The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

The next day, the sky was a frozen, grayish-white.

The snow stopped last night, but it didn't melt. A layer of even white covered the mountains, fields, treetops, and rooftops. All around was quiet, except for the "crunch" sound of footsteps on the snow, which was exceptionally clear.

Lin Dachun and Li Ruoxue, both dressed in thick clothes, walked one after the other toward the sunny slope of the hill behind the village.

Lin Dachun walked ahead, taking small but steady steps.

Li Ruoxue followed behind, her face completely covered by a scarf, only her eyes showing. She followed Da Chun's footprints, saving herself a lot of effort.

The wind wasn't strong, but the chill was penetrating, like fine needles piercing into the bones.

"Stay close, watch your step, don't slip." Lin Dachun turned his head, his voice muffled by his scarf, but it clearly reached Li Ruoxue's ears.

"Yes, I know," Li Ruoxue replied, her breath instantly forming a fine layer of frost on her eyelashes.

The snow was thinner on the sunny slopes, revealing the withered yellow grass stalks and bare brown earth underneath.

Clumps of low-lying sea buckthorn shrubs tenaciously take root on these barren slopes, their branches strong and covered with sharp thorns.

At this moment, most of the leaves have fallen, but there are still many small orange-red or bright yellow berries.

Like forgotten gems, they clustered and hung on branches covered with a thin layer of snow.

"This is it." Lin Dachun stopped and pointed to the sea buckthorn bushes in front of him.

Li Ruoxue crouched down, carefully avoiding the thorns, picked up a frozen sea buckthorn berry, and examined it closely.

The fruit is small, but its color is very bright.

"You have to pick the ones that are dark in color and plump," she recalled what the book said, "because they have a higher juice yield and taste better."

Lin Dachun grunted in agreement and took out two small scissors and several sturdy cloth bags from the canvas bag he had brought with him.

He handed Li Ruoxue a pair of scissors: "Use these, be careful not to prick your hands with the thorns. It's inconvenient to wear cotton gloves, so just cut the tip of your fingers."

He then took off his right glove, revealing his rough, cracked palm, seemingly unconcerned about the spikes.

He selected a clump of sea buckthorn with the densest fruit, skillfully steadied the branch with his left hand, and precisely cut off the small branches laden with fruit spikes with his right hand, carefully placing them into a cloth bag.

His movements were quick and steady, preventing the fruit from falling as much as possible.

Li Ruoxue followed his example and carefully began to operate the equipment.

But she was still inexperienced, and her cotton gloves were clumsy. Before she knew it, her fingertip was pricked by a hidden, hard thorn, and she hissed softly.

Lin Dachun immediately stopped and turned around: "What happened? Did you get pricked?"

"It's nothing, I just touched it." Li Ruoxue pulled her fingers back into her sleeve.

Lin Dachun didn't say anything. He walked over, took out the jar of medicinal wine containing Sichuan peppercorns from his pocket, grabbed her wrist without saying a word, and saw a small bead of blood seeping from her index finger.

He poured a little bit of medicinal wine onto his fingertips and rubbed it into her skin vigorously.

"Be careful," he said reproachfully, but his movements were very gentle.

The pungent aroma of the medicinal wine, mixed with the chill, permeated the air.

After rubbing her hands a few times, he let go and handed her his thick cotton glove: "Put this on, yours won't do."

"and you……"

"I'm tough, I'm not afraid." Lin Dachun interrupted her, already turned back to continue picking, his bare right hand quickly turned red from the cold, but his movements didn't slow down at all.

Looking at Da Chun's retreating figure, and then at the slightly worn-out glove on her hand that still held his warmth, Li Ruoxue felt a warm glow in her heart.

She put on her gloves, which were indeed much thicker, and continued to pick carefully.

Lin Dachun and Li Ruoxue came to the mountain to pick sea buckthorn for three purposes:

First, we'll pick sea buckthorn berries and see how to make juice better.

Secondly, we need to dig up whole sea buckthorn plants to study their cultivation requirements in preparation for subsequent large-scale planting.

Thirdly, to preserve the seed;

Sea buckthorn seeds aren't sold in town because nobody grows this incredibly sour stuff.

Since nobody grows it or eats it, this stuff might become a way to get rich.

"what!"

At this time.

Li Ruoxue also shouted.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Dachun rushed over.

"I got stabbed," Li Ruoxue cried out.

Li Ruoxue was very afraid of pain, and this stab brought tears to her eyes.

Lin Dachun hurriedly took her hand, tore off his glove, held it in his palm, and blew on it to comfort Li Ruoxue.

"Thank goodness, there's no bleeding. It's alright now, okay?" Lin Dachun doted on Li Ruoxue.

Li Ruoxue saw it all; her eyes were clear and bright, making her seem very pitiful.

"I'm fine now."

"Okay, don't cry anymore," Lin Dachun said, wiping away Li Ruoxue's tears.

"Okay, keep going."

Lin Dachun started digging sea buckthorn again.

This time, he dug up several plants, intending to transplant them to his front yard.

After they finished picking the sea buckthorn, they went to look for more, and they were busy until the afternoon before they finally went home.

"You must be tired. Take a rest, I'll go get something to eat," Lin Dachun said diligently.

"You should go transplant the sea buckthorn first. I'll cook. We can just have this as dinner." Li Ruoxue didn't sit idle either and immediately went to cook.

After Lin Dachun finished, Li Ruoxue had also cooked dinner.

The two snuggled up on the warm kang (heated brick bed) and ate together.

Lin Dachun looked at Li Ruoxue, this beautiful woman.

"What's wrong? Look at me."

Li Ruoxue felt a little embarrassed by Li Ruoxue's gaze.

"You've got steamed bun all over your face."

Li Ruoxue, this food is very delicious. She likes to add some chili peppers, which makes it very flavorful and perfect with rice.

Especially Li Ruoxue's fermented bean curd, broad bean paste, and her special pickled vegetables are all absolutely delicious.

Lin Dachun would also set up these items at the market to sell on market days, but since every household had them, the sales were generally not very good.

"There are quite a few rumors about you in the village!" Li Ruoxue added.

"What did they say about me?" Lin Dachun was still very curious.

"No, it's nothing." Li Ruoxue blushed as she recalled something.