Love in Winter (1)

  Love in Winter (1)

  In the mountain village, a fine and hazy rain fell. As the rain drifted, ice strips hung from the leaves and branches, and the sky grew even colder.

  Several days of light rain, all the splendor has fallen. Most people in the village hid in their own homes burning charcoal.

  The people in the village were feeling depressed when a sudden snowfall came. Then, the long-lost sun broke through the clouds and showed its smiling face.

  People in the village also started to walk out of their homes, basking in the warm winter sun.

  "What great weather! Before we know it, the New Year will be here. I hope this weather lasts a bit longer." Everyone couldn't think of anything new to talk about for a while, so they started discussing the weather.

  "Look! A man in uniform is coming!"

  "Zheng Zhi, son of Village King!"

  "Zheng Zhi!"

  "Fellow villagers! It's me!" A young man in military uniform ran towards the crowd.

  "Chief Wang! Xue Er! Your son is back!" Several people shouted towards Chief Wang's house.

  "This little scoundrel, always making me surprised like this! Coming back to visit relatives without even calling ahead!" Village King shouted as he walked out the door, with Xue Er following behind him.

  "Dad! Mom! I'm back!"

  "Zheng Zhi! Mom wants to kill you!" Xue Er said as she rushed towards her son.

  "Listen! Xue Er's voice! Xue Er's voice is crisp again!"

  "Exciting! The exciting sound has been restored!" Xue Er said as she ran straight towards Zheng.

  "Mom!"

  "Son!"

  Zheng Zhi dropped his backpack and stretched out his hands to hug Xue Er, who flung herself into his arms, her head on his shoulder: "Mom is going to die."

  "Mom, I miss you too!"

  Xue'er wiped away her tears on Zheng Zhi's shoulder, lifted up her head and held Zheng Zhi's head in both hands: "Let mom take a look, have you lost weight?"

  "Go back, go back and take a good look!" said Village King.

  Xue'er let go of Zheng Zhi and picked up her backpack. Zheng Zhi looked at Chief Wang: "Dad! You're still so spirited!"

  Zhai Wang punched Zheng Zhi's left arm: "You little guy has gotten more solid!"

  Three people laughed and returned home.

  After a burst of laughter and chatter, Xue Er said: "I've cooked! Zheng Zhi, Xiao Li is back, staying at the village committee, go call her to eat. Today at noon, everyone will have a few drinks!"

  "Xiao Li is back? Living in the village committee? Didn't she come back with her husband?"

  "Don't mention this to her. What man? The one who took her away was a human trafficker, he sold her to a poor mountain village in Guizhou, she escaped and came back. Go!" Xue Er said.

  "Oh! So that's it!" Zheng Zhi muttered as he walked out the door.

  "By the way, before you go call Xiaoli, first go take a look at Grandpa and Grandma, tell them to come over for lunch, don't cook again by themselves," said Village King.

  "Got it." Zheng Zhi's voice was loud and clear.

  "This kid's throat is still so big!" Zheng Shuang muttered.

  "Zheng Shuang, today you have to help me out a bit," Xue Er said.

  "Alright! I'll slaughter the chicken and duck! You go prepare the cured meat first."

  Zheng Zhi arrived at the King of Village Wang's home, and Village Wang and his wife were overjoyed. Especially Zheng Zhi's grandmother, who carefully examined him from all sides for a good while.

  Zheng Zhi bid farewell to his grandfather and grandmother, then came to the village committee, seeing that the door was closed, he shouted loudly: "Xiao Li! Is Xiao Li at home?"

  "Who's there?" The door opened.

  The two people looked at each other face to face, and for a moment neither of them spoke.

  Xiao Li saw a young village chief! No, he was more handsome than the village chief and had more masculine charm!

  Zheng Zhi saw a beautiful woman wearing a pink cotton-padded jacket on top and blue pants on the bottom. The woman's face was white with a hint of red, her big eyes were shining brightly, her neck was white and tender, her chest was upright, and her legs were long and slender.

  "Xiao Li?"

  "Zheng Zhi!"

