Chapter 46: Preparing for the New Year. This winter seems especially...

This winter seems especially cold. Water frozen over in the blink of an eye.

The snow, freshly melted the day before, had transformed overnight into thick, long icicles hanging from the eaves. He Feng used a wooden hoe to knock off the icicles facing the door before he felt relieved. During

the coldest days of winter, it was so cold outside that He Feng wouldn't let Song Qingshu leave the main room. He prepared his own meals, brought them to the main room, and ate with the door closed and the lights on.

Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua only stayed inside during the day, eating. Since they couldn't be bathed in the winter, He Feng wouldn't let Song Qingshu hold them in his arms anymore.

He could only stroke their soft, fluffy fur.

He Feng had knitted him a long scarf and was planning to make him a sweater, but Song Qingshu refused and asked him to knit him a shorter one of a similar style.

After knitting two scarves, Song Qingshu took the first one from the cabinet and wrapped it around He Feng. "The new one's warmer, wear it when you go out."

"Wash the old one and put it away."

He Feng lowered his head and let him tie the scarf around him. He knew that he was worried that the old scarf would make him uncomfortable and was going to put it away for him.

Life should always be about looking forward.

Because it was cold, he had put on the cotton-padded jacket that Mrs. Liu had made him early, before the New Year. But that didn't matter; even children didn't get new clothes every year these days.

Song Qingshu still wore his old inner clothes. He was finishing the sweater He Feng had knitted for him, and he planned to wear that as his new New Year's outfit.

He Feng gestured at his feet. "Tomorrow is the Little New Year. I'll go shopping and come back to crochet a pair of shoes to wear."

He was like a child with a new and interesting toy. He had been knitting every day lately, and his knitting skills were probably as skillful as Mrs. Liu's.

"It's too much, brother, you should take a break." Song Qingshu peeled the melon seeds and then put them to He Feng's mouth. He Feng opened his mouth to hold the melon seeds and sucked his white fingertips.

Song Qingshu pulled his hand back in a flash, "There's still night."

He Feng looked up at him, and the usual aggression in his eyes was about to overflow, and he fixed Song Qingshu in place, unable to move.

But he didn't notice it, and smiled, "Isn't it comfortable too, baby?"

"But brother is always scary, and..." Song Qingshu pursed his lips, a little speechless.

"What else?"

"Just press my belly while it's still inside."

The rough hands pressed and rubbed across the bulging belly. The pleasure was like an electric current hitting both of them, and He Feng would move deeper and harder.

"I see that baby is so comfortable that he forgot to cry. Don't you like it?" He Feng put down the wooden needle in his hand.

Song Qingshu's eyes widened instantly, wanting to protest, but then he remembered that he'd indeed convulsed a bit last night. He'd been so utterly shattered by him that he'd never even remembered to cry.

Seeing he couldn't answer, He Feng didn't push his luck. If he really bullied him, he'd send him back to the east room.

"I have to go out tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep tonight."

"Then gently, just once, okay?" He was now beginning to speak in his own home language, his voice soft and gentle.

His nails were neatly clipped. He cracked melon seeds in his mouth before peeling them with his hands. Now, holding them in his hand, he waited for He Feng's answer.

He Feng's smile widened. "Brother, what I mean by sleep seems different from what I mean by sleep. Just once, then."

He Feng had been careful about how often they'd have sex, but winter wasn't like spring, summer, or autumn, when there was work to do every day, exhausting him.

It was freezing outside, but the charcoal burning in the house was warm. Wasn't it perfect for sleeping in bed, wrapped in a quilt, with someone in his arms?

Song Qingshu's face flushed red as he said that. He lowered his head and continued to peel melon seeds. After a while, he uttered in a mosquito-like voice: "You have to be gentle."

He Feng's hand trembled, and he almost poked his finger with the wooden needle. He put down the things in his hand, placed them on the wardrobe, and stared at Song Qingshu. He

turned off the lights and got into bed.

He did not pull open the quilt on Song Qingshu's side, so as not to let the heat that had been worked hard to warm up escape.

As soon as he got into the quilt, he reached out to Song Qingshu's feet. He put the hot water bottle on his calves to cover his feet, but his feet were still cold.

He Feng held his ankles with one hand and warmed his feet with the other hand. Song Qingshu raised his eyes to look at He Feng. He was lying on his side, and his ankles were held, which made the quilt prop up a strange arc.

He Feng lay down to make him feel more comfortable, then patted his thigh, "Stretch out the other one too."

Song Qingshu put his legs together and was pulled by him to put them on He Feng's hot skin. His cold feet were instantly stained with He Feng's body temperature, and the heat made his heart tremble.

Freeing his hands, one arm stretched out directly, pulled Song Qingshu by the waist into his arms, and spoke in a low voice, "Baby, open your legs."

His thick eyelashes curled up, and Song Qingshu swallowed his saliva, but still opened his legs obediently, but He Feng pressed his thigh at that moment, making him lift his thigh and press it on He Feng's leg.

He was like a koala, sitting on one of He Feng's legs.

