin grandsons "Gengyu" and "Farming".

In the winter of 1988, just after the winter solstice, heavy snow began to fall, and it rained for several days, and the vast land was already a plain white scene. It was a freezing day, and the snow kept falling, and now it was the time of winter leisure, and people were reluctant to go out, if it weren't for the occasional barking of dogs in the village, that quiet feeling would really make people feel a little lonely and frightened.

Lao Niu's house is a detached courtyard under the hill, and the houses are built one after another, first with four main houses and a kitchen next to the main house; Later, two small lower rooms were added as new kitchens and food rooms, and the old kitchen was used as a pens for miscellaneous goods and cattle for mules and horses; Later, a firewood shed was built next to the livestock pen, and in addition to firewood, there were also rack carts. When the surrounding low wall was built, a courtyard was enclosed, and although the courtyard gate had not yet been built, it also had the appearance of a family.

"Wang...... Barking! ”

The wolf dog in the yard barked wildly, and the chain that tied the dog was pulled so loudly that Niu Chuanqing was about to stand up and go out to have a look, when he heard a crisp voice, it was his almost four-year-old little grandson Niu Qiang.

"Blackie! Don't scream, obediently, lie down! ”

The wolf dog Xiao Hei seemed to be very obedient, whined a few times, then stopped barking and got into the nest. A conversation followed in the courtyard, and the sound was the civilized voice of the village.

"Yunyun, does your grandfather play cards here?"

"No ......!"

Before the words of cultivation fell, he saw that the thick curtain outside the door of his grandfather's room opened an opening, and Niu Chuanqing, who had gray hair, leaned out and answered the voice.

"Civilization! The snow is so heavy, don't stand in the snow, go inside and sit down. ”

"Uncle Niu, you don't have anyone to play cards here, and it's not interesting to sit there. Besides, it's too cold this day, so I'd better go home and sleep on the kang. ”

"Alright then, you go back slowly!"

Niu Chuanqing turned his face to see that there was no longer a shadow of cultivation in the yard, and there were small footprints in the snow leading to the back alley. He was happy that this child had gone to the toilet again, and it seemed to be this point every day for the past few days.

Niu Chuanqing retracted his body that leaned out, it was too cold outside the house, and the cold wind from the northwest was blowing, so he opened the curtain and said two words, and most of the warmth that had been stored in the room seemed to have slipped away. He sat down on the edge of the stove in silence, reached out and opened the mouth of the chimney and the air inlet under the stove, and took the kettle down from the stove.

was busy working, a small body with a gust of cold wind opened the curtain and jumped in, Niu Chuanqing didn't need to look back to know that at this time, except for Niu Tuo, there would be no one else.

"Grandpa!"

After ploughing out, he squeezed into Niu Chuanqing's arms, sighed in his hand, and then stretched out to roast the fire.

"Yunyun, you didn't study hard with your father-in-law in the room, and you ran out again?"

Niu Chuanqing smiled, his wrinkled face pressed against his grandson's little face, and his rough big hand also shook his grandson's small hand. The little one's face and hands were just as cold, plus he had just returned from the snow, and his short hair and thick clothes were covered with snowflakes. At this moment, it was warmed by the warmth of the house and the heat of the fire, and became small crystal droplets.

"Grandpa, your beard is so tied, I didn't sneak out, I went to the toilet!"

"Then your and urine are really amazing, and it has a timer function, why do you go to the toilet at this time every day?"

Niu Chuanqing snorted, stood up with a smile, took a dry towel, and dipped the water droplets on his body.

"Grandpa, the snow outside is really heavy, when I just came back, I saw the snow on the wall of our yard, almost a foot thick!"

Cultivating and making comparisons, looking at him left and right, Niu Chuanqing no longer asked, and the thoughts of children are always inseparable from eating, drinking and playing. It's no wonder that he, since the beginning of the year, when his righteous brother Ye Shifang came, he began to teach cultivation and enlightenment, in addition to reading and writing every day, he also has to read and recite poems, which is less than four years old, how can he stand it, and he can't find a vacancy to breathe?

