The auspicious snow came as promised in the cold wind, fluttering like goose feathers and spreading everywhere, and the mountains and rivers remained the same, completely changed. There was a charcoal fire burning in the room, and it was burning vigorously. Liu Yan stood in front of the window and closed his clothes tightly. Behind him was the sound of "bi peeling" from the sparks in the brazier, and the cold wind swept across his cheeks.
Shen Jue took some peanuts and chestnuts and entered the room. When the door was opened, snowflakes and cold wind rushed in together. He turned around quickly, closed the door, and threw the dried fruits in his hand into the brazier. Fiddled with the fire sickle, looked at the figure by the window and said, "It's cold in the night, do you want to boil a pot of wine?"
Liu Yan nodded, and said to him, "Boil a pot and send it to Xu Mingshi."
Shen Jue boiled two jugs of wine, and brought some pastries to Xu Mingshi's room. Wrapped in a thick quilt, Xu Mingshi huddled on the head of the bed as if shivering from the cold, half asleep and half awake, when he heard the door being pushed open. The room was not bright with only one oil lamp lit, and a tall figure was vaguely seen standing by the table, leaning slightly, and placing the things in his hands on the table.
Xu Mingshi opened his eyes and looked at it for a long time, until the man put the snacks one by one and was ready to leave, then he called out to him: "Xiaobao."
The back figure paused for a moment, then turned around, the clear eyes unique to young people were shining brightly even in the dark, shooting straight at him like a sharp knife out of its sheath.
The thick quilt wrapped around her body seemed to have lost the power to keep out the cold. Xu Mingshi couldn't help but grabbed the quilt tightly again, wrapped himself even tighter, and fell silent. He knew that now was the time to lower his eyebrows and be pleasing to the eye, the father and son treated him well, with great kindness. Besides, in front of this strong young man, he was just a rotten and useless old man.
Maybe it was really old, insane, old and foolish, Xu Mingshi heard himself provoking him again, and said, "Xiaobao."
The shadow well hid Shen Jue's face, Shen Jue stood there for a moment, turned and left without speaking.
He walked very quickly, if it wasn't for the cold air that flowed through when the wooden door opened, Xu Mingshi even thought it was just a dream of his own. In the dream, he faced the child and called him by his baby name. If this wasn't a dream, then a long time ago, Xu Mingshi felt that he had a long dream.
In the dream, there was his close friend, his confidant, and that little child, who was delighted with the gift he brought and called him—Uncle Xu—in a childish voice.
Xu Mingshi felt that he was really old, so old that he was useless, he could only miss the past. The details of those memories, the things that he once thought he had forgotten, all reappeared in front of his eyes when he was getting old. So clear, so real, as if it was yesterday.
It turned out that he never forgot.
After taking a bath, Liu Yan wore a cotton coat and sat beside the brazier to dry her wet hair. While stirring the basin with a fire scythe, she picked up the roasted fruits buried in the ashes and put them in a bowl beside her. Shen Jue picked them up. Peanuts, after peeling off the hemp husks, followed by the red clothes also fell apart in the rubbing. He took a breath, and the red clothes fell to the ground, and what remained in his palm were grains of warm and fragrant fruits.
When they were in the military camp, they often did the same in winter when there was no fighting. No matter the heavy snow was blowing outside and the cold was raging, what floated in the military tent was the fragrance of food and the warm fire.
There is also the scent of wine, like a hot spring in the ice and snow, soaking the whole body.
Shen Jue told this to Liu Yan, Liu Yan listened and laughed after drinking.
Shen Jue didn't know what he was laughing at, it was a little inexplicable. Liu Yandao: "At that time, I was always thinking about something."
"What?" Shen Jue asked.
Liu Yan shook her head, just smiled without answering, quite mysterious.
Shen Jue saw that his face seemed teasing, so he stopped asking, and just said: "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it, anyway, father is not a good thing to say."
Liu Yan glanced at him and said, "I really don't want to know?"
"I don't want to." Shen Jue shook his head resolutely.
"Really don't want to?" Liu Yan asked again.
"I won't listen even if I say it," Shen Jue said.
Liu Yan narrowed his eyes, waited for a while before saying: "Actually, it's not a bad word, you have learned that sentence before."
"Really?" Shen Jue leaned over: "I have learned it? Is it in the book?"
"Um."
"What is it?"
Liu Yanyan rubbed his head with his hands, and rubbed a hand of peanut crumbs on it, and then said with a smile: "At that time, I kept thinking that this sentence really applies to you..."
"That sentence?" Shen Jue asked.
"'Learn the art of writing and martial arts, make goods and the emperor's family'."
"..." Shen Jue reacted, his red face radiant with flames suddenly turned red again, turned away his face and said in a low voice: "Did Dad think about these things at that time? It's not serious."
