In the midst of the rich and colorful mountains, a remote mountain village lies quietly. Li Hua's home is hidden in these rolling green waves. This year's winter was particularly cold, and the villagers chatted a little less lively, and each family huddled in their huts, thinking about how to survive this long winter.
Li Hua is an eight-year-old primary school student in the village. Li Hua's family was originally fairly well fed, and his father Li Mingqiang had a job as a loader in the town, although he was a little dirty and tired, but at least he could ensure that the family would not go hungry. Mother Zhang Li sews clothes for others, and although the remuneration is meager, it can supplement the family.
However, this year's misfortune followed, first Li Mingqiang's factory closed due to poor management, and then an accidental fire caused serious damage to Li Hua's house. The family cut back on food and clothing, and when it came to the Spring Festival, which should be a lively day, the family didn't even have a decent New Year's goods. The steel windows were covered with thick ice flowers, and outside the windows, snowflakes were still flying in the air unscrupulously.
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"Li Hua, quick, help me put these rice cakes in the pot." Zhang Li was busy in the cold kitchen, and two pieces of rice cakes were tumbling on the simple stove.
"Mom, is that all for this year?" Li Huaxiao's face was full of doubts.
"Well, your dad went out to find a job, maybe it will get better in the next year." Zhang Li's voice tried its best to maintain optimism, but it couldn't hide the deep worry.
"I'm not hungry, I'm not going to eat, I'll leave it to you and Dad." Li Hua carefully put the rice cake into the pot, and his eyes gradually filled with tears.
At this moment, there was a heavy sound of footsteps outside the door, and my grandfather, wearing a thick cotton jacket and carrying a large bag of grain on his shoulder, walked into the house with difficulty.
"Hello everyone, I'm here! It was cold outside, and the road was icy and I almost slipped. Grandpa put down the food with a smile on his face.
"Dad, why are you fighting such a heavy grain by yourself, this road is too slippery." Zhang Li quickly stepped forward to take the grain bag and hurriedly welcomed her grandfather to the kang in the house.
Grandpa took off his thick gloves and warmed his hands: "It's too hard to walk in the wind and snow, I know what your family has suffered this year, and we still have some food in our house. ”
"Grandpa, what about your family?" Li Hua looked at his grandfather nervously.
"Don't worry, my grandfather's waist is stiff. You are a small family, life is sad, I am alone, and it will pass. Grandpa looked at Li Hua kindly, his eyes full of pampering.
Li Hua's kang was piled up with food sent by her grandfather, and Zhang Li was busy sorting out the corn and sweet potatoes. Grandpa sat on the kang hotly and looked at them with a smile.
"It would be nice to have a good harvest next year." Li Mingqiang spoke with hope, his voice full of anticipation.
"Yes, no matter how bad it is, we have to be self-reliant." Zhang Li agreed, her eyes becoming more determined.
Although the atmosphere at home is simple, it is much warmer because of the arrival of my grandfather. However, the good times were short-lived, and suddenly, a sharp knock on the door broke the family's silence.
When I opened the door, I saw that the one standing outside the door was Wang Lan, the aunt who had a vendetta with Li Hua's family. She was dressed in a red cotton jacket, and the expression on her face did not have a hint of festive joy.
"Yo, are you here to send us blessings?" Grandpa first made a flattering appearance and tried to de-escalate the impending conflict.
"Blessings? Do you still have a blessing in your family? Isn't it the money that our family lent you before, saying that it was given before the New Year, but now that the people have arrived, what about the money? Wang Lan's voice was sharp and reproachful.
"This... You also know, isn't our family experiencing some difficulties, money, money is not available for the time being. Li Mingqiang faced his aunt and was a little nervous.
"Difficult? I see that you still have a lot of food in times of trouble! Wang Lan's eyes fell on the kang full of grain, "Could it be that you don't plan to pay it back?" ”
Zhang Li hurriedly came out to explain: "This was sent by my father in the snowstorm, and he also knows about our family's difficulties." ”
"Your dad? You still have food hidden in your house, and you don't share it with all of us, but give it all to your own family? What a thing! Back then, your family was able to have today, didn't it depend on our family? Wang Lan looked dissatisfied.
"Auntie, we don't have a heart for this, you have also seen the situation of our family..."
"What's going on? The situation can not be repaid? Don't think that I don't know that you are suffering, I am also soft-hearted, so I didn't urge you. But soft-heartedness is not a reason to be bullied! ”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and Li Hua was sandwiched between the adults, a little scared in his heart, but he didn't dare to speak out. Li Mingqiang exchanged a look, holding a yellowed piece of paper in his hand.
"This is..."Zhang Li took it and looked at it suspiciously.
"Look, don't hurry up and give me the money, don't think you can fool around with some old bills!" Wang Lan's voice became louder and louder.
Grandpa looked at these and sighed softly, "Forget it, Wang Lan, don't be angry first, we will definitely give you an explanation about money, relatives for so many years, don't hurt your anger because of money." ”
Although Wang Lan's attitude softened, she didn't completely let go, "Then I'll see what you say." ”
Zhang Li took the bill and said unhurriedly: "This is the voucher that my father borrowed money from you back then, let me see what is written on it." ”
The handwriting on the old bill was blurry, but barely legible. Zhang Li took a closer look, and her face showed surprise.
