Fortunately, I didn't have any dreams that night, and I slept until dawn. When he woke up, Cheng Jiahua was still asleep, but there were already people in the courtyard. She hurriedly put on her clothes and got out of bed, lifted the curtains and looked out, it turned out that Cheng Jiaji was playing in the yard with her younger brothers and sisters. She turned her head to look at the clock hanging on the wall, and it was only six o'clock in the morning, and she breathed a sigh of relief, wondering why they had gotten up so early today. She washed up in a hurry, reached out and gently shook Cheng Jiahua's shoulder, trying to wake him up, but he didn't even move his eyelids. He sighed, took the coat that was on the back of the sofa and put it on his body, opened the door and walked out.

"Sister-in-law woke up?" Hearing the sound, Cheng Jiaji turned around and asked with a smile. He Tu smiled and nodded, wanting to see what they were playing, but Cheng Jiayi deliberately turned around to block her sight and continued to laugh with her brothers.

He Tu smiled awkwardly and turned to walk towards the small kitchen. It was still early, and the faint sunlight had not yet dispelled the cold of the night, when a cool breeze blew, and she shivered from the cold. She wrapped up her clothes tightly and walked briskly into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the day. She didn't know what Cheng Jiahua liked to eat, so she only guessed that she had prepared a few dishes. But until she prepared breakfast, Cheng Jiahua hadn't woken up from her sleep. His face was tired and haggard, as if he hadn't slept in days, and now he fell asleep as if he were going to sleep for centuries. He sat at the head of the bed for a moment, bored, and took the unfinished needlework from the sewing basket. But her mind was always wandering over the dreams of the previous night and what had happened, and she couldn't really calm down. After sitting absent-mindedly for a while, Cheng Jiahua, who was asleep on the bed, finally turned over and woke up from his sleep.

He Tu turned his head to look at him, but said nothing.

Cheng Jiahua blinked, as if adjusting to the light in front of him. He glanced blankly, sat up from the bed with his arms propped up, stared out the window, and asked, "What time is it?" ”

He glanced at the clock, bowed his head and said, "It's ten o'clock." ”

Cheng Jiahua lowered his gaze and silently changed the clothes on his body. The room fell silent for a moment, except for the sound of threads running through the cloth and rustling to change clothes.

The moment before Cheng Jiahua stepped out of the door, Hetu shouted: "There is rice in the kitchen pot, you can eat and then go out." She stared at Cheng Jiahua's back tightly, expecting him to turn around and respond to herself, but he didn't even pause and went straight out.

He looked at the needle and thread in his hand in frustration, and didn't know what to do for a while. If she doesn't know the truth of the matter, as long as the relationship between them eases up, she feels that she has nothing to ask for. But no one could satisfy her with such a small request.

As the days passed, Cheng Jiahua remained the same as before, not only did his attitude not ease, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared recently. He was so emaciated that his face always had a cold, frightening expression, and the whole family did not dare to say a word to him. He Tu gradually got used to it from being timid and panicked at the beginning, and began to feel dissatisfied in his heart, wanting to find an opportunity to find a word or two to find fault with him, but Cheng Jiahua didn't want to say a word to her, except for eating and sleeping, the two didn't seem to be in the same world. The New Year is approaching, and the city is full of festive atmosphere, even the courtyard is decorated with joy by the sisters-in-law and uncles, only the small bedroom of Hetu is still shrouded in the cold atmosphere like a nightmare, and there is no life at all.

By mid-February, the winter cold had partially subsided, and the sky was becoming clearer and less gray than usual. A new year, a new day, this particular point in time always gives people good psychological cues. He Tu propped himself up from the bed, looking at the bright colors outside the window, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a faint smile.

