Small wood

From that day on, Amu often took Gu Lin to wander in the woods. When the sun was not shining, Amu sat beside Gu Lin, and still refused to listen to Gu Lin.

"Master Gu, do you like reading books very much?"

"Did you start reading when you were very young?"

"Is the word particularly difficult to write?"

"Is this flower pretty?"

"Are you still hurting today?"

Usually there is no reason for him to ask questions, and he can say whatever comes to his mind. Taotao always feels that Amu is driven crazy by Gu Lin, because she can only hear Amu's voice, and the rambling is more annoying than the old lady.It wasn't until later that she realized that Mr. Gu had made a sound, but it was so soft that only Amu could hear it.

When the first snow fell, Amu received the news that A Niang was in good health. The letter said that when the snow stopped, she would be picked up by Uncle Tong.

Amu was very happy that day. He and Taotao lit the stove, and dragged Gu Lin to sit in the yard. The slightly protruding eaves were just able to block the snowflakes, so that they wouldn't fall too cold on their bodies.

The brilliance jumps in the stove, making people warm, and the first snow falls softly, without the slightest wind.

Amu hugged Aniang's letter and smiled silly.

"Silly wood, what are you laughing at? Your mother asks Dad to deliver letters to you every now and then. The piles are enough to boil a pot of water. How can you laugh like this every time?" Taotao poked the firewood in the stove and glanced at Amu. After getting acquainted with Amu, she didn't even call her brother anymore, and she was stupid and stupid all day long.

"It's not the same. This is a nice letter from Aniang. When the snow stops, Aniang will be back." As Amu said, he folded the letter and put it in the inner lining.

"Then you have to wait, it always snows in the forest for a long time." Taotao poured cold water on the side.

"That's not in a hurry. Although it has been snowing for a long time and Auntie came back late, Auntie's body can be better maintained." Amu smiled, and put his palms close to the fire to cover him. He smiled and turned his head away. Looking at Gu Lin: "Are you right, Mr. Gu?"

Gu Lin looked at the snow outside the house, his black hair was covered with snowflakes.

Amu raised his hand to pinch the snowflakes, and the snowflakes turned into water beads, which were sucked by the hair as soon as they fell.

Amu looked at him worriedly: "Is Mr. Gu cold, why don't we go inside?"

Gu Lin didn't move, he still looked outside the house, the cottony white snow imprinted in his eyes, even the color of his pupils faded.

Taotao wore less clothes, and the snowflakes were not playing. She looked bored, so she shrank her neck and went into the house to find her mother.

Amu cautiously kicked the stove towards Gu Lin's side, and didn't stop until half of Gu Lin's face was covered with flame red.

The snow looked small, but because there was no wind, each piece was actually like a feather. A thin layer of snow accumulated on the ground in no time. Amu's eyes lit up, and he went outside to find a twig and scratched it on the ground. .

"When my father was piling snow on the side, my mother taught me to write with a tree branch, but every time I was playful and didn't learn well, I pinched the school ball and put it on my mother's skirt, but my father grabbed it and pressed it on my lap. Hit hard, and later learn how to be good and don't mess with Auntie, and throw a snowball at Auntie, which makes Aunt angry and funny." Amu pinched the branch, and scratched the word "wood" on the ground, the strokes are very different. Stiff, obviously not often write: "Then I forgot how to write a word and asked my dad. Guess what, Dad didn't even know the word. Since then, I never wrote it again. After I learned it, if A Niang wants to scold me, I will say, Dad can’t do it either, so why should I know it.”

As Amu spoke, his voice became waxy and his throat was wet: "I would have learned more if I knew it earlier. I have to read the letter Aniang gave me for a long time before I knew what was written on it." After he finished speaking, he wiped the Wiping his eyes, he turned to look at Gu Lin, only to see Gu Lin looking at him.

He scratched his hair in embarrassment, smiled silly twice, and stuffed the branch into Gu Lin's hand: "Young Master Gu, please write your name to me."

Gu Lin took the branch, his nails had already grown, they were so plump and shiny, with slender knuckles, they were indescribably beautiful

He looked at Amu, sighed slightly, and lowered his body to write on the snow-thick ground.

