Zhao Mo Xiu Mo

There were a few snowfalls in the twelfth lunar month, but none of them were serious. The biggest one was the heavy snowfall that started on the day of the Laba Festival. It lasted all day and all night, and it didn't clear until noon the next day.

During the Laba Festival in previous years, Zhao Mo and his mother, Chen Cui, would make a delicious bean meal for the whole family. They put several kinds of beans in the stick rice and sorghum rice, as well as peanut kernels, hazelnut kernels and so on. Into a pot, don't mention how fragrant it is.

Zhao Mo didn't know how to cook, and the family didn't have newly produced stick rice or sorghum rice this year, so they ate a meal of sorghum rice porridge made from old rice at home in Laba night.Zhao Jun was thinking about the aroma of the bean rice, and he also dug out some lentils and mung beans from the red lacquer cabinet, peeled some peanuts, and threw them into the rice cooker that was cooking the porridge.

Sanwa also joined in the fun, while Zhao Mo and Zhao Jun went to clean up the rice cooker, they took out a few pieces of crispy candies from their trouser pockets, and seven or eight pieces of hard candies from their padded jackets.He peeled off the candy paper, opened the lid of the rice cooker, and threw more than a dozen pieces of candy into it.

These candies were given to him by the fat aunt when he was standing on the threshold watching the snow fall and met the fat aunt and Zhao Yuzhu sweeping snow in the street outside.The third baby is getting teeth recently, and the two big teeth have just grown. Zhao Mo is afraid that he will damage his teeth if he eats candy, so he won't let him eat sweet things, not even a piece of candy.Zhao Mo was not around when Aunt Fat gave him candy, so Sanwa hid it in her pocket.

When it was time to eat in the evening, the steaming electric rice cooker was placed on the edge of the Kang, and inside was the sticky sorghum rice and bean porridge, which made people drool.Zhao Mo served bowls to both younger brothers and passed them over, and then served them to himself.

The porridge just served was still a bit hot, Zhao Jun was anxious, so he took a sip from the edge of the bowl, and while being hissed and sucked in air, he smashed his mouth and said, "It's really fragrant, and it's quite sweet."

Zhao Mo was serving porridge for himself, when he heard his words, he put the porridge spoon to his mouth and tasted it.Not to mention, this porridge is sweet and fragrant, much more delicious than ordinary porridge.He swallowed all the porridge in his mouth, nodded at Zhao Jun, and asked, "It's really sweet, did you put brown sugar in it?"

"No." Zhao Jun held the bowl and pulled the porridge into his mouth, and he still had time to deny it, "Didn't you put all the brown sugar at home, I don't know where it is."

"White sugar and brown sugar are both on the bottom shelf of the cupboard. I bought a new bag and put them in." Zhao Mo also picked up the bowl, thought for a while and couldn't figure it out, then shook his head and said to himself: " Probably because I put sugar in it back then, my mother used to put brown sugar in the stewed bean rice, but unfortunately I didn’t pay attention to learning it at that time, and just ate it.”

While the two of them were still wondering whether there was brown sugar in the porridge, Sanwa, the culprit, buried her head in silence to drink the porridge, took a mouthful of sticky sweet bean porridge with a small spoon, then squinted. Eyes, chew and swallow contentedly.

Zhao Mo was still looking at him with a silly smile on the side, and said: "It's delicious, eat more if you like it."

The next morning, the heavy snow had not stopped, and the road was already covered with a thick layer of snow. The Hulu Mountain in the distance and the surrounding rolling mountains were covered in a layer of silver.

Even in such weather, Zhao Mo still went out of the stall as usual.It was so cold in the morning, and it was snowing, the number of small stalls outside the gate of No. [-] Middle School suddenly dropped sharply, and there were only two or three stalls selling food.It's almost the end of the year, and these vendors who do small businesses are getting tired and lazy. They don't go out when they encounter ice and snow, and hide at home.

Usually there are two other pancake and fruit sellers. Zhao Mo's business is not bad, but it's not the best either.After all, County C is just a small county, and there are only so many students in No. [-] Middle School, and those people are still the same people who sell it, and they are all regular customers.The other two pancakes didn't come this day, and Zhao Mo sold a lot more than usual, and it was not in vain for him to endure the cold under the drizzle.

