Mortal Bones

"Bang, bang bang..."

In the howling cold wind, a little boy in thin clothing knocked on the door of a house shivering.

It was New Year's Eve, and laughter could be heard from time to time in the courtyard.

"Bang, bang bang..."

After waiting for a long time but no response, the little boy raised his hand and pulled the door knocker again, knocking lightly a few times.

"call……"

It was too cold. After knocking on the door, he immediately put his hand to his mouth and took a breath to warm himself up.

Not only his hands, but also his feet, which were only wearing straw sandals, were almost numb from the cold.

"Who?"

Fortunately, at this time, the people in the yard finally responded.

The little boy was happy.

"Second uncle, it's me."

He responded quickly.

"Squeak..."

Not long after, the courtyard door was opened, and a middle-aged man with a good-looking appearance poked his head out of the crack in the door.

"Oh, it's Taiping. It's so late. What's wrong?"

The middle-aged man asked the little boy.

"Second...Second Uncle...the charcoal at home has been burned. I think I would like to borrow a few kilograms of charcoal from you, Second Uncle. When I can go up the mountain to chop firewood next spring, I will definitely return it to you."

The little boy ducked his eyes in embarrassment.

"How much is a few kilograms of charcoal worth? Just wait here, I will get it for you right now!"

The man waved his hand and agreed.

"Taiping, have you eaten?"

After taking a few steps, the man suddenly stopped and turned to the little boy and asked.

"I, I... I ate... Grandpa... Grandpa didn't eat..."

The little boy's hands were tightly holding the corners of his clothes, and when he said the last words, his voice was so small that it was barely audible.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man sighed lightly, then grinned and said:

"Taiping, just wait. Second uncle will come as soon as he goes."

"Um."

The little boy nodded slightly.

At this time, another gust of cold wind blew through, and the little boy shivered from the cold, but his heart was not so cold anymore.

"Peace!"

Not long after, a middle-aged man came out carrying a dustpan.

"Take it."

The second uncle, who was breathing heavily, walked quickly to the door of the courtyard and thrust the dustpan into the little boy's arms.

The little boy looked down and saw that in addition to several kilograms of charcoal, there were four steaming white-flour buns in the dustpan.

"Second uncle, I..."

Looking at those big white steamed buns, the boy was a little scared, but after not eating for a day, he still swallowed in disappointment after seeing those few white-flour steamed buns.

"Take it!"

The middle-aged man smiled honestly.

"Er Niu, why are you still hanging around in the yard?"

At this moment, a rather burly woman walked quickly to the entrance of the courtyard.

Seeing this woman, both the little boy and the middle-aged man, their expressions changed.

"Taiping...Taiping come and borrow some charcoal."

The middle-aged man smiled coquettishly at the woman, his eyes evasive and full of fear.

"Second...Second aunt."

The little boy called the woman.

The woman first rolled her eyes at the middle-aged man, then looked at the little boy, and finally landed on the dustpan in his hand.

When she saw the white-faced steamed buns placed on the charcoal, her face suddenly dropped.

"I saved this white flour bun for Xiaohu. I can't bear to eat it myself. How generous of you!"

The woman glared at the middle-aged man, and then grabbed two white-flour buns angrily.

"Mom, is the roast goose ready? I want to eat the roast goose, not the white buns!"

At this time, a chubby boy wearing a new cotton-padded jacket walked out of the house. When he saw the white-faced steamed bun in the woman's hand, he suddenly looked unhappy.

"Son, what are you doing out here? It's cold outside. Come inside quickly. Don't freeze."

Seeing this, the woman walked towards the fat boy with an anxious look on her face.

"Mom, I don't want white buns, I want roasted goose!"

The chubby boy stamped his feet with a displeased look on his face, as if he was about to cry.

"Okay, okay, okay, the roast goose will be ready soon. These buns are for Ah Huang to eat."

While the woman was coaxing the chubby boy with a doting look on her face, she threw the two white-faced steamed buns into the dog cage under the eaves.

"well……"

Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man frowned, and then sighed helplessly.

The little boy looked at the white-faced steamed buns being chewed by the dogs and bit his lip. Then he hugged the dustpan with charcoal in his arms tightly, looked up at the middle-aged man and said with a smile:

"Second uncle, thank you, I'm leaving."

"Be careful on the road. When burning charcoal at night, remember to leave a crack in the window and cover your father with a quilt."

The middle-aged man waved his hand.

"Xu Erniu! If you don't go back to the house, don't even think about getting on my bed tonight!"

The woman's cursing voice came from inside the house again.

"I'm coming!"

The man responded quickly, smiled coquettishly at the little boy, and then closed the courtyard door.

After the courtyard door was closed, the last trace of light in the snow disappeared, and the whole world was swallowed up by night again. Only a small light was still burning in a thatched house not far to the east.

"With these charcoal and two white flour buns, grandpa will definitely get better."

The little boy in the night didn't feel scared. He shrank his head, murmured to himself with a smile, then hugged the handful of charcoal and the two white-flour buns tightly, jumping and hopping towards the night. Walk to a small earthen house with lights on.

…

In front of the small mud house.

"Squeak..."

The little boy opened the door.

"Taiping...is that you?"

As soon as he entered the door, an old, hoarse and somewhat weak voice came from the lighted room.

"It's me, Grandpa."

The little boy rubbed his frozen face hard and tried to force out a smile. Then he quickly walked to the door, opened the curtain and walked in.

As soon as I entered the room, a strong herbal smell hit my face.

Because there is no fire, the temperature inside is no different from that outside.

In the innermost part of the room, there was a bed made of several wooden boards. Under the quilt that was so worn that the cotton wool was exposed, an old man who was so thin that only skin and bones were left huddled in it.

"Grandpa, my second uncle lent me a few kilograms of charcoal and gave me two white flour buns. We will bake them later."

The little boy Taiping poured the charcoal into the furnace and said to the old man on the bed with a joyful face.

"well……"

The old man smiled and nodded.

Although the old man's whole body exuded the aura of twilight, his cloudy eyes suddenly regained their luster after seeing the little boy's peace.

"Taiping... these past few years... following grandpa... have been hard on you."

The old man looked at Taiping with loving eyes and murmured with difficulty.

"Grandpa, I'm not bitter, not at all."

Taiping, who lit the charcoal stove, raised his head, grinned at the old man and shook his head.

"Silly boy, what a stupid boy... If you hadn't taken care of me in the past few years, grandpa would have left long ago..."

The old man reached out and touched Taiping's little head, sighing with pity on his face.

"Grandpa, don't say these unlucky words. You will definitely live a long life."

Taiping shook his head vigorously while baking steamed buns.

"Taiping, have you ever heard of immortals?"

The old man suddenly asked Taiping.