Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Located at the western end of Kaoshantun, at the foot of Heixiazigou.

There stands a dilapidated mud house all alone here, which the villagers call "the place that even ghosts fear".

The thatched roof was half rotten, revealing dark holes; the mud walls had been eroded by rainwater, with deep gullies, as if a gust of wind could cause them to collapse.

By this time, it was already dark, and snowflakes were falling like goose feathers, covering the dilapidated little house completely.

"Squeak—"

Zhao Shanhe used his shoulder to push open the rickety wooden door.

Immediately afterwards, he slammed the sack containing more than 100 kilograms of grain onto the ground with a heavy, reassuring sound.

"call--"

Zhao Shanhe exhaled a puff of white air, hung the old foreign cannon on his back on the iron nails of the door frame, and threw the brand-new thick cotton quilt he was carrying onto the earthen bed.

The room was cold and pitch black, with gray dust everywhere.

But this dilapidated house, because of that bag of grain and that new quilt, exuded an unprecedented sense of "abundance".

"Master...this...this is really our home?"

Lin Xiu squeezed in, carrying Niu Niu in her arms.

She looked at the large sack on the ground, then at the new quilt on the kang (a heated brick bed) that she only used for her second son's wedding. Her eyes held both excitement and barely concealed fear: "We took so much stuff... Will Mom and my second son call the police? What if..."

"Report my ass."

Zhao Shanhe struck a match and lit the last bit of dry grass left in the stove pit.

The orange flames illuminated his angular face: "I have a written agreement and fingerprints. This is all earned with ten years of my hard-earned money. Even if the King of Heaven himself came, we would still be in the right."

Zhao Shanhe turned around and untied the rope at the mouth of the burlap sack.

Splash!

He opened the bag, revealing the white flour and golden cornmeal inside.

"Xiuer, we won't drink porridge tonight."

Zhao Shanhe pointed at the bag, his tone arrogant: "Steamed rations! Flatbread! This flour, eat as much as you want!"

"flour?!"

Before Lin Xiu could speak, Niu Niu in her arms widened her eyes.

The little girl has only ever seen this thing used by her grandmother to make dumplings for her second uncle during Chinese New Year; she has never even touched it.

Niu Niu struggled to get down from Lin Xiu's arms and ran to the sack with her short legs.

She stretched out her small hand, covered in chilblains, and carefully poked the snow-white flour, then held it under her nose and smelled it deeply.

"father……"

Niu Niu looked up, her eyes sparkling, but asked a question that broke Zhao Shanhe's heart: "Is this snow? Can you eat snow? It smells good..."

Zhao Shanhe's heart suddenly clenched.

He knelt down and held his daughter's small hand in his rough, calloused hands: "Niu Niu, this isn't snow, it's flour. It's something only your second uncle and grandma used to eat. From now on, this will be our food. We'll eat it every day, every meal, until you don't want to eat it anymore!"

"real?"

Niu Niu couldn't believe it, so she put her finger in her mouth and sucked on it; it tasted sweet.

"So sweet... Dad's amazing! He snatched Uncle's flour!"

Zhao Shanhe stood up, took a deep breath, and suppressed the stinging in his eyes.

We have food. We're not panicking anymore.

But looking at the dilapidated walls and the sacks filled with only white flour, he felt it wasn't enough.

This is the first meal after the family splits up; it's a housewarming celebration. Just noodles? That's just to fill your stomach. There has to be meat! There has to be some oil and fat! That's what it means to live a proper life!

"Xiuer, knead the dough."

Zhao Shanhe ordered, "Don't skimp, get a big basin of it!"

"Why!"

Lin Xiu felt relieved. Looking at the full bag of grain, she felt full of energy.

She wrapped Niu Niu in the thick new quilt, rolled up her sleeves, and started working.

Although there's no oil or salt, as long as there's real food, I feel at ease.

Zhao Shanhe was not idle.

He sat by the stove and took down the old foreign-made cannon.

By the light of the fire, he began to clean the gun.

If there was no gun oil, they would wipe it with snow water melted by the stove pit; if there was no cleaning rod, they would use a twig wrapped with a strip of cloth to clean the gun barrel.

"Click. Click."

The sound of the cleaning rod rubbing against the gun barrel was particularly crisp in the quiet night.

"Honey...it's completely dark, are you still going out?"

Lin Xiu was kneading dough when she saw Zhao Shanhe's movements. She paused, her eyes filled with worry: "It's windy and snowy outside. We have food, so let's not make a fuss tonight, okay?"

"Having food is not enough."

Zhao Shanhe took out a small packet of gunpowder he had smuggled from the old house, carefully poured it into the gun barrel, and compacted it. He then counted the remaining iron shot; less than thirty grains.

His gaze was focused, his tone calm yet ruthless: "This is a housewarming party. Eating only dry rations is like begging. Now that we've separated, now that we're going to live a good life, tonight's meal must include meat!"

"Besides..."

Zhao Shanhe loaded the gunpowder, clicked the hammer, and slung the gun over his shoulder: "This gun has been sitting for too long; it's time to see some blood."

He stood up, and his previously hunched back straightened perfectly, like a mountain.

"Xiuer, turn the fire up bigger and boil the water. When I get back, the water will be just right for the meat!"

"Niu Niu!"

Zhao Shanhe smiled at his daughter, who was wrapped in a thick quilt on the kang (a heated brick bed), with only her big eyes showing: "Wait for Dad. Dad won't just let you eat white flour, he'll make sure you eat until your mouth is dripping with oil!"

After saying that, he tightened his cotton-padded coat and tied the animal traps he had just taken back around his waist.

He reached out and pushed open the creaking, broken door, his movements steady yet carrying a resolute determination to never look back.

call--

The wind and snow rushed in instantly, causing the flames in the stove to leap wildly.

Without the slightest hesitation, that tall figure plunged headlong into the swirling snow and endless darkness.

Lin Xiu stood at the door, her hands still covered in flour.

She watched her husband's figure disappear into the wind and snow, listening to the sound of his footsteps, some deep and some shallow, but always firm.

For some reason, she suddenly felt...

This family won't fall apart. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire outside, that man can still hold the sky over them, mother and daughter!