all the way

The next day, when Liu Xia and Mao'er woke up, Liu Kui and Liu Wei had already been gone for more than three hours.

After Liu Xia and Mao'er finished their meal, they sat on the warm kang, and Liu Xia took Mao'er and Liu Rui to start posting.

Liu Rui's cough has been much lighter, but it will intensify when he goes out and inhales the cold wind. Xiumei plans to let him stay in the cave like this until the exam time.

Liu Xia wanted to go to Wang Ning very much. The cut on Liu Kui's hand made him feel very uncomfortable. He remembered that the courtyard wall of the family next door to Wang Ning Junior High School was covered with melons. Liu Gousheng told him, Soaking hands and feet in watermelon can prevent chapped hands and feet and frostbite.

I don't know why there are no melons in Liujialing. He plans to ask for some, save some to grow, and plant a few in his yard next year.

But it was too far to go to Wangning, and he was reluctant to leave the cat at home. He might not be able to carry the cat on the mountain road for dozens of miles, and he would definitely not let him carry the cat all the time.

However, the matter was resolved the next day. One of Sun Chang'e's cousins ​​had her [-]th and [-]th birthdays in the twelfth lunar month. She was going back to her mother's house to celebrate the old uncle's birthday. After hearing what Liu Xia said, she immediately said, "You leave the house alone." Stay with me, when I come back later, I will go to the store you mentioned, if it is really as much as you said, I will ask for more from them, and I will give your elder brother a good hand bubble when I come back."

Liu Kui pulled Sun Chang'e away with a shelf cart early in the morning on the [-]th. In the evening of the [-]th, Liu Kui, Liu Wei, and Liu Yu came back with Sun Chang'e. Bringing back some good news full of drama:

Granddaughter Sun Yufang and Liu Yu fell in love at first sight. The two may have been too obvious. Sun Yufang's sister saw it and told her family immediately. The old uncle asked Sun Chang'e a lot about Liu Yu's situation. , the attitude is obvious, at least not opposed.

After Liu Kui and Liu Wei took Sun Chang'e to Wangning on the 50th day, Liu Wei went to school. Liu Kui insisted on sending Sun Chang'e to Sunjia Village, but Sun Chang'e refused. Yes, I can still walk on a slope that is not too steep for ten miles.

When the two were arguing, Liu Yu, Liu Miao, and Liu Jianbin ran over together.

Liu Jianbin is the great-grandson of the third grandfather.

At the end of October, Liu Yu came back and said that the children of Ma Deying's relatives thought they were too tired to do the work. Ma Deying wanted him to find some young people who were as hardworking as him. Liu Changqing immediately went to find the third grandfather and Liu Fulai. Liu Miao and Liu Jianbin went to work with Ma Deying together with Liu Yu.

They were busy working overtime for a while the other day, they delivered the goods in the middle of the night yesterday, and today they are on holiday. The three of them took a tricycle back early in the morning to pull coal to Luogezhuang, and ran from Luogezhuang to Wangning. From a distance, I saw Sun Chang'e and Liu Kui standing on the side of the street.

As soon as Liu Yu heard Liu Kui explain what was going on, he asked Liu Kui to do his own work. He accompanied Sun Chang'e back to Sunjia Village, and a romantic love story happened in the end.

Liu Xia tore melons into the washbasin and said, "Look at you, you're beautiful, you haven't written your horoscope yet, maybe people won't want you when they come to our house."

Liu Yu said excitedly: "No, no, she said that people in their area are now envious of my mother. Although they are a little poor, they have never been beaten or pissed off in their life. Now the three children are fed with commercial food. Rong Ze is probably no more Fuli person than my mother.

Her sister's name is Sun Lifang, and her husband's family is Luogezhuang. No matter how good the place is, what's the use of it? She said her brother-in-law looked weird before they got married, but he changed within a year of marriage. There is no good word to say, just beat her sister after drinking some wine.