Zhang Li's fingers swiped lightly over the bill, her brows furrowed, as if she had found something. "Look here, it's clearly written on the IOU that the repayment date has been widened to five years later. And this interest—" She looked at Wang Lan with a puzzled expression.
Wang Lan scratched her head a little embarrassed, but quickly became tough again: "So what, isn't it five years later?" In short, you have to pay back the money. ”
"But we have already repaid a large part of it, and the balance written on it, we seem to have been..."Zhang Li continued, but was interrupted by Wang Lan.
"What have you been doing a long time ago? Why, do you still want to pay the bill? Wang Lan's voice raised.
"Auntie, we don't mean to pay the bill, there is a record on this old bill." Li Mingqiang couldn't help but explain impatiently.
Li Hua had been quietly observing from the side, and when he saw this, he suddenly remembered something and ran to the small wooden box in his room to rummage through it. I only heard him shouting: "Mom, I found the receipt for Dad's repayment!" ”
Everyone's eyes turned to Li Hua, only to see that he was holding a slightly old receipt with some torn corners. "This is what I stumbled upon the last time I was rummaging through my father's old things." Li Hua carefully handed the receipt to Zhang Li.
Zhang Li picked up the receipt, the handwriting on it was a little faded, but she clearly recorded the date and amount of the receipt of a sum of money, which was enough to prove that Li Hua and his family had repaid part of the loan.
"Look, this is a receipt from your family, doesn't it prove that we have a large sum of money before?" Zhang Li's voice was mixed with a hint of relief.
Wang Lan took the receipt, her eyes turning from doubt to surprise. "It's... How could this be—" she muttered to herself, and her face became complicated.
Seeing this situation, my grandfather explained softly: "Wang Lan, the most important thing between people is to understand each other, and the festival is not the time for conflicts. ”
"It's not... I don't know about it. Wang Lan's voice began to tremble, "I remember my brother he... Maybe I was too busy to tell me about it. ”
"Auntie, the misunderstanding has finally been resolved." Zhang Li took a deep breath and was willing to let go of the entanglements of the past.
"Yes, it has not been easy for everyone all these years, so it's better to be considerate of each other." Li Mingqiang also agreed.
The atmosphere in the room was much more relaxed, and my grandfather's expression was noticeably relaxed. "Look, can't we still sit down and talk?" Grandpa said with a smile.
Wang Lan read the receipt several times, and finally relented, "You too, I said it earlier, who wants to make trouble during the New Year." ”
The dispute at home suddenly became gone, and an old receipt resolved the misunderstanding that had been in place for years. Li Hua looked at the adults, although he didn't quite understand the complexity of this, but he knew that the home was finally warm again.
The air after the misunderstanding was dissipated seemed to be sweet, and Li Hua's home became extremely warm. Grandpa smiled and patted Li Hua's head and looked at him approvingly: "Li Hua, this time you understand things and let everyone have a happy New Year." ”
"Who's to say it's not, it's not easy for children." Wang Lan's tone finally softened, "My aunt has not done a good job, and I have misunderstood your family for so long." ”
"Auntie, don't say that, we are all a family." Li Mingqiang accosted, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious.
"Yes, family." Zhang Li also laughed.
Grandpa suddenly got up, "Speaking of which, today is the Chinese New Year's Eve, we should have a good gathering, aunt, stay and have a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner together." ”
"What's so embarrassing, I haven't prepared anything yet." Wang Lan hesitated.
"You're welcome, our family will be more complete when you come."
Seeing this, Zhang Li quickly added: "Auntie, you can stay quickly, there are still some dishes at home, I'll go get some good ones, let's celebrate." ”
Li Hua also interjected excitedly: "Yes, auntie, stay, the food brought by my grandfather is enough for all of us to eat." ”
"Well... Well, I'll be respectful and obey. Wang Lan smiled slightly, and finally agreed.
Zhang Li took the opportunity to walk into the kitchen and began to cook. Li Hua and his grandfather helped set the dishes and chopsticks, while Wang Lan sat on the kang and chatted with Li Mingqiang about the laughter in the past. The smell of Chinese New Year's Eve dinner fills the house, and the smoke of cooking under the winter starry sky outside the window is a symbol of past conflicts and hope for future reunion.
At the dinner table, everyone had a smile on their faces. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is exquisite and not luxurious, but full of happiness. At the dinner table, everyone found their own place, and the warm kang room was full of harmony and joy.
"When you're full, let's talk about your wishes for this year." Grandpa proposed.
"I hope everyone is healthy and living a better life." Zhang Li said first.
"I hope that things at home can go smoothly and Li Hua will learn and progress." Li Mingqiang said with a gentle smile.
Wang Lan was no longer polite: "I hope that our family and yours can often sit together like this in the future, and there will be no more estrangement." ”
"I hope that every year today, we can be together as we are now." Li Hua's voice was clean and innocent.
The laughter after the meal echoed in this small mountain village, and Li Hua's family and Wang Lan seemed to have found resonance in this simple wish. The wind and snow outside gradually subsided, and the laughter in the house was the best wish for the new year.
After the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, every household is setting off firecrackers to celebrate the arrival of the new year. The brilliant fireworks outside the window reflected the happiness on everyone's faces.
"Our family, isn't it unexpected and reasonable to have today's reunion?" Grandpa looked at the fireworks outside the door and asked in a low voice.
The atmosphere of the whole family froze in this moment, and then there was a more harmonious conversation, and together they faced the challenges and hopes of the new year.