brotherly innocence

The cold wind blew against the window paper, rattling.

Chu Yaonan woke up from the cold in his sleep, turned over and curled up into a ball.Some light seeped through the curtains, but it was impossible to tell whether it was the moonlight or the shadow of the lamp, the white light was dazzling.

He rubbed his eyes and got up, opened the corner of the curtain, and saw that the courtyard was silver and white, and the roof tiles were also shining with silver light. It was snowing, and the ground was thick and soft like cotton wool.

I was inexplicably excited. It is rare to see such a heavy snow in Dingjiang, but when I went to the Northeast, I saw heavy snow in the deep mountains and old forests that did not exceed ankle height, and the vastness of the world was quite spectacular.Now seeing the long-lost heavy snow again, he ignored the cold, got up, put on a cotton robe and ran out of the house to enjoy the snow scene.

Stamped her feet and came outside the house, but saw that the light in the old lady's room was still on, there was a creaking sound of the door opening, and the sound of rustling footsteps.

The eldest brother just came out of the mother's room, and when he saw him, he only ordered: "I woke you up? Go to sleep. It's cold, and my mother's leg disease is getting worse."

The sister-in-law carried a water basin and followed closely behind, saying, "Chunbao'er's father, there are only three briquettes left, let's burn them all in Mother's room."

"In the middle of the night, I don't want to disturb the neighbors. Tomorrow morning, I will go to Aunt Li's next door to borrow two yuan." The sister-in-law said, pouring the water in the basin into the corner of the courtyard.

"Tonight, you will take Chun Bao'er to sleep on your mother's kang first, and take care of your mother at the same time. My younger brother will sleep with me, put on a few more quilts, and keep warm together." Zhuo Mingtao made arrangements, his voice was low, but he didn't care at all. I don't feel embarrassed.

"Wait for me to advance next month's salary with the principal for emergency."

"I have paid in advance for a month, but can I give you more?" The sister-in-law asked worriedly, casually probing, "The Chairman Jiang who came that day seemed to be quite honest, but he was doing newspaper business in the Northeast, you... "

Zhuo Mingtao's eyes suddenly became icy cold, and the original heat was suddenly extinguished by a few words, and he glared at his wife fiercely.

The sister-in-law swallowed her words back, and only choked up and said: "What about the enemy-occupied areas? It is always China's territory, and the people always have to eat and dress to live. Is it possible that the Chinese in the three eastern provinces will not be able to live? Stay in the three eastern provinces." Those who refuse to escape are all traitors and traitors?"

Zhuo Mingtao said with a gloomy face: "I have my own reason. There will always be a way. If I can't raise money tomorrow, why don't I take my Duan inkstone to Liulichang and sell it, and give some money to my mother first. Treat it."

This family is struggling.Chu Yaonan is determined, tomorrow morning, he must find ways to raise money, otherwise how will he live on like this?

"Brother and sister-in-law, my younger brother has a few good friends, why don't I borrow some tomorrow to make money and pay them back later." Chu Yaonan said, his words were a little vague, he did have friends, but if he came forward, he might be exposed Whereabouts, the old man is going to arrest him and return to Dingjiang to break his leg.

"Go back to your room and go to sleep! You don't need to worry about this matter!" The eldest brother said angrily.

The sister-in-law tugged at his sleeve, signaling him not to say any more.

Zhuo Mingtao took a deep breath, turned around depressed and went back to his room.

"Sister-in-law!" Chu Yaonan touched his sleeves, there were still a few coins, and he handed them to his sister-in-law while his elder brother was away, "I won the trap at the Tianqiao today, that's all, let's buy some briquettes."

Seeing Chu Yaonan hopped his feet and rubbed his ears to keep warm, his big eyes looked at his elder brother's back in confusion, he kept sucking his nose from the cold, curled his mouth full of complaints, and his sister-in-law said distressedly: "Your elder brother has this temper, as if he was in a previous life. There is a grudge against money."