Amu watched him write, his strokes were light and smooth, and his handwriting was like clouds, with his own word "wood" next to him, as ugly as it could be.He hastily reached out and wiped the two words he had written, blushing all over his face: "It turns out that your handwriting is so beautiful, if I had known it earlier, I wouldn't have written it."

Gu Lin didn't seem to hear, the branch he pointed didn't stop, and he wrote another two words in the snow covered with flowers by Amu.

Amu looked over suspiciously, his face turned red again, and it turned out to be the word 'wood' crossed out by himself just now.But the words were not Gu Lin's handwriting, but his own stiff brushstrokes, which were stiff and stiff, and Gu Lin restored them stroke by stroke.

Amu was embarrassed to scratch that word again, and squatted there staring at the snow, blushing.

He found another branch, imitating the words written by Gu Lin: "Gu Lin... Gu Lin... Is this how these two characters are written?" Amu said, describing it seriously .

Gu Lin didn't speak, but the hand holding the branch was tight.

Amu is not stupid, he learned it in a short time, Gu Lin's handwriting was covered by the snow later, so he imitated Gu Lin's handwriting on it and wrote it on it. Looking at Gu Lin, he smiled triumphantly: "In the future, Auntie will ask me to write, and I will write these two characters for her to read. She will be surprised, my handwriting is even more beautiful than hers, haha."

"What's so happy?" Uncle Tong shouted from a distance, opened the courtyard door and walked in, covered in snow.

"Uncle Tong, you're back!" Amu happily went up to him, and helped him take off his hat: "Why did you come back so late today, it's almost dark."

"Something happened in the city, the city gates were closed, and I almost couldn't get out."

"Will the city gate be closed for what?" Amu asked, "Will it be closed in the future? Will it delay A Niang's return?"

Uncle Tong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Probably not. If I knew I wouldn't be going today, everyone is watching the fun, but I think it's too miserable. Those old servants and children of the Lin family were paraded through the streets with chains , I went to Xingtai when I left the city, guessing... hey, the snow is so heavy, I don't know if anyone will collect the body."

Amu was terrified when he heard it, and suddenly heard a crackling sound behind him. He turned his head to look back, but saw Gu Lin hanging his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, and the branch in his hand fell into the stove. open sound.

"Master Gu?" Amu hurried forward.

Gu Lin took a step back and leaned against the wall, the light in his eyes suddenly dimmed, lifeless.

Amu suddenly panicked, and hurried up to help him: "Mr. Gu, you, what's wrong with you?"

Gu Lin didn't speak, just gently pushed Amu away, turned around and walked into the house, but he suddenly covered his mouth, coughed violently, hoarse at the top of his lungs.

The illness was turbulent, but in just two days, Gu Lin couldn't even eat and coughed endlessly all day long.

Amu was so anxious that he was about to cry, if he hadn't dragged Gu Lin to stay in the snow for so long that day, he wouldn't have caught the cold and coughed so badly.Every time Gu Lin coughed, Amu's heart trembled. He didn't know how he spent the past two days. He didn't even dare to sleep. Sometimes he squinted his eyes in a daze for a while, and he could hear Gu Lin in his sleep. Still coughing violently.

Tao Tao was terrified a long time ago, and she didn't dare to disturb Gu Lin at all, she could only poke her head and look into the room with tears in her eyes.

It was covered with thick animal skins and wiped with hot water, but Gu Lin's body just couldn't get hot. When Amu went to hold Gu Lin's hand, it was as if he was holding an ice cube.

The snow didn't stop, and Uncle Tong who went to the city to invite a doctor didn't come back. Aunt Tong, who had been waiting for a day, couldn't see him anymore.

Amu squatted beside Gu Lin, holding Gu Lin's hand with both hands, his eyes were so red that he was almost as teary as Tao Tao.

"Don't get sick." Amu hugged Gu Lin's hand with the heat in his hand: "Don't cough anymore."

Gu Lin seemed to be unable to hear anything, leaning against the head of the bed, neither eating nor sleeping, his eyes were open and he was looking at something, empty, without a trace of emotion.

Taotao brought porridge, freshly made, steaming hot: "Silly wood, you can eat some yourself." Gu Lin didn't eat for two days, and Amu didn't eat for two days either.

Amu shook his head and took the porridge.

It was piping hot, sprinkled with chopped vegetable leaves and egg yolks, and it was crystal clear and looked very attractive. Amu scooped a spoonful and gently placed it on Gu Lin's lips. Skinned, paler than the soft snow outside the house.