At this time, Zhao Mo's achievements in cultivation over the past few days can be seen. Among other things, others have to wear cotton-padded jackets or thick down jackets and still shrink their necks from the cold. go outside.

Now Zhao Mo is not only strong, but also very forbidden to freeze.In previous winters, he would get chilblains on his hands and feet, and his ears, which were rooted from the cold, would be damaged when it snowed.But this winter, his hands, feet and ears are fine, and even his face is not dry and wrinkled, and it still feels slippery after being blown by the cold wind like a knife all day long.

Zhao Jun, who wears thick fur earmuffs to and from school all day long, is most envious of his eldest brother’s body that is not afraid of the cold. His ears were damaged by the frost within a few days of the twelfth lunar month, and he had a chilblain on his right ear, which hurt when he touched it. Touch and itch.

Their family has been like this from the oldest to the youngest. Except for his mother Chen Cui, the ears and hands of the other men in the family are particularly prone to frostbite.Zhao Mo covered Sanwa tightly every day, fearing that his little hands would be cracked from the cold like in previous years.As soon as winter comes, as long as the child goes out of the house, he will be able to wear cotton gloves, cotton earmuffs and cotton scarf. There is a rope between the two small cotton gloves, and they are usually hung around the neck. Where to go where to take.

Covering it like this, Sanwa really didn't freeze or catch a cold this winter, and Zhao Mo couldn't be happier with how alive and kicking she was.He himself has never been sick since he started practicing Tianmo Dance, but Zhao Jun, who usually looks the strongest, caught a cold when his temperature suddenly dropped a while ago, and it took several days to recover.

When the heavy snow stopped completely, it would be noon the next day.It's not the coldest when it snows, it's really cold when the snow melts.After the weather cleared up, Zhao Mo specially grabbed Sanwa by the ear at night and told her not to run outside or play in the snow for the next two days, and to stay at home after school.

Sanwa didn't say a word, she burrowed into his arms, her warm and small body was like a small stove, making it impossible for Zhao Mo to say a word that he planned to scare him.

Zhao Jun, who was lying on the other side of the kang doing his homework, raised his head to look at the two of them, shivering.It's been too cold these two days, so he might as well add some coal to the stove outside later.

This year, their junior high school and elementary school are on vacation together, and the winter vacation will not start until the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month.Zhao Jun flipped through the calendar and saw that it was only a few days before the Chinese New Year.

Zhao Mo was also looking at the calendar on the sidelines and worrying. High school is about to have winter vacation. If you don’t sell it at the school gate, you won’t make much money by selling it at the end of the year. There is nothing else to do, so you can only stay at home.In the past two days, the snow has melted and the roads have been slippery. If I want to go to see my relatives, I can't go. I have to wait a few more days.

On the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month, the family was having dinner on the kang around a small dining table that night, when there was a knock on the door outside.Zhao Mo put down his rice bowl and chopsticks, got off the kang, put on his shoes and went outside to have a look.

He opened the door and saw Uncle Liu, a brigade cadre, standing at the door of his house in a light snow suit, and hurriedly let him in.

Liu Deqiang entered the room, stomped his feet, smiled at Zhao Mo, and said, "It's really cold, and there are light snow particles outside again."

Zhao Mo poked his head out and looked out, the cold wind was blowing on his face, with fine and broken snow particles sandwiched, and it went straight into the neck of the person.He shook his shoulders, retracted his head and closed the two wooden doors, and greeted Liu Deqiang to walk into the house while responding: "Yes, this winter is colder than last year, and it has already fallen before the end of the twelfth lunar month. It’s snowed quite a bit.”

After entering the east room, it immediately warmed up.The kangs inside the house were scorching hot, and the coal stove was still burning. Compared with the freezing outside, it was like heaven and earth.

On the top of the kang is a small quilt specially used to cover the feet. When sitting on the kang, the feet can be covered and it is very warm.When Liu Deqiang entered the house, he stood on the edge of the kang, covering his hands that were red from the cold and slowly covering them.

Seeing the small dining table next to him and Zhao Jun and Sanwa sitting next to him, he greeted with a smile, and then said to Zhao Mo: "You guys are eating now, it's really late." He guessed that the meal time was over I just came here, but I didn't expect to catch up with Zhao Mo and his family having dinner.

