Chapter 1

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　　Bang,　bang,　bang…
　　In the howling cold wind, a little boy dressed thinly shivered and knocked on the courtyard door of a family.
　　It was New Year’s Eve at this time, and there were bursts of laughter in the courtyard from time to time.
　　Bang,　bang,　bang…
　　After waiting for a long time without a response, the little boy raised his hand again to pull the door knocker and knocked a few times gently.
　　Whoosh…
　　It was too cold. After knocking on the door, he immediately put his hand to his mouth and blew on it to warm it up.
　　Not only his hands, but also his feet, which were only wearing straw sandals, had almost lost their sense of cold.
　　Who　is　it？
　　Fortunately, at this time, the people in the courtyard finally responded.
　　The little boy’s face lit up with joy.
　　Second uncle, it’s me.
　　He　quickly　replied.
　　Creak…
　　Not long after, the courtyard door was opened, and a middle-aged man with an honest appearance poked his head out from the crack of the door.
　　Oh, it’s Taiping. It’s so late. What’s the matter？
　　The middle-aged man asked the little boy.
　　Second… second uncle… The charcoal at home is burned out. I thought, I thought of borrowing a few catties of charcoal from you, second uncle. When spring comes and I can go up the mountain to cut firewood, I will definitely return it to you.
　　The little boy said with some embarrassment, dodging his eyes.
　　“A few catties of charcoal is worth a few bucks？ You just wait here, and uncle will go get it for you！”
　　The man waved his hand and readily agreed.
　　“Taiping, have you eaten yet？”
　　After walking a few steps, the man suddenly stopped and turned around to ask the little boy.
　　“I, I… I ate… Grandpa… Grandpa didn’t eat…”
　　The little boy’s hand tightly clutched the corner of his clothes, and when he spoke at the end, his voice was so soft that it was barely audible.
　　Seeing this, the middle-aged man let out a soft sigh, and then grinned and said：
　　“Taiping, you wait, uncle will be right back.”
　　“Okay.”
　　The little boy nodded slightly.
　　At this time, another gust of cold wind blew, and the little boy shivered all over, but his heart was not so cold anymore.
　　“Taiping！”
　　Not long after, the middle-aged man came out carrying a dustpan.
　　“Take it.”
　　The second uncle, who was breathing white air, quickly walked to the gate of the courtyard and stuffed the dustpan into the little boy’s arms.
　　The little boy looked down and saw that in addition to a few catties of charcoal in the dustpan, there were also four steaming white flour buns.
　　“Second　uncle,　I…”
　　Looking at the few big white buns, the boy was a little scared, but he hadn’t eaten for a day. After seeing the few white flour buns, he still couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
　　”Take it！”
　　The middle-aged man smiled honestly.
　　”Erniu, why are you still dawdling in the yard？”
　　Just then, a rather sturdy woman walked quickly to the courtyard gate.
　　Seeing this woman, both the little boy and the middle-aged man changed their complexions.
　　”Taiping… Taiping came to borrow some charcoal.”
　　The middle-aged man smiled awkwardly at the woman, his eyes dodging, full of fear.
　　”Second…　Second　Aunt.”
　　The little boy called the woman.
　　The woman first gave the middle-aged man a white look, then her gaze looked at the little boy, and finally landed on the dustpan in his hand.
　　When she saw the few white flour steamed buns placed on the charcoal, her face suddenly pulled down.
　　”These white flour steamed buns were left by me for Xiaohu. I was reluctant to eat them myself. You are really generous！”
The woman glared at the middle-aged man, and then unceremoniously grabbed two white flour steamed buns with one hand.
　　”Mom, is the roasted goose ready? I want to eat the roasted goose, not chew on the white buns！”
　　At this time, a chubby boy wearing a new cotton-padded jacket walked out of the room. After seeing the white flour steamed buns in the woman’s hand, he suddenly looked unhappy.
　　”Son, what are you doing out here? It’s cold outside. Hurry back into the house and don’t freeze.”
　　Seeing this, the woman walked towards the chubby boy in a hurry.
　　“Mom, I don’t want white steamed buns, I want roast goose！”
　　The chubby boy stomped his feet unhappily, as if about to cry.
　　“Okay, okay, okay. The roast goose will be ready soon. These steamed buns are for Ah Huang to eat.”
　　While coaxing the chubby boy with a doting expression on her face, the woman casually threw the two white steamed buns into the dog cage under the eaves.
　　“Sigh…”
　　Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man frowned and then helplessly sighed.
　　Looking at the several white steamed buns being gnawed by the dog, the little boy bit his lip, then hugged the winnowing basket filled with charcoal in his arms, looked up at the middle-aged man and smiled and said：
　　“Second Uncle, thank you. I’m leaving.”
　　“Be careful on the way. When burning charcoal at night, remember to leave a gap in the window and cover your grandpa with the quilt.”
　　The middle-aged man waved his hand.
　　“Xu Erniu！ If you don’t come back to the house again, don’t even think about getting on my kang tonight！”
　　The woman’s scolding voice came from the house again at this time.
　　“Here I come, here I come！”
　　The man quickly responded, gave a forced smile to the little boy, and then closed the courtyard door.
　　After the courtyard gate was closed, the last glimmer of light in the snow disappeared, and the whole world was once again engulfed by the night. Only a small thatched hut not far to the east still had a little light on.
　　“With these coals and two white flour buns, grandpa will definitely get better.”
　　The little boy in the night didn’t feel scared. He shrank his head, smiled and muttered to himself, then tightly hugged the basket of coals and the two white flour buns, and skipped briskly towards a small earthen house with a light on in the night.
　　……
　　In front of the small earthen house.
　　“Creak…”
　　The little boy pushed open the door of the house.
　　“Taiping… is that you？”
　　As soon as he entered the door, an old, hoarse and somewhat weak voice came from the room with the light on.
　　“It’s　me,　grandpa.”
　　The little boy vigorously rubbed his frozen face, forced a smile, and then quickly walked to the door of the room, lifted the curtain and walked in.
　　As soon as he entered the room, a strong smell of herbal medicine came over his face.
　　Because there was no stove fire, the temperature indoors was no different from that outdoors.
　　In the innermost part of the room, there was a bed made up of several planks. Under the tattered quilt with the cotton wool exposed, an old man who was so thin that he was only skin and bones was curled up in it.
　　“Grandpa, Second Uncle borrowed me a few catties of charcoal and also gave two white flour steamed buns. We will roast and eat them later.”
　　The little boy Taiping said to the old man on the bed with joy on his face while pouring the charcoal into the stove.
　　“Okay… okay…”
　　The old man nodded with a smile.
　　Although the old man exuded an air of old age all over his body, those cloudy eyes regained their luster all of a sudden when he saw the little boy Taiping.
　　“Taiping… these years… following Grandpa… it’s been hard on you.”
The old man looked at Taiping with eyes full of kindness and mumbled with difficulty in his mouth.
　　“Grandpa, I’m not bitter, not at all.”
　　Taiping, who lit the charcoal stove, looked up, grinned at the old man and shook his head.
　　“Silly child, what a silly child… If it weren’t for your care these years, Grandpa would have left long ago…”
　　The old man reached out and touched Taiping’s little head, sighing with pity on his face.
　　“Grandpa, don’t say such unlucky words. You will surely live to be a hundred years old.”
　　Taiping shook his head vigorously while roasting the steamed buns.
　　“Taiping, have you ever heard of immortals？”
　　The old man suddenly asked Taiping.