"Whew-"

The sound of wind and snow came from outside through the low wall of the courtyard......

There were obviously three people sitting under the eaves of the courtyard, facing each other, but none of them spoke, and the atmosphere was silent and quiet.

"Bang,"

Suddenly, the courtyard door was pushed open from the outside, and the sound broke the eerie quiet atmosphere under the eaves.

It was Hua Shi who carried a shabby bag and stepped on the thick snow accumulated in the yard, and walked in step by step.

The quiet environment was only broken for a while, and the people who came back were not necessarily very welcome, and the atmosphere fell into silence again.

As soon as Hua Shi walked in, he immediately noticed the sluggish mood of the three of them, all of them were slumped, and their spirits seemed to have been drained.

Before she went out, Hua Yu's leg was still in severe pain, and now she is sitting on the chair, although her face is a little pale, her expression is calm, and it seems that there is no major problem.

Hua Shi walked under the eaves with the worn-out bag, and then went into the kitchen, and came out with the dustpan after a while.

Although the three of them didn't take care of Hua Shi, Hua Xiao was a little curious, with a pair of big dark eyes, and kept chasing Hua Shi's figure.

She wanted to see what this guy was going to do......

She was fascinated when she suddenly heard Hanashi shouting her and Hanari's names.

"Hua Xiao, Hua Li, you two come and help me."

It was the voice of the flower, which made their voices too calm, as if it was something normal.

This made Hua Xiao think that he had heard it wrong......

Hua Li was in a daze, and suddenly heard his name, and subconsciously looked in the direction of Hua Shi.

Hua Xiao pursed her lips, very reluctant, "Why let us help you, you ......"

She refused and said mocking words before she could speak, her eyes widened suddenly, and she looked at the rice that Hanashi poured out of the bag.

When he was flowering, he took the whole dustpan and put it on the ground, and took a round wooden pot and put it aside.

After a closer look, Hua Xiao found that most of the rice poured into the dustpan during the flower was mixed with black stones.

It's not a good rice, it's similar to the brown rice that Li used to cook gruel before, and when it's cooked, it is mixed with stones and eaten directly into the stomach, and that little bit of rice can't fill the stomach, but swallowing it with the stones can make the stomach feel full.

Hua Shi looked at the large and small stones mixed in it, and had a headache.

There is no way, her two pennies can only buy this kind of brown rice mixed with stones at most, and when all the stones are picked out, it is estimated that even a pound of rice will hang.

"Help jump out of the pebbles inside, don't ask so much why, just keep your mouth shut if you want to eat and do the work."

The sound of flowers is not salty or light.

Hua Li and Hua Xiao glanced at each other, and then looked at the second brother who was sitting not far behind.

Hua Shi also noticed the gaze of the two, and when she looked at Hua Yu, Hua Yu was also staring at her with those black and oppressive eyes.

"You two pick out the stones inside, Hua Yu will follow me to the backyard, I have something else for him to do, or that sentence, only those who work can eat."

Hua Shi retracted his gaze and said to the three of them.

After getting the second brother's acquiescence, Hua Xiao and Hua Li squatted next to the dustpan and buried their heads in seriously picking up the stones inside.

Hua Shi raised his hand and beckoned to Hua Yu, motioning for him to follow.

Hua Yu leaned against the low wall, slowly stood up, and followed in the direction of Hua Shi's backyard.

"Click-"

In the backyard, in the snow, Hanatoki reached out and broke the roughly enclosed fence and walked in through the torn opening.

Hua Yu, who was following her, watched her flip and stood outside the fence without moving.

Surrounded by the fence is the Li family's vegetable garden, and many of the vegetables in it have been finished by the Li family before the snow.

At this time, there were several winter snowfalls in succession, and the vegetable garden was full of snow, and the green of the vegetable leaves could not be seen at all.

Hua Yu stood outside, watching Hua Shi's movements for a long time.

It was also light, the location of the vegetable garden was just facing the window of her room, and she stood at the window and looked obliquely, just in time.

A few days before it snowed, she found that there were still a lot of abandoned vegetables left in the garden, and the snow had been covering all of them after a few days.

I didn't see Li come to pick it, and I saw that it was covered by snow, so I knew that Li didn't remember it, otherwise I wouldn't look down on this vegetable leaf at all.

It happened that I came back with some rice today, Li didn't want it, she just picked it all up, there was no oil, it was scalded with hot water, and it was eaten with white porridge.

You have to be careful, you can't be seen by the Li family, otherwise I'm afraid you won't be able to eat......

According to Li's temperament, she was afraid that she would see these vegetables rotting in the ground, and she would not give them to eat.

"What are you doing in a daze, come in and help me carry it."

