Chapter 3 Borrowing Paper and Pen

After finishing the leftover wild vegetables from last night, I made a wild vegetable soup as usual. Looking at the hard-to-swallow food, I was about to explode with anger.

You see, no matter how full you are from eating this stuff, a few trips to the bathroom can solve it. The more greens you eat, the more anxious and powerless you feel.

After finishing the meal with a scratchy throat, washing the bowl, and pushing the remaining firewood into the stove, I instructed the two people on the kang, "I'll have to go up the mountain to chop firewood later, I might come back late. If you get hungry, there's still some vegetables in the pot, you can serve yourself when the time comes."

"Okay!"

Yan Qing and Xi Chun obediently nodded.

With a knife in hand, a hoe on my shoulder, a basket in hand, and a grass rope tied around my waist, I set off towards the thick snow-covered mountain.

Liu returned quickly to the bright courtyard of their five-room house at the east end of the village. Her husband, Tong Baichuan, the village head, was lying on the kang, holding a small wine cup in one hand and tapping his knee, singing a little tune, enjoying this leisurely day with his eyes closed.

Liu quickly sat down at the head of the table, peeled a few peanuts and put them in front of him, muttering softly, "Why do I feel like our second daughter from the An family has changed so much?"

"How so?"

Tong Baichuan slowly opened his eyes, and Liu shook her head, "Didn't I ask Xi Chun to go to Master Chen's house in town today? But when she went, that girl, An Qiu, said a lot of things. Not only did she know how to talk back to me, she also said things that made me unable to get angry. She used to hide when she saw people, and didn't dare to say much. She's only been gone for a few days, and she's changed like this?"

Tong Baichuan pondered, put a peanut in his mouth, and grunted, "Probably because the eldest daughter died, it's a bit of a shock! Since she's back, don't bother with her, let them fend for themselves!"

"I just want to solve the problem."

She muttered, and Tong Baichuan frowned disapprovingly, "Enough, don't meddle. After all, she's also a member of the An family. If the second daughter didn't say anything, why are you making a fuss? What will the villagers think of us if you keep doing this? We have to maintain our reputation now!"

Liu was speechless, but nodded in understanding.

An Qiu put the black ice-crusted wild vegetables she had dug into the basket, looked at the sky!

Oh, it's getting cloudy again, it looks like there's going to be another heavy snowfall. You see, their house is leaking from all sides, so when it snows, the temperature drops several degrees.

Sighing, she picked up the snow shovel again, hoisted the hoe, and dragged the neatly tied firewood down the mountain path.

Panting, she reached the foot of the mountain, and just as she caught her breath, a clear voice came, "An Qiu!"

Looking up, she saw a boy of fourteen or fifteen standing not far away, with fair skin, handsome features, and a slender figure, giving off an air of elegance.

An Qiu went through her mind and then smiled, "Runsheng, how did you come here?"

His bright eyes turned serious when he looked at her, "I heard about your elder sister when I was at school."

"Oh!" She nodded and prepared to go home with the firewood in her hands.

He took a step forward, wanting to help her, but she dodged past him, "I can do it myself, it's not good to be seen by others."

Lin Runsheng didn't say anything, pursed his lips, and when she walked two meters away, he couldn't help but ask, "Does your family have any grain left?"

An Qiu turned around, seeing the pity in his eyes, "I have a few coins left from buying a pen at school, you can take it to buy some cornmeal, don't just eat these frozen wild vegetables, it's not enough to fill you up."

An Qiu smiled faintly, about to decline, but then remembered something and asked him seriously, "Runsheng, can you lend me a pen and a piece of paper?"

Lin Runsheng was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, "Sure."

"Do you have any large sheets of paper?"

"Yes."

"Okay, please lend me one."

Seeing him wave his hand, "It's nothing." An Qiu then nodded politely to him, "Thank you, I'll be going back now!"

With that, she didn't look back and dragged the firewood, striding towards the almost collapsing courtyard.

Lin Runsheng stood still, thinking that he had intended to lend her money...