When Xiaotian saw Li Zhouzhou, he called out to him obediently, “Brother Zhouzhou.”

　　”I told you to call uncle instead.” Uncle Wang said to his son, but his tone was not harsh, which showed that he loved his son very much.

　　Xiao Tian then changed his words: “Uncle Li.”

　　”Hello, Xiaotian.” Li Zhouzhou took out three cents and gave them to Xiaotian, “I just want three cents.”

　　The wooden mold was used to make an armful of rectangular tofu, and one board was sold out. Less than half of the second board was left, so Uncle Wang cut a large piece for Li Zhouzhou.

　　Li Zhouzhou said quickly: “I have a small family, so three cents is enough. Really, I won’t dare to come and buy next time.”

　　”I’m the only tofu seller in the two villages. Do you really need to go to town to buy tofu?” Uncle Wang said this, and put the big piece of tofu in Li Zhouzhou’s bowl, saying, “I’ll give you a small change, less than five cents. Take it quickly, someone will be here soon.”

　　Li Zhouzhou had no choice but to take out another penny from his waist, put it on the millstone, and ran with the tofu bowl in his hand.

　　”Dad, I’ll take it to Brother Zhou Zhou.” Xiaotian said.

　　It was a cold day, but Uncle Wang was sweating profusely from working. He wiped his sweat and said, “If you send it over, he really won’t come to buy it next time.” He touched his son’s hand, which was icy cold and his face was pale. “Go back to the room and sit on the kang. There’s not much left, so I’ll do it.”

　　This time, he obeyed and went back into the house.

　　Li Zhouzhou carried the tofu back and put the bowl on the windowsill first. He took off his hat under the eaves outside, brushed off the snow on it, hung up the hat, and then carried the bowl of tofu into the kitchen and put it on the table.

　　He rushed into the house in such a hurry that he forgot to heat the kang for his husband.

　　As soon as I entered the house, I felt warm.

　　Gu Zhao was sitting at the table reading a book. He turned his head when he heard the noise and reached out his hand. Li Zhouzhou said, “My hands are cold.” Before he could finish his words, his hand was held by his husband.

　　”I’ll warm Zhou Zhou up.” Gu Zhao held his wife’s hand, knowing what Zhou Zhou was worried about, and said, “As soon as you left, Dad said I was cold sitting at the table writing, so he helped me heat the kang in the room. You should go up and sit down and have a rest.”

　　Li Zhouzhou: “I won’t go. I have to cook later.”

　　”Why did it take you so long to buy tofu? I thought you would be back soon.”

　　”People from both villages went to buy tofu, so there were so many people that it took a while.”

　　The couple chatted for a while, but Li Zhouzhou couldn’t sit still, so he went out to cook as soon as he got warm. In the three-room green brick and tile house, only their room heated the kang during the day.

　　Gu Zhao knew that this was for the sake of keeping him warm while reading, but the kang couldn’t be heated all day long, as it would waste too much firewood, and his father couldn’t keep warm during the day either.

　　For lunch, we had noodles with stewed cabbage, tofu and meat. The noodles were made of multi-grain noodles, which were hand-rolled by Li Zhouzhou and cut into triangular slices. The vegetables were fried with lard and the stewed tofu had absorbed the juice and had holes in it. It was very tender and fresh.

　　”This tofu is really delicious.” Gu Zhao nodded.

　　He particularly likes the tofu here, which is better than the soft tofu you buy in supermarkets today. It has a strong bean flavor, with a slight bean smell that disappears once it is stewed.

　　”Uncle Wang has been making tofu for more than ten years, and his skills are impeccable.” Li Zhouzhou thought that his husband would like it, so he would go buy some tomorrow. However, he couldn’t let Uncle Wang make more for him.

　　Uncle Wang’s life is not easy either, but business is better in the cold winter.

　　Gu Zhao held the bowl in his hands, eating hot food and warming his hands, and said, “Don’t heat the kang for me during the day. I don’t sit on the kang, and it’s a waste of firewood.”

　　”How can that be possible? My husband, you are sitting by the window, and your hands are cold from writing.”

　　The light is poor in winter, and even if the windows are closed, the cold air can still come in through the gaps. But if you sit far away from the windows, you will have to light an oil lamp to read, which will strain your eyes.

　　It’s always a costly hassle anyway.

　　Gu Zhao wanted to handle it, but his Zhou Zhou felt sorry for him. He had pretended to be too good and sold his tea art before, which led to his Zhou Zhou always treating him like a child, and his eyes and heart were full of pity.

　　…quite happy.

　　”How about putting a stove in the main room? You can use it to stew bones and boil water, and keep warm at the same time.” Gu Zhao suggested.

　　Li Da had been eating without saying anything. When he heard this, he started to move and asked, “Are you talking about making a clay brazier?”

　　Previously, there were only two people in the Li family, Li Da and Li Zhouzhou. Li Da had lived like this for ten years and did not feel the cold. Li Zhouzhou was brought up by his father since he was a child and also shared the burden. Now that a son-in-law named Jiaojiao^[1]not his name, but taunting as ‘extremely frail’ son-in-law has come to the family, Li Da thinks about how other people in the village keep warm in winter.