The Little Widower (farming)

32

Zhou Yuan left very early the next day. Chen Qing got up when he heard the crow of the rooster. When he walked to Zhou Yuan's yard, there was only silence.

He went home a little depressed, and Aunt Sun also got up. When he saw Chen Qing coming back from outside, he knew that Zhou Yuan had left.

She shook her head and smiled. Chen Qing was becoming more and more lively now, and all his emotions were written on his face: "A Qing, it's time to eat."

Chen Qing made a sound and patted his face. He calmed down his emotions again.

After breakfast, Li Xin came to play with him, and the two finally decided to herd the Zhou Yuan family's cattle. After all, everyone in the village now knew about the relationship between Zhou Yuan and the Li family, so there was nothing worth talking about when Li Xin came to help herd the cattle.

"He came home before he left, and my father asked him to help bring some things." Li Xin curled her lips, "In addition to asking him to bring back some medicinal materials for my mother, he also asked him to bring some books from the capital to Qi Shuning, saying it was for him The scientific examination is beneficial."

Chen Qing nodded. He was not very interested and just touched the cow's back while it was eating grass.

Li Xin actually laughed: "It's rare to see A Qing like this."

Chen Qing raised his eyelids and quickly lowered them: "What have you been busy with recently?"

"Nothing, just staying with my mother." Li Xin's face The smile on his face faded a little. His mother's health has not been very good. She contracted a cold earlier and has never been well. She has been resting in bed for a while. Today she felt better and was able to get up, so he came out to find Chen Qing.

"Has the doctor seen it?" Chen Qing was very concerned.

Li Xin nodded: "I've seen it, it's all the same rhetoric, just say it's physical weakness, just take good care of it."

"I'll go with you to see it." Zhang Yin was also very good to Chen Qing. Chen Qing just came here back then. He had no friends when he was young, and Li Xin was his first friend. Zhang Yin was also kind to him at that time.

They led the cow to Li Xin's house. Zhang Yin was basking in the sun in the yard. When she saw them coming back with the cow, she stood up, walked to the cow, and touched the cow gently: "This is A Yuan Raised cows?"

Chen Qing nodded.

Zhang Yin naturally knew the relationship between Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan. She patted Chen Qing's hand gently, grabbed a handful of dried fruit and gave it to Chen Qing: "A Qing, eat it."

"Thank you, Aunt Yin."

"Then Why are you so polite? From now on we are all one family." Zhang Yin coughed twice.

Chen Qing looked at her, his face pale. The last time he saw Zhang Yin, she didn't seem so thin. He looked at Li Xin with some worry, and Li Xin just forced a smile.

Chen Qing sat at their house for a while and met Li Tiejiang on his way home. Li Tiejiang saw him and said hello to him.

Chen Qing's heart became very heavy. When she returned home, Aunt Sun happened to be taking care of the vegetable field. Chen Qing also helped her, and then told her what he saw at Li Xin's house. Aunt Sun's hand movements stopped for a moment. Sighed.

"I'll find time to go see her." Aunt Sun and Zhang Yin are not close. In fact, Zhang Yin is not very close to the people in the village. She has rarely gone out since she was married.

It was only during the years when Tiejiang Li went out to blacksmith that she had more interactions with the people in the village.

Chen Qing finished pulling out the remaining grass in the field and looked at the sky, feeling that the sky had become a lot duller after Zhou Yuan left.

Winter is coming, and there are a lot of dead branches and leaves on the mountain. Chen Qing asked Li Xin to go up the mountain to collect firewood the next day.

There are fallen branches and leaves on the mountain. What they use most are the yellowed pine needles that have fallen. The dried pine needles and leaves are easy to ignite and are often used to start fires at home.

They went to a mountain farther away. It didn't rain so much after entering autumn, so they didn't have to worry about the same thing happening in summer.

Each of them carries a large basket on his back, with a bundle of ropes in the basket, and a bamboo basket in his hand. The front end of the bamboo basket is made by splitting the bamboo and then bending it down. When collecting firewood, it goes back and forth against the ground. By moving, all the pine needles on the ground can be gathered together.

