The Sweet Little Fulang

The days go by so fast, and the twelfth lunar month is almost here.

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Lu Gu had soaked the beans the night before. Today is the Five Bean Festival, so I have to eat five bean porridge, red bean, soy bean, firewood bean, black bean, mung bean and five kinds of beans, plus yellow rice and peanuts to make porridge.

It is said that the twelfth lunar month is a good time to enjoy the snow, but this kind of leisure is mostly reserved for rich families and high families. For farmers, the most important thing is to have enough food first.

Early in the morning, when the sky was bright, Lu Gu was boiling water in the kitchen. After the water boiled, Shen Xuanqing and Shen Xuanqing scooped up the water to wash, and then set up a drawer to warm the cakes.

Shen Xuanqing had nothing to do, the weather was cold and his breath was white, so he practiced boxing in the spacious area of ​​the yard.

This is what Lao Yangtou taught him before, and he also taught him a set of swordsmanship. They all say that the poor are rich in martial arts. Whether it is boxing or practicing the sword, you will be hungry and eat much faster. Rice and noodles can't satisfy your appetite. Feel full.

Boxing has been down for two or three years, and the head is still a little stagnant and stagnant.

Lu Gu heard the movement outside and looked out through the crack of the window, and saw Shen Xuanqing practicing martial arts. He was surprised and thought that it should be the case. He had seen Shen Xuanqing archery hunting before, and he felt different from ordinary men at that time. He really knew martial arts. of.

Withdraw the strength and return to the hand, and the practice of boxing is over.

Shen Xuanqing looked up and saw Lu Gu standing at the door of the kitchen. A smile appeared on his expressionless face. After thinking about it, he said, "Practice boxing and fitness, or I will teach you, and it will be warm to get up early and fight a dozen times."

Lu Gu didn't expect that he was going to practice boxing just after watching it for a while, his eyes were blinded, so he was pulled into the yard by Shen Xuanqing who was too idle to teach him.

"No, that's how you hold your fist." Shen Xuanqing grabbed a hand smaller than his, and smiled with his lips bent.

Lu Gu's punches were soft, and his feet were unstable. Obviously, he was not a material for martial arts, and he was past the best age, but if he really practiced, his body might be better.

"How do you teach Guzi this?" Wei Lanxiang saw the two of them boxing in the yard as soon as they came out of the room, and she didn't agree with them. How can a good pair of boys practice boxing like a rough guy.

After hearing this, Shen Xuanqing said, "Mother, you can keep your body strong with boxing. If you don't move, you will get hot, so why can't you practice? It's not a bad thing."

Wei Lanxiang still felt inappropriate, glared at her son and said, "You talk a lot, and you are always reasonable."

Lu Gu had no idea. She knew that it must be Shen Xuanqing, and it was just a matter of reading and recognizing. It was a quiet and serious business. No one taught a husband to punch and use a knife. This is something that wild boys do. The villagers seem to be laughing behind their backs.

Shen Xuanqing didn't say anything, living together is like this, thinking about some things is different, it is inevitable that he will be scolded a few times.

Seeing that Lu Gu was uneasy, he had no choice but to look at Wei Lanxiang and said, "Mother, I didn't ask him to go out and compete with others and teach him a few punches and kicks, but he was just using his hands and feet in the yard. It's warmer to practice than to stomp around."

When he was scolded in the past, Shen Xuanqing lowered his head and said nothing, but he would still do what he should do, and he couldn't control it.

Today, it is rare to accept a soft explanation, asking Wei Lanxiang to take another look at him, and said, "That's good, but don't go out to practice, just stay at home, it's not good for people to see."

Lu Gu was pressed and stomped by Shen Xuanqing, unable to escape, so he could only whisper, "Mother, the pancakes in the pot should be hot, and the water should be boiled."

"Okay, you do your job first." Wei Lanxiang said, and went into the kitchen to scoop up water to wash her hands.

After she entered the kitchen, Shen Xuanqing whispered in Lu Gu's ear: "It's okay, mother scolding me is not scolding you, don't be afraid, practice yours."

A warm breath swept across his ears, Shen Xuanqing pressed his throat and spoke differently than usual, low and low, causing Lu Gu to hurriedly lower his eyes, and let out an "um" with red ears.

