Li Zhouzhou woke up in the middle of the night and looked at the window in the dark.

　　The wind blew loudly, and the room became cold. He tucked the quilt in for his husband, and wrapped his legs around his husband, warming him up with his temper.

　　Seeing his husband sleeping soundly, Li Zhouzhou went back to sleep. But this sleep was short. Before the cock crowed, Li Zhouzhou woke up. There was white light at the window of the room. Could it be snowing?

　　Li Zhouzhou thought about the chickens and pigs in the backyard, so he quickly got up, put on his clothes, and walked out without combing his hair. As soon as he pulled the bolt on the door, his father, with graying shoulders, came in from the main hall, and the father and son confronted each other.

　　”It’s snowing. I’ve checked on the chicken and it’s fine. You go back and lie down for a while.” Li Da said as he patted the snow off his body.

　　Li Zhouzhou glanced outside. The snow had already fallen on the ground, and it was all white.

　　”I said it got cold in the middle of the night.”

　　Li Zhouzhou went back into the room, but couldn’t fall asleep, so he took off his clothes and got into bed. He thought he would wait until he felt warm before hugging his husband, but he didn’t expect his sleeping husband to roll over and cuddle with him.

　　Fortunately, I went to town and bought the things yesterday, Li Zhouzhou thought.

　　I couldn’t sleep, so I just hugged my husband and thought about things.

　　The snow fell early this year, before the Chinese New Year. Next year, the harvest will be good. After paying the tax, I will keep some for my family and sell the rest in town. When spring comes, I will have another piglet. Although it will be a bit tiring, it will also be income by the end of next year. At least my husband will have paper and pen.

　　As long as he works harder, he can always save up money.

　　Li Zhouzhou hugged his husband, thinking about the future, and his heart felt at ease and warm.

　　After lying in bed for less than half an hour, Li Zhouzhou got up and dressed. As soon as he got up, his husband also got up.

　　”Did I wake my husband up?”

　　Gu Zhao woke up with a still slurred voice, and said, “No, I want to get up early and go for a run after my exercise.”

　　”Husband, don’t run around today. It’s snowing outside.” Li Zhouzhou handed clothes to his husband.

　　Gu Zhao took it and put it on. He glanced at the window. It was really white. He said obediently, “Then I’ll wait until the snow stops and then do some exercise in the courtyard. Honey, is your waist sore? If it’s uncomfortable, just lie down for a while. I’ll make breakfast.”

　　”It’s not uncomfortable, I’m fine.” Li Zhouzhou said immediately that the work in the kitchen should be his, and it was okay for his husband to do a hand occasionally, at most he could help out in an emergency, but how could he let his husband cook all day long.

　　When Gu Zhao heard this, his head drooped. “Is it because I didn’t do it well that Zhou Zhou is not happy with me doing it?”

　　Li Zhouzhou couldn’t bear to see his husband being wronged, so he said quickly, “No. Then my husband will have to help me add more firewood.”

　　”Okay.” Gu Zhaoyang smiled.

　　The couple got dressed and went out, and were greeted by a cold wind mixed with snowflakes.

　　Gu Zhaoleng’s mind was alert, and he no longer felt groggy after just waking up. He felt pretty good. “My mind is clear, and I can concentrate on reading.”

　　Books nowadays are not like modern vernacular, they are slow to read and are in vertical format. Gu Zhao recognized this when he copied the book. There was only a period at the end of a sentence and no other punctuation marks.

　　Li Zhouzhou first lit the fire in the stove. A layer of ice had formed on the remaining half of the water in the water tank. He poked it twice with a rolling pin and then used a gourd ladle to scoop it out.

　　”Husband, please take care of the stove. I’ll go to the backyard to take a look.”

　　Li Zhouzhou told his husband that when it was cold, he should sit in front of the stove and warm himself by the fire.

　　Gu Zhao sat down obediently, stretched out his hands to warm himself by the fire, and went over the poems he had memorized yesterday in his mind.

　　There is a vegetable field near the wall in the backyard, which is now covered with a layer of snow. Li Zhouzhou squatted down and dug it out with his hands. Today, he had to pick the cabbages in the field and pickle them, otherwise they would freeze and be ruined if left in the field. There was no rush for the radishes. A layer of frost would make them sweeter and more delicious.

　　There is a small path in the middle of the vegetable garden, and on the other side against the wall are the pigpen and chicken coop.

　　The two are built together, long, with a yellow mud wall in the middle. Half of the pigpen is open to the sky and the other half is covered with a roof made of thin wooden logs. A layer of yellow mud mixed with wheat stalks is applied on the top, and then another layer is applied after it dries. After that, hay is spread on top, which is changed three or two times a year.

　　The stone trough is half a water trough and the other half is pig feed.

　　The chicken pen is smaller, built the same way as the pig pen, but the roofed half has a fence. During the day, the pigs and chickens roam around in the open air, and sleep inside the covered roost at night.