"Young master Gu, just drink a little, it's good to warm your body." Amu handed the spoon to his lips and pressed it lightly.

Gu Lin didn't move at all, his eyelashes were drooping, and his eyes were dim.

Amu's hand holding the spoon trembled uncontrollably. Gu Lin's side was very cold. He was shivering from the smoke just sitting beside him. He had never seen a person like this, as if separated by layers of transparency The shawu in front of him can't hear the sound or smell the smell. He's obviously right next to him, but he's so far away that he can't even transmit the words.Amu felt frightened and wished he could forcefully pour down the porridge.

He just thought about it, Taotao went to do this, her almond eyes were crying into fat peaches, she was so worried, seeing that Gu Lin still refused to drink, she became angry, and she grabbed Amu's hand While serving the porridge, he said: "Since he refuses to open his mouth, let's help him open it."

The porridge was fed, but Gu Lin didn't resist, but in a moment, he started to cough violently, his back was bent, his pale fingers were pressed against his lips, and his voice was full of hissing. Coughing out everything in the chest and abdomen, the corner of the lip was split in a short while, and the blood overflowed.But his eyes didn't move a bit, as if his body had long been insignificant, his indifference was frightening.

Taotao held the spoon in a daze, and cried in fear: "Master Gu, stop coughing, Taotao is afraid."

Amu pursed her lips, and carefully held Gu Lin's hand, which was so cold that she would not shake it back.

"Daddy can't be found, and Aniang is not here. Although I look forward to her coming back, I hope you will get better." Amu murmured: "It has nothing to do with Aniang's advice. You have saved me many times. But I can't repay you at all, if you die because of my cold, I can't think of what to do in the days to come, let alone mother's blame, even my own guilt will drive me crazy." Amu said Tears fell down, wet, and dripped onto Gu Lin's hands: "I've never been so worried except my father and mother. Mr. Gu, don't die, you must not die."

After listening to Amu's words, Taotao actually began to cry too.

Amu's eyes were blurred, and Gu Lin's hands were as pale as glass in the water, not living at all.

"Why are you two crying like this?" Aunt Tong went back into the room and looked at the two tearful people, one big and one small.

"Auntie!" Taotao threw herself into Aunt Tong's arms, her tears and snot all over her, and she stared at her with eyes swollen like peaches: "Mr. Gu is dying, he won't eat, and he won't eat Sleeping, he can't hear us talking, aunt, what should I do, aunt!"

Aunt Tong touched Taotao's head and looked at Gu Lin: "If someone has death in his heart, we can't save him no matter how many ways we try."

After hearing this, Amu stared blankly at Aunt Tong: "You mean..."

Aunt Tong walked to the bed, wiped away Taotao's tears, and said: "There are such wolf-hearted things in this world. A good family. In order to save his life, parents are missing, missing, broken bones, broken bones, the only one. The rest of the children also treat him like a baby, but that person still wants to die, why should we save him from such a ungrateful thing."

What she said was extremely ugly, and Amu understood it, his face flushed, and he didn't dare to look at the humiliated Gu Lin, so he could only stand up straight in front of Gu Lin, and retorted with a stiff neck: "You, You can't say that about Mr. Gu." He said, his eyes full of pain: "Mr. Gu is a good man, he saved me several times, and he is also A Niang's benefactor, you can't say that about him!"

Aunt Tong shook her head helplessly: "I said a few words to him, why are you jumping out, and if you don't explain these words clearly to him, he won't cherish his life."

A Mu was taken aback, and immediately understood what Aunt Tong meant. He went to look at Gu Lin, but saw that he was holding some spilled porridge bowls, eating slowly spoon by spoon.

Amu's heart beat violently. Seeing Gu Lin chewing gently, he felt sore and painful in his heart in an instant, and tears fell out again.

"It's the same with your child. You will cry if you don't eat it, and you will cry if you eat it." Aunt Tong said with a smile.

"That's right, silly wood." Taotao, who still had two strings of tears hanging on her face, also came to laugh at Amu, with her mouth wide open, very happy, and turned her head to her mother and said proudly: " A Niang is really amazing, we coaxed Mr. Gu for two days without eating, but after A Niang said a few words, he ate it!"