The best time to chat is when working, but Li Xin said very little today, and sometimes she would get dazed while doing it. Chen Qing put down the bamboo basket in his hand and came to his side: "Is Aunt Yin's condition still bad? Li Xin nodded: "

It seems to be a little more serious these days. My father has closed the shop these days and is taking my mother to Fucheng for medical treatment."

"Ah? Is it so serious?"

Li Xin sighed: "Tian Yue." The cold is getting worse. The doctor in the town said that if you are lucky enough to survive the New Year's Eve, you can still have some time, but if you can't survive the New Year's Eve..." Li Xin sniffed, "I'm afraid..."

Chen Qing stretched out his hand and gently He hugged Li Xin gently. He didn't know how to comfort him. Li Xin buried her head in his shoulder and cried. She was too depressed at home. She had to take care of her mother and avoid Niu Niu. She dared not speak out until she came out. She cried loudly : "Ah Qing, I'm scared. Now I know why my mother took me back to my grandfather's house at the beginning of this year. She seemed to know her physical condition, as if she was going to say goodbye."

Li Xin cried loudly . : "I don't want to be without a mother."

Chen Qing's eyes were also red, but he was stupid and stupid, especially because he didn't know how to comfort people, so he could only pat Li Xin on the back gently, and then left with him. tears.

Fortunately, Li Xin has a strong self-regulation ability. He wiped his eyes and said, "I will definitely go to Fucheng with my parents, but Niu Niu..."

"It's okay, I can take care of Niu Niu." Chen Qing said , "Don't worry about things at home."

Niu Niu is a very well-behaved child, and the Li family raised him well.

Li Xin nodded. He did not thank Chen Qing, and there was no need to say thank you between them.

After Li Xin figured it out, she became more energetic in her work. Soon the two of them filled two baskets with pine needles and other leaves, and now walked down the mountain.

Li Xin poured his basket of firewood into Chen Qing's house. Chen Qing said no need, but Li Xin said that Niu Niu would have to be taken care of by them in the future, and his family didn't need it much.

When she got home, Aunt Sun had just come back from outside. Li Xin talked to her for a while and felt that her mood was not very good, so she didn't stay long and returned home.

Chen Qing looked at Aunt Sun: "Mom, what happened?"

"I went to see Zhang Yin." Aunt Sun sighed, "Her condition is not good."

Chen Qing nodded: "Li Xin told me just now. Aunt Sun then said: "

Originally, Tiejiang Li didn't want her to give birth to Niu Niu. Giving birth to a child is a matter of life and death. She insisted on leaving a son for Tiejiang Li, but it was difficult to give birth to a son." , Li Tiejiang has taken good care of her for so many years, but she just can't do it anymore, how difficult it is. "

Chen Qing also felt a little heavy.

"She told me today that she is still worried about Li Xin and wants to see him get married." Aunt Sun looked in the direction of the Li family. "They say that if you survive the winter, you can still have a living. If you can't, it will be difficult."

"Li Xin said that Uncle Li is going to Fucheng to find a doctor, hoping to find a good doctor." Chen Qing thought about that slim hope.

The two talked for a while and then went about their own business.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yuan had been gone for ten days. Li Tiejiang chose a day with good weather and took Zhang Yin and Li Xin to Fucheng. Chen Qing went to see them off and took back Zhou Yuan's baby who was raised at Li Xin's house. ox.

Qi Shuning was also there. He said he could help look after Niu Niu. He said that the academy had a holiday recently and he had time to help look after Niu Niu.

But Li Tiejiang was worried, so he finally handed Niu Niu over to Chen Qing, and asked Qi Shuning to help look after the house.

In fact, Qi Shuning had already dropped out of the academy. He also asked the dean for some of the repairs, and stuffed them all into the baggage that Li Tiejiang and the others took away, but Li Tiejiang didn't know it yet.