"Ms. Chunbao, have you burned out all the briquettes at home?" Aunt Li from the other side of the courtyard came over wearing a coat, and without greeting, she carried a basket with some firewood and a few pieces of briquettes, and she was so moved that she fell down. Tears come.

"It's not easy to go out, and distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors." Aunt Li said, the warm and sincere words warmed people's hearts, and the briquettes were not burned, but they didn't feel cold.

"The wars and chaos are all caused by the goddamn little Japan. They are all fleeing. It is right to help each other."

A basket of precious briquettes made Chu Yaonan feel sad. Once upon a time, even the briquettes were held in his hands as Wujin, but he had never paid attention to the golden briquettes in the past 20 years, but he came here by himself It is helpless to think about this poverty.

He helped his sister-in-law carry a bamboo basket to the kitchen to make a fire, the choking smell made Chu Yaonan cough continuously.

There was a fire here, and he squatted beside the hearth, feeling the warmth.

"Brother, your sister-in-law has accepted your kindness, but your eldest brother is absolutely not allowed to borrow money. If he is willing to ask, how can he be in this situation today? Thinking back to the old days when the Shen family was rich, the family was also thrifty. His savings were not enough to spend, so they were blown up. On the second day after the house was blown up, someone from a foreign firm admired his fame and invited him to work in a foreign firm to earn a lot of money. He refused, saying that it was the foreign firm and the Japanese. People are related, don't eat the food that comes from you."

Chu Yaonan's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered the news Keiko revealed, as if the Japanese wanted his elder brother to do something, but his elder brother refused.

It is rare for a person who has nothing and suffers from hunger and cold to be so stubborn.

The country was destroyed, the family was destroyed, how many compatriots went bankrupt overnight, and the house was blown to nothing.How many people are as stubborn as big brother?

"That's all the things that can be found in the ruins. That inkstone is something that my father-in-law used to have. I will keep it in my mind." Sister-in-law choked up.

Chu Yaonan said: "Sister-in-law, why don't you let me sell that inkstone. I know a shopkeeper in Liulichang. Maybe it can be sold at a good price."

Chu Yaonan carried a jackal fur mattress to the eldest brother's room, and got into his eldest brother's bed.

Although the quilt was cold, there was warmth from the elder brother's body.

The eldest brother pressed the cold and heavy quilt he carried on his body.

The quilt was narrow, and the elder brother tucked in the corners of the quilt for him, and he snuggled up behind his elder brother and began to take off his underwear.

The eldest brother frowned at him, his face full of doubts.

Under Chu Yaonan's body was the warm jackal mattress, and he took off his clothes naked like a fish and got into the blanket and said, "It's a habit I've developed since I was a child, and I won't be able to sleep well if I put on the burden."

"Sleep!" said the elder brother, turning over on his side, pulling the slightly narrow quilt, he felt a burst of cold air and sneezed.

"Is it cold?" The eldest brother hurriedly covered him with his quilt, which was exposed in the wind.

He turned over and got close to the elder brother's back, and pressed his face to the elder brother's back. He felt that the elder brother's body was stiff, and he suddenly felt very funny.

The eldest brother didn't move, so he hugged his body. His spine was straight and hard, but his body was warm.

He broke the silence and said: "Brother, let's find a job for the younger brother. It's not good to be idle at home. If you spread it out, people will laugh at you." After a moment of silence, the eldest brother patted the back of his hand and said, "I think your article still has some skills. , Why don't you talk to the principal tomorrow and go teach."

As if all the business people in the world were low-class, Chu Yaonan was dissatisfied and swallowed deeply.

Seeing that he was silent, the eldest brother asked, "Why, don't you want to?"

"When will the money be able to treat my mother?" He muttered and complained.

The elder brother turned over and faced him, because of the tight distance, his eyes were deep and bright, and he said solemnly: "Little brother, maybe you have some business skills, but you are young, and the elder brother is afraid that once you enter the business world, you will not be able to control it. Going astray. The world is difficult, but people must always have their own integrity, so, elder brother would rather stay in poverty than make mistakes, and you will not be able to explain to your father in the future."