She said that if she finds someone who treats her well and doesn't beat her or scold her, then she will be like my mother for the rest of her life, filial to her in-laws, good to her family, and never complains no matter how poor she is. "

The cat picked a small melon and asked, "Fourth Uncle, who do you think it is? How do they know my grandma?"

Liu Yu said: "Now I hope that many people know your grandma. Both children have been admitted to universities in big cities, one is a regular worker in the Public Security Bureau, and the other has gone to the capital. Who doesn't know!"

After dinner, Xiumei washed the dishes, and Liu Xia put the enamel pot soaked in the gourds on the stove and started to cook. After the gourds boiled, he brought the pot to Liu Kui, moved the stool, and asked Liu Wei to come over and soak for a while , Mao'er stood in Liu Xia's arms, and the four of them soaked their hands together. The topics of the big family basically revolved around Liu Yu and Sun Yufang.

Liu Xia noticed that tonight was Liu Changchun's first real smile in these years.

Liu Yu wrote to Liu Xia several times about his marriage. Either he didn't like the other person, or the other party didn't want to hear that his family was Liujialing. There was a family in the village where Liu Yu worked. Liu Yu, the daughter of that family is also good, but the other party wanted Liu Yu to marry her, but Liu Yu flatly refused.

Sun Chang'e said that her cousins ​​and sister-in-law are very nice people, and the family lives in harmony on weekdays. The daughters raised by such a family should all live a peaceful life. Liu Changchun feels that his family finally has hope again. up.

Later, the topic turned to Liu Chuan's marriage for some reason. Liu Kui was a little worried: "Chuan'er said that Su Xiaohui's family didn't ask for anything. I don't think it's possible. An ordinary girl would ask for a lot of conditions. Su Xiaohui is a college student. , the conditions are so good, why would the family agree to marry their daughter without asking for anything?"

Liu Xia rubbed the back of the cat's hand with a piece of melon fenugreek pulp and said, "Is there anything impossible? Big brother, my third brother is so handsome, and he is not working in the Public Security Bureau. My third brother, I definitely won't ask for such a colorful gift!"

Liu Kui said: "Boy, you are still young and don't know much about it. Marriage is not just a matter of two people just seeing each other and winning the prize. There are many things that can't be controlled by themselves. The bride price has been around for thousands of years. You can’t change it even if you want to, and there are two people who are really kind, the woman doesn’t want the bride price, but outsiders will say, is there something wrong with her, or has she done something shameful, or why don’t you dare ask the man’s family for the bride price? ?”

Liu Xia said disdainfully: "I don't care about that, when I find a wife in the future, I want a bride price and go away early; cat, you wash the baby for yourself, my uncle is fine."

Sun Chang'e laughed: "Look at you, I will remember what you said today. See if you don't get a penny in dowry, why marry me a daughter-in-law."

Mao'er turned to look at Liu Xia: "Uncle, you, are you marrying a wife? Then, why should I sleep with you when I'm dark?"

The whole room burst into laughter.

Liu Xia took a small piece of melon and locust flesh and rubbed his slightly chapped face and said, "Uncle doesn't marry a wife, he wants this and that all day long, it's not enough to be irritating."

He solemnly announced to everyone: "I am a celibate. Zhan Wei in my dormitory has made an agreement with the three of us, Heideqing. I will be single all my life. No one cares. How beautiful it is!"

Liu Yu glanced at him: "You are talking big now, and you won't say it after a few years. When I think of my second brother, I have to look at Zhang crying every day when I go home, and I am determined to be a bachelor. "He looked at Liu Changqing and Liu Changchun: "Ask...you won't get it, you can't get over it if only family members talk about it, and outsiders gossip a lot, and some people think you are so...ah, just Then what is wrong!"

With a blushing face, Xiumei hit Liu Yu with the sole of her shoe: "I told you to talk nonsense in front of these kids."

After talking about Liu Wei finishing all the homework and coming to the post of the day, Liu Yu was very reluctant to go down with Liu Changchun.

