round spring

The cold winter, in the birch forest in spring, on Brother Chun's shoulders, came to an end.

——An Yuan's Diary

Grandma came early in the morning and knocked on the door of the two children's house, "Dachun, Xiao Yuan'er got up, got up to post New Year pictures and Spring Festival couplets, and eat dumplings after posting."

Shen Xingchun and An Yuan got up from the bed, and quickly put on the new clothes they bought before. After washing, Shen Xingchun took An Yuan to find the New Year pictures and Spring Festival couplets that they bought when they went to the town to buy New Year's goods from the side room.

An Yuan held a roll of New Year pictures in his hand, and he picked out two New Year pictures, one was a big fat doll riding a carp and wearing a bellyband, the other was a big fat doll sitting on a lotus seat.

The reason why he chose two big fat dolls for New Year pictures is very simple, because the faces of fat dolls are rounder than his.

In contrast, his face looked much more delicate.

This is where the loveliness of children lies, their pure persistence is always revealed at those inadvertent nodes.

Grandma has already boiled a pot of paste for pasting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures.

It was too cold outside, so Shen Xingchun and An Yuan first posted the New Year pictures inside the houses, one for each house, one for grandparents' house, one for their house, and pasted the word "Fu" on several doors. "Look up and see joy".

After posting inside and outside the house, Shen Xingchun covered the paste basin with a thick layer of mats, and then took An Yuan out to paste the Spring Festival couplets on the gate.

An Yuan had already found the upper and lower couplets, one in each hand, and trotted behind Shen Xingchun.

It's still not bright outside, and in the farthest distance, the continuous mountain shadows stand in the blue-gray sky.

A few dogs barked elsewhere in the village, and Rhubarb also barked twice. Xiao Hua followed them at first, but stopped following them when they went out, and nestled back to take a nap by the stove.

The snow in the yard hadn't been cleared yet, and the snow covered An Yuan's feet. The two ran to the gate quickly and stomped their feet.

"It's really cold." Shen Xingchun held the paste basin in one hand, and brushed the sides of the gate a few times with a brush in the other hand, reaching out to Anyuan, "Xiaoyuaner, give me the couplet."

An Yuan handed him the Spring Festival couplets in his right hand, and Shen Xingchun moved quickly, and finished posting the upper and lower couplets and horizontal comments in a short while.

After pasting, Shen Xingchun stood behind An Yuan, put his hands on his shoulders, and both of them looked up at the newly pasted Spring Festival couplets together.

An Yuan read it again, "A lot of money, a lot of blessings, a lot of peace, a new year, a new scene and a new atmosphere. The horizontal batch is the renewal of Vientiane. Brother, we posted it very well."

"It's very upright." Shen Xingchun said.

A gust of wind blew over, and An Yuan's nose was filled with bone-deep cold air into his lungs. He took a breath, turned his head and nestled on Shen Xingchun's shoulder, buried his face in his chest, and stretched his hands into Shen Xingchun's pockets.

After the gust of wind blew, he turned around and pointed to the red lanterns on both sides of the gate, and said, "There is a layer of snow hanging on the red lanterns, but the wind has not blown them off. I want to pat off the snowflakes on them."

As he said, he walked to the gate, raised his hands and jumped several times, but he still couldn't reach the fringe of the lantern below, and the snow on the lantern was still there.

He turned around and asked Shen Xingchun for help: "Brother, I can't reach it, you can do it."

Shen Xingchun put down the paste basin in his hand, rubbed his hands, bent down and hugged Anyuan's calf, and lifted him up, "Can we get there now?"

An Yuan raised his hand, and this time he easily grabbed the lantern fringe. He shook his wrist a few times, and the snowflakes on the top of the lantern fluttered down.

An Yuan didn't have time to close his eyes when the snow sprayed his face.

Shen Xingchun didn't get any better, his face and neck were covered with a layer of snow, so cold that he kept "hissing" air-conditioning, he hugged An Yuan and took a few steps back, "You don't want to tell me in advance, I'd like to run with you in my arms."

An Yuan lowered his head, wiped the snow on Shen Xingchun's face with his hands, and giggled a few times, "There is one more, I will tell you the next one in advance."

"I can do it, you come down, I'll do it." Shen Xingchun said.

An Yuan twisted her waist a few times, and said dissatisfiedly: "I won't come down, I'll do it, brother, you carry me over there."

Shen Xingchun hugged him and walked under another red lantern. This time, An Yuan started counting ahead of time, "Brother, I will count to three, and when I count to one, you run away."

Shen Xingchun nodded and urged: "Hurry up, hurry up, I'm freezing to death."

"Three, two, one," An Yuan counted to one and shook vigorously, "Brother, run."

Shen Xingchun hugged An Yuan, and was frightened by his scream "Run", and ran far away, as if they were not shaking the snow on the lantern, but lighting a bomb.

He put An Yuan on the ground, this time the two escaped the falling snow, An Yuan touched his neck, looked at the red lanterns fluttering in the wind and laughed silently, "It's Chinese New Year."

Shen Xingchun picked up the paste basin on the ground, took An Yuan's hand and turned around, "It's Chinese New Year, let's go, go back and eat dumplings."

……

Three months later, An Yuan started to go to school. Although there was a primary school in the village, Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen still sent him to the school in the town.

An Yuan's new school is very close to Shen Xingchun's high school, only a 10-minute walk away.

