mtl008 Chapter 237 Snowing at Midnight
Chapter 237 Snowing at Midnight
Xia Qingyue and her friends took Xiao Hei and the two little ones out of the village and up the mountain.
It has been two days since they left their home in the valley, and both of them are eager to return home.
Heihei and Xiaobai seemed to have a premonition that they were going back to the valley. They jumped up and down along the way, looking very happy. Even Xiaohei, who was usually aloof, raised his head and made “uh uh uh” sounds for a long time.
When we returned to the valley, it was getting dark and the air was freezing.
Han Zhibai didn't have time to unload the things, so he ran into the kitchen, lit a fire, burned two large sticks of firewood, and asked Xia Qingyue to sit by the fire while he took his time to do the rest.
After sitting by the fire for a while and warming herself up a little, she rubbed her slightly red hands and got up to cook dinner. Before they went up the mountain in the afternoon, Chen Dawei killed a chicken, a duck and a rabbit and asked them to take them with them to eat for the next two days. They were all killed and trimmed.
After walking a few steps forward, she suddenly felt something was wrong. Realizing something, she quickly washed her hands with hot water, went back to her room to find a clean piece of cloth and a sanitary belt, and went into the bathroom.
After a while, she walked out with unsteady steps.
My period has come, but luckily my stomach doesn’t hurt at the moment.
She had been eating greasy meals these past two days, and her period had caused her to have a poor appetite. Considering Han Zhibai and the two kids, she decided to stew a chicken and use chicken broth as the soup base.
It was cooked in a double-flavored pot. She ate the non-spicy half, and the two little ones ate the steamed duck and steamed egg.
Once you think about what to eat, you can get it done quickly. Stew the chicken in the pot and pick some vegetables and wash them.
After more than half an hour, dinner was ready.
Han Zhibai, who was busy outside, came back, washed his hands and came to the dining table in the main hall. Before he sat down, he saw that Xia Qingyue's face was a little pale, and asked, "Is she here?"
She nodded, holding a bowl of steaming chicken soup that had been skimmed of fat, and sipping it.
After drinking two bowls in a row, her face became rosy. "I feel much better."
"Come, have some more meat and vegetables." He used a wooden spoon to scoop the stewed chicken legs and blanched cabbage leaves and radish slices into her bowl.
She ate the cabbage and radish first, and nodded with satisfaction, "Vegetables that have been frosted are delicious and sweet."
"Also, eat while it's boiling." He put some radish and cabbage into the clear soup.
After dinner, Han Zhibai fetched some hot water and brought it into the bathroom, asking her to wash up and then go back to her room to rest.
When Han Zhibai finished everything and returned to the room, Xia Qingyue was lying on the bed and fell asleep. Her sleeping face was peaceful and had a soft beauty.
He reached his hand under the quilt and felt around. The hot water bottle placed between her waist and legs was still warm to the touch.
He went to bed and blew out the oil lamp. The room fell into darkness. He turned sideways towards her and gently massaged her abdomen with his warm big palm.
After pressing for a while, she let out a few intermittent hums and said in a dreamy voice, "It feels so good!"
Han Zhibai raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
He didn't know how long he massaged her, but when he heard her breathing become heavier, he gently withdrew his hand and lay down to sleep.
In the second half of the night, Xia Qingyue was sleeping in a daze. She felt someone turned over the quilt, and then some warm things were stuffed beside her. Her body was surrounded by warmth, and she fell into a deep sleep in comfort.
When she woke up, she moved her body. She could feel the hot water bottle was still hot through the fabric of her underwear. She raised herself up slightly under the quilt and saw that it was getting a little brighter outside the window.
The winter sun came out later than usual, and she estimated that it was probably around the end of the noon hour.
It was time for her period to change, and she was afraid of leaking onto the bed, so she didn't hesitate and took a deep breath.
"Wow, wow, wow, why is it so cold today!"
She was trembling all over and put on her down clothes as quickly as possible, then put on her cloak and wrapped herself tightly.
Even so, I still felt cold and shivered uncontrollably. My upper and lower teeth kept chattering, and wisps of white steam came out of my mouth and nose and floated up.
On the way to the bathroom, she didn't see Han Zhibai, so she guessed he had gone somewhere outside.
After changing her menstrual belt and washing up in the bathroom, she happened to meet Han Zhibai who came in from the small side door of the kitchen.
"You must be hungry. I've prepared breakfast. Change and go back to your room and wait. I'll bring breakfast in."
She crossed her arms, "Well, why do I feel like it's even colder today."
"It's colder on the mountain than at the foot of the mountain. The trees on the opposite mountain are covered with a layer of snow, and the vegetables in the fields are covered with a layer of ice. I estimate that it will snow here in the second half of tonight. Hurry, go back to your room." He urged nervously.
Xia Qingyue obeyed obediently, went back to her room quickly and lay down on the bed.
After a while, Han Zhibai brought a steaming, fragrant breakfast.
She held the small bowl and scooped up the red dates and brown sugar dumplings with a wooden spoon. After taking a bite, her lips and teeth were filled with sweetness. "What were you busy doing outside just now?"
"I went to the hive to tidy up and keep the room dry. The weather is getting colder and the bees are huddled together to sleep for the winter."
"Oh, I forgot last night. We were out for two days. How are the poultry at home?"
"Several small and weak chickens and rabbits died."
"Ah?" She felt a little sad. Before leaving two days ago, they had covered the pen with fur, reed quilts and old clothes.
"I'll go to the circle later to build the heating pole you mentioned earlier. Don't worry, it will be quick. Once it's built today, it can be used tomorrow."
He was talking about the pillar-like heater built with earthen bricks in the poultry house when Xia Qingyue was in the tiankeng last winter, which was used to store hot charcoal.
Some time ago, they went out to collect firewood and came back to make charcoal. They also made some earthen bricks and stacked them in the corner under the eaves.
She reminded him, "When you use it tomorrow, remember to wrap it with old, thick, heat-insulating clothes on the outside to avoid scalding the poultry."
"it is good."
After breakfast, she felt pretty good. She used a hot water bottle to relieve the pain in her stomach and sat back to read a book.
Han Zhibai went to work.
Just as he said, in the second half of that night, light snow like white feathers fell from the dark sky.
It was still snowing until morning, and the falling snow covered the ground, the houses, and everything outside with a silver coat, pure and holy.
It's getting colder and colder. Xia Qingyue caught a cold during her period last month. She remembers it clearly and doesn't dare to joke with her body. During the seven days of her period this month, she stayed well behaved and didn't go out.
At the beginning of January, the snow was still falling, and it was getting heavier. Xia Qingyue, who had just finished her period, regained her energy.
That morning, after noon, she woke up and wore a down coat inside and a cloak outside, which was light, convenient and warm.
After washing and having breakfast, she put on her bamboo hat, picked up a shovel from among the many farm tools, and ran out of the main door to shovel the snow.
In the past few days, Han Zhibai was alone outside shoveling snow every morning. It snowed all day long, and the snow piled up on the roof and fell along the eaves to the front door and the yard. The snow was piled so thick that it had to be shoveled twice a day.
At this time, Han Zhibai was standing on the roof of the kitchen sweeping the snow with a big broom. The snow was falling down, and the small side door of the kitchen and the door of the poultry room nearby were closed.
In a few breaths, the snow piled up there was as high as a person's waist.
Only after cleaning the roof could the snow under the eaves be shoveled, so Xia Qingyue took the shovel and went to the outside of the front yard to shovel. After shoveling a few times, she became playful.