"I usually eat at this time." Zhao Mo came over with a cup of hot water, handed it to Liu Deqiang, and asked him, "Uncle Liu, here is some water for you to warm your stomach. Have you eaten? Do you want to eat some on the kang?" ?”

Liu Deqiang took the water glass with one hand, shook his head at Zhao Mo and said, "No, I came here after dinner. I came here today to talk to you about something."

"What's the matter?" Zhao Mo asked with some trepidation.He knew that Uncle Liu would not come to his house if he had nothing to do. The last time he came to his house was to requisition the few acres of mountain land on Calabash Mountain. This time, it could be that the brigade is going to requisition something again!

Hearing his question, Liu Deqiang swallowed the water in his mouth, then took his left hand out of the quilt, reached into his jacket pocket, took out a piece of paper, handed it to Zhao Mo, and said, "Here you are."

Zhao Mo took the paper, opened it, and looked at the black and white words on it, his eyes widened.Finally, after reading them all, he frowned and asked Liu Deqiang, "Uncle Liu, this?"

"Isn't it all written on it? Your grandfather left all the three acres of land he left to your three brothers. There are two acres of mountain land on Calabash Mountain, and there are [-] chestnut trees. You and Junzi are half of each other. Mu of arable land for Sanwa. And the old house on the corner behind the poplar tree, which your grandfather clearly said would be given to you."

After finishing speaking, he took a sip of water, sat on the edge of the kang, and continued to say: "Mozi, you sit down too, and I will show you. These are all signed by the old man, and the brigade has passed them all. I will give you another share, and this land and house will be yours."

"These are all..." Zhao Mo sat down, took the few sheets of paper and notebooks that he handed over, and flipped through them one by one.After flipping through, he let out a sigh of relief, looked at Liu Deqiang, and asked, "Uncle Liu, who is my grandfather?"

Liu Deqiang patted Zhao Mo on the shoulder, and explained to him: "This is what your grandfather planned a long time ago. He came to my house with a cane when he was barely able to get off the ground, and said he wanted to explain the funeral. .No, the old man’s seven or seven days have passed, I thought about the time, so I took the time to send you something.”

Listening quietly to what he said, Zhao Mo had red eyes, lowered his head, and remained silent for a long while.Zhao Jun next to him couldn't bear his temper, and leaned over to take the things in Zhao Mo's hand to look at, and asked Liu Deqiang while looking at it, "Uncle Liu, do my uncles and aunts know about this?"

"Your grandfather carried their will on his back. Before he left, he repeatedly told me not to let your uncle and his family know about this matter before he left." Liu Deqiang was holding a cup and covering his hands, and he sighed when he heard this. , "It's actually quite difficult for me to do this. Yesterday your aunt went to the brigade to ask about the land and the house. At that time, her face..."

When Zhang Fengxia couldn't find those things in Mr. Zhao's place, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and when he found out about it, Liu Deqiang was also trembling when he thought of it.If it weren't for that he was sitting in the office at that time, there were other people beside him, such a powerful woman would pounce on him and scratch his face.

At this moment Zhao Mo finally raised his head, his eye circles were still a little red, but the expression on his face was full of stubbornness.He looked at Liu Deqiang and thanked him: "Uncle Liu, thanks to your help, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble. Since the land and the house were left to our three brothers by my grandfather, I will take good care of them."

"That's good, that's good." Liu Deqiang said, stood up from the edge of the kang, put down the water cup in his hand, "Then I'll go back first, and if you have anything to do later, you can go to the brigade to find me."

"Hey, let's sit for a while, I haven't covered my hands yet." Zhao Mo quickly stood up, saying the usual routine, leaving him to sit at home for a while.

Liu Deqiang walked out of the house while saying, "Stop sitting, it will be even later, the road is not easy to walk".Zhao Mo followed him out, leaving Zhao Jun and Sanwa in the room, and the whole room was silent.

After a while, Zhao Mo, who had gone out to see Uncle Liu, hadn't returned to the house. Zhao Jun, who had been sitting on the edge of the kang reading the papers, suddenly turned around, climbed to the top of the kang, and plunged his head into the quilt .The wailing sound could not even be completely covered by the quilt, and it could be vaguely heard that he was shouting at the top of his lungs: "Grandpa! Grandpa!"