Liu Yan, who was accused of being old and disrespectful, was not ashamed, but defended herself with righteous words: "It is windy outside, and the tent is as warm as the south of the Yangtze River. There is no war, and there is no shortage of food. I occasionally think something unscrupulous. What's wrong?"
His mouth was too sharp, and Shen Jue was so blocked that he had nothing to say. It seemed that he had made a big fuss. Shen Jue turned his gaze back, looked at him for a while, and then said: "In the last life, why didn't dad say it to my face?" ?”
Liu Yan suddenly had nothing to say.
Seeing that Liu Yan could not refute, Shen Jue had a subtle sense of pride, like a child who finally defeated an adult, and said with a smile: "I only know now that my father was not very serious in his previous life, it was just because of the current situation that he was not serious. It can only be in the heart, and the majesty of the general must be hung on the face."
Liu Yan pursed her lips tightly, and the father and son stared back.
Liu Yan changed the subject: "How is Xu Mingshi?"
Shen Jue didn't say what happened just now, but said: "It's okay, it's just that I'm old and I'm afraid of the cold."
"Put two more braziers in his room, and send him one if the hand stove is still unused."
"I sent it when it snowed last night," Shen Jue said, "Don't worry, Dad."
"Where's the cotton coat?"
"I also bought it earlier. The bedding and cotton clothes are all new cotton this year, and they are very warm."
Liu Yan looked at him and frowned slightly, his thoughtful appearance made Shen Jue restless, and said, "Does daddy think there is something left to be dealt with?"
Naturally there was nothing wrong with it, but it was too appropriate, so Liu Yan felt it was weird.
After all, Shen Jue's attitude towards Xu Mingshi has never been better since he knew his background. Xu Mingshi showed his courtesy many times, but was rejected by the young Shen Jue. In the next few years, Xu Mingshi also came less. The relationship between the two is even more indifferent.
Liu Yan asked: "Do you sympathize with him?"
Shen Jue asked doubtfully, "Why should I sympathize with him? It's normal for people to die of old age, sickness, and death. Since he can't become a fairy, he will definitely die."
While talking, the black snake who had woken up on the bed curled up by the stove swam over, circled around Liu Yan's legs, and climbed up.
Liu Yan diverted his attention, held the wine cup and asked the black snake in his arms: "Do you want to drink?"
The black snake didn't know whether it was because he was sleepy or it was a habit of being fed by him, so he didn't think too much, the snake letter was soaked in hot wine as soon as it was stretched out, and when it was retracted, the hot wine was eaten.
The smell was too strange, Yi Mo seemed to be puzzled by such a strange smell, curled up in Liu Yan's arms, and paused for a while facing the wine cup.
Shen Jue laughed sullenly at the side, poured wine into the cup again, leaned into Liu Yan's ear and whispered: "Father, let it finish drinking, will you see the drunken snake?"
Liu Yan squinted his eyes, grabbed the head of the snake who tasted the wine and thought it didn't taste good and was about to retreat, and said softly: "Hey, drink it." As he spoke, he nodded his head and gently pressed it into the wine cup. Pressed.
The black snake understood his intention, but Liu Yan refused to drink, so he slowly licked most of the wine with the snake letter. To be honest, it's not hard to drink.
So he got drunk.
After watching a "snake drinking", Shen Jue didn't know what the drunk snake would do, but no matter what, this room can't stay anymore, lest if there is a big trouble, Liu Yan will be punished as a punching bag. The bad idea of the snake drinking was originally his idea. Shen Jue hurriedly said: "It's late at night, Daddy should go to bed early." After speaking, he left.
He slipped very fast, when Liu Yan raised his head, he could only hear his voice but not see him.
Liu Yan stirred up the charcoal fire more vigorously, put the fire sickle aside, hugged the black snake in his arms to get drunk, and the black snake that was wrapping its tail around his neck went to the bed and sat down. The hit-and-run behavior was no longer willing to comment, and he lowered his head into the big eyes of the black snake, Liu Yan asked: "Are you really drunk?"
The black snake responded by taking a bite on the face that came close to him, and stopped as soon as the teeth touched the flesh, then licked it with the letter, climbed up to his face again, and started playing on Liu Yan's head.
Liu Yan lay on her back on the bed, the black snake fell on the pillow, and then entangled herself again, probably really drunk, it slid from Liu Yan's armpit to the side of her neck, and then from the side of Liu Yan's neck to the other side of Liu Yan's neck. Under one arm, the tail happily wrapped around something and then let go, swinging back and forth in the air. She even slipped to the other side of the bed, wrapped her tail around his calf, and bit Liu Yan's toes.
