Li Zhouzhou sat by the stove in the afternoon, sewing shoe soles. He wanted to make a pair of cotton-padded shoes for his husband. He only sewed two layers of soles in the whole afternoon. He worked slowly, and the stitches were fine and dense. When it was almost dark, he put down his work, quietly built a ladder and went up to the house to sweep the snow.

　　The meal was simple in the evening. Li Zhouzhou was reluctant to throw away the bones that had been stewed in the morning, so he added cold water and boiled them again. In the evening, he added some cabbage and radish noodles to the bones and ate them.

　　It tastes much better than clear soup noodles.

　　This meal was simple and didn’t require a big stove, so Li Zhouzhou was not in a hurry. After sweeping the snow, he kneaded the dough, rolled it, and cut it into slices. The soup on the stove boiled. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t as white as in the morning. He took out the bones and put them aside, then sliced ​​the cabbage and radish neatly.

　　After lighting an oil lamp, the family began to eat.

　　There was some more noise coming from the Wang family.

　　In fact, Gu Zhao had heard some of it. Before it snowed, Aunt Wang’s grandson wasn’t particularly crybaby and just made a fuss occasionally. But this time it snowed and the temperature dropped dramatically. His father brought back the stove, and he had said before that it didn’t need to be burned, but today Zhou Zhou lit it for him.

　　If there hadn’t been a stove next to the table, even a grown man like him wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

　　Not to mention the half-year-old child. It seems that Aunt Wang’s family doesn’t heat the kang during the day, but only for a while before going to bed at night. The child is crying because of the cold.

　　”Aunt Wang wants to save firewood. Her house and yard are too small, so they can squeeze in now. In two or three years, Lingling will grow up and it will be unsuitable for her to sleep on the same kang with her parents. The second son also needs to find a wife and build a yard, which all costs money.” Li Zhouzhou said to his husband out of curiosity.

　　Gu Zhao: “There is firewood in the mountains, and it doesn’t cost money. Doesn’t her family save more?”

　　That’s not right either.

　　Aunt Wang has two sons. She said that the younger one is twelve years old and cannot carry heavy things. The older son already has a baby, who is still young. In order to survive the first winter, shouldn’t they prepare more this year?

　　”After the autumn harvest and farm work, we can pick up dead branches at the foot of the mountain. Everyone in the village picks them up. If there are no more, we have to chop firewood. We pick up big branches and chop them. Once all the branches outside have been chopped, we have to go back into the mountains. It’s a lot of work going back and forth.” Li Da said to his son-in-law while eating.

　　It’s obvious at first glance that he has never been into the mountains to chop firewood.

　　Li Zhouzhou added: “Husband, it’s almost New Year. Some people in town can’t afford to buy charcoal, so they buy firewood for heating. People from the surrounding villages will carry firewood to sell when they go to town to buy New Year’s goods. The price is high this time, a bundle of firewood can be sold for fifty or sixty coins.”

　　Trees are not cut down casually. Whole trees are only cut down in the mountains when building houses or laying beams.

　　Gu Zhao said he had learned something new and did not say anything more about Aunt Wang’s family. Zhou Zhou was like his father, he looked quiet and cold, but of course his father was more serious, while his Zhou Zhou was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, he would be soft if poked.

　　The kid next door was crying because of the cold, and Zhou Zhou must have felt sorry for him.

　　But it’s not a good thing to interfere in this matter, after all, it’s someone else’s family affair. Gu Zhao just hopes that Aunt Wang’s eldest son and daughter-in-law will love the child and persuade his parents more.

　　After dinner, I washed up and went to bed early.

　　The kangs in both rooms were heated, and it was warm as soon as you got on them, but Gu Zhao still liked to sleep next to Zhou Zhou. Li Zhou Zhou was also happy, and he hugged his husband into his arms and tucked him in.

　　The kang went out in the middle of the night, but Gu Zhao didn’t wake up, so he snuggled into his wife’s arms, which were soft and warm.

　　Comfortable.

　　The next morning, when he pushed open the door, he saw the snow in the yard was as high as his calf. His father had just swept it after dinner yesterday. Li Zhouzhou quickly set up a ladder and went up to the roof to sweep the snow.

　　After a while, Gu Zhao also came out and went to sweep the kitchen, woodshed, and the side rooms on both sides of the warehouse.

　　Li Da was sweeping the yard. He had been busy all morning and hadn’t had breakfast. When he was almost done, Li Zhouzhou was sweating all over and said hurriedly, “I’m going to the village entrance to buy tofu. I don’t know if there’s any left today.”

　　”I won’t take advantage of you today. Don’t run around. Just make do with whatever you have.” Gu Zhao was also exhausted and panting. He saw his wife’s ruddy face – he was sweating and hot, and he didn’t even breathe. He immediately said: …

　　You still need to exercise more!

　　Li Zhouzhou listened to his husband and thought that if he delayed for a whole morning, the goods would have been sold out soon.