The next day, Liu Gen and Xiangzi each carried a bundle of sorghum stalks, and Liu Zhi carried a large aluminum pot and shovel to their father's grave.
There was thick snow all around the tomb. While Xiangzi and Liuzhi were digging the soil to turn the snow into boiling water, Liugen alone made countless trips back and forth to carry the bricks up the ridge.
Xiangzi and Liuzhi were responsible for boiling water and mud, and Liugen personally built his father's tomb, adding a layer of green bricks to the pile of loess.
In the afternoon of this day, distinguished guests came to the village.
It was none other than Ouyang Xue and his daughter. Accompanied by the county leaders, they came from the countryside on foot on the mountain roads covered by heavy snow. Along with them, there were several reporters, one of whom was Xia Yang's father, Xia Tian.
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They came this time to inspect and accept the water cellar project.
Ouyang Xue and his daughter also brought a lot of clothes, shoes and socks, all newly bought, mostly for children going to school in the village. Among them, Ouyang Xue bought cotton-padded jackets and shoes specially for Liu Gen's mother and sister.
After entering the village, Ouyang Xue couldn't wait to go to Liu Gen's house alone with her clothes. Liu Gen's mother learned that this beautiful city girl was the daughter of General Manager Ouyang, the great benefactor of the village, and was Liu Gen's classmate.
I was so happy and distressed that I warmed Ouyang Xue's hands with my own hands.
"Auntie, where are the willow roots and willow branches?" Ouyang Xue asked while drinking hot water boiled with snow water.
"It's on his father's grave." Mom replied, taking out the dried fruits at home, including peanuts, jujubes and walnuts, and stuffing them into Ouyang Xue's arms: "You are a girl, walking on so many mountain roads, in a world of ice and snow.
Yes, I’m exhausted! In our poor valley, we are not like in your big cities, where you have everything you need. These are all grown at home, so eat more."
"Uncle..." Ouyang Xue then found out that Liu Gen's father had passed away, and wondered how sad Liu Gen would be: "Where is uncle's grave?"
"On the ridge opposite." Mother replied.
"I want to take a look." Ouyang Xue put down the water glass and said.
"It's snowing and the road is slippery, making it difficult to walk. It's better to wait at home. The three of them will return in a while."
"Three... who else is there?" Ouyang Xue asked strangely.
"And Xiangzi."
"Xiangzi is here too!" Ouyang Xue said, stood up, walked out of the cave, and looked towards the ridge on the opposite side. Sure enough, he saw three figures. They were very conspicuous on the snow-capped ridge. Ouyang Xue told Liu Gen's mother
With a sound, he walked towards the ridge on the opposite side.
The three brothers and sisters had almost finished building the tomb. They were covered in mud and did not feel cold even while working.
"Brother... look..." Liu Zhi first saw Ouyang Xue walking towards the mountain ridge, and pointed to Ouyang Xue halfway up the mountain to show Liu Gen.
Yanagi Gen and Xiangzi looked halfway up the mountain, and they were both stunned.
"Ouyang Xue..." Xiangzi exclaimed: "Why is she here?"
Liu Gen suddenly thought of what Ouyang Xue said on the day after the exam, "We will meet soon." It turned out that she was talking about coming to Gangou Village.
"She is Ouyang Xue..." Liu Zhi looked at Liu Gen in surprise and asked, "Brother, did she come with you?"
When Liu Gen saw Ouyang Xue swaying as she climbed up, he was afraid that she would fall and roll down, so he dropped the tools in his hand and ran down.
"Liu Gen...hehe...I said we will meet soon." Ouyang Xue breathed hot air in her mouth, her mouth and nose were red from the cold, and she stood there panting with a smile.
Liu Gen slid down to Ouyang Xue almost like skiing: "Did you come with your dad?" Liu Gen stretched out his hand and asked.