After changing her clothes, she turned her head to look at the side, Cheng Jiahua was still asleep, snoring slightly. She carefully got out of bed, lit the remaining charcoal fire in the stove, and put on her coat to make breakfast. As soon as he went out, he saw Mu Shi leaning against the door picking up something in the basket, and heard her footsteps going out, Mu Shi raised his head and looked at her, then lowered his head again, and said lightly: "Today you are cooking in the big kitchen, Chinese New Year's Eve, let's eat at the same table." ”

He agreed, buttoned up his coat, and walked towards the large kitchen. Somehow, she always has an inexplicable awe of her parents-in-law. Needless to say, Cheng Tielong rarely showed a smile on his face, those eyes were not angry and arrogant, even when he was not angry, few people dared to look at him. And Mu Shi, she seems to have never been satisfied with this daughter-in-law, and her words are always indifferent and disgusted, even if He Tu does all the housework well. At first, Hedi also tried to communicate with her in-laws, but later she even gave up this attempt, and what her in-laws told her to do, she did it, and never said a word. This is also her self-esteem, she doesn't want to be inferior in the eyes of others, and prefers to take the initiative to distance herself. But even so, she tried her best to do everything well, wanting to leave a perfect, good impression on them.

After breakfast was ready, she brought all the dishes to the main room and set them on the kang table. Cheng Tielong was leaning on the pillow to watch the news, Cheng Jiaji, Cheng Jiaye and Cheng Jiayi attached themselves to him, and they were all bored watching TV. He put down his meal and was about to turn around and walk out. Coldly, Cheng Tielong asked, "What about Jiahua?" She was startled by the sudden voice and hurriedly said, "I haven't gotten up yet." ”

Cheng Tielong snorted coldly and reprimanded: "Unproductive goods, hurry up and call him up!" ”

"Hmm." He Tu hurriedly answered, and hurriedly turned around and went out the door. She carried the plate back to her bedroom, and when she saw that Cheng Jiahua was still asleep, she reached out and pushed it, and shouted softly: "Dad told you to get up." ”

Cheng Jiahua rolled over impatiently and looked at her half-open. He Tu was uncomfortable staring at him, and he turned his head to leave, but he grabbed his wrist. It was the first time in more than two months that they had made skin-to-skin contact, and Hedi's face turned red all of a sudden, and she struggled to shake off his hand.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Jiahua looked at her strangely, and the strength in his hands became heavier and heavier, "What are you moving?" ”

He Tu opened his mouth and wanted him to let go of his hand, but he felt that it was really unreasonable, after all, he and he were husband and wife, and it was normal to have any skin-to-skin contact. But she really felt awkward, and because his tone seemed too reasonable, she struggled harder.

Cheng Jiahua's body was twisted and twisted by her movements, and he finally couldn't bear it anymore, and pulled her over hard, trying to control her body and no longer let her struggle. He screamed and fell backwards into his arms, panicking and trying to get up, but both arms were restrained by him, and he couldn't even move.

"What are you doing?" He Tu asked rhetorically, ashamed and angry, "You let go of me!" ”

Cheng Jiahua frowned and watched her struggle in his arms, closing his lips tightly and not speaking. In fact, he didn't know what his purpose was in doing this, but he wanted to clamp her on the spur of the moment, and he didn't think that Hetu's reaction was so violent that he felt that his self-esteem was a little frustrated, so he was more and more reluctant to let go of her easily.

Seeing that he couldn't break free, Cheng Jiahua refused to speak, so he bit his lip and said fiercely: "You let go of me, my mother is still waiting for me in the kitchen." ”

Cheng Jiahua looked at her and saw that her face was like a flower and jade, although it was a little red by the wind, but the red was as pink and delicate as a freshly blooming apricot blossom. Although he deliberately put on a threatening expression on his face, because his face was immature and round, it looked like a child was losing his temper, which made people feel pity. Cheng Jiahua couldn't help but be stunned, the strength in his hand softened unconsciously, and he only looked at Hetu, but he didn't guard that she had fled from his arms, and ran out angrily and annoyed.

Back in the kitchen, Moose was still busy on the stove. He Tu stood still in the doorway, calmed down, wiped a handful of hot cheeks with his hand, and lowered his head and placed the plate on the table. Hearing the sound, Mu Shi glanced back at her, took a bowl of noodles in his hand, and said, "Hurry up and eat." ”

"Hey." He agreed, sat down at the table with his face, and ate with Mu Shi. In the family, according to the old custom, women were not allowed to eat at the table. Originally, Hedi's family did not follow this kind of rules handed down from the feudal era, but when he arrived at his mother-in-law's house, he had to change any habits that did not match, so although he was slightly dissatisfied in his heart, he still pressed it down. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law never talked much, and after eating, Mu Shi got up and walked out. He Tu cleaned up his dishes and chopsticks, took the plate and prepared to clean up the dishes and chopsticks in the main room, and just stepped out of the door with one foot, Cheng Jiahua slammed in.