"It's good when the snow is heavy, the winter moon wheat covers the three-layer quilt, and you will sleep with steamed buns in the coming year!"

As he spoke, he wiped the snow from his little head with the towel in his hand, and put it on the wire tied to the wall next to the stove. This year, there were indeed a few snows after the beginning of winter, especially this time, it can really be described as: "Ruixue is a good year!" ”

He thought in his heart, and gave birth to a little sadness, although it was a year of Ruixue Zhaofeng, it also meant that this year was about to pass! For the seventy-six-year-old self, I wonder how many winters I can experience? How many good years? Lately, he doesn't know what's wrong with him, and he always sighs about something inadvertently.

"Grandpa, 'Winter Moon Mai covers the three-layer quilt, and sleeps on the pillow with steamed buns in the coming year.'" Is this a poem? What are the last two sentences? ”

Niu Chuanqing's thoughts were pulled back, looking at the immature face of his grandson in front of him, he couldn't help but ignite hope in his heart. I'm old, but I still have a son, and a son still has a son. This generation of people, as long as they have a vision and dream of life and life in their hearts, will always live their own wonderful.

He pulled a stool from the side, and the grandfather and grandson, one old and one young, sat next to each other by the fire, and the fire slowly rose, and a faint blue flame came out of the hole in the honeycomb coal, one hole, two holes, and gradually twelve holes. The slight firelight reflected the faces of the grandfather and grandson, Niu Chuanqing was full of vicissitudes, and the wrinkles on his face outlined the years, like a picture of thick ink, stubbornly crashing into people's hearts. His hair was gray, about an inch long, neatly combed back, and his roots stood upright, looking very energetic; The cow cultivator is immature, the little face is frozen red by the cold wind of winter, the skin is not very white, but under the backdrop of the fire, it shows a little pink color. The most striking thing is his eyes, which are like a dark and flickering starry sky at this moment, reflecting the light of the fire, like two red stars embedded in it, full of smart and warm brilliance.

"Yunyun, this is the common saying of our people, not poetry, but ......."

Niu Chuanqing smiled, touched the little head of the cultivator, pointed to a plastic basket hanging on the partition screen on the side of the bed, and then said: "But if you can add two sentences to these two sayings like the poems you memorize, make up a poem." Grandpa will give you a piece of dim sum from a basket, or bake you a white flour steamed bun, you can choose between the two. He wanted to take the test and work hard, this kid has been literate and reading for almost a year, and he heard his brother Ye Shifang say that "Three Hundred Tang Poems" has also memorized a lot of chapters.

Niu Geng saw the basket in the direction that his grandfather was pointing, and he pursed his lips, obviously tempted by the reward.

Since the early 80s, the land in Yuchi Village has been contracted to households, and now after six or seven years of development, the problem of food and clothing for the vast number of villagers has been effectively alleviated. However, many families still eat coarse grains and fine grains together, and in the winter of this slack season, they basically eat two meals a day.

For as long as I can remember, every winter, the family has eaten two meals a day. In fact, in his family's grain room, whole sacks of wheat have been piled high, and more than a dozen bags have been saved. But for farmers who rely on the sky for food, the more surplus grain at home, the more reliable their hearts will be, after all, no one can guarantee what will happen in the future?

"The winter moon wheat covers the three-layer quilt, and the next year sleeps with steamed buns. I often look forward to a bumper harvest in Ruixuezhao, and the grain is full of grains. ”

Niu Chuanqing didn't expect that hard work could really make up a poem, although he didn't know how to compose poetry, but in the old society, he also studied in private school for a few years, listening to the last two sentences, not only felt that the meaning echoed the first two sentences, but also seemed to be quite smooth.

"Yunyun, go and call your father-in-law over!"