The unforgettable summer vacation passed quickly, and on the day Xiuhan was sent away by Grandma He, Hedi was coaxing Hefu who was crying incessantly. Cuiying was cooking, Hexin went out to help her relatives work, no one in the family could help her, although Hedi really wanted to send Xiuhan, but she cried as soon as she took a step back, and she could hardly get out. When Cuiying finished cooking and hugged Hefu, Hedi ran to the door of Grandma He's house, and saw that the big iron gate had been put on the iron cable, and the two stone lions stood next to her and looked at her indifferently.

"It's gone." Thinking in disappointment, he turned around and walked back slowly. Hexin had returned, standing on the slope and calling her name. He agreed, and ran up.

Xiuhan's summer vacation is over, and Hedi's summer vacation is naturally over. She carried a small schoolbag to school for a few weeks, and when she came home one day, Jiafu sat on a stool and looked at her, wanting to say something. He Tu put the small schoolbag away and helped Cuiying set the dishes and chopsticks, at this time Zhou's mother stepped out of the house and said slowly: "Hedi, don't go to school tomorrow." ”

"Why?" He almost jumped in shock.

"When the harvest is in the field, and we all go down to the field, who will cook? Herui is still young, you can help the family. ”

Jiafu squinted at Hetu, but still didn't speak.

"However, when I was so old with Herui, I could already cook." He Tu muttered quietly. Zhou's mother didn't hear it, and then said: "It's decided, you will take Heyi and Hefu at home tomorrow and Hexin Herui to go down to the ground with us." Although the eldest looked unhappy, she was happy again when she saw that she could not go to school because of this, and sat on the side gloatingly clapping her hands.

Everyone gathered around the table to eat. He Tu was a little depressed, and the thought of not being able to sit in the classroom and listen to the teacher's lectures anymore made her heart feel uncomfortable. But the adults in the family can't help but listen to it, and if she really goes to school, there will be no one to take care of her, wouldn't something happen. Although He Tu is young, he thinks a lot, and he just has a face at the moment, but he doesn't say anything.

It's as if the days are back to the way they used to be. When the school started before, Jiafu bought a new pencil for Hedi, she has been hiding it and is reluctant to use it, the small pencil head she used before is almost unable to hold, she uses it to practice on the paper, write one side after writing, and use an eraser to erase it and rewrite it when it is full. When Hefu didn't cry or make trouble and fell asleep, she sat on the threshold with Heyi, holding the thick fairy tale book in both hands and stumbling to read. She doesn't know many words, and sometimes she has to rely on pinyin to know how to pronounce them. Usually after a few lines, she would have to put down her book and go to the sheep in the pen to add fodder, give water to the mules, and in the evening before the family came back, she had to mow the grass before it was dark. So she read the book very slowly, and she almost only read five or six lines a day. When she was studying, Heyi was lying on her lap and listening carefully, a pair of black eyes looked at Heyi's constantly moving lips motionlessly, looking very happy.

Autumn turned to winter, and the weather soon cooled down. After the first heavy snowfall, soon ushered in the second heavy snowfall, everyone's outdoor activity every day is to clear the snow, sweep their own yard, and then go out to sweep the courtyard gate, or sweep the snow on the way to the field, so that it is more convenient to walk. Putting down the broom, Hexin and Hedi's hands were red from the cold, and they shrank into the room, took off their shoes and drilled into the quilt on the kang. The quilt was warm, and their bodies quickly warmed up, so they looked at the busy family portraits and cuiying in the yard through the window pane, chatting with each other.

"Alas, I don't know if Xiuhan will come this year." He Tu stared out the window blankly, his mind drifting far away.

He Xin looked out the window, busy with the work in hand, and said, "I don't think I can do it, how can I walk with such a big snow?" ”

He Tu pursed his lips, disapproving of his sister's words, got up and took out the fairy tale book from the closet, held it and read it. As soon as He Yi saw her take out the book, he hurriedly crawled next to her and listened to her read word by word, with a serious expression.

"Do you think Dad will send me to school next year?" He Tu suddenly put down the book and said.

Hexin glanced up at her, and breathed a sigh of relief helplessly, "You should also do all these jobs I do, knitting sweaters or something, why do you think about going to school every day?" That's not what we think. ”

"Then how can Xiuhan go to school?"

