In Fushui City, the snow-covered streets extend out and sporadic snowflakes are still falling on the streets. It is the first time that it has snowed in the south in more than a decade, and the citizens in the city are quite excited. They wrap themselves up tightly and go out in groups, making snowmen and having snowball fights in front of their doorsteps or in spacious places. Some of them have free time as the New Year is approaching, so they happily take their wives and children to visit various shops on the street to buy New Year's clothes and snacks.
The long and bustling street was filled with all kinds of festive and popular music. On the noisy street, white steam rose from the mouths of people bargaining. In the crowded crowd, a woman wearing over-the-knee boots, an open brown windbreaker, and a high-necked sweater underneath, showing off her slim figure, came out of the cake shop, carried a bunch of bread of different sizes, got into a car on the street, and went all the way back to her residential area.
Red lanterns were hung in the dilapidated residential buildings, festive Chinese characters of "Fu" were posted on the windows of every household, and when one bumped into familiar neighbors in the corridor, they all smiled and greeted each other.
After a while, she arrived at the door of her home on the third floor. Liu Qingyue fumbled for the key in her bag. There was a sound of a lock turning inside the door. A little girl, wearing pajamas with a cartoon tiger on it, was locked up tightly with only her little face exposed. She raised a bunch of keys in her hand with a look of displeasure.
"Sister, you went out without your key. I won't open the door for you next time."
"Don't speak in an old-fashioned way. Be careful not to become old before you grow up."
Liu Qingyue walked in and knocked on the little head with the tiger head on it, and stuffed a paper bag of bread in her arms, "Put it in the refrigerator."
“Eat these again!!”
The little girl made a grimace and looked at her sister who was lifting her legs and struggling to put on her slippers from her boots. The little girl sighed helplessly, turned around, dragging the little tail of her pajamas, and walked to the sofa very cutely, sat down on it, took the remote control, switched channels boredly, and muttered to herself.
"Other people celebrate Chinese New Year and other festivals, and the whole family is so lively. At the very least, they can have a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner. My family only eats bread. It was the same last year and this year. Sigh... Fortunately, I matured early, otherwise I would have starved to death."
"You know you're precocious! Why don't you learn from other kids?"
After taking off the two pairs of boots, Liu Qingyue finally breathed a sigh of relief, went to the sofa and half-lay down, bent her legs, and kneaded them vigorously, "However, there are other reasons for eating bread this time."
"Business trip? Or is it too cold outside and you don't want to go out to buy groceries?" The little girl who was watching cartoons glanced over and saw her elder sister rubbing her feet. She sighed again and shook her head with a look of disappointment: "Sister, please be more reserved. How will you get married in the future?"
"You are a little brat, take care of yourself!"
Liu Qingyue was amused by her. She took the pillow and tapped the little guy on the head. She stopped teasing her and said, "Go pack up. We're going out to celebrate the New Year this year."
"travel?!"
The little guy turned around quickly, his round eyes suddenly showing excitement, and grabbed the woman's feet, "Sister, where are we going to travel for the New Year? Sanya, or go abroad to Hawaii?"
“See the Terracotta Warriors.”
The smile on the little girl's face froze suddenly. She took the remote control and flipped the channels with her chin supported. Liu Qingyue rubbed her head hard.
"You're not going? If you don't go, my sister and I will just eat bread at home."
"go!"
The little guy slammed the remote control, glared at his sister who was grinning, swung his little tail behind his pajamas, and went back to his room to pack his things angrily.
"I can't deal with you yet." Liu Qingyue turned off the TV, went back to the room, stretched lazily, exhaled a breath of white air, took out the suitcase that had not been used for a long time in the upper compartment of the closet, picked up the clothes and folded them inside.
The plane ticket has been booked long ago and I will leave in the afternoon. I have finally got this opportunity for vacation and I must make the most of it. If I stay any longer, I will probably be drafted into the army and put on duty again, and I won’t be able to celebrate the New Year.
She put away her clothes and gathered a pile of cosmetics before she lay down on the bed, turned her cell phone to silent mode, and blacklisted all the phone numbers of her partner and superior.
"Well... I'll have a comfortable New Year's Eve before I bring you back!"