Hua Shi shaved the thick snow with his hands, and finally dug out a little bit of the vegetable leaves buried inside, and when he turned around, he saw Hua Yu still standing in place in a daze, and reminded him loudly.

After hearing her words, Hua Yu did not immediately go to the vegetable garden, but turned his head to look in the direction of the front yard.

Hua Shi noticed his gaze and knew what he was worried about, so he said, "Don't worry, while the milk doesn't come, dig it out and go back." ”

Li often likes to be in Father Hua's house recently, staring at Father Hua and reading, and I don't know what Hua Ciyuan said to Lee, and Li is paying special attention to him now.

I can't wait to stare at him 24 hours a day......

After her words fell, Hua Yu walked in through the gap in the fence.

When he was flowering, he dug up all the vegetable leaves and stuffed them into his hands.

I don't know if she is mistaken, these frozen wilting vegetable leaves, it seems to be a winter cold vegetable, she has eaten it before, the taste is refreshing, and the entrance is very tender.

It's just that these winter vegetables have been frozen in the ground for too long, and the leaves have wilted a lot, if it weren't for the fact that this plant itself can resist the cold, I'm afraid they would all have frozen to death......

With the cooperation of the two, the snow in this small vegetable garden was quickly turned over by the two of them, one in the east and one in the west, as if it had been shaved by a dog.

"Alright, let's go back."

Both of them grabbed two handfuls of winter vegetables in their hands, went around the fence and came out, urging him to go back.

The snow was still falling, and the clothes on his body were soaked with snow, and he shivered with cold......

I jumped in the snow for two or three days in a row, and I didn't get sick, and I was a little surprised by my body's immunity when I spent it.

Under the eaves of the front yard, Hua Xiao and Hua Li's hands and feet were also very neat, and in just such a short time, they had already picked out all the stones in the rice and put them in a wooden basin.

After picking out the stones, the rice is really not much, and it is estimated that it is less than a catty.

Cooked porridge is barely enough for five people, one bowl per person......

After confirming that this place really had their share, Hua Xiao and Hua Li were also very eager, and took the initiative to run into the kitchen to light a fire and wash rice......

With the rare tacit cooperation of the four people, a simple winter vegetable porridge was quickly cooked.

Because they were afraid that Li would suddenly appear, the four of them had been very careful in their movements, and their hands and feet were also very light, and they were relieved when the porridge was cooked smoothly.

He did not dare to eat under the eaves in the open, and after tidying up the kitchen and making sure that there were no horses' feet exposed, he hid in the house with bowls and basins.

Lying on the bed drowsy Huaying, after smelling the fragrance of white porridge, climbed up from the bed and sat up, looking at it with a blank eye.

There are many people and few porridges, and when they are divided, there is indeed only one bowl for one person, and when they eat it in the stomach, it can be regarded as just filling the stomach, and there is no feeling of fullness at all.

In the end, there is no way, no matter how hungry you are, you can only eat winter dates to fill your stomach......

Time passed quickly, and what was a fairly calm day passed quickly......

When Hua Shi returned to his house, washed his face, and lay down in the cold bed, he always felt as if something was missing when he thought about everything that happened today.

As soon as the sky darkened a little, the entire courtyard of the Hua family completely fell into an eerie silence......

There was no sound other than the occasional sound of falling snow coming in from time to time outside the window.

The winter night was silent, no dogs barking, no chickens barking......

The chickens raised in the courtyard of the Hua family had already been sold by the Li family in advance, and in order to save the cost of the exam for Hua Ciyuan, the Li family was quite willing to sell a lot of things, as if it was enough.

She didn't know how much the exam was, but it shouldn't be cheap, otherwise, according to Li's search, Hua Yu didn't eat much of Li's at all, but the Hua family was still so poor.

Almost all of the money saved was spent on the flower father.

Listening to what Hua Xiao told her before, Hua Ciyuan was still going to school in the town's study house two days ago, but after Hua Yu broke his leg, there was a strong labor force in the family, and the Li family didn't save enough money, so he didn't continue to let Hua Ciyuan go to the study house to take classes.

Although this is the case, after she came here, she would always see Li Shi going out from time to time, and asking someone to bring back a lot of pen, ink, paper and inkstone from the town, and sometimes she could see some worn-out books.

Although these things are not eaten, they are more than ten times more expensive than food, and they are all bought with real money......

After some understanding, she also had to sigh that the Li family was really stubborn, and in order to provide flowers for her to study, she didn't know how much she had squeezed them......

When the flower was in a daze, his thoughts drifted farther and farther away, and after a while, he sank into sleep.

Before she went to sleep, she always felt as if she had forgotten something, but she couldn't remember anything......

In the following three days, there were several heavy snowfalls one after another, one after another, which was considered to have never stopped.