"She's not like us."

"I think you're bringing it to grandma."

He Xin slapped her lightly and reproached: "How can you say that adult, it's rude." ”

"Originally, you see how happy she is that I don't go to school."

There was a sudden knock on the door of the outhouse, and someone was stomping on the steps, and Hedi quickly stopped, put the book away, and pretended to look seriously at the messy sweater knitted in Hexin's hand. After looking at it for a few minutes, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she snatched it and knitted it herself, although the speed was very slow and unskillful, but the pattern woven was much better than the neat and beautiful weaving of Hexin. Hexin clapped his hands and smiled: "Look, I just said that you are suitable for this, look at how beautiful it is." ”

He Tu smiled proudly, she had never been criticized for her dexterity of hands and feet.

In the afternoon, the family sat on the warm kang in the back room and chatted, and after listening to them for a while, he turned over and put on his coat. Cuiying straightened her waist slightly, nodded her chin and asked, "Why are you going?" ”

"I'll go to Grandma He's house." He Tu lowered his head and buttoned the button of his padded jacket, his voice muffled. Cuiying only said that she would come back early, and continued to chat with Jiafu. This year's harvest is good, and in addition to what I eat at home, I can also transport it to the city and sell it for some money. She was overjoyed, and was chatting about it, looking forward to a good harvest as it was this year.

"Sister, I'll go too." Heyi then turned off the kang and walked out without a coat.

"Oops!" Cuiying hurriedly sat up and tried to grab Heyi's arm, "Put on your clothes, if you go out so thin for a while, you'll be frozen into ice lumps!" ”

He Tu pursed his lips and snickered, took out a small cotton jacket from the cabinet and put it on for her, and took her hand out of the outhouse door. A cold and fresh air rushed into her nostrils, and her nose and face immediately turned red in the northwest wind. He Tu lowered his head and asked He Yi, "Is it cold or not?" ”

Heyi was very excited, if it wasn't for Hetu holding her hand tightly, she would have run away in the yard. The two of them went out of the courtyard gate, stepped into the snow that had not been swept away, and creaked down the slope to Grandma He's house.

The door of Grandma He's house was closed tightly as usual. She patted again and kept patting many times before she heard Grandma He's trembling answer, accompanied by the creaking sound of her feet on the snow, to open the door for the two children.

"Ouch, it's such a cold day." Grandma He smiled when she saw them, and hurriedly let them go in, "Frozen to death, right?" ”

"No, grandma, just a little way." He Yi showed an innocent smile and said in a long milk voice. Grandma He touched her head pityingly and wanted to pick her up, but her walking was unstable, so she gave up this plan. The three of them entered the house, closed the door, and felt less cold. He Tu pulled He Yi and sat on a small bench, stretching out his hand on the stove to warm his hands.

"Grandma, hasn't Xiuhan come yet?" Hetu has been thinking about this matter, and she came to ask about it.

"I'm afraid I won't come, such a big snow." Grandma He took out two bags of milk from a box in the corner, heated them in a kettle on the stove, and handed them to them. He Tu took it in his hand and warmed his cold palm. He opened his mouth and bit the corners and drank greedily.

"I didn't send her the last time she left, I miss her so much." He sighed as an adult. Grandma He smiled when she heard it and said, "When the summer comes, she should come." ”

With this sentence in mind, she looked at Heyi, who had already drunk a bag of milk, and handed her what she had in her hand. He Yi took it in his hand and shook it with his hands, and he bit it open and drank it.

"Hey, it's too much, drink it slowly, it's over." Grandma He looked at them kindly, as if they were her own granddaughters. Grandma He is only alone at home all the year round, and it will not be so lonely to have someone to talk to her, especially these two children, one can do everything smartly, and the other stupid can always bring laughter to people, she really likes it too late.

He sat for a while, and then he was ready to leave. Grandma He was reluctant to let them go, and wanted to stay, but He Tu promised her that she would come to see her again the next day, so Grandma He reluctantly let go of her hand. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the plate, stuffed them into Hediyi's pocket, and said, "Tell grandma what you want to eat, grandma has it here." ”

"Got it, grandma!" He said with a smile, feeling that the weight in his pocket seemed to be filled with gold and silver jewelry. When they walked out of the big iron gate, Grandma He closed the iron gate. Although the sky outside is still cloudy after the snow, the air seems to have been cleaned, and it is very clean and fresh.