When Liu Xia came back, Mao’er’s life was complete. Now Liu Xia is the one who thinks about tearing up the calendar every morning. He knows that Liu Ling’s military academy may not have a holiday so early, but he still can’t help but check the calendar every day. , I have to look at it several times a day on the road leading to the east outside the mountain.

In fact, Liu Xia was quite entangled in his heart. He hoped that Liu Ling and Liu Hai would come back, but he thought that the time passed slowly; but he also wished that time would stop like this, so he wouldn't have to worry about leaving the cat behind by himself at the beginning of school.

Liu Yu came over early the next morning to pick up rocks with Liu Kui. He said that the two of them worked together and had someone to talk to, and it was boring for the elder brother to be alone every day.

Niu Sanni's broken leg was ill recently, and Liu Fulai hadn't gone out with Liu Kui for several days.

Liu Kui insisted on refusing, and Liu Yu just followed him behind the car, but he couldn't get rid of him.

When he came back in the evening, Liu Xia took Liu Yu to the cave where he lived to ask questions, and then he realized that it was not as easy as picking up stones for the eldest brother.

Most of Wangning’s vicinity are loess mountains, and there are no rocks at all. Only a few mountains to the west of Wudaokou have more rocks, but they were dug too hard during the iron and steel smelting period, and places that can be loaded with shelf cars are prone to landslides. The villagers simply don't allow outsiders to open the mountain and dig rocks casually.

Liu Kui and the others went around to dig rocks far away from the village, and then smashed them into small pieces and sent them to Yangmiao by car. They didn't have any special tools, and they all relied on a pickaxe and a hammer to break them into pieces. It is not easy to open big rocks, Liu Kui's hands are made like that by crushing stones in the cold wind every day.

The question in Liu Xia's mind was solved, but there was no solution. He knew that no matter what he said, his elder brother would not give up his job of earning more than one yuan a day.

The only fortunate thing is that Liu Kui said that the stones were only received on the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month. From the day of the stove sacrifice, the person in charge of collecting the stones will also go home for the New Year.

At dinner on Sunday, Liu Changqing said to Liu Xia: "There are only three or four days left, let Maoer go learn tomorrow!"

Liu Xia and the cat who was happily feeding Liu Xia milk with a spoon were both stunned. The cat looked at the uncle and then at the grandpa in a daze, wondering if he had made some mistake, or why the grandpa suddenly Don't let him follow uncle every day.

Liu Changqing said gently: "Going to school is a serious matter. Xiaorui asked for leave because she was sick and didn't go to school. The cat is fine. If you don't go to school because you come back, the child is still young, he will think that going to school is not very important. If you have something to do, you can skip going to school. When you started school, the cat took almost two weeks off, and this time I will stay home——what do you think, Xiaoxia?"

Liu Xia rubbed Mao'er's hair with his chin: "I know, Uncle. Mao'er, you go to school tomorrow, and uncle will see you off. If you miss him too much, uncle won't come. It's because of you." Waiting for you outside the classroom, you can play with your uncle after class, will you hit a baby?"

The cat understood what Liu Changqing meant, and looked up at Liu Xia with a small face: "If there is no sun, it will be cold outside the kiln, and you will be frozen. Come back when uncle sends me off. I can run as soon as I come back from school." D."

When sleeping, Mao'er was just as nervous as Liu Xia was going back to school, and kept looking at Liu Xia's face and refused to sleep.

The next day was a sunny day. When Liu Xia took Mao'er's hand and walked to the school, it was time for class. Liu Xia sent Mao'er to the door of the classroom and watched him sit in his seat. Although he was mentally prepared, Seeing the cat sitting alone at a table, he still feels uncomfortable.

Guan Shuping arranged the review content for the children and came out. The two were just about to talk in front of the cave dwelling facing the wind, when Liu Chengbin and Zhang Guangyao came over.

There are five grades in the school, with only these three teachers, the third and fourth grades are also considered mixed classes, and only the fifth grade is specially separated.