His ears were obviously red, but Shen Xuanqing didn't care. Seeing this, he pinched Lu Gu's earlobe while there was no one else in the courtyard. It was soft, and when he touched his ears, it became even redder, so he couldn't help but smile.

In the middle of the day, still in the yard, Lu Gu was embarrassed by the way he pinched his ears. After hearing Shen Yan's voice, his panicked trot stopped. Said: "You... I went to pick up beans."

Shen Xuanqing, who was behind him, had a smile in his eyes, his hands were behind him, and his face was quite serious, but he lightly rubbed his fingertips, as if he was still nostalgic for the touch of his earlobe.

The five-bean porridge at noon was soft and fragrant, and Lu Gu also put a few pieces of rock candy, which made it more sweet and glutinous.

In the morning, I also practiced calligraphy. The yard was full of snow. After dinner, I would sit in my room to keep warm and work.

Lu Gu put the kang table on the bed, put a long pillow behind him and sat on the head of the bed. The thin quilt was cold, so he pulled the fox skin over and covered it on his lap, and Mrs. Tang also covered it.

The fox fur quilt was not big, narrow and long, but even if Shen Xuanqing sat on the other side of the kang table, their legs and feet could be covered.

Lu Gu took the red rope and red thread to tie the carp double knot, also known as the gold fish knot and the golden jade knot.

The knots and knots he made are big and small, of different shapes and colors, all of which are for blessing and happiness. They can be hung on the wall by the door, and the delicate and beautiful knots can also be hung around the waist. They don't usually make these decorations in the countryside, but they are not happy when they hang a sachet on their body during the Chinese New Year.

"A-sister-in-law and mother are also fighting, so many, can they be used up?" Shen Xuanqing would not do this kind of work.

"Sister-in-law said, there are too many words to hang on the branches of trees during the Chinese New Year. The white snow, red knots and colorful nets are very beautiful." Lu Gu raised his eyes and said seriously, and added: "Let's hang less persimmon trees outside, put more Hang more jujube trees in the yard, it looks good."

The small jujube tree was dug up from the third uncle's house this year and planted in the yard. When it grows, it may be able to bear jujubes next year, but it is definitely not as many as the big jujube trees.

"That's right." Shen Xuanqing nodded and said, he actually wanted to say too much, don't fight anymore, let Lu Gu talk to him, or do something else.

However, Lu Gu didn't understand the meaning of this. When he thought that he was also in the excitement of the Chinese New Year this year, he was even a little nervous in his heart, and the work at hand couldn't stop.

Seeing that he was so busy, Shen Xuanqing hesitated to speak, and finally sighed lightly, and stretched out his hand to cover Mrs. Tang on the kang table, secretly adding to his troubles, and couldn't raise his brows for a long time.

There was a gap in the window to let in the cold air.

Shen Xuanqing got out of bed and closed the window and the door of the room. When he came back, he saw that the carp knot in Lu Gu's hand was tied. He was overjoyed. Seeing Lu Gu rubbing his neck, he quickly showed his courtesy and helped Lu Gu rub for a while. .

Shuang'er's white neck is far more delicate than that of a rough man, he rubbed it, and then touched the earlobe again.

In fact, Lu Gu's neck wasn't so uncomfortable, just rub it twice, but Shen Xuanqing's palm was rough and warm, he didn't know what he was thinking, and he didn't stop it.

At this moment, his earlobe was pinched, and his face was flushed with thin red. Before he could break free, Shen Xuanqing came over to kiss him again.

The fox fur was stroked by the palm of the lower hand, and it was rough but brought a very intimate and reassuring feeling.

—

As soon as the five beans passed, it was Laba Festival in the blink of an eye. Yellow rice, white rice, walnuts and pine nuts, various beans, peanuts, red dates and hazelnuts, and even chestnuts were boiled into the Laba porridge, which was more abundant than the five-bean porridge.

It was sunny today. In the morning, Lu Gu and Shen Yan smashed walnuts to peel chestnuts and hazelnuts. The remaining shells were not thrown away. They were carried by the dustpan and poured on the stove.

He came out of the kitchen after pouring, and saw Li Wanyun, who was wearing a man's clothes, come in with a bowl. Seeing him, he even pursed his lips and showed a very shallow smile, saying, "Gu Zi, Aunt Lanxiang is at home?"

Before she finished speaking, Wei Lanxiang stuck her head out of the main room and said, "It's here."