Back at home, the family was still chatting on the kang. He Tu lifted the curtain and entered the house, and Cuiying was about to ask her about Grandma He's current situation, but she suddenly stared at her with a pair of eyes and rushed to the kang, and snatched the book from Herui's hand. Herui was frightened by the sudden snatch and stared at her blankly.

"Who told you to take my stuff!" Hetu was angry and shouted loudly.

"Ahem!" Jiafu roared, "A book, can't you let your sister read it?" Why are you so stingy? ”

"It's my thing, I don't agree that she just can't move!" He's face turned red, and she looked down at the front and back of the book carefully, for fear that Herui would get dirty and break it.

"Dad, look at my sister." When He Rui heard what Jiafu said, she suddenly had the courage to be unforgiving, "Since she was with that Xiuhan, she has become like this, as if she and Xiuhan are a family." ”

Mother Zhou felt uncomfortable when she heard this. She remembered the magnanimous appearance of Hui Rui when she came to her house that day, she didn't like Hui Rui in the first place, she didn't even like her family, she immediately glared and said: "That's it, Hedi, don't run to Lao He's house in the future, I really don't know what is interesting there." ”

He glanced at them with red eyes, turned and walked out of the back room, and sat down on a stool at the kitchen table, silently shedding tears.

"Sister." He Yi followed, stood next to her and tugged at her sleeve. He Yi wiped away her tears and looked at Heyi, although Heyi was still young and not very good at expressing her thoughts, but she felt that the person who understood and supported her the most in the family was Heyi alone, and even Hexin, who was usually good to her, couldn't understand her feelings at all and understood her approach. He Yi looked at the book blankly and said to He Yi, "I really want to show off my cold." ”

"I want to, too." He Yi pouted and said, in fact, all she was thinking about was the taste of the milk she had just drunk at Grandma He's house, which was so sweet and delicious.

After this incident, the relationship between Halt and Halry quickly deteriorated. In fact, Hedi was not angry that night, she was a straight and short-tempered person, and after the incident, it was over, and she never held grudges, but Herui was a thoughtful child, and she turned a blind eye to Hedi's overtures, and she became more and more cold. He Di persisted for two days and couldn't hold on, since Herui ignored her, then she didn't pay attention to Herui, and the two of them were like a pair of strangers living under the same roof, without even saying a word.

Cui Ying has a big heart, and he didn't notice the cold war between the two children at all, but Jiafu saw it, he felt that it was just a fighting spirit between children, every time he saw He Di chasing He Rui to talk, he also thought it was funny, and he also helped two sentences on the side, and then after the two of them stopped talking at all, he felt that they really quarreled. So at a dinner table, Jiafu looked at Hetu who was standing next to the pot and hot steamed buns, and said to Herui: "You go and help your sister." ”

He Rui turned her head to look at He Xin, who was sitting next to her, and said, "My sister is sitting next to me." ”

"Your second sister." Jiafu nudged her, "Hurry up." ”

"I'm not going." He Rui was unmoved, and quickly sat down.

"Why are you disobedient, you kid?"

"Disobedient?" Cuiying walked out of the back room with Hefu in her arms, "If you don't obey, you will be obedient." ”

Herui pursed her lips, got up from the stool very cowardly, and reluctantly moved to Hedi's side. Hetu had already heard their conversation, but pretended not to hear it. When he saw Herui coming, he handed her the chopsticks with the steamed buns in his hand and said, "Then you can hold the steamed buns, don't fill the plate too much." He turned around and sat down beside Hexin.

He Rui glared at He Di, and slowly filled the plate with steamed buns. Jiafu looked at the awkward appearance of the two people, and couldn't help laughing, shaking his head while sending food to his mouth, urging: "Hurry up, your father is about to die of hunger." Only then did Herui speed up, and in a short time a plate of steaming thick noodles was placed on the table, and the fragrance was particularly tempting.