Since Shen Xingchun entered high school, Grandma Shen has rented a house near his school. She will go to the town to accompany him to study before and after the busy season. An Yuan doesn't need to make more arrangements. Except for completing the transfer procedures, there is no change from when he was in the village. Still with Shen Xingchun.

An Guoqing's case came to a verdict in early April, almost as expected, six years and eight months.

An Yuan calculated the time, he was 19 years old that year, he should be in his freshman year.

As soon as she could visit, An Yuan followed Shen Xingchun to the prison.

An Guoqing lost a lot of weight, and sat inside wearing a blue prison uniform. His unshaven beard made him look much older, and a few obvious white hairs grew around his ears.

An Yuan held the phone, crying distressedly and calling her father, "Dad, why are you so thin, Dad, Xiao Yuan misses you so much."

Although An Yuan already knew the verdict, he still asked weakly: "Father, when will you come back, Xiao Yuan misses you so much, Xiao Yuan misses you even in his dreams."

Hearing his son's cry, An Guoqing lowered his head, wiped his eyes hard twice, held back his tears, raised his head, forced a few smiles at An Yuan, and coaxed him in a low voice.

"Xiao Yuan'er doesn't cry, dad is fine, he's used to it now, you have to be obedient, obedient, you know? Don't cry, it won't look good if you cry any more, your face will be stained."

An Yuan wiped his tears with his sleeve, while Shen Xingchun took out a tissue and wiped his face.

"Father, Xiao Yuan'er won't cry, you don't have to worry about me, grandpa, grandma, and brother are very kind to me, you have to take care of yourself, Xiao Yuan'er is waiting for you."

"Hey, Xiaoyuan'er is the best, and you don't have to worry about Dad."

……

An Guoqing's eyes were deeply red, and his throat seemed to be choked with a thousand catty stones. He had been worried about Xiao Yuan'er for so long, but now that he was fine, he felt relieved a little.

The visiting time was only 10 minutes, An Guoqing talked to An Yuan for 10 minutes, and asked An Yuan to pass the microphone to Shen Xingchun who was on the side.

An Guoqing didn't know what else to say, he was only grateful, he could tell at a glance that Xiao Yuan'er was taken care of well in Shen's house, and he just thanked Shen Xingchun all the time: "Dachun, grandpa wrote me The first letter arrived in my hands at the end of the year, thank you, and also thank grandpa and grandma for me, An Yuan is still the same as before, seems to be a little fatter, really, thank you."

Shen Xingchun knew that An Yuan was the only thing An Guo Day cared about, he said: "Uncle An, you don't have to worry about Xiao Yuan, we will take good care of him, our school is not far from here, I will often bring An Yuan here in the future."

An Guoqing said "yes" several times, he knew that there was no need to say more.

Shen Xingchun gave the phone to An Yuan again, An Yuan said a few more words to his father, and when 10 minutes arrived, An Guoqing was taken away.

On the way back, An Yuan turned his head several times until he could no longer see the prison gate.

Shen Xingchun didn't let go of An Yuan's hand, "I can visit you twice a month, and next time we come, we can still see Dad often."

An Yuan sniffed, lowered her head and looked at her toes, "Thank you brother."

"Little fool, thank you for what?"

"In short, thank you, and thank you grandparents."

"Okay, you don't have to thank me, your father has already thanked you, Xiao Yuan'er just needs to grow up well."

An Yuan nodded emphatically, "I will."

Time flows with the north wind, and now the north wind has turned into a south wind, and the south wind melts the snow, bringing green and red stars.

The spring here is very short, and the winter snow does not start to melt until April, but spring will still come.

They had already taken off their thick cotton clothes and hats, An Yuan's hair had grown a little, Shen Xingchun took him to cut it back to the previous hairstyle, and now the hair on his forehead was softly attached to the skin.

An Yuan touched the calluses on Shen Xingchun's fingers with her fingertips, and gently stroked them.

Shen Xingchun led An Yuan to walk on the dirt road with birch forests on both sides, towards the direction of the station.

An Yuan looked to one side from a distance, the birch forest was still white, but it was no longer the color of snow, it was white trunks, and the birch branches first sprouted young buds, and the south wind blew, blowing out bursts of unsettling snow. Provocative light taste.

The road surface that had just melted snow was wet, with a strong earthy smell. The two of them walked all the way, and the soles of their feet were covered with mud.

An Yuan was tired from walking, so she tugged Shen Xingchun's wrist.

Shen Xingchun stopped knowingly, "Tired? Let's take a rest."

An Yuan found a dry road and stomped the mud on the soles of his shoes, and said, "I'll just stand there for a while."

"It's still early, do you want to sit in the woods for a while?" Shen Xingchun pointed to the birch forest beside the road.

"Okay." An Yuan had never seen a birch forest before, it was a white tree trunk, a particularly beautiful white.

Shen Xingchun pulled An Yuan down a small slope and walked a few steps into the woods. The two found a dry grassland. Shen Xingchun took off his coat and laid it on the lawn.

The two sat down shoulder to shoulder, with their backs leaning against the birch trunk.

An Yuan quietly looked up at the gray trunk, the birch tree is a deciduous tree, the trunk is tall, standing upright, looking far above the head, the blue sky.

On the top of the tree is the clear and crisp bird song, calling for spring.

An Yuan kept her head up, and when her neck became sore, she tilted her head and leaned on Shen Xingchun's shoulder, and said slowly, "Brother, the winter is really over."