When I woke up again, there was still goose feather snow outside the window.
When it snows in winter, the outdoors are quieter than the indoors.
The sound of heaven and earth melted into the snow covered mountains, and the flow of time seemed to be frozen. After opening my eyes, I was in a daze for a while and fell asleep again. It took only half an hour to wake up again.
When it snows in Hongcheng, the city will become older. Gray-black water was dripping from the drainpipes, muddy ice slag was piled up on both sides of the street, and the white of the snow was cut and swallowed by the narrow eaves, making it even more cramped and cramped.
When Jiang Wang changed his clothes and went downstairs, Ji Mu was leaning on the carved spinner to watch the snow.
The old houses in the country are all wooden buildings, with small animals with vague outlines standing on the eaves with upturned feet, and the brackets are in disrepair for a long time, and they are wedged deeper by a few long nails.
Chen Danhong is getting old, and she is not used to wearing light down jackets. She feels warm only when she is pressed by the heavy cotton clothes.
The kitchen smoke was constantly wafting from the back kitchen. When the daughter was busy, she went to the front of the yard to take a breath, and looked at the distance of the mountains with her mother.
"The glutinous rice balls are all steamed."
Chen Danhong let out a sigh, put his hands into his cotton sleeves, relaxed and became worried after a while.
"It's fine if it snows on the 29th or 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, but don't snow on the first day of the new year."
She seemed to be asking God, and she babbled to the cold wind where there was no one.
"It snows for the first time, it's unlucky, don't snow."
Ji Changxia stayed in the city for too long, and he didn't remember those peasant proverbs. He looked at the snow indifferently for a while, and then wondered if the child would freeze his hands from playing, so he went back to the house to make a phone call.
Jiang Wang stood on the stairs and witnessed the whole process.
As soon as the heavy snow fell, the two women seemed to finally break free from their established roles for a short moment.
He was confused for a moment.
Does everyone have to go through this several times, or even break free and fall asleep for decades, and self-study over and over again.
Ji Linqiu went out with his father early in the morning.
He has a withdrawn and quiet personality, purely after hearing what Jiang Wang said on the first day he came to Zhouxiang, he paid off his debts and asked for an order to visit every house.
Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, but this kind of visiting is purely a manifestation of the filial piety and respect of the juniors, and it doesn't make much difference when they go.
Ji Guoshen was pruning plum branches in the yard in the morning, and when he asked about it, everyone was stunned, as if he had brought his wrong son home.
Ji Linqiu thought he didn't hear clearly.
"You can roughly tell me, who should I go to see first according to the rules, whether to bow or kowtow, I will go through the process from family to family."
In short, he came back to take care of his parents in the village. He was very indifferent to saluting, and he didn't feel humiliated if he kowtowed.
Ji Guoshen didn't know why his son suddenly figured it out. A stubborn bone couldn't be twisted back before, and it would break into pieces if he forced it, so he had to take care of it.
He said embarrassingly, "It's already very good for you to come back, so you don't need to pay New Year's greetings."
It seemed that I didn't express my heart enough, so I specially called Chen Danhong, and they said together: "I don't have to come back next year, so that I won't be forced to drink every day and make you feel uncomfortable."
"It's okay, we two have a good New Year with your sister," Ji's mother also said with a smile: "Just remember to come back and visit us once in a while."
Ji Linqiu suddenly agreed to come back for the New Year, and the long-awaited wish of the two of them was suddenly fulfilled, so that the two old people were like children, and they even behaved a little obediently to please him.
Seeing their expressions like this, Ji Linqiu suddenly remembered the children he taught, and responded quickly with some unease, explaining that he was just going out for a walk to see the old people on the way.
Chen Danhong couldn't wait for it, and showed a relieved expression: "His father, take him around quickly, the second father and the others have been reading for so long, and they have been thinking about their children for a long time?!"
Ji's father took Ji Linqiu out of the house, and seeing him following behind him calmly was a little inconceivable.
"Let's go." Ji Linqiu stretched out his hand, "Hold me up, and be careful of the slippery road."
The elders were surprised when the younger generation came to say hello, the mother-in-law and aunt couldn't close their mouths with laughter, they repeatedly stuffed red envelopes with cakes into Ji Linqiu's arms, and treated him like a teenager.
"In the past, you were the one who studied hardest in the village. Now my grandson is in elementary school, and we tell him every day, learn from your brother Linqiu, and your brother Linqiu has gone to university in Beijing!"
Ji Guoshen took his son to see his brothers and relatives again, and finally proved that he has a reliable and filial son, as relaxed as if the shackles on his shoulders fell off, and his smile was quite energetic.
Ji Linqiu accompanied him to visit seven or eight families in the morning, each one felt familiar yet unfamiliar, and often waited for Ji's father to tell him what to call, and then the eldest aunt and the second aunt called all the way over.
As for whether my aunt is an aunt or a grandma, I don't have a clue in the end.
Anyone who sees him smiles, and will inevitably say something like 'I hugged you several times when you were young', 'You used to catch fish in the river with me when you were young, do you remember? '.
Of course I don't remember.
Ji Linqiu answered with a smile all the way, and when he saw those old faces, he had no corresponding memory pictures at all.
He politely declined all the red envelopes, but passively accepted several rolls of brown sugar shortbread, walked and stopped behind his father, sat and went to the next house, a little moved.
Why do these strangers, the old people who are separated by blood, keep their childhood memories with him
Maybe it's been stagnant in the mountains for too long.