When Xiuhan came to his hometown again, Hedi and Hexin were already about the same height. Her thick and shiny black hair was tied into a thick braid and hung down behind her head, wearing the old clothes worn by her sister Hexin, and she was holding Hefu's hand and standing on the slope looking at the Xiuhan family passing by the slope.

Xiuhan has grown a lot taller, her hair is cut short, and her body is developing, she has gotten rid of the childishness of a child, giving her the breath of a girl. She straddled a backpack diagonally, one hand in the pocket of her jeans, the other swinging rhythmically. She had headphones in her ears, her head bobbing to the rhythm of the music, and suddenly, Hedi's expressionless face broke into her eyes.

Xiuhan was stunned for a few seconds, and for a moment she didn't recognize that it was Hedi. After all, the two of them haven't seen each other for several years, and Hedi has grown up quickly, his face is different from when he was six or seven years old, and his expression is no longer so enthusiastic and innocent, but with an adult-like pretend maturity. Xiuhan looked up at her at the bottom of the slope, suddenly waved his hand, and shouted, "Hedi! I'm Xiuhan! I'm coming! ”

Hedi's body shook invisibly, and Hefu beside her raised his face to look at her. He hesitated for a few seconds, but finally turned around and entered the courtyard without saying a word.

"Huh?" Xiuhan put down her hand and looked at her disappearing back in confusion. Hui Rui and Lao He, who had walked far in front, turned around and called her, and she hurried to catch up.

"I just saw Hetu." Xiuhan took off his headphones and said to his mother.

"I haven't seen you in years, so you can't recognize it, right?" Hui Rui said with a smile, peeling off a piece of candy and stuffing it into her mouth.

"Yes, I called her, but she didn't react, and just turned around and left."

"Wait a little while to your grandmother's house, and you can go to her after the things are dropped."

Xiuhan pursed his lips, and it could only be like this. She tucked the headphones back into her ears, and the explosion of music stimulated her heart and made her feel her blood boiling.

When she arrived at her grandmother's house, she put down her schoolbag and ran to Hetu's house, not forgetting to bring her Walkman and headphones. She also wants Hedi to listen to the music she likes, and Heda will definitely like it too.

Xiuhan ran to the gate of Hetu's courtyard and poked his head into the house. She was still a little scared of the place and didn't have much courage to walk into. There was a little girl sitting on the steps of the house facing the door, she was playing with the small frog toy in her hand, and when she saw Xiuhan standing at the door, she raised her head and looked at her curiously.

Xiuhan recognized at a glance that it was the toy she had given to Hedi before, so he beckoned to the little girl and wanted to call her over. The little girl got up from the steps excitedly and ran towards her. At this time, the thin curtain in the next room was lifted, and someone shouted: "Heyi! Where are you going! ”

He Yi stopped in the middle of the courtyard, turned back to the man and shouted, "Sister! There's a fairy at the door! ”

Hearing this, her heart beat violently, but she pretended not to care and said, "Don't run around, come and watch Hefu." Then he turned and lowered the curtain and went in.

He Yi didn't listen to her, but still ran to Xiuhan, raised his face and asked, "Who are you looking for?" ”

"I'm looking for your sister." Xiuhan bent down, snatched a milk candy from his pocket, and put it in the warm palm of Heyi's hand, "Can you go and call her out?" ”

"You go in, there's no one in my house." Heyi was very happy to see Sugar, turned around and ran. Xiuhan straightened up and looked at her helplessly, but there was nothing she could do. She saw that the curtain on the door of the side room was still fluttering, and remembered the scene when she was with Hetu before, so she couldn't help but open her legs and slowly walked in.

"Hedi? Hetu! She stood under the window and called a few times, but when no one answered, she lifted the curtain and stepped in. The kitchen was still the same as before, and there was a half-curtain hanging on the door of the inner room next to it, and through the unblocked gap under the curtain, you could see the two legs hanging on the ground, not moving.

"Hey!" Xiuhan suddenly opened the curtain and jumped in, looking at her with open arms with a smile, "Surprised, right?" ”

He Tu looked at her expressionlessly, and there seemed to be joy in his eyes, but there was also anger.