There was a lot of snow on the top of the eaves, and the ground in the yard was soon covered with heavy snow.

During these three days, I was either clearing snow or on the way to clear the snow......

"Huali, you be careful......"

Hua Xiao's bright voice interrupted Hua Shi's thoughts.

She shook the snow off her body, leaned the broom in her hand against the wall, walked back to the eaves, and her eyes fell on Hua Xiao and Hua Yu, who were holding the ladder.

"Click......"

There was a small cracking sound above the eaves, and it was the flowers that were leaving above, clearing the snow from the roof.

The heavy snowfall in the past few days has shrouded almost the entire house in snowdrifts, and if it is not cleared in time, the snow is too thick and may collapse the entire roof.

There have already been cases in the village, where the roof of the house is crushed if the snow is not cleared, and it has become the laughing stock of the village's after-dinner chatter.

The snow in the courtyard is also the same, if you don't clean it in time, you won't even have a place to stay, especially the door frame at the entrance of the courtyard, if you don't pay attention to it, it will be easy to be blocked by the snow.

In fact, the best way to clear the snow in the area at the entrance of the courtyard is to boil a large pot of hot water directly and pour it on the ground at the door, and the snow will soon melt away.

However, the water that is spilled will freeze, and the ground will become very slippery and easy to fall, and if the wooden door is wet, it will easily freeze into ice cubes and freeze to death on the wall, and it will not be able to push open.

I had no choice but to sweep it little by little with a broom......

When Hua Li came down the ladder from the roof, Hua Shi also swept away all the snow in the yard, and he was almost clearing the snow all day, and his hands and feet were so sore that he was weak.

I was finally able to rest for a while, and the sky was dark again.

The five sisters and brothers, sitting in rows under the eaves, looked at the snow falling in the yard, one by one, nibbling on the winter dates in their hands.

Today has passed, it is exactly the third day, and these days I have been eating winter dates to fill my stomach, and after gnawing for so many days, my mouth is sore.

And the winter dates picked in the mountains a few days ago have a little more than three bags, and after three days, there is only one bag left.

If this snow doesn't stop a little, I'm afraid the winter dates won't last long......

And the day after tomorrow is the day after tomorrow to make an appointment with He Jiang......

Hua Li, who was sitting in the closest place to the flower, rolled his eyes twice with a purring eye, raised his head from time to time, turned around tangledly, and looked at the flower twice.

When Hua Shi was about to get up and go back to the house, Hua Li couldn't help but ask,

"Hey, why haven't I seen Xiao Hei come out for the past few days, it seems like I haven't seen it for a long time......"

Hua Li looked at her with some apprehension in her eyes, her expression was tangled, and she couldn't help but be a little worried.

I haven't seen you for so long, can't something happen......

In the past, even if the black cat didn't often appear in the yard, he would come out from time to time to walk around twice, but in the past three days, he has been staring at it, and there is no trace of Xiao Hei......

She was really stunned when she was flowered, and after Hua Li's mention, she reacted.

It was true that the black cat hadn't been back for a long time......

She just wondered yesterday if she was hungry by her side, so she ran back to the mountains to forage for food and hide herself for the winter.

Later, Li was called to clear the snow, and he was so busy all day that his whole body was sore, and he couldn't think of other ideas at all.

Naturally, she left all these thoughts behind, and now after Hua Li's reminder, she thought about it carefully.

Still felt that something was wrong, she knew that the spring in her palm attracted the animals in the mountains, and the black cat had never come back since she ran out to forage for food a few days ago.

She dared to guarantee that the black cat had been persevering and stayed by her side, and it was impossible for her to run away like this without saying a word......

And there are all those beasts and animals in the mountains, which seem to be more human than the other, if they don't know how to speak, I'm afraid they are no different from humans.

"Why don't you speak...?"

Hua Shi didn't speak for a long time, Hua Li frowned, and couldn't help but ask.

Hua Shi blinked, came back to his senses in a trance, and then shook his head at Hua Li, "I don't know, I may come back in two days." ”

She thought that the black cat must have sent something out in the mountains, so she didn't return for a long time......

Hua Li didn't like Hua Shi's irresponsible answer, her little eyebrows tightened, and she muttered two words of accusation in dissatisfaction, "Isn't that your cat......?" I don't know why......"

Hua Shi stood up, listened to his dissatisfied muttering, and said nonchalantly, "It's my cat, but I'm not it, how do I know where it went." ”

The flowers were choked, dissatisfied, and the small expressions were even worse.

Hua Shi ignored him and turned around and went back to the house.

She planned that if the snow was not so heavy tomorrow, she would go into the mountains, look for the cat, and then see if there were any winter dates in the jujube forest......

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