The day before yesterday, she passed by Zhang's house when she was going to visit the door. When Mrs. Zhang saw her and joked a few times with her, she thought it was strange at the time, and said a few words to Zhou Xiangjun, but no one in the village knew what happened to Li Wanyun.

However, as long as the sullen look on his face is gone, that's a good thing. Neighbors and neighbors, whoever has nothing to do, will look forward to other people's death.

"Auntie, I want to exchange some red dates for you to cook Laba porridge. There are only beans and peanuts at home, so add some jujube fragrance." Li Wanyun smiled a little shyly, but as long as her eyebrows and eyes were bright, she would be happy even if she looked flat.

Wei Lanxiang saw that there were two eggs in her bowl, not only red dates, but also a handful of walnut kernels and chestnuts. Their family bought these things from the mountains. They didn't spend any money. Li Wanyun also considered that she had the heart to exchange eggs. In winter, hens don't lay eggs very often. Jin Gui is precious, so she should give more things.

"Auntie, I'll go back first." Li Wanyun took the bowl and left.

Because her family had a funeral, and she didn't like the old Zhang family, Wei Lanxiang didn't visit her house very often, and only now did she recognize that the clothes on her body looked like the winter clothes that Zhang Zhengzi used to wear, too, except for his man's. Clothes, who can wear them.

"Zhengzi's clothes, she finally remembered, it would be hard to wear such thin clothes." Wei Lanxiang and Lu Gu sighed.

It is good for a countryman to have food and clothing, and women who wear the clothes left by their men are less likely to attract gossip. Besides, Li Wanyun is also pitiful in this big winter.

The sympathy and pity of others made Li Wanyun know more or less, but now she is no longer embarrassed.

She came home with the bowl, and the old Mrs. Zhang, who used to yell at her, huddled in the room and didn't dare to speak.

Li Wanyun originally wanted to starve the old Zhang for a few meals, and let her have a taste of that, but then she thought about it, if the old Zhang was too old and had broken legs and could not stand the starvation to death, even if she wanted to remarry, She also had to wait for the mourning to be over, with the relatives of the Zhang family staring at her. She had a hard time living alone, so she had to add tea to the meal with a cold eye.

By now, she no longer knelt at the door of the old Zhang's room, and she didn't even need to call her mother, she just left after putting down the meal, and she didn't care about anything else.

Outside the kitchen, Li Wanyun was busy alone. In the room, Mrs. Zhang was barely leaning on the head of the bed, her old eyes were cloudy, and her expression was sluggish.

Li Wanyun actually cleaned her up, even combing her hair, in case a relative came over, as long as she had eyes, she would not say anything when she saw that the old Zhang was neat and tidy.

Old Zhang's eyes were half-closed, and he suddenly remembered that the day when Zhang Zhengzi got married, she was a handsome boy in red cloth.

Li Wanyun chopping vegetables bang dong dong, recalling her thoughts.

When she married Li Wanyun, she treated Li Wanyun well, her mother-in-law had to set rules, otherwise those little daughters-in-law would be out of order. Zhang Zhengzi once supported Li Wanyun, but she had a bad heart at that time, and she would not be happy in the future. The daughter-in-law can't control it, and the son won't listen to him.

In addition, Li Wanyun's stomach has not moved since she got married. It was fine for half a year, and she could wait. But in the next year, a year and a half, and she still couldn't give birth to a son and a daughter, she became anxious and felt that she had been deceived. , to marry a son who cannot bear children.

All these things made her look at Li Wanyun less and less, and beatings and scolding gradually became commonplace.

As for regret, the old Mrs. Zhang herself didn't know. She sometimes even forgot about Zhang Zhengzi's death, and even called her son's name. She knew that she was afraid of Li Wanyun, but she still couldn't figure out how she got to this point. Sometimes, he subconsciously called Li Wanyun to serve her, and when he saw the coldness in the other party's eyes, he retracted his head, only refusing to speak again.

She has become more and more sluggish these days, like living in a dream, illusory and hazy.

This is how old age and frailty are. If Li Wanyun hadn't been raised with a thick blanket of food and given decoctions, she would have gone underground to see Zhang Zhengzi long ago.

Laba porridge is fragrant, and the Shen family's second room is very lively, as are other people's houses.

The Zhang family was cold, and Li Wanyun sat alone in the main room eating porridge and vegetables, dressed warm and full, and felt that she could get close to the lively world.