"Grandpa, grandma, my uncle is here."
Li Yong's second daughter, Li Meng, saw Su Hu coming in with three children through the window, and shouted at the top of her voice, jumping off the kang, dragging her cotton shoes, and ran out through the curtain.
"Sister Qiao, you are here, I miss you to death."
She is about the same age as Sister Qiao, and the two cousins are very close.
"Mengmeng, look what I brought you back from the county."
Sister Qiao was also very happy to see her, took out a pair of bead flowers from her pocket, and dangled them in front of her eyes.
"Wow, what a beautiful Zhuhua, sister Qiao, I love you to death."
Li Meng snatched Zhuhua, opened her arms, and gave Qiaojie a big bear hug.
The two girls laughed together, hid in Li Meng's room, and went to whisper.
"Doudou, Sister Yu, here you come, come in quickly."
When Lao Li and his wife heard that Su Hu was bringing the child, they were so happy that they came out of the main room from ear to ear.
"Grandpa is good, grandma is good."
Doudou took off the back basket, took Su Qingluo's little hand, and followed the two old people into the main room.
***********
"Tiger, this kid."
Li Yong went into the yard, found a clean place to put down the baskets, and helped Su Hu lift the boy off his back.
"I ran into it on the way here."
Su Hu supported the boy's waist hard to prevent his legs and feet from falling to the ground: "Is there any ready-made food at home? Poor boy, he fainted on the side of the road from hunger."
"Yes, let him stay in my room."
Li Yong looked at the boy with pity for a moment, one left and one right, helping Su Hu carry him into the Westinghouse.
He brought a basin of warm water for him to wash up, and took a ready-made cornbread from the kitchen, filled it with a bowl of rice porridge, and let him cushion his stomach.
The boy obediently washed his hands, scooped up water to wash his face, and straightened his messy hair with his fingers.
He washed off the mud and stains on his face, revealing a sun-tanned face, with regular facial features and thick eyebrows. Sitting on a stool, he picked up the cornbread and carefully stuffed it into his mouth.
The food he ate was delicious and sweet. Tears stained his eyes as he ate, swirled a few times in his eye sockets, and flowed down disobediently.
"Father, how is little brother?"
Su Qingluo slipped out of the main room, raised the curtain, poked a small head in, and looked into the room curiously.
Hearing the sweet voice of the little girl, the boy paused while eating the cornbread, and shrank back a little cautiously.
"Sister Yu, come in, don't stand at the door, be careful of freezing."
Su Qingluo went to the main room where the fire was raging. Feeling hot, she took off her cloak and coat, and only wore a thin pink calico jacket.
Su Hu was afraid that she would catch a cold, so he hurriedly called her into the house.
"Uh-huh."
Su Qingluo nodded her head obediently, crossed the threshold with her short legs, walked up to Su Hu, and leaned against his legs.
Su Hu carried his daughter onto the kang, knelt down and added a few pieces of firewood to the kang hole to make the fire burn better.
"Huzi, you two talk first, I'll go and pack up the New Year's goods."
Li Yong rubbed Su Qingluo's little head affectionately, picked up the dirty water, and planned to pour it outside the house.
"Okay, Brother Yong, you are busy with your work."
Su Hu got up quickly, helped his brother-in-law lift the curtain, and sent him out.
*****
Only the father and daughter were left in the room, and the boy eating the cornbread, and the sound of the silver needle falling to the ground could be heard quietly.
The boy ate cautiously, tears still streaming down in disobedience.
After he finished eating the cornbread and porridge, Su Hu sighed sadly, packed up the bowls and chopsticks, and walked out of the Westinghouse with them.
Seeing that her father had also left, Su Qingluo understood the arduous task ahead and had to complete it by herself.