Liu Yan laughed out loud, feeling pain and itchiness from being bitten, and wanted to grab him away when she sat up. The snake happily changed its place, tilted its head to aim at the sole of his foot, bit it impartially, and stretched out the snake letter to lick it. Liu Yan couldn't help it, and smiled and shouted, "Don't make trouble, no Bite", unfortunately, the snake at this time could not understand it at all, and he was very drunk, even if he understood it, he might not pay attention to him, but he was biting happily, Liu Yan was shaking wildly, and his two white legs were full. The bed kicked wildly, unable to sit still, chuckled and fell down again. Not to mention that he doesn't have martial arts in this life, even if he has martial arts, he may not be able to get rid of itchy flesh if he is bitten, so after a while he laughed so hard that his whole body went limp, and he only knew how to kick the scourge with his legs, and the pillow he kicked didn't know how to turn it over. Wherever he went, most of the bedding fell on the ground. Even so, the snake was still coiled around Liu Yan's calf, unmoved at all, as if it had spotted the itchy piece of meat, took one bite to the left and another to the right, licked it after the bite, licked it twice and then bit it. Liu Yan covered her mouth and couldn't hold back her laughter. Tears rolled down the corners of her eyes. Her whole body was twisted into several sections like a twist in a pot, and each section twisted and rolled. Rolling until the inside of the bed was curled up against the wall, Liu Yan kicked his legs and murmured to chase him away: "Get out of here." Trembling wildly, he could barely breathe.
Drunk Snake took advantage of the alcohol to play extremely happily. When he was supposed to be hibernating, he drank a lot of hot wine in a warm room, and almost thought it was a good time for the warm spring in the south of the Yangtze River. He didn't stop playing until he was satisfied. When he stopped, Liu Yan was still curled up against the wall, smiling with tears all over his face, and his mind was blank like the rest of his life after a catastrophe.
After recovering for a long time, Liu Yan sat up limply, grabbed the black snake wrapped around her calf and lifted it up, eye to eye, Liu Yan spoke in anger, and after thinking for a long time, she said seriously to the snake's eyes: " You're such a nuisance!"
The black snake looked at him innocently for a while, stretched its neck and licked his face, and then entangled him again.
Liu Yan threw herself backwards, stretched out one hand to the edge of the bed, lifted the quilt and covered her body, while thinking about how to settle accounts with Shen Jue tomorrow, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
In the early morning of the next day, the snow had stopped, and the winter sun imprinted on the white world, bringing out some gold, and the gold reflected a gorgeous luster. Impeccably beautiful. Liu Yan forgot what happened last night, after taking a shower, she spread out the paper, and was about to paint outside the window, but she stood for a long time but put down the pen again, put away the paper and inkstone, the scenery in front of her was so romantic that she could not draw a single picture.
After lunch, Xu Mingshi rinsed his mouth with tea, walked towards the yard, looked for a sunny place to sit down, wrapped his cloak tightly, and basked in the sun.
His hair is snow white, but the sun is bright and dazzling, but it does not shine when it falls on his head, but it looks more and more dry. Liu Yan looked at him from the window for a long time, and sighed silently. This is clearly exhausted and withered. phase.
As if aware of his gaze, Xu Mingshi turned his head, looked at him from afar, and grinned. After laughing, Xu Mingshi stood up, staggered with the inclination of the sun, changed a corner, leaned against the base of the wall and curled up, closed his eyes and fell asleep. With the breath of dying, like an old dog at the end of its rope.
Just as Liu Yan was about to go out, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye. It was Shen Jue walking towards Xu Mingshi with a basin of hot water in her hand. He squatted in front of Xu Mingshi, and spread out the white towel that had been wrung in hot water on his hands, wiping away the dirt from the corners of the old man's eyes and the embarrassment on his face.
Xu Mingshi opened his eyes in a daze, looked forward for a long time with cloudy eyes, and said hoarsely: "Xiaobao."
Shen Jue didn't taunt him, nor did he respond to him. He twisted the white scarf again, picked up the water basin and walked out of the courtyard. The sound of splashing water was like a torrential rain, breaking the tranquility of the courtyard. Shen Jue went back with the basin, and quickly took out from the room the fox-fur cloak that was originally intended to honor Liu Yan during the Chinese New Year. He went out and put it on the old man chasing the sun.
He is really an old man, Liu Yan thought, but he remembered again and again the young man who used his sword to eliminate demons outside Shen's house, and the young man who jumped up and down in front of his tall horse.
Time flies, but that's all.
"Little Treasure," Liu Yan heard Xu Mingshi's old voice saying not far away, "Call me Uncle again."
His tone was desolate, his eyes were gentle and kind, as if he was attached to something. But Shen Jue turned around and stepped out, but he didn't slow down because of this.