"Oops." He screamed and hurriedly stood firm, so he didn't fall, "I almost fell." ”

Cheng Jiahua squinted at her, pretending not to care and asked, "Is there still any food?" ”

"No, do you want to eat noodles? I'll cook you some noodles. He Tu shook his head, "The food has been served to the main room, and I guess my father has finished eating at this time." ”

"Oh." Cheng Jiahua walked in and sat down at the table, "Then you can cook some noodles for me to eat." ”

"Wait a minute, I'll clean up first." He lifted his feet and went out. The meal in the main room had already been finished, and everyone was staggering to the kang to watch TV. When He Tu entered the door and saw that Cheng Tielong was not there, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and began to clean up the messy tableware on the table.

"Sister-in-law, where's the eldest brother?" Cheng Jiayi tilted his head and asked her, holding a rough doll made by himself in his hand and fiddling with it.

"In the kitchen." He glanced at her, then quickly lowered his head.

"Has the eldest brother eaten?" Cheng Jiayi asked again. He shook his head and didn't speak.

"I don't think my brother has mentioned that incident recently." Cheng Jiayi suddenly smiled, "Is it because of the arrival of my sister-in-law that I changed my eldest brother's mind?" ”

"Huh?" He Tu frowned and looked at her suspiciously, not understanding for a moment what she meant. Cheng Jiayi opened his mouth to continue, but was stopped by Cheng Jiaye, and he said lightly: "It's nothing, Jiayi mouthful, don't listen to her nonsense." ”

"What's this?" Cheng Jiayi pursed his lips dissatisfiedly, "Sister-in-law has to know." ”

"Know what?" He Tu stopped what he was doing and stared at Cheng Jiayi tightly.

Cheng Jiaji pulled Cheng Jiayi's sleeve, coughed twice, and looked up at Hetu. There was a hint of apology in his eyes, though he didn't know where it came from. She waited quietly, and finally he spoke, "Sister-in-law, do you remember the time when my eldest brother was beaten?" ”

"Hmm." Hedi's brow furrowed even tighter, and she remembered the horrific nightmare she had had.

"My eldest brother didn't tell my sister-in-law about it, I think my parents mean it, and I don't want to tell you." Cheng Jiaji hesitated, "I'll tell you now, you know, but don't say it, it's strictly forbidden to talk about it at home, if my parents find out, I will be beaten." ”

"You name it, I won't say it." Hedi's heart gradually became excited, and the things that he had been wondering about for a long time finally had to have an answer. She looked at Cheng Jiaji's face seriously, waiting for his explanation.

"The eldest brother married a sister-in-law before, and the relationship between the two of them was quite good, but then the sister-in-law somehow got sick and passed away, and the eldest brother couldn't stand it a little, and it has changed a lot compared to before, so if the eldest brother does something sorry for the sister-in-law, you should be considerate and considerate, don't be angry with him."

"I heard about it before I got married." He Tu lowered his head, "I wonder why I got married, and the bedroom is still full of her clothes and her things?" Also, what disease did she contract and die? ”

Hearing this, Cheng Jiayi suddenly smiled coldly, and was about to say something, but Cheng Jiaji took the lead and said: "That's it, it's a terminal illness, we don't know the specifics, the things you didn't have time to clean up in your bedroom were because the eldest brother was too sad and didn't allow others to touch those things, so he stayed until that time." ”

"Oh." Hearing this, Hetu suddenly felt a little lost in his heart. Their relationship should be really good, so after her death, Cheng Jiahua was so grief-stricken and desperate. She distractedly put away the dishes, imagining over and over again in their minds the scene of them laughing and spending their days in the bedroom, and she felt jealous in her heart. Startled by this thought, she hurriedly inhaled and walked out with her plate.

Cheng Jiahua was still sitting in the kitchen waiting for her. He Tu didn't look at him when he entered the door, walked straight to the stove, cooked a bowl of noodles so-so, and put it down in front of Cheng Jiahua. Although his gaze never stayed on him, He Tu sensitively noticed that he had been looking himself up and down, with a hint of ambiguity and provocation in his eyes, and He Tu was uncomfortable when he looked at him. She hurried back to the stove, absentmindedly cleaning the dishes, but her attention was all behind her, pricking up her ears to listen carefully to the movement behind her.