Liu Chengbin teaches third, fourth, and fifth grade Chinese, Zhang Guanglu teaches mathematics and is also the principal. He is getting old, and textbooks have changed a lot in recent years. Mathematics is always the same, and the basic things will not change. ; As for Chinese, he felt that he couldn't keep up with the situation, so he discussed with Liu Chengbin about the division of labor.

Guan Shuping spoke first: "Liu Xia, when you came back that day and saw Liu An sitting alone at a table, you must have felt uncomfortable. I wanted to tell you about this, and I thought Uncle Chang Qing and Brother Liu Kui would definitely write a letter." I won't tell you."

Liu Xia asked: "Sister Shuping, Uncle Guanglu, Brother Chengbin, what happened to my cat?"

Zhang Guanglu shook his head: "Actually, let me see that there is nothing wrong with it. It would not be a problem if it happened to someone else, but it happened to Liu An... Sigh, people here are superstitious, feudal..."

Liu Xia was a little anxious: "Who the hell is wrong with my cat? Uncle, just tell me!"

Seeing that Zhang Guanglu was embarrassed, Liu Chengbin simply accepted the words: "Let me tell you, Liu Xia, two things, the first one is that you haven't been to school for many days, and it happened during the autumn vacation.

Sitting at the same table with Liu An, Li Zaichang went to Laoying Ridge to break corn, fell off the slope, lost his left arm (dislocated), and bumped a big piece on his leg. Shuping asked her daughter to sit at the same table as Liu An, and let her Nier be unlucky with her. The family owed Li Zaichang a lot of money to look at his legs. locations. "

Liu Xia sneered: "She Ni'er falls at home during the holidays, and she can settle the blame on my Mao'er, she is really capable."

Several people also shook their heads, and Liu Chengbin went on to say: "After what happened, brother Liu Kui asked Liu An to sit with Liu Rui, but that didn't work out. Liu Rui is tall, and Liu An is the smallest, and he is also the shortest. Well, we can't sit together.

Shuping was careful, and transferred Niu Jinbao to Liu An. Jinbao was born after Niu Laozhuan gave birth to five daughters. He was very delicate, but because of the large group of sisters, he also acted like a girl. But it's safe, it's not easy to cause trouble, and I don't come to school until I'm nine years old.

Jinbao is a good boy, but he is somewhat stupid and fails in arithmetic. He can wait to see Liu An, so that he can play with Liu An; I understand, because Liu Rui is also good to Jin Bao.

Our school doesn't have any sports equipment, you know, it's just a broken basketball, the kids like to play it, Liu An is small, but he is very smart, every time when get out of class early, he can always take the basketball first when he runs out.

Although Jin Bao was big, he couldn't grab it every time, and it was Liu An who grabbed it and played with him.

On November [-]th, Liu An grabbed the ball again and played with Jin Bao. It snowed here a few days ago, and the snow in the yard was swept up there."

Liu Chengbin pointed to the back of the basketball stand made of the trunk of an oak tree: "It's all dry here, but there is still snow and mud there. It's over.

Jin Bao ran over to grab it, slipped and fell, hit his head on the wall, got a pimple, and broke his skin, Shuping didn't think it was a big deal, the pimple was indeed a bit big, but it was really a little bit of skin, so he took Jin Bao I went to see Aunt Wu and wiped him with red syrup, and the aunt said it was all right, so I didn't think much about it;

But Jinbao is his family's baby lump, and his sisters come to pick him up after school every day, and that day the third and fourth children come together, so seeing Jinbao is a big deal.

The third child, Jin Ying, was a formidable one, so he had a quarrel in the yard at that time, swearing and asking who beat Jin Bao like that, and wanted to find the family to compensate his brother.

Our yard is quite big, everyone saw Liu An playing with Jin Bao, and some fifth-year students said that Jin Bao fell after throwing the ball by himself, and Jin Ying asked him who he was playing with, Jin Bao said it was Liu An, but Jin Ying didn't obey at that time, and went to beat Liu An.