Ouyang Xue handed her hand to Liu Gen and asked him to pull him up. He replied: "My dad told me to take me here before the holiday. I should have arrived long ago, but I was delayed in the provincial capital and county.
Two days, just in time for the heavy snowfall yesterday, my dad said this is a good sign. The folks in Gangou Village can survive the driest spring with snow."
"How did you know we were here?" Liu Gen took Ouyang Xue's hand, feeling extremely happy.
"Your mother told me." Ouyang Xue replied.
"You went to my house?" Liu Gen was a little moved: "Watch your steps, they are slippery."
Willow Branch and Xiangzi stood there talking.
"Brother Xiangzi, do you know Ouyang Xue too?" Liu Zhi asked.
"Of course we do. I also know that Ouyang Xue likes Brother Gen." Xiangzi replied in a low voice.
"My brother... and... Ouyang Xue... fell in love..." Liu Zhi was surprised.
"No, we almost fell in love, but something happened to Brother Gen... Oops, the things here are complicated, and I won't be able to explain them clearly for a while." Xiangzi suddenly realized that he shouldn't say this.
"My brother won't get along well with her." Liu Zhi suddenly said.
"How do you know?" Xiangzi asked puzzledly.
"Ouyang Xue's family background is different from mine. I understand my brother's temper." Liu Zhi knelt down and continued to stuff the sorghum stalks into the big pot. There was a crackling sound, and the flames grew brighter. The snow in the big pot,
It's slowly dissolving.
"Are you Willow Zhi?" Ouyang Xue asked as she came to the big pot of boiling water and looked at Willow Zhi with a gray face.
"Hello, are you Ouyang Xue?" Liu Zhi stood up and wiped his hand on his clothes before stretching it out.
Ouyang Xue stepped forward, without stretching out her hand, but opened her arms, hugged Willow Branch into her arms, and said with tears in her eyes: "I am your brother's classmate. From now on, you will call me sister."
Liu Zhi was a little embarrassed, so she pushed Ouyang Xue away gently and said, "I'm dirty, and your clothes are also dirty."
Ouyang Xue was wearing a down jacket and high boots. She knelt down and said, "Let me help you."
"No, no, it's too gray and will stain you!" Liu Zhi hurriedly squatted down to prevent Ouyang Xue from using the sorghum stalks to light the fire.
"Liu Zhi, let her do what she wants, she's not that squeamish." Liu Gen helped Ouyang Xue get out of the situation, picked up the tools with a smile, and continued working.
Ouyang Xue had never made any kind of fire. She just stuffed sorghum stalks under the big pot. When there was no gap, the flame was extinguished and a lot of thick smoke came out. She was so anxious that she leaned close to her mouth and blew. If she didn't want to blow, she would blow.
, black ash covered her head and face.
The willow branch giggled, and hurriedly pulled out the tightly packed sorghum stalks and said: "Don't stuff it too much, otherwise it will lack oxygen and it won't burn well." After saying that, he blew it gently, and the flames started again.
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Ouyang Xue smiled awkwardly: "It turns out that making a fire also requires skills."
Xiangzi picked up the big pot and carried it to the place where the mud was mixed. He poured the water in the pot into the circle of soil and said, "No need to boil more water. Put out the fire. That's enough."
Only the grave head was left uncovered. After laying the last green bricks and spreading mud on the outside, the work was completed.
Willow Branch and Ouyang Xue covered the smoking sorghum stalks with snow. After a while, the sparks disappeared.
When we returned home from the mountain ridge, it was almost dark. Xia Yang's father Xia Tian and Ouyang Xue's father Ouyang Xiong were also in the cave dwelling. Accompanying them were two leaders from the county and township.
My mother and a neighbor's aunt were cooking in the kitchen, and Ouyang Xue and Liu Zhi also went to help.
Yanagi Gen and Xiangzi chatted with the guests.
"Liu Gen, we meet again." Xia Tian spoke first when Liu Gen walked into the cave dwelling and introduced him: "This is Mr. Ouyang, the donor of the water cellar project in Ganggou Village." He did not say any title.