Thinking of this, he loudly urged the girl next door through the wall while flipping through the photo album on his phone. Most of them were mission records taken during work, and some were selfies taken when he was on a mission in a place with unique scenery. When he turned to the back, he suddenly saw several murals taken in caves.
A pair of willow eyebrows were slightly frowned, and a puzzled sound was murmured.
“When was the photo taken…”
He turned the photo over and over for a while, enlarged the photo, looked at the young scholar reading and writing on the mural, stared at the face of the person under the strokes, frowned even more, felt vaguely familiar, but could not remember where he had seen him before.
She stared at it intently, and suddenly felt a little dazed. The scene in her field of vision was like a drop of water falling on a lake, causing ripples. The scholar in the painting stood vividly in front of her, walking past her with the old donkey, raising his face and smiling.
"sister… "
"elder sister?!"
The woman was startled by the sudden sound of crisp voices lingering in her ears. She realized that she had been leaning against the bedside looking at her phone for an unknown amount of time. She didn't even notice her sister coming in and standing beside the bed.
"What time is it?"
"It's almost ten o'clock. What are you thinking about with your phone? You're so absorbed in your thoughts."
Liu Qingyue shook her head, smoothed her hair, and smiled at the little girl. She didn't even know why she was in a daze, so it was difficult to explain. She hurriedly got up and urged her sister to pick up the luggage. Each of them got a piece of bread to eat on the way. The two sisters then hurried downstairs with the luggage of varying sizes and drove to the airport. During the New Year's period, the roads would definitely be congested. If they didn't get there early, they would be in trouble for fear of being stuck in traffic.
As for what just happened...
Out of professional habit, Liu Qingyue was still thinking after getting on the plane. It was not until the flight attendant came over to remind her to switch to flight mode or turn off the phone that she withdrew her thoughts.
"Never mind for now, let's talk about it after the New Year!"
Looking at her sister beside her, the woman put her cell phone away, embraced the little girl lovingly, leaned against her, and looked out the round window at the airport.
…
Snowflakes fell from the heavy branches to the ground, forming the shape of flowers. The tightly closed houses in the yard creaked open. Lu Liangsheng and the Taoist exhaled a breath of white air and looked at the water tank covered with a thin layer of ice. They snapped their fingers, and the ice melted, and warm air rose from the water surface.
"Gurgle~~~"
'Hoo!'
The Taoist spat the water stains from the mouth of the package onto the ground with foam. He picked up the toothbrush and turned to look at the scholar who was putting a hot towel on his face.
"Old Lu, what are your plans next? You won't spend the New Year in this courtyard, will you? If not, I will have to go out by myself. Old Cao has made an appointment with me. Eight women, although some of them are a bit old, they are not bad. I heard that they are widows..."
"Cao Aman really likes this..."
Lu Liangsheng threw the towel and put it on the rack himself. Looking at his brother-in-law in front of him, he was actually a little embarrassed. After all, Sun Yingxian at this time had just left Qixia Mountain after Xiaoxian's death. After more than a thousand years, he was still alone. As for looking for her, Lu Liangsheng felt a little uncomfortable. After all, the time he had been there was not long. But if he didn't look for her, leaving the Taoist priest alone, it would be a little inappropriate.
"Oh... it's difficult."
Looking through the open window, in the glass cabinet, Toad Taoist was curled up in bed surrounded by a group of action figures, sleeping soundly. He seemed to be aware of the gaze from outside the window, and he lazily shook his eyelids, retracted his webbed feet that were stretched out outside into the quilt, turned around and walked inside, ignoring Lu Liangsheng.
"It's New Year's Day, it's really not good to be so deserted."
Lu Liangsheng suddenly remembered that he had never been to Chang'an in those days, and he clapped his hands immediately, scaring the Taoist who was squatting and fiddling with his mobile phone nearby. He almost lost control and dropped the phone into the ice water.
On the side, the scholar walked into the white snow in the yard, turned his head sideways, and looked at the surprised Taoist with a smile.
"Old Sun, let's go back to Chang'an. I'll use... magic to restore Chang'an to its former glory, and celebrate the New Year like I did back then."