Winter has entered, and there have been many heavy snowfalls in a row, making people trapped in their rooms and unable to get out.
Facing the snow, a woman walked home quickly, not daring to waste a moment on the way, with two pancakes in her arms that she was reluctant to eat.
She was already walking very quickly, but when she got home, her hands were so cold that she couldn't feel anything.
Putting her hand to her mouth and taking a breath, the woman opened the door and quickly returned to the house. There were three children on the kang. When they saw her coming back, they jumped up and down with joy. The eldest is five years old and the youngest is more than two years old.
There was also a little more smile on the woman's face.
"mother."
The woman said, "Hey, are you all confused?" She pulled the three children over and kissed them one by one.
The so-called paste is to soak dry food in water, stir it after soaking for a long time, and then you can eat it. Now that it's cold, the three children don't go out to hug each other on the kang on weekdays. They talk in the room with a white breath.
The youngest cub nodded: "Eat."
The woman gave the eldest son the two rations in her arms. These would be their rations for tomorrow.
Although the woman was born and raised in the county, she had little money. When she went to drink porridge at He Zifeng's shop, she was introduced to the workshop. Seeing her dexterity and ability, the workshop let her join the tofu workshop for one hundred pence a month. There are also two hot meals. It's not cold at all to work in a room with a fire wall. Many female workers brought their children there so that they could enjoy some warmth.
This was what she wanted to do at first. But her child is too young and doesn't have a cotton-padded jacket. It would be troublesome if he catches the cold. It's cold now, and although the poor family doesn't have much, the children don't feel at ease at home, so they always lock the door from the outside.
She was extremely grateful to He Zifeng. If he hadn't introduced her to the workshop, she would definitely not have been able to survive this winter.
Working there now. I can get one hundred Wen every month. You can also buy pancakes from the workshop. Food prices are soaring now. I heard outside that a pancake costs ten cents, but the pancakes here cost three cents each and are quite big. Two pancakes soaked in water turned into a paste, enough for three children to eat for a day.
The woman got on the cold kang, stretched out her hands and held the children in her arms. Then he rubbed their bodies with his hands to make them feel more warm.
The five-year-old eldest son said: "Mom, I also want to make money."
The woman said: "My son has grown up, but I have a father and a mother at home, so I don't need you guys to still go out to work."
Just as she was talking, she heard a voice coming from outside. The woman thought her husband was back, and she was about to get up and go out with a look of joy on her face. It turned out that it was my sister-in-law who came!
When her sister-in-law entered the house, she knelt down and said, "Sister-in-law, please lend me two kilograms of grain. My family really can't survive." Their family backgrounds were similar. My sister-in-law thought that when everyone was collecting grain, she thought it was expensive and was reluctant to buy it. Now, the wind and snow have blocked her and she can't even go out if she wants to buy it. Moreover, the new grain that year is gone. I didn't even know that the grain was several years old, but the price was five cents per catty.
Besides, the difficulty brought by the cold is not only food, but also insufficient firewood and coal. It's only the beginning of November, and there are still two months of winter left. I don't know when this day will end.
The woman said: "Get up quickly." Then she said: "Everyone is in trouble, and my family only has five kilograms of food in total. Let me lend you three kilograms. It's okay for us adults to suffer a little, but our children can't go hungry. Otherwise You can go to the workshop tomorrow and ask. If you can't eat the food distributed there every day, you can take it away."
The sister-in-law said, "Okay, I'll go and ask tomorrow. Thank you, sister-in-law, for saving my life." As she spoke, tears came down.
After leaving with the food, the woman felt a little unbearable. Fortunately, she had this job, otherwise her life would be the same as that of her sister-in-law. It's hard for the people.
Children are the most sensitive, and seem to be able to sense her discomfort, and wake her up with their tender voices.
She asked: "Is mom okay?" She was a little embarrassed. She was such an old person and was comforted by a child.
Just then the door rang. From a distance, I heard a man say: "Look what good things I have brought." Then he came in happily and brought two loads of dry firewood and one load of cinders. This is a good thing that even money can't buy nowadays.
The man is now on the snowplow team. Not only the main roads in the county need to be cleaned, but also the roads leading to the villages must be cleaned. Although it was tiring and hard work, I got a cotton-padded jacket and two meals a day. Said: "The deputy chief gave this to us. Everyone has one."
"No money?" the woman asked.
The man said: "I didn't spend a penny."
The woman's face looked a little happy, and she quickly sorted out the dry firewood and put it in the backyard. They were a family with a fire pit, but they were reluctant to burn it. Said: "When the weather is cold, burn it again!"
The man went home and quickly put his cotton shoes by the window to dry. The shoes will be dry again tomorrow.
The cotton-padded clothes and trousers were placed on top of their thin quilts. It felt much warmer all of a sudden. When a man is very angry and he gets on the kang, the children will flock to him. The family gathered together and talked to each other before it was time to go to bed.
The woman told the man that her sister-in-law came to borrow food. The man said: "Her life is also difficult now." Thinking of the natural disaster, he felt a little emotional. How many people would die in such a heavy snow. He touched the woman's cold hand and said, "I will get new clothes for you to wear next month, which will save you from being so cold every day."
The woman said bravely: "I'm going to resist the cold. I'll give them to the children when the next set comes out." The coldness in the room made them uncomfortable.
The man said: "They won't go out. Besides, put on all the clothes at home for them. It's quite cold on the road. You can't fall down, otherwise the house will collapse."
The woman looked at the man and hummed for a long time.
The man said: "I heard that the county will kill pigs tomorrow. Then we will make sauerkraut and pork stew. If I get it, I will bring it back for our family of five to eat."
When the woman heard the meat, she felt greedy in her mouth. She said: "Then I will bring back tomorrow's food." The children ate dry food and soaked it in water all day, and their mouths were sore. She also asked some women who had given birth and had experience today. Those people said that just eating Not good. Eat something good and you'll be back soon.
"The county magistrate is so kind."
"The same goes for Mr. He. Without him, our whole family would starve to death."
While they were talking, several people lay down, with cotton-padded clothes and trousers pressed on the quilt, which made them feel much warmer. After a while, the children began to breathe evenly, but the woman could not sleep, but she did not dare to move for fear of waking up the children.
The man whispered: "Why don't you sleep?"
The woman swallowed and said, "I can't sleep, so I just want to eat the pickled cabbage and pork stew tomorrow."
Men are greedy even if they haven't slept. But he was too embarrassed to say it because he was too proud of his face, so he said: "Wait next year, I will buy more pork and stew it in a pot for you. It will be delicious!"
The woman sneered and said, "Just blow it." Then she ignored him and went to sleep. The dream is all about stewed white pork.
Early the next morning, the whole street was enveloped in an alluring fragrance. Those who don't know think they are still dreaming.
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