Ouyang Xiong is very fair, with short hair, bright eyes, red lips and white teeth, neither fat nor thin, about the same height as Liu Gen. He is dressed very simply, a gray sweater that is used, except for a platinum wedding ring on his left ring finger.
Apart from the ring, there were no accessories on his hands, not even a watch.
"We talked, do you remember?" Ouyang Xiong laughed heartily, looked at Liu Gen, and stretched out his hand.
"Remember, on the phone." Of course Liu Gen remembered the phone call Ouyang Xue arranged with his parents. That was the last time he heard his father's words.
Liu Gen hesitantly stretched out his muddy hand and was grabbed by Ouyang Xiong. His hand was smooth, soft and warm: "Reporter Xia told me a lot about you." Ouyang Xiong followed suit.
Said in the local accent.
Liu Gen looked a little uncomfortable under Ouyang Xiong's gaze, thinking that he had kissed someone's precious daughter but was not on good terms with her, as if he had done something sorry to Ouyang Xue's father.
After greeting each other and greeting each other, Liu Gen and Xiangzi sat under the Kang. The guests all sat around the Kang and ate dried fruits and boiled water, but no tea.
Xia Tian laughed and joked: "This snow water is really delicious, better than Longjing Tieguanyin."
"This is still Liu Gen's suggestion, to use snow to melt water and store it for drinking water. At the beginning, the water cellar was not designed to be so big." Ouyang Xiong told the two accompanying leaders.
While talking, Ouyang Xue and Liu Zhi brought the prepared meals. Apart from cabbage and potatoes, there were no other vegetables, only mutton and chicken, and scrambled eggs. Liu Gen's mother specially made hand-made noodles and mutton soup.
The noodles are hand-rolled and taste pretty good.
Liu Gen and Xiangzi ate with the guests, while Ouyang Xue, Niang and the other girls ate in the kitchen of another cave dwelling. According to local custom, distinguished guests would not go to the kang table.
The rest of the reporters and county and township leaders who participated in the acceptance inspection project were hosted by the village chief's family.
At the dinner table, Xia Tian talked the most and Ouyang Xiong the least. Liu Gen and Xiangzi hardly spoke. The two leaders echoed Xia Xia and Ouyang Xiong. They nodded and said yes to whatever they said. They were very obedient 'good leaders'.
After dinner, we chatted for a while, until the village party secretary came to invite the guests to sleep at his house, and then they broke up. Ouyang Xue was kept by her mother, and she was very happy to sleep with Liuzhi and her mother on the kang of the big cave.
Nao Nao, told Ouyang Xue a lot about Liu Gen's childhood, which made Ouyang Xue cry and laugh.
Liu Gen and Xiangzi slept on the kang of the small cave in the kitchen. After a long day of exhaustion, the two brothers lay down and fell asleep.
The next day, Liu Gen got up early as usual and started busy boiling face wash water. He boiled it for his mother and the other three girls. Now that there was water, he no longer had to worry about not being able to wash his face.
"Liu Gen, are you cooking?" Ouyang Xue actually didn't sleep well all night. She was not used to sleeping with others. When she got up early, she saw Liu Gen holding snow in his hands and putting it into a bucket, and she came over to hold the snow with him.
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"Are you leaving today?" Liu Gen asked.
"Well, dad said he would leave early in the morning." After Ouyang Xue finished speaking, she glanced at Liu Gen: "If you stay with me..."
Liu Gen immediately interrupted her and asked, "Did you sleep well last night?" Then he picked up a bucket full of snow and walked to the kitchen.
Ouyang Xue didn't answer, but followed him into the cave, sat with him in front of the stove, glanced at Xiangzi who was still sleeping, and whispered: "Liu Gen, I heard Liu Zhi say last night that you want your mother to
If you have ever thought about going to the South China Sea, what would your mother think?"