"Bang, bang, bang..."

In the howling cold wind, a thinly dressed little boy knocked on the door of a household.

It was Chinese New Year's Eve, and laughter sounded from time to time in the courtyard.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

After waiting for a long time without a response, the little boy raised his hand to pull the door knocker again and gently knocked a few times.

"Whew..."

It was too cold, and after knocking on the door, he immediately put his hand to his mouth and sighed to warm up.

Not only his hands, but his feet wearing only straw shoes were already frozen to the point of imconsciousness.

"Who?"

Fortunately, at this time, the people in the yard finally responded.

The little boy was overjoyed.

"Second uncle, it's me."

He quickly answered.

"Squeak..."

Not long after, the courtyard door was opened, and a middle-aged man with a thick-looking appearance poked out a head from the crack in the door.

"Oh, it's Taiping, it's so late, what's the matter?"

The middle-aged man asked the little boy.

"Two... Second uncle... The charcoal at home is burned, I think, I want to borrow a few pounds of charcoal from your second uncle, next spring, I can go up the mountain to cut firewood, I will definitely pay you back. ”

The little boy looked away with some embarrassment.

"How much is a few pounds of charcoal worth?" You wait here, uncle, I will bring it to you!" ”

The man waved his hand and agreed.

"Taiping, have you eaten?"

After taking a few steps, the man suddenly stopped, turned to the little boy and asked.

"I, I... I ate... Grandfather...... Grandpa didn't eat..."

The little boy's hand clutched the corner of his clothes, and when he said the end, his voice was small and inaudible.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man sighed lightly, and then grinned again:

"Taiping, you wait, the second uncle will come when he goes."

"Hmm."

The little boy nodded slightly.

At this time, another cold wind blew, and the little boy was so cold that he shivered, but his heart was not so cold.

"Taiping!"

Not long after, the middle-aged man came out with a dustpan.

"Take it."

The second uncle, who had white breath in his mouth, 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 the dustpan, in addition to a few pounds of charcoal, there were also four steaming white-faced buns.

"Second uncle, I..."

Looking at those big white buns, the boy was a little panicked, but he hadn't eaten for a day, and after seeing those white buns, he still swallowed his saliva without arguing.

"Take it!"

The middle-aged man smiled cheekily.

"Er Niu, why are you still grinding in the yard?"

At this moment, a somewhat burly woman walked quickly to the gate of the courtyard.

Seeing this woman, whether it was a little boy or a middle-aged man, her face changed.

"Taiping... Taiping came to borrow some charcoal. ”

The middle-aged man smiled at the woman, his eyes dodging and full of fear.

"Two... Second aunt. ”

The little boy called out to the woman.

The woman first glanced at the middle-aged man, then looked at the little boy, and finally landed on the dustpan in his hand.

When she saw a few white-faced buns placed on the charcoal, her face suddenly pulled down.

"This white-faced bun is what I left for Xiaohu, and I can't bear to eat it, you are arrogant!"

The woman glared at the middle-aged man fiercely, and then grabbed two white-faced buns in one hand without anger.

"Mom, the roast goose is ready, I want to eat the roast goose, don't gnaw the white bun!"

At this time, a chubby boy in a new cotton jacket came out of the house, and after seeing the white-faced bun in the woman's hand, he suddenly looked displeased.

"Son, what are you doing when you come out, it's cold outside, go into the house quickly, don't freeze."

Seeing this, the woman walked towards the fat boy with a worried expression.

"Mom, I don't want white bread, I want to burn goose!"

The chubby boy stomped his foot with a look of displeasure, as if he was about to cry.

"Good, good, good, the roasted goose will be good immediately, these buns are for Ah Huang to eat."

While coaxing the chubby boy with a spoiled face, the woman casually threw the two white-faced buns into the dog cage under the eaves.

"Alas..."

Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man frowned, and then sighed helplessly.

The little boy bit his lip as he looked at the few white-faced buns that were gnawed by the dog, then hugged the dustpan containing charcoal in his arms, looked up at the middle-aged man and smiled:

"Second uncle, thank you, I'm leaving."

"Be careful on the road, burn charcoal at night, remember to leave a gap in the window and help your grandfather cover the quilt."

The middle-aged man waved his hand.

"Xu Erniu! If you don't go back to the house, don't think about going to the old lady's kang tonight! ”

The woman's cursing voice came from inside the house at this time.

"Coming, coming!"

The man quickly responded, smiled at the little boy, and then closed the courtyard door.

After the courtyard door was closed, the last light in the snow disappeared, and the whole world was once again engulfed by night, except for a small light in a thatched hut not far to the east.

"With these charcoal and two white-faced buns, grandpa will definitely get better."

The little boy in the night did not feel afraid, he shrunk his head, smiled and muttered to himself, and then hugged the dusty pile of charcoal and two white-faced buns, and jumped quickly towards a small lighted earthen house in the night.

......

In front of the small earthen house.

"Squeak..."

The little boy pushed open the door.

"Taiping... Is that you? ”

As soon as he entered the door, an old, hoarse and somewhat weak voice came from the lit room.

"It's me, Grandpa."

The little boy rubbed his frozen face hard, trying to squeeze out a smile, then quickly walked to the door, opened the curtain and walked in.

As soon as I entered the room, a strong smell of herbs came to my face.

Because there is no fire, the temperature inside is no different from outside.

At the innermost part of the room was a bed made of several wooden boards, under a quilt that was worn out to reveal cotton wool, and an old man so thin that he was only skinny was curled up.

"Grandpa, the second uncle borrowed me a few pounds of charcoal and gave me two white-faced buns, let's wait to bake and eat."

The little boy Taiping poured charcoal into the stove and said to the old man on the bed with a happy face.

"Well... Well..."

The old man smiled and nodded.

Although the old man's body exuded a weeping aura, his cloudy eyes suddenly regained their brilliance after seeing the little boy Taiping.

"Peace... In recent years... Follow Grandpa... Suffered you. ”

The old man looked at Taiping with affection, and his mouth was snorting with difficulty.

"Grandpa, I'm not bitter, not bitter at all."

Taiping, who lit the charcoal stove, raised his head, grinned at the old man and shook his head.

"Silly child, what a silly child... If you hadn't taken care of it in the past few years, Grandpa would have left long ago..."

The old man reached out and touched Taiping's little head, and sighed with pity on his face.

"Grandpa, don't say these unlucky words, you will definitely live a long life."

Taiping shook his head vigorously while roasting the steamed buns.

"Taiping, have you heard of immortals?"

The old man suddenly asked Taiping.