It was already the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, and Han Qiaoer was sitting on the swing in Qingfu County, looking at the branches on the tree, not knowing what he was looking at.
"Aren't you afraid of the cold?" Gao Mingyue came over and sat down on another swing.
Han Qiaoer turned her head and said matter-of-factly: "I am from the north, so of course I am not afraid of the cold... However, I have been in the south since I was born, and I have never seen the heavy snow that my parents mentioned."
"I have never seen heavy snowfall, only the Cangshan Mountains covered with snow." Gao Mingyue whispered: "Thousands of mountains are covered with snow, and only the shadows go to whom."
"Does Sister Gao also miss Brother Li?"
"He should be back soon."
Li Xia originally said he would come back in November, but now that it is December, they can't help but worry...
Han Qiaoer thought for a while and asked, "Will you get married when you come back? I heard from Mrs. Li that the wedding has been prepared."
"Well..." Gao Mingyue lowered her head.
"Sister Gao, do you think Mrs. Li looks at you strangely?"
"Um?"
Han Qiaoer propped up her chin with her fingers, but she couldn't say anything...
The next moment, I heard shouts from the front office.
"Brother Li is back!" Han Qiaoer cheered, stood up, pulled Gao Mingyue and ran away.
When I arrived at the small door in the front yard, I saw a figure turning in.
"Brother Li..."
Han Qiaoer just wanted to rush in, but when she saw Li Xia holding a small thing in her arms, her eyes widened.
"Ah...what is this?"
Li Xia's body was extremely dirty, his face was covered with dust, his hair was clumps of mud and water, and the corners of his trousers and boots were also stuck in mud and water.
"Riding a horse is not much faster than taking a boat. If I had known better, I would have better come back by boat... Oh, this is a bamboo bear. I picked it up on the road. There was a war in the mountains and forests to the east. The little guy was all alone, so I brought it back. It has already
After weaning, you can eat some tender bamboo..."
Gao Mingyue looked at Li Xia for a while, and then looked at the little bamboo bear in his arms.
There was so much to say, and she was much more lively than usual.
"I asked someone to boil hot water. Come and wash up. Are you caught in the rain? Don't be sick...ah, it's so cute. Where can you find young bamboo? By the way, there's some fighting in the east. The imperial court wants to conquer the Bo people.
, but several small tribes have rebelled, and the Changning Army is encircling and suppressing..."
"Don't be in a hurry. Slow down. Qiao'er, please find a warm place to place it. Has Mr. Yang arrived? I took a detour to Ezhou. They won't be too late than me."
"We haven't arrived yet, but Jiang Fan has already returned. Did Mr. Han tell you? Is Mr. Yang coming? Then send someone to pick him up on the road every day. Are your legs and feet injured?"
"Jiang Fan is so fast? That's right. He left Hanzhong. I can arrange for someone to pick up Mr. Yang, and there will be officials to lead him. His legs are fine. He is a horse rider. His riding skills will be much better this time. By the way,
This is for you..."
"Brother Li, what is this?"
"I got some useful items from a wealthy family..."
Reunited after a long absence, the three of them answered several questions in one sentence and kept talking for a long time, which seemed lively.
Han Chengxu and others watched in the corridor of the front office for a while, with smiles on their faces. Knowing that Li Xia would not come to discuss matters too soon, they turned and walked towards the public room.
"Let's go, let the magistrate take a break..."
Although everything was not delayed when Li Xia was away, it was only when he came back that they felt they had a backbone.
"Let me tell you, when I withdrew from Kaifeng, the county magistrate said it was done. He was about to cross the Huaihe River. He must be fine."
In the public room, Jiang Fan still looked relieved despite what he said.
Han Qi'an couldn't help but laugh.
Although there are too many things to tell Li Xia, don't be in a hurry and take your time.
He glanced at Jiang Fan's hook and asked, "Jiang Fan, why is there still oil on your hook?"
"Didn't I just send two pieces of bacon to Ruan Po's house? The hooks are on." Jiang Fan said: "Ruan Po is also indispensable for the success of going to the north this time. Without her, how could Yu Dao look like one? help?"
"You have killed so many people with this hook, so hang less food."
"It's been cleaned. It doesn't matter." Jiang Fan laughed.
Because Li Xia came back, he was obviously in a much better mood and said: "Let me tell you something interesting, Mr. Han. I just came back yesterday and took a shower. I put a hook on my hand and wiped it on my buttocks... That's called A bloody one..."