  Xiao Li ran over, Zheng Zhi opened his arms and hugged her: "You're even more beautiful than before!"

  "Look who's talking! Alright, let me go!"

  "Too excited! Sorry!" Zheng Zhi said, releasing Xiaoli.

  "Come on in and take a seat."

  Zheng walked straight in.

  "You're here to invite me out for dinner, right? Come on, sit down first, I'll get you some tea." Little Li said with a smile.

  "How did you know?"

  "You just came back, Xue Er Jie must have prepared something delicious for you. Usually when there's something good to eat, you invite me. Now that you're back, aren't you going to invite me?" Little Li smiled.

  "Please, please!" Zheng Zhi saw Xiaoli's smile was not only warm but also charming.

  Xiao Li sat down directly across from Zheng.

  "Xiao Li, why are you calling me 'A Ma' and your sister? You should be calling her 'Auntie'."

  "You! Think you can be on an equal footing with me? No way! I'm now your aunt!" Little Li said, patting Zheng Zhi's hand.

  "Don't call me. I'll call you Little Li."

  "No respect for elders or youngsters!"

  "Originally I called you Little Li, you let me call you Little Li Jie! Now you also let me call you Auntie! In the future, are you going to let me call you Grandma?" Zheng Shuang said, looking at Little Li.

  "How come you're still so immature? You started learning about romance before you were even 18. And what's more, you're chasing after someone who is several years older than you! Haven't you heard that it's better for the man to be ten years older, but not the woman?" Little Li laughed.

  "Nonsense! Others would say, 'A girl is a golden doll, and a boy is a bronze one!'"

  "Wow, you've even learned to say that!"

  "At that time, I was too young. You would say that I'm just a kid! In fact, I was almost as tall as an adult already! Later on, you actually got so angry with me that I went to join the army!" Zheng Zhi said, recalling past events.

  "Zheng Zhi, it's absolutely impossible! Who in the village has a wife older than their husband? Ah, now there is one, Er Gou is older than Cui Hua. But that's because they had no choice!" said Xiao Li.

  "What? Second Brother has taken Cuihua as his wife? What about Eldest Brother?"

  "Da Ge was blasting rocks when he met a mute girl, and she died in an explosion! Your father wanted to keep their family together, so he arranged for Er Ge to marry his sister-in-law."

  "Oh. This transfer marriage is still pretty good. Otherwise, that family might really disperse."

  "You've grown up so much! You even know about pre-marital cohabitation?"

  "Right? I'm not a little kid anymore! I can date you now!"

  "Don't talk nonsense! I'm of the same generation as your mother! If you and I were to get together, wouldn't that be a joke?"

  "I was originally chasing you! You took me as a child and scolded me for relying on my father and being a village official to bully you! In fact, I was sincere at that time!" Zheng Zhi looked into Xiaoli's eyes and said bluntly.

  "Zheng Zhi, you can't say that again. People will really laugh at you. Alright! Let's go, to your home!" Little Li stood up.

  "I won't say it then!" Zheng stood up abruptly and walked out of the door.

  Xiao Li bumped Zheng Zhi with her elbow after going out: "Well-behaved nephew, don't be childish anymore! We're all soldiers now!"

  "Who is your nephew? I'm taller than you! Heavier than you! You're just a few years older than me, aren't you?"

  "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Tell me about your experiences in the army, it must be very interesting!" Xiaoli said with a smile.

  "What's fresh about that! It's all singles facing singles. There are a few women, also secretly dating the sons of officials in private. In the army, you're not allowed to talk about romance until you reach a certain rank."

  "If you're right, then didn't you just capture a female soldier as a prisoner?" Little Li smiled.

  "I didn't have that intention at all! Although I went to join the army, I was thinking of you! If you hadn't run off with another man back then, I wouldn't have joined the army!" Zheng Zhi said this and suddenly realized he had misspoken. When he left home, his mother had reminded him about it too! He quickly shut up.

  "Don't mention what happened when you were a kid! What's that? It was just a childish game! And it was a game you played by yourself!" Xiaoli's tone became serious.