"Master Gu..." Amu carefully sat on the edge of the bed, looked at Gu Lin: "This porridge has gone cold, let me change a bowl for you." He curled up like a kitten to look at Gu Lin, His face was crying, his eyes were red, and he looked a little pitiful.

Just as Gu Lin swallowed a mouthful of porridge, he raised his eyes to look at Amu, his long eyelashes hid the brilliance of his pupils, which disappeared from the gloomyness before, and he stretched out his hand to gently wipe away Amu's tears.

The aroma of porridge on the fingertips made Amu tremble and growl in his stomach.

When Gu Lin heard this, he scooped up a spoonful of porridge and placed it gently on Amu's mouth.

Amu was taken aback and stammered: "Yes, yes, you want to eat?"

Gu Lin nodded.

Amu blushed, embarrassed to let Gu Lin feed him, took a big mouthful from the spoon, and then gave Gu Lin another spoonful.Gu Lin didn't refuse, and ate it.When he was chewing carefully, Amu couldn't help taking a sip along the side of the bowl, the sound was not low, Gu Lin raised his eyes and saw it, but he didn't mind, and looked at Amu quietly as if he was waiting. Next scoop.

Amu hurriedly fed them, and the two of them ate up a bowl of porridge.

He looked at the empty bowl, was overjoyed, and hurriedly said, "I'll fill another bowl!"

As soon as he walked out of the back room, he heard Taotao's voice in the hall: "Mother, what kind of paper is this, why is Mr. Gu painted on it?"

He let go of the hand holding the empty bowl, but couldn't take a step, and hid behind the door like a ghost.

"The portrait of the government, I tore it back and waited for your father to come back to look at it." Aunt Tong said, looking at the door and looking away.

"What's written on it?"

Aunt Tong smiled: "This Mr. Gu is not an ordinary person. He has been hiding his name for a long time, and the government's bounty has been increasing, and now it is tens of thousands of taels."

"Wow!" Taotao exclaimed, "How much should that be!"

Aunt Tong patted Taotao's head: "If it were exchanged for copper coins, we wouldn't be able to fit them in our house."

"So much!" Taotao's eyes widened: "Then, shall we give Mr. Gu to the government? He is a good man."

Aunt Tong shook her head: "The person the government wants to arrest is not a good person. Your father didn't tell me the truth. If I hadn't gone to the city today to see this portrait, I don't know how long he would have kept it from me."

Tao Tao frowned: "Although Mr. Gu doesn't like to deal with people, he is not a bad person, besides, he is still sick. A Niang, we don't want to find the government."

"Aniang knows." Aunt Tong touched Taotao's small face, as if she just saw the wood behind the door at this moment, she beckoned: "Wu Mu, what are you doing hiding there?"

Amu came out, his face was pale, and he knelt down suddenly: "Please don't tell the government, those people have killed Mr. Gu without a piece of good flesh, they are extremely cruel."

Aunt Tong hurriedly helped Amu up: "You child, what are you doing?"

"Please." Amu's hands were cold, and he grabbed Aunt Tong's hand tightly.

Aunt Tong smiled: "Your Uncle Tong also believes that Mr. Gu is a good person, otherwise he would not hide it from me, but after all, he was painted on a portrait captured by the government. If someone sees it, my family will definitely not be safe. He is not related to you." Therefore, although your life was saved, your parents were injured because of his disappearance, so you don't have to protect him."

Amu shook his head: "It's not like this..." He looked at Mrs. Tong and begged, "In two days, Mr. Gu will be better in two days, and I will take him away."

Aunt Tong didn't speak, and the smile on her face disappeared. After a while, she touched Amu's head and sighed softly: "You are also embarrassing me. Your Uncle Tong will definitely not let you go. Your parents are not around. , and followed Mr. Gu, how to support himself."

"I won't let Uncle Tong know!" Amu hurriedly said: "When Uncle Tong goes out in the future, I will take Mr. Gu with me. I will hunt and feed us!"

Listening, Aunt Tong sighed suddenly, and said, "Okay then." She said to Taotao, "Taotao, burn that portrait, don't be bothered by Mr. Gu seeing it."

Taotao looked at Aunt Tong and then at Amu, as if she still didn't understand why Amu wanted to leave, she gave a bewildered grace and threw the portrait into the stove.

When the portrait was on fire, Amu breathed a sigh of relief.