Cheng Jiahua quickly finished eating a bowl of noodles, he wiped his mouth and stood up, turned around and was about to walk outside. He Tu hurriedly turned around and asked, "Where are you going?" ”

Cheng Jiahua was stunned, turned his head to look at her, suddenly smiled, and asked, "Where do I want to tell you?" ”

"Today is the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, don't you want to go out?" Can't you stay at home? He said hurriedly, wiping his hands on his apron at a loss.

Cheng Jiahua's eyes rolled around her a few times, and she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Okay, then I'll listen to you and won't go out today." ”

"Really?" A smile suddenly appeared on Hedi's face, her face turned red again, and her heart was pounding, she didn't even dare to look at Cheng Jiahua's eyes, she always felt that those eyes would let herself fall into it inexplicably. Cheng Jiahua saw her reaction, and his heart ached, and another person seemed to appear in front of him. The smile on his face quickly disappeared, his expression became cold again, and he forcefully lifted the curtain and walked out.

He Tu continued to brush the dishes contentedly, she was finally the only one in the family, and her mother-in-law would not blame her for not being able to keep her husband. On the last day of the year, her life finally took a small turn, and she was overjoyed about it. She naively thought that Cheng Jiahua had finally changed her mind and paid attention to her, and the snubbing and grievances she had suffered every day disappeared from the bottom of her heart in an instant, she began to look forward to the evening show, and even began to imagine the actions and expressions she would do later, and even planned the details one by one.

Hetu's hands and feet have always been quick, but in just ten minutes, the originally chaotic kitchen was cleaned up neatly. She wiped her hands on her apron, took it off and hung it on the wall, and turned to walk out. Today's day seemed short but long, and she didn't know what to do. Walking to the steps of her bedroom, she remembered that the sweater she had woven for Cheng Jiahua had not yet been completed, and the feeling of vastness in her heart disappeared all of a sudden. She jumped up the steps like a child, happily lifted the curtain and entered the room, but immediately, her movements froze, because she saw Cheng Jiahua lying on the sofa on two legs and reading the magazine in her hand, and when she heard the sound of her coming in, she quickly raised her head and looked at her, as if she had been waiting for her for a long time.

He Tu stood still at the door, hesitantly put down the curtain in his hand, lowered his head and twisted his head and asked, "You, didn't you go with your parents?" ”

"They have things to do in the garden." Cheng Jiahua propped up his body and sat up straight, "We also have something to do." ”

"Huh?" He Tu looked at him in surprise, not understanding what he meant. Cheng Jiahua smiled slightly and asked, "I've been busy all morning, are you tired?" ”

"It's fine." He didn't understand what he meant. Seeing him stand up and walk towards him, the distance was getting closer and closer, the unknown meaning in his eyes became stronger and stronger, and he only felt as if the oxygen in the air was instantly emptied, and he was almost out of breath.

"Then take a good rest, it's still a long day anyway." Cheng Jiahua stood still, looking down at her. He nodded in a panic and walked over his body towards the inside. Cheng Jiahua stretched out his hand to grab her arm, but a crisp shout came from outside the door, and then a head stuck in, looked at the movement in the room curiously, and said, "Brother, Dad called you." ”

Cheng Jiahua looked at Cheng Jiayi's two dangling long braids, and was a little stunned for a while. He sighed, waved his hand impatiently, and said, "Got it, got it." ”

Cheng Jiayi nodded, looked at Hetu again, and then retreated.

"I'll get busy first." Cheng Jiahua didn't reply, hurriedly said a word, and then raised his feet and walked outside. He didn't say a word, but he felt as if he was relieved, and sat down at the head of the bed. She stared blankly at the randomly spread magazine on the sofa, as if in a dream. I don't know how long later, there was a faint sound of laughter and dog barking from the chase outside the gate, and she came back from her daze and heard a sound of running footsteps in the yard, as if Cheng Jiaji had run out with his younger siblings.