He Feng held the person in his arms with not much space, and patted him on the back gently, "Don't think about it, baby, go to sleep."

It turned out that he really was sleeping.

The body temperature, one degree higher than his own, was transmitted to his body, carrying He Feng's scent, warm and reassuring. Song Qingshu raised his head from his arms, "Brother, I want a kiss."

He Feng lowered his head to look at him, his round eyes fixed on him, his soft mouth half open, revealing a little bit of his inner part.

The warmth, the fragrance of Song Qingshu's body was everywhere, and his mouth was sweet.

With one hand clasped at the back of his neck, He Feng lowered his head, pursed his pink lips, and his tongue effortlessly penetrated, entwining with his soft tongue, slurping the saliva that overflowed from the bottom of his tongue, swallowing it non-stop like a hungry tiger.

His breathing gradually became heavier, and He Feng suddenly let go of him, "Open your eyes, baby, and breathe."

After all this time, he still couldn't learn to breathe during a deep kiss.

Song Qingshu's lung capacity simply couldn't withstand such a deep and long-lasting kiss from He Feng, so fierce that it seemed as if he wanted to melt the tip of his tongue and swallow it all.

He Feng took advantage of him to catch his breath and kissed him a few more times on the tip of his nose and the corners of his eyes, "Okay, dear boy, go to sleep. We'll get up early tomorrow to go to the market."

If he doesn't sleep now, he might not be able to sleep early tonight.

The cream is almost gone, and he will go back to see if there is any sold in the next town. If not, he will have to run to the city to buy some.

The next morning, the chickens were crowing wildly in the yard, and Xiao Hei also barked a few times.

Since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the chickens at home have not crowed much, and Xiao Hei doesn't bark much either. He Feng frowned.

He tucked in the quilt while standing by the bed, "It's still early, I'll go see what's going on."

Song Qingshu hummed in a nasal voice, turned over, and huddled in the warm quilt to continue sleeping.

He Feng put on his clothes. It didn't snow last night, but it was still cold this morning. The wind was like a knife tip scraping across his face. He gathered his cotton coat to cover his neck. He closed the door

to the inner room, but he didn't close the door to the main room.

In the yard, Xiao Hei stood under a tree, calling out to the alley ahead. He Feng yawned, his heat rising in the air. He frowned at Xiao Hei, "Stop barking."

Xiao Hei whimpered and lowered his head. He turned to look at Xiao Hua in the house, unable to resist running over and scratching at her. Xiao Hua, who had been curled up in her nest with her eyes barely open, meowed in satisfaction.

He Feng looked ahead. It was all brick houses, not far away. He could hear the noise from the front if it got louder.

But it didn't sound like Jin Yan and Zhao Yuanhui arguing. He Feng quickly washed up and called out to Xiao Hei. The large black dog rushed out of the house and followed He Feng.

It was actually closer from the back of the house, but the backyard was covered in snow from the recent heavy snowfall. He Feng decided to take the main road and turn back into the alley where Jin Yan and her family lived.

Before he even walked in, he heard the crying and cursing of an old man inside, "You, you are a teacher, did the school teach you not to respect your elders? I am your father after all, you can't just stand by and watch her die!"

He Feng pushed open the door and walked in, "Her father is Jin Minzhu, a retired accountant from the brigade, who are you?"

"Who are you? This is my family matter, it is none of your turn to interfere." The old man in a tattered cotton jacket turned around and looked at him.

Jin Yan stood at the door with tears in her eyes. Zhao Yuanhui held her hand and adjusted her glasses, "You only have desire for Jin Yan, but no gratitude for her. The money she gave you last month is enough to pay you back." "

What's thirty yuan enough for? You are just bullying an old man like me. Hey, come and see, God, why did I have such an unfilial daughter--"

He Feng couldn't stand it anymore, walked over and squatted, grabbed his hand that was patting his thigh, and pushed it back. With the grappling skills he learned in the army, he could easily hold down this old man in his forties or fifties and make him scream in pain.

"Hey, what do you want? Don't touch me. I'm sick. If you move me, I'll blackmail you!"

He Feng slapped him on the back, "Stop arguing."

"If you keep arguing, I'll throw you into the snow and freeze you to death."

His voice turned cold, and the old man didn't dare to say a word. But he said in a defiant tone, "I'm here to find my daughter. Why are you meddling in my business?"

Jin Yan came over and called her "little master." There were traces of tears on her face. Her fair face was red from eye sockets to the tip of her nose. She looked very aggrieved.

When the old man heard her call him "little master," his expression froze. He had known for a long time that the man from Hejia Village, after returning from the army, no one in the village could match him.

"Hey, little master, let go first. I won't shout anymore."

He Feng ignored him. Xiao Hei came over. It was completely black, even its tongue was gray-black. Because He Feng fed it well, its size was almost that of a wolf.

Standing next to He Feng, he looked majestic and aggressive, no less imposing than He Feng.

It seemed as if He Feng could bite the old man to death with just one order.