"Only apply it to the buttocks?"
"is not that right?"
"All right."
"Mr. Han, don't believe it?"
Jiang Fan stood up and took off his pants to show Han Qian.
At this moment, the door was pushed open and Yan Yunyun walked in. He saw Jiang Fan pointing his butt at Han Qi'an.
"Yeah, is it all bleeding?"
"ah!"
Jiang Fan was taken aback and hurriedly gathered his clothes, his face turned red.
"You, you, you...why did you come in without knocking...this is...an important place for public housing."
Yan Yunyun usually wears half a black evil ghost mask, but what he rarely wears today is the colorful feather mask, which covers the injured left side of his face and looks quite bright.
She has been in charge of the salt industry for a year, and her temperament has changed greatly from before, becoming less vulgar and more cold.
When Jiang Fan looked at her, his face turned even redder.
"Yes, yes, I was wrong. I disturbed Team Leader Jiang and my brother... I heard that the magistrate is back?"
"The county magistrate has just come back. He won't see us so soon. Is there something wrong?"
"Send the account book here, and bring some new year's goods to father." Yan Yunyun said, glanced at Jiang Fan again, and said with a smile: "You are a tyrant in the county, how can you be so embarrassed? What haven't I seen before?"
"There is no good thing, I, I...I..."
Before Jiang Fan could say anything else, Yan Yunyun turned around and walked out.
"Mr. Han, she..."
Han Qi'an shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter, she won't misunderstand. But in the future, when you do secret things for A Lang, you must not be so fussy again."
"yes."
"You don't need to tell me about things in the north. Report them directly to Alang."
"Don't I know when the county magistrate will come back..."
Han Qian nodded and said nothing more.
As a northerner, he was of course very interested in Li Xia's placement in Kaifeng.
But he knew that the more interested he was, the less he should interfere too much...
In the back office, Li Xia has gone to take a bath.
Gao Mingyue and Han Qiaoer squatted there and looked at the little bamboo bear lying lazily.
The stove was lit in the house, which was not as cold as outside. The quilt on the floor had been rolled and dirty. The little bamboo bear finally found a comfortable position, no longer rolling around, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
"Sister Gao, it's so cute. How can its legs be so short? Are they too short? Can it crawl?"
Gao Mingyue nodded, remembering that he had talked about bamboo bears with Li Xia a few months ago, but he didn't expect that he would still remember... Well, of course, it might be that he happened to see it caught in a war on the road and picked it up.
But she also saw Li Xia hurrying back all the way, and he obviously cared about her in his heart.
He usually doesn't say anything, but she can discover and remember every good thing he does to Gao Mingyue...
After a while, Li Xia came out of the bath and said with a smile: "You don't have to look around here, he is tired too."
"Okay, are you still going to the military camp?"
"There's no rush. Let's go tomorrow. There won't be another war a year ago." Li Xia naturally took Gao Mingyue's hand and said, "It's rare to take a breather."
"Well, I'll dry your hair for you, and you can eat something and take a rest early, okay?"
"Look at these things. They are all from the deputy prime minister of the dynasty." Li Xia obviously talked too much in front of Gao Mingyue and picked up the small package he brought back. "These are small pliers for cutting nails. I see
You and Qiaoer can usually spend a day manicuring your nails..."
"Because we want to be beautiful, others just bite them..."
"This jade amethyst mirror is used to see things. Mr. Han has bad eyesight, so he can use this to read..."
"Wow, this is so awesome? Sister Gao, look..."
"Really? The characters have become bigger."
"This jade amethyst is too expensive, otherwise it could be used as a telescope. I'll go to the workshop to have a look tomorrow..."
These small objects are common to Li Xia, or they are backward things, but they are somewhat novel to the two girls, and each one can be discussed for a long time.
Li Xia didn't feel bored either. He showed them one by one and seemed to find a lot of fun in it.
He has an alienated personality, so it is actually not easy for him to integrate into this era.
Today I discovered that the sense of belonging is not brought about by achievements, but by such boring household gossip.
…
"What is this bag?"
"Shawo bean shreds... try it."
Li Xia took one and gave it to Gao Mingyue to take a bite.
"Um?"
“It tastes a little weird.”
"Because it has to be fried before it tastes good." Li Xia picked up the remaining half and ate it.
Gao Mingyue was a little shy, lowered her head, and said calmly: "You are in a good mood today."