At that time, Liu Rui and Liu An had already reached the slope, Jin Ying rushed over, Liu Rui said, if she dared to hit Liu An, he would go home and call your elder brother and they went to her house to fight Jin Bao;

Although Jin Ying is not married, she is a rascal, she is not afraid of Liu Rui being a child, she went to grab Liu An and beat her, Shuping heard the sound in the classroom and ran over, and saw Liu An covered in mud Climbing up from the bottom of the slope..."

Zhang Guangyao pulled at Liu Chengbin, not letting him talk anymore, his eyes were red when he saw Liu Xia.

Liu Xia stared at Liu Chengbin: "What happened later?"

"Later, Jin Bao's fourth sister, Jin Rong, called her family over. I went over to stop them from beating Liu An, and I found a fifth-grade student to rush to your house to call for someone. Shuping protected Liu An, Let Jin Bao's mother scratch his face several times." Liu Chengbin looked at Guan Shuping's face with distress.

On the day Liu Xia came back, he saw several scars on the left side of Guan Shuping's face that were obviously scratched. He didn't expect that they were left like this. He asked Guan Shuping, "Sister Shuping, will these scars go away in the future?"

Guan Shuping said: "Liu Xia, I'm an adult. If you dig it twice, it will be ugly. It's nothing. Don't be too uncomfortable. Jin Ying pushed Liu An to the bottom of the slope. He didn't hit any stones. He came up to see Jin Bao's mother beat me with Jin Mei, and even took a stone and smashed Jin Bao's mother's legs twice, biting Jin Meili's hands and bleeding.

Uncle Changqing and Brother Liu Kui didn't leave home that day, but Uncle Changchun, Aunt Changqing and Sister Liu Kui came,..."

Liu Xia interrupted her and asked, "Before my family came, did Jin Bao's family beat my cat again?"

Guan Shuping looked at Zhang Guangyao and Liu Chengbin hesitantly, and hesitated to speak.

Liu Xia asked, "Why are they beating my cat?"

Zhang Guangyao said: "Jin Ying said that Shuping favored Liu An, Jin Mei, Jin Rong, and Jin Feng fought around Shuping, Jin Ying and his mother went to fight Liu An, and I went to fight, but you know, those are two girls Well, I can’t do it all, I’m afraid that if the puller doesn’t talk nonsense to them, just dare to pull that old woman, Jin Ying will squeeze Liu An to the wall over there.”

He pointed to the one-meter-high courtyard wall surrounded by stones at the slope: "Stomp the child to the ground, kick it, and throw it with a Jinbaoli schoolbag, and scold the child. The child is young, and he is called to fall there before he gets up." Now, Liu Rui went to fight her, and she pushed Liu Rui into the mud..."

It took Liu Xia a long time before he said, "Uncle Guangyao, you all go to class, I'm fine, I'll just leave here and wait for my cat to finish class."

Several people looked at each other, and Liu Chengbin patted Liu Xia on the shoulder: "Yaoer, people here are uneducated and superstitious. Niujiazhai specializes in shrews. There is no way. Shuping asked him to sit alone for the sake of the child." Table, don't think too much."

Liu Xia said: "I know, you all go to work, I will wait here for my cat for a while."

Several people saw that Liu Xia was in a bad mood, so Guan Shuping signaled for Zhang Guangyao and Liu Chengbin to leave first.

She said to Liu Xia: "Don't feel bad, Liu Xia. Later, my sister-in-law Liu Kui slapped Jin Ying and her mother's face, and her face was swollen, and several strands of hair were pulled off. Jin Ying's face was covered with flowers; Aunt also slapped Jinmei and Jinfeng a few times, and even spat on their faces;

Niu Laozhuang was honest and didn't hit Liu An, but he didn't dare to say his wife and daughter, and he didn't dare to say anything when Uncle Changchun scolded him for spouting blood.

In the end, Mrs. Liu Kui chased them all the way to her house and blocked her door for three days, and the whole team went to watch the fun. I heard that Jin Ying didn't even dare to relieve her. As soon as she came out, Mrs. Liu went to beat her... I never thought that Liu Kui's sister-in-law is so beautiful and virtuous, she would be so powerful..."