The old man had a flattering smile on his face, but He Feng ignored him, let go of him and rubbed his hands with a handful of snow. He

turned to ask Jin Yan, "Why don't you ask Lao Jin to come?"

"I don't want him to see my father." Jin Yan said with a thick nasal tone

. The old man disagreed again when he heard it. He sighed and was suppressed by He Feng's eyes. He dared not move.

Jin Yan was also confident, "I only have one father in this life. You want to kill me, and you can never expect me to recognize you in this life."

"Thirty yuan is the price you sold me. No one would pay this money at that time. You wanted to drown me. I'll give you the money, and you don't have to come to me anymore."

He Feng stood next to the old man, and the snow fell sporadically as he rubbed his hands, hitting the old man's face and neck.

"That's not enough. You're a teacher now, and you make a lot of money every month. I came to see you because I was sick. Your mother was still thinking of your name when she died."

He got angry when he mentioned Jin Yan, and pointed at his face angrily, "She died because of you! You value your son so much, just go find your son!"

The old man was stunned by the yelling, and there was another voice at the door. It was Lao Jin.

He thought that today was the New Year's Eve, and wanted to come and ask his daughter and son-in-law to go to the street to buy some things, but he didn't expect to meet them by chance.

Lao Jin looked at his daughter in the yard and the dirty old man sitting on the ground, and couldn't help sighing, "He Feng, you go back first. I'll ask Yuanhui to call you if there is anything."

"Okay." The snow on He Feng's hands melted and they were clean, "Xiao Hei, let's go."

When they got home, Song Qingshu got up in a daze. As soon as he came out of the inner room, he shrank his neck because of the cold wind, and he woke up.

"Brother!"

"Well, let's eat on the street today. Go brush your teeth and wash your face."

Song Qingshu nodded. Sporadic voices came from the front. He couldn't hear them clearly, but he could tell it was an unfamiliar voice.

"Brother, what's going on up there?"

"Jin Yan's father, who lost her, came here and wants money."

Song Qingshu wiped his face halfway and said angrily, "Why is he like this? He can't bear to see Teacher Jin Yan live a good life, can he?"

He Feng took his towel and wiped his face carefully. "Put on some perfume. I'll ask if it's time to go up there. Otherwise, we'll go out."

"Oh." Song Qingshu went into the inner room and took the facial cleanser He Feng had bought and applied it to his face. It had an indescribable fragrance, which was surprisingly pleasant.

He picked up the two scarves He Feng had knitted and prepared to go out and tie them for He Feng.

Outside, He Feng shouted directly to the front yard, "Jin Yan, do you want me to come over again?"

"No need, young master," Jin Yan shouted back from the opposite side.

"Okay, then I'll go to the market."

Song Qingshu stood at the door of the main hall. He Feng half-bent over to let someone tie his scarf, and then took the shorter and narrower scarf from his hand and put it on him.

He Feng carried a bamboo basket, and Song Qingshu took his free arm, and the two went to the market together.

It was not his first time to go to the market, but Song Qingshu still felt it was novel, because the New Year was coming soon, and there were more people selling things on the street.

He Feng took him to eat first, coaxing him to go shopping after eating, and not to rush, and not to get hungry.

Song Qingshu even ate faster than usual, eating a bowl of porridge and two big buns. He was so full that he burped, and hurriedly took He Feng's hand and went to the market.

The two held hands all the time while shopping, and He Feng didn't remind him. Later, when they had bought more things, he let go of his hand and let Song Qingshu hold his clothes.

The streets were full of people buying New Year's goods, and there were too many people. He Feng didn't dare let Song Qingshu out of his sight, and he would check to see if he was still there when he bought something.

There were also various candies on the melon seed stall for people to try. Song Qingshu liked winter melon candy, so He Feng bought two more candied melons, two bags of white sugar, and two bags of brown sugar. He

also bought some candied dates, five-spice melon seeds, and peanuts. There were not many raisins left at home, so He Feng bought another bag. When he saw the walnuts, he hesitated and didn't buy any more.

Song Qingshu let out a breath and dragged him away from the dried fruit shop.

In the distance, someone was sitting in the corner popping old-fashioned popcorn. There was a loud bang, and Song Qingshu was so scared that he shrank his neck and blinked.

The children surrounded the person popping popcorn in a circle, and there were also a few adults who asked if they could use their own corn to popcorn.

The person agreed and left happily.

After buying fruits, fish, pork, beef, and some vegetables, He Feng took him to buy traditional cakes and confectionery. Song Qingshu spent a long time picking, and a lot of crumbs stuck to the corners of his mouth, which were wiped off by He Feng.

The two bought the word "Fu" to be posted on the door during the New Year, and the paste to be made at home, two red lanterns, big red candles, and some burning incense...

He Feng also took him to pick out some firecrackers and fireworks. Song Qingshu was so happy that he wanted to have a good sleep tonight, because the next morning he would open his eyes and it would be the New Year.

But it's almost time, and the house still needs to be cleaned up. Even though there are only two of us, we still want to have a beautiful New Year.