Generations of juniors grow up and leave, and they still live outside the well, dragging and restricting each other, and finally grow old alone with old memories.
Ji Linqiu suddenly couldn't find his emotions anymore.
He knew that he was far away from these elders and relatives, so today he just nodded briefly and said happy new year with a smile.
In the future, when I return to Hongcheng or Yuhan, the faces of my aunts and uncles will quickly fade in my memory.
He just seemed to suddenly understand them.
Most of the female relatives saw Ji Linqiu being pitiful and loving, and the old ladies would gently touch his cheek with wrinkled hands, as if they couldn't believe that the little baby back then was so big now.
But male relatives always have to express their opinions several times, and they are not afraid to be fathers to everyone, and to be fathers repeatedly.
Ji Guoshen's seniority was relatively low in front of some relatives, so he could only listen with a smile on this occasion, and worried that his son would be angry.
"I heard that you are talking about several girlfriends at the same time?" The fourth grandfather who spoke the loudest in the clan opened his mouth, took a puff of dry pipe and said, "When will you consider getting married?"
"Your father is also old, you have to let him hold a grandson quickly."
Without waiting for Ji Linqiu to speak, the old man shook his crutch, sat up straight and continued: "Since the conditions are good, we can choose a girl who can marry from a good job and a good family."
He thought about it, and then generously relaxed the request: "It's okay to marry a foreign girl, to win face for our village."
The relatives sitting around burst out laughing.
Ji Linqiu responded with a smile on his face, wondering what he would do if it was Jiang Wang.
On the surface, Jiang Wang spoke nonsense more fluently than him, and could coax all the old men and women into joy.
Turning around, I think it will evolve peacefully. First, bring parents to the provincial capital, and introduce some grandpas who practice calligraphy and playing cards with old ladies in square dancing. Wait for the circle of friends to cultivate well
Then take them slowly away from the small mountain village.
No smoke, no noise.
Others didn't feel that Ji Linqiu was distracted, seeing that he was obedient and easy to talk to, after a few pleasantries, they decided to return to the topic.
"Linqiu," said another uncle, "you get married and start a family, the bride price can be as little as possible, so as to lighten the burden on your parents."
Ji Guoshen hastily opened his mouth to make a rescue: "There is no need to reduce it specially. If Linqiu meets a girl he likes, we still have some wealth, so we should be able to handle it."
"That's up to you," the uncle said sternly, "The woman's dowry must be according to ours. You can't be thin-skinned at this time, otherwise what will you use to raise your children in the future, right?"
A group of fathers give a few pointers here and two points there, time flies by.
It was noon when I returned home for lunch.
Jiang Wang just made a phone call with Peng Xingwang to confirm that everything is fine with the child.
Peng Xingwang was in a commotion over the phone, and the sound of firecrackers and fireworks kept going.
"Brother! Happy New Year!! Remember to say hello to Teacher Ji too!!!"
The child shouted at the top of his voice: "I'm still firing cannons, my dad bought me a second kick!!!"
Jiang Wangpi couldn't even hear clearly, he took the phone and yelled back: "Buy—what—"
"TWO! Kick! Kick!!!"
"Go and play!" The man didn't bother to care about him: "Look at your hands!! Don't blow yourself up!!"
"okay-"
As soon as the phone was hung up, Ji Linqiu just turned into the house from the west, holding a bouquet of wild camellias in his hand, and the blossoms were all the size of a bowl, bright and pleasing.
Jiang Wang ran to find him a glass soda bottle, put the uneven flower branches in it and poured some water, it was like a British oil painting.
Boss Jiang looked at Xianqing and elegantly helping with the flower arrangement, and said rudely, "Let's go find that stinky fool in the afternoon."
Ji Linqiu was still fiddling with the branches and leaves, glanced at him and then realized: "Shall we take the initiative?"
"Well, choosing a day is worse than bumping into it," Boss Jiang pinched the edge of the petals, as if he was playing hooligans with someone: "Besides, you want to leave this crap for the new year?"
When Ji Linqiu thought of seeing that person again, he instinctively felt nauseated.
"Forget it." He seemed to be saying to himself, "It's not a big deal."
"When you think about it, you feel disgusted, which means it's not over." Jiang Wang raised his eyes to look at him: "What's this person's name?"
"Shi Hao, in his forties."
Shi Hao has a relationship with Ji's family that is barely manageable, but because he can drink and loves to brag, he has a good relationship with a group of men in the village.
When Ji Linqiu was in his early twenties, he went to the neighbor's house for dinner with his parents, and happened to sit at the same table with this person, and changed seats with his sister halfway.
As a result, Shi Hao got drunk and slapped down his hand and squeezed it violently. When the hand felt wrong, he started to look at him, which made the whole table laugh out loud.
Thinking about it now, it still makes me sick.
Jiang Wang listened to the cause and effect before and after, and said solemnly: "I have to go."
"Do you know where he lives?"
"Um."
"It's easy," the man turned and went back to the house: "Wait for me."
Ji Linqiu thought he was going back to the house to get the murder weapon, so he stopped: "What are you going to get?"
"It's nothing, change into luxurious clothes, put on some oil and wear a tie."
"Good guy," Ji Linqiu laughed angrily, "Are you going on a blind date?"
Boss Jiang, who is experienced in Jianghu, squinted his eyes, and his voice was gentle and dangerous.
"When you are in front of this mentally retarded person, don't say anything, just be a background board with peace of mind."