Liu Xia stared blankly at the distant mountains and near waters that were still bleak and cold under the winter sun, but his mind was full of pictures of cats holding their heads, covered in mud, and unable to climb up. To describe it, distress and anger made him feel like he was about to explode.

Mao'er is only six years old and has done nothing wrong. For a reason that he doesn't understand, he is bullied again and again for no reason. He went to Niu Sannier's house and smashed it. , but it is impossible for him to smash dozens of households in the Liujialing brigade one by one. If he really does that, not only will Maoer's life here not be better, but he may even lose his foothold...

As far as Liu Xia can remember, his family in Liujialing is a bit different from other families. No one in Liujialing has ever dared to bully their family. .

No matter how aggressive Niu Laozhuang's daughters are, they probably wouldn't dare to bully Liu's family.

But when they were facing cats, they dared.

They must be short-sighted, thinking that Mao'er is definitely not welcome in Liu's house, so they dare to do something to Mao'er. They don't know the truth of "brothers at home, father and son soldiers when they go out".

But the premise of everything is that the villagers regard the cat as a "sangmen star". With this understanding, they will feel that even if they beat the cat, the rest of the Liu family will not take it seriously. People in the village would not criticize them for being unreasonable.

Zhang Guangyao rang the bell for get out of class dismissal.

The cat rushed out first, and he saw the smiling uncle standing in the sun again, and stretched out his arms to him, letting him throw himself into that warm embrace.

Liu Xia picked up the cat and went to the warm place in front of the cave dwelling on the east side.

The cat said, "Uncle, why didn't you come home? Are you cold outside?"

Liu Xia said: "It's not cold, the sun is fine today, I know I should miss my baby as soon as I get home, so I'll wait here for you."

"Hee hee!" Mao'er hugged his neck happily: "I can also think about my uncle, hehe, I can think about it in just a little while, I will still think that it would be good if it was the fourth quarter, and it will be fine in a while." I can see my uncle, hehe, I can see it really."

Liu Xia looked at Mao'er's happy and carefree appearance, and tried to make himself happy too.

In the small yard, more than a dozen students were vying for the broken basketball with a piece of skin off; many boys were on the ground with one leg, and the other leg was pulled by the trouser leg, one by one. They bumped into each other and played a game of "cockfighting".

It is a game most often played by boys in these parts of the country in winter, because it requires no aids.

There are also many boys and girls, leaning against the walls of the cave dwelling, squeezing each other to keep warm.

Almost without exception, they all wore very worn and patched clothes, with black ash scabs on their necks, but they all had the same sense of sorrow.

Liu Xia saw Liu Mudan among a group of warm girls. Liu Mudan was wearing a safflower shirt. Xia saw her reason at a glance.

Liu Mudan obviously saw him too, but as soon as Liu Xia's eyes met, she immediately turned her head and pretended to talk to someone else.

Liu Xia also saw a tall boy at the door of Mao'er's classroom, with slightly silly eyes. Like many other children, that child was looking at Liu Xia and Mao'er with envious eyes, but he didn't dare to come over. .

Liu Xia was sure that was Niu Jinbao, and he said to the cat, "Come on, my uncle will carry you, let's play a game of flying an airplane."

The cat climbed up Liu Xia's back, very high, with his little belly resting on Liu Xia's head, Liu Xia asked him to fold his palms together and raise his hands forward, with Liu Xia's arms turned sideways and backwards, Liu Xia called out: "Woo ——, let’s take off—” carrying the cat on his back, he started to run in the yard.

Amid Mao'er's hearty laughter, Liu Xia looked at those envious eyes, and his heart was full of pride:

It's only been three and a half years, my cat will get over it, and from now on, the cat will leave behind all the people here who are criticizing him and who will eventually be assimilated by his family and regard him as a tiger, and live a better life than any of them life.