Seeing Niu Niu bid farewell to them with tears in his eyes, Chen Qing held his hand until they were no longer visible, then nodded to Qi Shuning and took Niu Niu home.

"Brother Aqing, will my mother be okay?" Niu Niu hugged Chen Qing's legs and cried out of breath. He had been trying not to cry when he sent Li Xin and the others away.

"It'll be fine, don't worry Niu Niu." Chen Qing couldn't even comfort a child. He would only say that he would go home and prepare delicious food for him. "Let's go herd the cows first?"

Niu Niu nodded. He liked Zhou Yuan's behavior very much. When a cow is kept in their house, it is used to graze the cow.

There was no grass at this time of year, so they just led the cows and walked around the village before returning home.

Aunt Sun at home had already prepared Niu Niu's things. Because Niu Niu was already six years old, it was not suitable for him to sleep with any of them, so Aunt Sun set up a small bed for him and let him sleep in the same room as her. Room.

Niu Niu was still very reserved at home at first, and seemed to be a little uncomfortable with the bed. Although he was already very careful, Aunt Sun still heard the sound of him tossing and turning, so she lit the lamp, walked to Niu Niu's bed, and found Niu Niu sleeping. Crying in the quilt.

Aunt Sun picked him up from the bed and patted his shoulder gently. Niu Niu was only six years old after all. Aunt Sun held him and coaxed him until he sobbed and fell asleep after a while.

Chen Qing saw the light of the fire. He knocked on the door and came in. He saw Aunt Sun holding Niu Niu and leaning on the bed.

Niuniu's nose is very red and her eyes are a little swollen. It looks like she has been crying.

Aunt Sun said to Chen Qing: "It's okay. You can go to bed. I just miss his parents."

Chen Qing then returned to the room. After the lights were turned off, Chen Qing looked at the dark roof, missing Zhou Yuan a little.

Li Xin and the others left for ten days. When they came back, the entire Luohe Village was about to start curing bacon.

In the past, Aunt Sun and Chen Qing never did this. They saved as much as they could, that is, a few days before New Year's Eve, they bought a pound of meat to eat during the New Year.

Life has been better this year, and the grain harvest has been bumper. Because of Meng Tao, the family no longer has to pay so much tax, and they have enough food for them. The excess is sold, and the family has some money left.

So Aunt Sun decided to smoke some bacon this year. Chen Qing has been at home for so long and has never eaten bacon. Originally, he could eat it when there was a banquet, but Chen Qing rarely went out to eat, so there were few opportunities to eat it.

And Zhou Yuan, we should also make some for Zhou Yuan. After all, he is not a local, so he probably has never tasted it.

Li Xin came to pick up Niu Niu at home, carrying snacks brought back from Fucheng. Chen Qing didn't want them, so Li Xin stuffed them into his hands and then pulled him into the house, wanting to have a private word with him.

Aunt Sun was playing with Niu Niu in the yard. Chen Qing looked at Li Xin's expression and felt that the trip to Fucheng was not going well.

"How is Aunt Yin? What did the doctor in Fucheng say?"

Li Xin looked at him for a while, then covered his face with his hands: "It's the same thing the doctor in town said."

Chen Qing's heart also sank.

"Ah Qing. I'm getting married." Then Li Xin bombarded Chen Qing with another thunderbolt.

The cake that Chen Qing had not put down fell on the bed: "What?"

"I'm getting married on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month." Li Xin answered, but there was no joy in his words.

Chen Qing looked at him in disbelief, stammering when he spoke: "No, in such a hurry? Who are you marrying? You are not, don't you not want to get married?"

"I have no choice, Qing, the doctor in Fucheng said that my mother is alive But it's the New Year, and I don't want to watch her die. I went to ask the Bodhisattva specifically, and the people in the temple said that it can be a blessing."

Chen Qing didn't know what to say, so he hugged Li Xin and said, "But Aunt Yin doesn't know how. I agree with you, she loves you so much."

Li Xin shook her head: "It's because she loves me so much, that's why I want to give it a try."

"Then who will you marry?" That's the most important thing.

"Qi Shuning."