The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

The first day of the new year.

It was about to dawn, and the firecrackers that had been ringing all night in the capital started crackling again as if they were free.

Liu Yin, who had just gotten up, looked at Li Hui, who also opened her big round eyes, and rubbed her forehead affectionately. The little guy immediately danced and laughed.

"Let's go see if aunt is okay and see if aunt is up~!"

He opened the damper of the stove, refilled the coals, boiled the mule water needed in the morning, and then picked up Li Hui.

The little guy was very well-behaved. He looked at his grandma making a fire and boiling water. He probably thought he was cooking for himself. The corners of his mouth began to drool again, and the two small deciduous teeth on his upper jaw popped out. At this stage, he just likes to drool.

Taking a handkerchief and wiping it carefully, she wrapped Xiaojiaguo in a quilt. Liu Yin pushed Li Nan's room away and stuffed the child into the quilt without saying a word.

When Li Nan opened his eyes, there was already another one in the bed, and the two little guys stared at each other with big eyes.

The changes in Xikuayuan are quite big.

The weeds and broken bricks that were originally on the ground in the courtyard have been replaced as Liu Qiang and Liu Lei took the time to mend them. There are many bricks and dismantled watchtowers near the city gate. When they have nothing to do, they will Go pick some up and come back to repair this dilapidated yard.

The drafty stables next to the reverse house were covered with thick straw curtains on the front and sides, and even the top was not left open. Even the reverse house where they lived did not enjoy this treatment.

In order to prevent it from collapsing under the weight of snow, timbers were propped up at the supporting locations for reinforcement.

In the past few days, the snow inside had cleared a path. Liu Yin first opened the straw curtain. The two animals were paired with domestic horses and wild donkeys. They still maintained the vigilance in their blood and stood still. While sleeping, I woke up when I heard movement in the yard.

When Liu Yin opened the curtain, the two animals rushed to stretch their heads towards the opened gap, snoring twice like horses from time to time. The hot breath they exhaled instantly turned into a long mist when it hit the cold air outside.

These two mules, which are also cows and horses, are busy all year round. They only have time to rest when the uncle and nephew return to their hometown.

The thick straw curtains and the thick dry straw on the ground effectively isolate the cold air outside, plus the body temperature of the mules inside and the hot breath. In the early years of the cold winter, families without firewood could survive the winter. , the barn is indeed a nice place to be.

"How about it being warm in the livestock den~!"

I looked at the mules fighting for each other and touched their heads. They were two very human beings. That’s how animals are. Whoever treats them well will be treated well.

Liu Yin had fed them occasionally, but they still remembered it and knew that they wanted to eat. She hurriedly went to the back room and took out the food that her uncle and nephew had prepared long ago.

On a cold day, the evening meal has been digested. Everyone knows that eating only vegetables will not prevent hunger.

Bean cakes, soybean meal, bran and other concentrated feeds are mixed together, and the rotten vegetable leaves broken off from winter vegetables are minced and mixed into it, and some refined salt is added. These animals eat so happily that they can jump up and down.

"I'm sorry for you two. It's delicious. Today is the first day of the new year. I'll add some carrots and stick noodles for you two. Do a good job this year~!"

Feeding a mule is not easy. A mule can eat dozens of kilograms of fodder a day. It eats a lot and poops a lot. After the animal excrement is soaked in the countryside, it is the best fertilizer. Here, it is only It can be shoveled out and piled in the corner for the uncle and nephew to keep warm when they return.

After all, they are not urban residents in the capital, so they cannot enjoy the rationed coal. However, after drying, the livestock excrement is also very good for burning fires, mainly because there is no peculiar smell.

The same is true for most herdsmen on the grasslands. They rely on these during the cold winter months. The dried cow and horse excrement is piled in piles and dried in a large area at the door. It is even more exaggerated than the Han people drying grain.

Liu Yin was working so hard that she was sweating, feeding and shoveling manure. She stood outside the livestock shed and was resting with a wooden shovel in both hands.

"Aunt Li, happy New Year~!"

Qin Huairu came uninvited on the first day of the new year, carrying a steaming bucket.

"Hey, Xiao Qin?"

"Happy New Year, you?"