Chu Yaonan looked at that gaze, awe-inspiring but aggressive, without the polite and weak in the daytime.

He let out a helpless snort and said, "My younger brother understands that a gentleman is always poor and won't bend his waist for five buckets of rice. If elder brother doesn't like it, younger brother will arrange it according to elder brother."

I was still unhappy, but secretly hated this person for being so pedantic.Isn't this slapping a swollen face to pretend to be fat?Living a life of poverty, sick and no money for medical treatment, and the whole family suffers from hunger and cold, and they are not allowed to borrow money or make money. Are they waiting to die?He took a deep breath and turned around, but he heard his elder brother shout: "Aren't you convinced?"

"No, dare not!" He was so frightened that he trembled, as if the cold air had penetrated into the bed and hit his bones.I also scolded myself in my heart, why are you afraid of him?It would be fine if daddy was frightening when he got angry.

"Little brother, the river ditch in the elder brother's house is shallow, and it may not be able to accommodate a dragon like you. But to enter this gate, you must follow the rules here."

He reluctantly "hmm", the elder brother tucked the quilt for him, but tentatively reached out to wrap his arms around his waist like him, and fell asleep.

When I woke up, my eldest brother was gone.Chu Yaonan opened his eyes, and heard the sound of his elder brother sniffling, coughing uncontrollably.

Across the curtain, the sister-in-law complained: "Why is your head so hot, don't go to school. How can such a big person not be covered with a quilt?"

Chu Yaonan turned over, only to find that most of the quilt was pressed under his body, and the eldest brother was afraid that he didn't sleep well all night and was frozen.He didn't sleep well, and his mother would tuck the corner of the quilt for him at night, lest he get cold.

"It's okay, I have to pay for coal when I go to school," said the elder brother.

Get up and eat porridge, you can see the bottom.

The moaning of the old lady in the main room became more intense, and Chun Baoer's crying: "Mother, I'm hungry, hungry, I want to eat sesame biscuits."

He thought that he couldn't sit still, so he rushed into the main room to greet Chun Bao'er and said, "Chun Bao'er, come here, my uncle can make you not hungry. My uncle can shoot birds, so I will take you to catch sparrows and roast them."

Chun Baoer's eyes lit up, as if seeing the delicious barbecue, she immediately stopped crying.

The branch of the Blue Gang in Beiping is located next to the Baita Temple. The two uncles and nephews looked for it, but they only looked at it from a distance, and Chu Yaonan hesitated.

But a few months ago, he came to Beiping, and the grand scene was magnificent, to welcome him, the young master of the blue gang.But now, what is the price of taking this step?Old Song came out of the door, wearing a top hat and jokingly joking with the brother next to him, Chu Yaonan felt a pang in his heart, gritted his teeth and left.

At Sanhe Co., Ltd., the Japanese are seeing off customers at the door, and the nodding and bowing "Hai Ha Yi" seems to have their heads stuck on the ground.

Chun Baoer picked up the small stone and was about to chop it off, scolding fiercely: "Little Japan, you have no good intentions, and blew up our house."

Chu Yaonan hurriedly stopped him, thinking, even if he found Keiko, so what?Japanese money, even though Keiko is a businessman who sympathizes with China's suffering and hates militarism, is Japanese money after all.Thinking of this, I had to give up.

It is not far from the White Pagoda Temple to Hu Ziqing's residence in the old prince's mansion. The majestic courtyard is still the same, but Young Marshal Hu has moved away from this place long ago.He hesitated at the door, Chun Baoer asked: "Little uncle, where should we go to play mahjong, Chun Baoer can't walk anymore."

The two uncles and nephews sat on the steps by the side of the road, the snow was still falling, and it was scattered.

Chun Bao'er said: "Give the sparrow to grandma first. After grandma eats it, the leg pain will stop."

His hand touched the big brother's precious Duanyan in his arms, thinking that it was still a long way to Liulichang, when he looked up, he saw a gambling game, he was secretly happy, there was a way to get money.

...