Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 93 Did you miss me?

Xiao Wei quickly ran over, entered the courtyard through the small door next to the main gate, and went into the guardhouse. Inside, there was a stove burning, making it warm, and several sweet potatoes were placed on the stove. The old man was sitting on a small stool, turning over the potatoes with his hand. He glanced at Xiao Wei and said, "The cook? What grade are you in?"

Xiao Wei rubbed his hands together and walked to the stove, saying, "I'm just starting out. I'm like a first-grader, I started in September."

The old man flipped each sweet potato over, clapped his hands, sat up straight, and said, "It's good that you got into this school. You're lucky, kid. You'd better keep an eye on these girls, haha." He turned to get a cigarette, and Xiao Wei quickly handed him one and lit it for him.

It got a little warmer, so Xiaowei ran to the window and peered out. The old man said, "There aren't many people here. We can keep an eye on anyone who comes by. Is your home far?"

Xiao Wei straightened up and returned to the stove, saying, "It's not far, just along the river, in the house with the electricity."

The old man nodded and said, "That's really great. School is never as good as home. Several people squeeze into one room, and everyone's constantly touching pots and pans. Home is much more comfortable. It's practically the same as boarding school here, just a few steps away. Did you buy the house?"

Xiao Wei said, "No, there's an elder in my family who doesn't have the money to buy a house either. Houses here are quite expensive."

The old man took a stove hook, opened the stove lid a little, threw in the cigarette butts, closed the lid, and said, "Hmm, over ten thousand for a set. Your buildings are even taller, nice houses. The electricity company is rich, everything they do is better than other companies, they're willing to spend money."

He glanced casually out the window and said, "You've been there, haven't you? Take a look, haven't you?"

Xiao Wei quickly went over and peered out the window, but it wasn't Xiao Hong. He leaned against the window and asked, "Grandpa, you're amazing! You can see people coming from right next to the stove, while I can't even see them clearly from the window."

The old man chuckled, then went to rummage through the sweet potatoes, saying, "I've been guarding this gate for over ten years, watching it every day. I'm used to it. How old are you this year?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'll be twenty by Chinese New Year."

The old man shook his head and said, "This is the perfect time. I'm not good enough for this anymore. I'm too old. I crumble as soon as I walk."

Xiao Wei asked, "Grandpa, where do you live?"

The old man pointed north with the stove hook and said, "It's not far, near the Shen River, at the 13th latitude. It won't take eight hours to walk there. My house is nice; this half is Heping, and the other half is the Shen River. It's like we don't care about either side, hahaha."

It gets dark very quickly now. When Xiaowei first arrived, it was still bright outside, but now it's already dark outside, and the streetlights are bright.

Seeing Xiao Hong carrying a bag and a tape recorder emerging from behind the woods, Xiao Wei said to the old man, "Grandpa, my target is out. I'm leaving now." Then he walked towards the door.

The old man said, "Let's go, it's all snow, be careful." Before he finished speaking, Xiao Wei had already rushed out. The old man chuckled, glanced out the window, shook his head, and then fiddled with his roasted sweet potatoes.

Xiao Wei jogged up to Xiao Hong, took the tape recorder and the bag from her back, and said, "What are you doing carrying these things so late?"

Xiao Hong stretched her arms and said, "Knowing you were coming to pick me up, why didn't you take the tape recorder back? What are you doing here? Those are my clothes; it's hard to wash them here. What are you doing here? How did you get out of the security guard's booth?"

Xiao Wei slung his bag over his shoulder, picked up the tape recorder, and walked beside Xiao Hong, saying, "The old man took pity on me and invited me inside to warm up. How's your scolding going? You've lost weight."

Xiao Hong raised her hand and touched her face, saying, "I think I've lost some weight. Oh, don't even mention it. Every day it was like being on a military train, marching in formation, turning left and right. This past month, the soles of my shoes are all worn out. I finally made it through. I feel like I'd become a puppet in a few more days."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "That's great. It'll save you a lot of trouble. You can just pick it up and go wherever you want, and put it down when you get home. It'll save you so much trouble."

Xiao Hong laughed and playfully punched Xiao Wei, then hooked her arm around his and asked, "Did you miss me?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's not like it's been six months or a year, what are you thinking? I'm so tired of cutting potatoes every day, and there are dozens of people in the room at night, making a lot of noise."

Xiao Hong pouted and pinched Xiao Wei's arm, saying, "You don't miss me at all."

Xiao Wei chuckled, and Xiao Hong tossed her ponytail and asked, "Have you learned to cook yet? How many dishes can you make? Are there any I like to eat?"

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "You'll see when we get home. Are you cold?"

Xiao Hong shook her head and said, "It's not cold. I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger in the past month. I even have muscles. Let's arm wrestle when we get back. I'm sure I'm stronger than before."

Xiao Wei said, "How come you guys are supposed to grow stronger just by marching in formation during military training?"

Xiao Hong said, "We also did running, pull-ups, push-ups, and even shooting! I got 76 rings, that's passing, isn't that amazing?"

Xiao Wei asked, "What kind of gun?"

Xiao Hong said, "I don't know, but it's really long. You have to lie on the ground to shoot it; you can't lift it up while standing." She took one hand out of her pocket, pulled out a few bullet casings, and showed them to Xiao Wei: "Look, these are the bullet casings I fired. Put them in the house when we get back."

Xiao Wei looked at it and said, "Wow, that's impressive. I've never even touched a gun before, let alone seen a real one."

Little Red skipped and hopped, shaking her head as she looked at the two shadows under the streetlight and said, "Hey, you're taller than me now. Try harder to grow taller, even just a little bit taller will do."

Xiao Wei glanced at her, and Xiao Hong covered her mouth and giggled, clinging to Xiao Wei.

They walked downstairs chatting and laughing. Xiao Hong even ran over to check on her bicycle. It was fine, just covered in dust, since it had been parked outdoors. Although there was a shed, it only kept out the snow.

Going upstairs, Xiaowei followed behind. Xiaohong excitedly ran up to open the door, but she was stunned when she saw a lively card game inside. Chen Hui had several notes stuck to his face, Chen Xiao sat next to him and pointed at him, and Xia Maosheng and Yang Tiebin also had several notes stuck to their faces. Only Li Guangzhao didn't have any. The five of them were so engrossed in their game that they didn't even notice the door had opened.

"Why does it smell so good? When did you arrive?" Xiao Hong asked as she entered the house with a hint of surprise, while changing her shoes.

Chen Xiao stood up and said, "You've only been here a short while. Is it cold outside? You look thinner."

Xiao Hong changed her shoes and walked inside, saying, "Hmm, a little bit. Aren't you losing weight from all this constant exercise? And the food isn't good either. What delicious food have you guys been making?" She walked around the table toward the kitchen, but Chen Xiao stopped her and said, "You're not allowed in the kitchen today. Come play cards."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Yes, yes, come here, I'll give you this one. I'll go get the food. Come on, Lao Zhang, come help me."

Xiao Wei, who came in shortly after, had just changed his shoes, answered the call, put the tape recorder on the coffee table, and went into the kitchen.

Xiao Hong, holding the playing cards, laughed and said, "Wow, this is all very mysterious. What's going on?"