He Tu stood up and looked out against the window, but before she could see anything, a fierce burst of firecrackers rang out outside the door, which startled her. She stroked her chest, took a breath, and heard her mother-in-law standing in the yard scolding angrily: "You little hooves! Surprise me! Come and help your dad and know how to play all day long! I've grown into an adult, but I don't even look like an adult! ”

A burst of laughter like silver bells rang out, and the commotion outside the door gradually became quieter, and the courtyard became quiet again. He Tu sat down, ready to take the half sweater from the sewing basket and knit it, when Mu Shi's voice sounded outside his window again, "Eldest daughter-in-law, come here." ”

He Tu answered, hurriedly put down the work in his hand and walked out, it turned out that Mu Shi was preparing to clean the whole hospital, and wanted to clean the house on the last day of the year. The temperature on that day was neither hot nor cold, the sun hung high in the sky, there was no cloud, and there was not even a trace of wind, it was indeed a good weather. Cheng Jiahua took his younger brother to follow Cheng Tielong to work in the orchard, and He Tu and Cheng Jiayi followed Mu Shi to clean the yard and house. Cheng Jiayi was very lazy, and he couldn't do a few jobs and yelled that it hurt, either his arm hurt or his leg hurt, and then Mu Shi was impatient to hear it, so he drove her back to her room to stay, and only two people were left in the huge main room, Hetu and Mu Shi, fortunately, there was work in hand, otherwise it would be really embarrassing and speechless.

"You're pretty good at your work." Mu Shi squinted at her a few times, "I have to wipe it in that corner, I don't know how much dust is piled up." ”

"Got it." He replied sullenly, but his mind was thousands of miles away. She was thinking about her own home, she didn't know what her parents and siblings were doing, and she didn't know if her sister was busy at this time, if it was possible, she really wanted to go to her sister's house for a while, chat, and release the boredom of these days.

"I heard that your sister also married into the city?" As if he knew Hedi's thoughts, Mu Shi suddenly asked. He Tu was stunned, nodded, and said, "Yes, it's not far." She looked at Mu Shi tentatively, and asked hesitantly, "Can I go see my sister?" ”

The corners of Mu Shi's mouth drooped suddenly, she glanced at He Di unhappily, and said, "My family is so busy every day, where do you have time to go out and run here and there?" Besides, since you married into our family, you are a member of my family, and your mother's family used to be close, and now it is not a family, do you understand this reason? ”

He Tu looked at her mother-in-law in a daze, feeling that this sentence was wrong, but she couldn't think of anything to refute her. Seeing that her mother-in-law's face was getting more and more gloomy, she nodded hurriedly, and the movements of her hands became faster and faster, but she complained in her heart: "I just asked if I wanted to see my sister, and she said such a thing, and how awkward it sounded, it seemed like she was forcing others, which was really uncomfortable." Later, when the mother-in-law asked, she answered anything, and she didn't say anything else, for fear of making the mother-in-law angry again. After finally cleaning this room, she slipped out of the house as if fleeing and walked towards Cheng Jiayi's room.

Cheng Jiayi was lying on the bed listening to the song, and she didn't hear it when Hedi came in, until Hedi patted her shoulder before she reacted, hurriedly took off the headphones on her ears, and asked suspiciously, "What's wrong?" ”

"Go and stay in the main room, and I'll clean your house." He Tu held a broom in his hand and looked at Cheng Jiayi, who was only a few years younger than him. Hearing this, Cheng Jiayi frowned impatiently, but he still got up, picked up the Walkman with one hand, and walked outside with the other hand shaking the headphones.

He Tu watched her back disappear outside the door, and an inexplicable emotion flashed in her heart for a moment, which made her feel aggrieved and angry, and even made her jealous. He Tu bit his lip and turned around hatefully, thinking that he shouldn't have been like this, it should be Cheng Jiayi, go to school well, be pampered by his parents, and have a good future in the future, instead of cleaning the house for his sister-in-law here. She glanced at the broom in her hand, and the emotion was even stronger, almost provoking her to jump.

But when she heard Mu Shi's voice scolding Cheng Jiayi in the courtyard, she still suppressed this emotion. Anyway, my life has become like this, what's the use of resentment? She swept the floor with a broom, almost obsessively, even the dust in the brick cracks, and wiped the table with a wet rag, as if the dust was the sorrow that enveloped her, and she tried to sweep them away.

Cheng Jiayi's bed was messy with several colorful magazines, and it seemed that Cheng Jiahua had seen the same type before. He Tu absentmindedly packed them up, stacking them one by one, and suddenly, her movements froze, her eyes froze, and her breathing became rapid.