Chapter 20

Ye Xiaoxiao arrived here in December 1983, and now it was January 1984.

The twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month, nine days before the Chinese New Year.

Ye Xiaoxiao had been in this world for over two months.

The weather had been gloomy lately. Miao Fengshan was worried that it would snow, so he discussed it with Ye Xiaoxiao.

“Xiaoxiao, we should go back to Baishi Village early.”

Ye Xiaoxiao also knew that if it snowed, it would delay their return.

“Grandpa, I’ll go and tell Master today. I won’t go there for the last two days of the year.”

Ye Xiaoxiao put on her hat and went out. The temperature was getting colder as the New Year approached.

When she arrived at the pharmacy, she saw a man standing at the door.

He was just standing there, not going inside.

Ye Xiaoxiao tilted her head. The door wasn’t locked.

She asked, “Excuse me, are you here to buy medicine?”

The man turned around, “You are…”

Ye Xiaoxiao, “I’m the apprentice at this pharmacy.”

The man’s cold expression instantly changed. Even his voice became gentler, “You’re the master’s disciple?”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “…”

This man was strange.

Before she could say anything, the door to the pharmacy opened. Song Guangjing glared at the man before saying, “Come in.”

The man was overjoyed.

When they entered the pharmacy, Ye Xiaoxiao realized that the man was here to invite Song Guangjing back to Beijing for the New Year.

But Song Guangjing didn’t want to go back.

“Master, I’m here to ask for leave today. I’m going back to Baishi Village. You’re so lonely spending the New Year alone. Why don’t you go back with him?”

Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t just trying to persuade him. She genuinely felt that Song Guangjing was a little lonely staying here by himself.

Song Guangjing was silent.

Seeing an opportunity, the man immediately stepped forward, “Master, it’s been years since you went back to see your family. Beijing is changing rapidly. If you don’t go back, you might not even be able to find your home.”

Song Guangjing’s expression softened slightly, “Then I’ll go back and have a look. But I’m warning you, I’m coming back after the New Year. No one is allowed to keep me.”

The man’s attitude was respectful, “Yes, yes, yes. We’ll listen to you.”

Song Guangjing took out a red envelope and gave it to Ye Xiaoxiao, “It’s almost the New Year. This is your lucky money.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Ye Xiaoxiao accepted it generously.

The man watched their interaction curiously. He wanted to ask why the master suddenly took a disciple.

After all, since that incident, the master had been living alone.

Beijing had sent people to pick him up several times, but they had all failed.

He touched his pocket, thinking that he should try to please the master’s disciple.

“What are you looking at? Go pack your things.”

Song Guangjing’s attitude towards the man was completely different.

The man didn’t show any displeasure. He immediately went to the backyard.

Song Guangjing also told Ye Xiaoxiao to have fun during the New Year and not to come back too early.

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded, “May Master have a smooth journey.”

…

Before returning to Baishi Village, Ye Xiaoxiao went shopping early in the morning with Ye Changsheng.

Ye Changsheng, “Dad and Mom have already bought New Year goods. What else do you need to buy?”

Ye Xiaoxiao took him to the candy stall.

The supply and marketing cooperative was very crowded as the New Year approached. Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t squeeze through.

“I already guessed that Dad and Mom wouldn’t dare to buy candy…”

Ye Changsheng pulled Ye Xiaoxiao aside and went to queue up himself.

They struggled for a long time in there.

Finally, they bought two big bags of candy, two cans of malted milk, two pairs of children’s shoes, two headbands, and a bottle of wine.

The two pairs of children’s shoes weren’t cloth shoes. They were the most popular little leather shoes this year.

Ye Changsheng thought the shoes were expensive, but Ye Xiaoxiao insisted on buying them.

“These are gifts for the children.”

Ye Changsheng, “They’ll be happy enough to have candy. You should drink more milk.”

Ye Xiaoxiao, “I’m not short, okay.”

She would be eighteen years old for the New Year. She was already 1.65 meters tall. She could probably grow a few more centimeters.

This height, a perfect Northeastern sweet girl!

Ye Changsheng shook his head, “Too thin.”

Ye Xiaoxiao argued, “You don’t understand.”

She wasn’t thin either. She still had a lot of flesh on her.

Besides, so many people in the future were trying to lose weight. She was naturally beautiful.

Ye Changsheng couldn’t argue with her, so he shut up.

“By the way… do we have a flashlight at home?”

Ye Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered the awkwardness of going to the bathroom at night at the Ye family’s house.

It was fine during the day, but it was really dark at night.

The worst part was that there were no electric lights at home. They could only use candles and kerosene lamps at night. But they couldn’t take them out in windy weather.

“There’s one at home.”

But Ye Changsheng still sighed because when Ye Xiaoxiao asked this, it meant she wanted to buy one.

As expected, as soon as he finished speaking, Ye Xiaoxiao immediately said, “There are so many of us at home. We should buy another one, right?”

Ye Changsheng, “Are you asking my opinion?”

Ye Xiaoxiao, “No… I want to ask if you have any coupons.”

Ye Changsheng sighed and took out two industrial coupons for Ye Xiaoxiao.

Finally, she chose a bigger one and bought it. She also bought a few batteries to spare.

After all this, it was already noon.

Miao Fengshan had already packed his things at home. He asked a neighbor to take care of the rabbits for a few days and locked the door.

There might be robbers in this era, but it was rare for people to break into houses and steal things in the village.

After all, everyone was poor and didn’t have anything worth stealing.

The three of them started heading to Baishi Village.

They hadn’t walked this road for two months. Ye Xiaoxiao once again experienced the hardship of long-distance travel.

As they walked, the sky became darker and darker. Finally, it started to snow.

When they reached the top of the biggest hill on their way home, Ye Xiaoxiao saw two people standing on the slope.

Ye Changsheng had already waved his hand, “Big Brother, Third Brother!”

Ye Xiaoxiao looked up. The snow was falling heavily, like free cotton, swirling around. Her vision became blurry.

“We guessed you were coming back today. We’ve been waiting since this morning.”

Ye Changqing, who had strong features, smiled and reached out to take the things from Miao Fengshan’s hand.

Ye Xiaoxiao looked at the other man. He had similar eyebrows to the Ye family. He was about 1.8 meters tall, had a middle parting, and smiled with a bit of a rogue look.

This must be Ye Changning, the third brother of the Ye family.

From another perspective, he was also a trendsetter of the era. He was just too wild and was accidentally swept away by the waves.

Ye Changning was also looking at Ye Xiaoxiao. He had a nonchalant look, “This is our new sister, right? This is the first time I’ve seen her.”

Ye Changqing raised his foot and kicked him, “Don’t talk nonsense. If I find out you’re bullying Xiaoxiao, I’ll beat you up.”

Ye Changning exclaimed dramatically, “Ouch… I wouldn’t dare.”

The wind and snow intensified. The five of them had to hurry.

Fortunately, they were very close to home. They could see Baishi Village after going down this big hill.

They walked for a long time before finally reaching the entrance of the village.

As they passed a house, they met a chubby woman carrying firewood into the courtyard.

When she saw Ye Xiaoxiao, she said exaggeratedly, “The girl is still at your house!”