"Hmph." Hetu turned away.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiuhan sat down next to her, "Why don't you ignore me?" ”

He Tu wrapped the thread in his hand as if venting, and only after a long time did he speak: "I thought you forgot me." ”

Xiuhan laughed when he heard this, hugged her shoulders from behind, and said with a smile: "How come?" How could I forget you, do you remember, I still have to invite you to come to my singing competition. ”

He Tu turned his head to look at her, Xiuhan's eyes were shining, and he looked at her sincerely, and couldn't help but smile, and suddenly pretended to be angry again, and said, "Your grandmother also told me that you came for the summer vacation, but I waited for several years, and you only came now." ”

"Oh, I'm busy studying." Xiuhan sat upright on the kang, his two long legs dangling in the air, and the soles of his white balls rubbing against the red brick floor, "My parents have enrolled me in several cram schools, and I am busy attending cram schools during the holidays." ”

"What is a cram school?" He asked curiously.

"It's a place where teachers give tutoring to children with poor grades." Xiuhan wrinkled his nose, "You, how are you?" You must be better at studying than me, and my mother even praises you for being smarter than me. ”

Hearing this, Hetu immediately lowered her head in frustration, she wrapped the wool removed from the old sweater in her hand, and said sullenly: "I haven't gone to school for a long time." ”

"Huh?" Xiuhan looked at her in surprise, "Why?" Didn't you say you enjoyed going to school? ”

"When I went to school, there was no one at home to cook." Hetu still had her head down, unable to make out the expression on her face.

"What about your mother? Where's your dad? ”

He Tu grinned, poked Xiuhan's smooth forehead with his fingers, and said: "How can my father cook, the sheep in the family must be herded, and the mules must be led to the mountains, and there is a lot of work at home, how can it be like you, you don't work." ”

Xiuhan pouted, "Anyway, I've never done housework at home, and my mother said that I just need to do a good job in my studies." ”

He Tu looked at her enviously and muttered, "Your parents are so nice." ”

"What's the matter, every day either I sign up for this class or that class." Xiuhan suddenly became excited, and there was a light in his eyes, "I formed a band with my classmates in school, I am responsible for singing, we rehearse in the music classroom every day after school, and you must come to see our performance in the future." ”

"If I go, I'll go and see it, and cheer you on!" He Tu said with an oath.

Xiuhan smiled at her heartily, and then complained: "My parents are not good at this, they don't agree with me to engage in music, saying that I have no future and can't make money in the future." They are all old antiques and do not understand the ideas of young people nowadays and the trends in society. She sighed deeply, "If they can support me in singing, then I don't have anything to ask for in this world." ”

"Can you make money doing music?" He Tu looked at her suspiciously, "How do you make money?" ”

"If you don't become famous, you can't make money, but if you become famous, you can earn it, and you can make a lot of money." Xiuhan pinched his fingers and calculated, "It's basically hundreds of thousands." ”

"Hundreds of thousands!" Hetu was frightened by the number, "You can't be dreaming, are you?" ”

"It's true. Look at those celebrities, holding a concert, shooting an advertisement, and making more money, more than hundreds of thousands. ”

Xiuhan couldn't understand a word of what she said, she lowered her head and continued to wrap the yarn, feeling uncomfortable in her heart, as if there was an invisible thread between them separating them.

"When I become a big star in the future, I will take you to the city, and we will live together, eat and sleep together every day. Just tell me what you want to eat and what you want to wear! I'll take care of it for you! Xiuhan patted his chest and said proudly, and Hefu, who was sitting next to her, was stunned when he heard it.

"Okay." Hedi smiled, she wanted to change the subject, say something that could be talked to by both of them, but she didn't know what to say.

"What about you?" Xiuhan's body leaned towards Hedi's side, "I don't think you can do this, what can you do if you cook at home every day, you might as well go out to the big city to have a look." ”

"What do you think?" This sentence came to Hedi's heart, she raised her head and looked at Xiuhan seriously, expecting her to give herself the most perfect answer.

"Go to school in the city." Xiuhan said without thinking.

"Impossible." Hedi's gaze dimmed suddenly, "I don't have that much money at home. ”

Xiuhan stopped talking, and when she saw the sad expression on Hedi's face, she realized that she was a little too excited. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly took Hedi's hand and said with a smile: "Go, go to my grandmother's house, I have something good for you!" ”