Liu Yin, who was a little slow to react, looked at Qin Huairu who came in from the door, wiped the sweat from her temples, and was a little at a loss as to what she was up to so early in the morning.

"The water pipes froze again last night. I just poured out the boiling water. There is still a lot of hot water. I thought that you also need hot water to feed the animals, so I brought it to you~! "

Boil water hose?

It was difficult for Liu Yin to tell whether it was true or false. After all, last month, her family had heard intermittently that there was not much coal left. "No, no, go back and give the child a hot bath. I have hot water at home~!"

No reward for no merit, although things are not valuable, Qin Huairu's favor is valuable, especially when he told her in front of him a few days ago that he wanted to change his position. Liu Yin quickly put the shovel against the wall and refused. This "good intention".

"It's okay. I kept it at home. It's enough for the children. I've brought everything here. It's so troublesome to carry it back~!"

"No need, we still have to wait half an hour for them to finish eating~!"

Letting Liu Yin arrange her hands like a windmill, Qin Huairu still carried the bucket over reluctantly. No matter what others said, she always had a smile on her face.

"Just right, drink it after it cools down~!"

Liu Yin felt helpless. She looked at the bucket, then at Qin Huairu, and finally at the door. It seemed that she would remember better next time and know that she had to lock the door when feeding the animals.

"Good guy, do you still have a lot to eat?"

Qin Huairu opened the curtain and looked at the food piled in the manger. She saw yellow-green vegetable leaves and white radishes, and her eyelids trembled.

This year, their family didn't even make dumplings.

Her family also had winter vegetables, but making dumplings required high-gluten flour. As the person responsible for food expenses, she was not willing to pay for it in the end. Instead, she tore out the fabric and used it to patch her clothes.

"People have to celebrate the New Year, and so do the animals. Last month I was stocking vegetables for winter for the streets, but I lost a lot of weight. I'll make up for it while I'm resting~!"

Liu Yin didn't know what Qin Huairu was thinking, so she could only say it in a polite tone.

"Are you so busy working alone? You are feeding people and shoveling manure. Other people are resting for the New Year. It's good for you. The mother of the deputy director of the factory even bent down in person~!"

Looking at the two big animals, it would be a lie to say that he was not greedy. Qin Huairu himself also engaged in "breeding" to make extra money, but a few small rabbits could not keep up with a big mule.

"Otherwise, what should I do? If I don't do it, someone has to do it. My uncle and nephew have been busy outside for a year, so they have to come home and take a look~!"

It's definitely tiring to wake up early and stay late at night, but even these days, the uncle and nephew have to be tired for a year. Liu Yin also feels sorry for them. She hasn't returned to her hometown in the past few years. Fortunately, they are here and can help celebrate the New Year. Give the things back to my old parents.

"Would you like to think about giving Xiaofeng another one? My girl is also from the countryside. She is very good at work. She even counts seven work points a day. She has a strong body and a big butt. She is easy to raise."

Qin Huairu put her hands into her sleeves, elbowed Liu Yin beside her, stretched her head to the side, and asked in a low voice.

This topic shocked Liu Yin. She took a few steps back in a hurry and looked at the Widow Qin uneasily. What she said was so explicit.

"Humans are just like animals. A person is always lonely, especially a child. If he has no brothers or brothers, how lonely he will be if he grows up alone. You have to take care of the children with your front legs, and you have to take care of the kids with your back legs. Feeding the animals, you are the mother of the leader, the first and second uncles are not as tired as you~!"

Liu Yin took a few steps back, but Qin Huairu took a few steps forward. Step by step, the topic got deeper and deeper, reaching people's hearts.

"This, this, is inappropriate, Qin Huairu~!"

"There's nothing inappropriate, Aunt Li. It's been almost a year now. Will it be difficult for you to wash Xiaofeng's clothes in the future? How long can you do it?"

Qin Huairu's words immediately turned off Liu Yin. She couldn't turn her back and drive the person away. Although she knew Qin Huairu had no good intentions, it did hit Liu Yin's heart.

"When he comes back, I will ask him what he will say?"

"Aunt Li, last time you were away, my sister came, and Xiaofeng also met. I'm afraid you don't know that the two of them had met before. In Hongxing Commune, Li Feng even bought her candied haws!"

"what?"

Liu Yin was dumbfounded.

what's the situation! (End of chapter)