Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Therefore, the moment his eyes met Lin Xi's, Song Guanwen frowned reflexively and subconsciously wanted to look away.

But the next second, he was stunned.

The man who always lowered his eyebrows, spoke in a soft voice, and seemed a little timid suddenly arched his eyebrows at him, and the corners of his lips curled up.

The corners of her eyes were slightly raised, and a hint of cleverness flashed in her eyes, like a cat that had successfully played a prank but had not been caught by the tail. She was very cunning, completely different from her usual humble and submissive appearance.

Song Guanwen couldn't help but be stunned. Before he could take a closer look, Lin Xi had already restrained his expression, lowered his head, and returned to his usual humble and pleasing appearance.

Are you dazzled?

Song Guanwen frowned even deeper, and his gaze involuntarily lingered on Lin Xi's face for a few more seconds.

He stared at her drooping eyelashes, trying to find traces of her recent liveliness on that calm face, but Lin Xi just quietly chewed the pancake in her hand, picked up some vegetables, and drank soup. Even the sound of her chopsticks, which were lighter than others, hitting the edge of the bowl was the same as usual, nothing unusual.

But until everyone finished dinner and started to clear the table, Lin Xi did not shift his gaze towards Song Guanwen for a moment, as if the fleeting smile just now was really just his illusion.

Song Guanwen had no choice but to watch her and several female educated youth leave the dinner table with a lot of doubts in his mind.

When the kerosene lamp was lit in the room, Zhou Guixiang, who had just run out in anger, still reluctantly walked into the room. Looking at the people who had already washed up and were wrapped in their quilts chatting, she snorted heavily, and without washing up, turned around and climbed onto her bed, pulled the quilt over her head and went to sleep.

"So dirty." Zhao Xiaoyun couldn't help but curl her lips and murmured in disdain when she saw her crawling around in the fields all day and then crawling into bed without washing her face or feet.

"None of your shit... What's it to you? Just mind your own business."

Her voice was very soft, but Zhou Guixiang had sharp ears. She immediately pulled away the quilt covering her head and said without showing any weakness.

"We don't care about you. Just don't let it bother us. Otherwise, I will throw you out with all your bedding." Zhao Xiaoyun was about to speak, but Chen Lan spoke before her.

"You! Humph!" Zhou Guixiang was very angry, but she didn't dare to fight against so many people alone, so she could only glare at them hatefully and got back into the quilt.

"She's spoiled." Zhao Xiaoyun spat at her and ignored her. Instead, he turned his head to look at Lin Xi who was putting stamps on envelopes under the kerosene lamp, and spoke with some curiosity.

"Lin Xi, are you sending this letter to your parents?"

Lin Xi carefully put the stamp on and carefully confirmed the address on the envelope. After confirming that it was correct, she nodded.

"Yes, I was so ill a while ago, and the captain sent someone to bring them a letter. It must have scared them. I'm well now, and I have to tell them I'm fine as soon as possible."

"That's true. Not to mention your parents, even we were scared." Zhao Xiaoyun nodded sympathetically when he heard that, and then looked at Lin Xi's pitifully thin face under the dim light, and said with emotion.

"You said it's so difficult to see a doctor in this remote area. It took you so long to get the report back to the provincial capital, and now you're well, but the report hasn't been approved yet."

"Who said it wasn't?" Hu Aihong, who was next to her, was holding a book that was so worn that the cover could not be seen clearly. She squinted her eyes and read it in the dim light. After hearing what Zhao Xiaoyun said, she couldn't help but stop what she was doing.

"It's easy to go to the countryside, but hard to leave. My mother said, 'You delicate students, how can you do farm work? It's good enough if you don't cause trouble. You're just responding to the call and going through the motions. You'll be back soon.'"

"But now more than half a year has passed. I've dug the fields even though I didn't know how to dig, and harvested the wheat even though I didn't know how to harvest. My body and face are sunburned and peeling off several layers of skin. I still don't know when I can go back..."

It's said that students from the city can't endure hardship, but who is born with the ability to endure hardships? The educated youth were not afraid of hardship, but they were afraid that these hard times would have no end.

The sweat between the ridges of the fields can be dried in the sun, and the sparks in the stove can keep you warm, but the years without hope are like a blunt knife cutting meat, wearing away one's spirit bit by bit.

Some people unconsciously rubbed the calluses on their palms caused by spring planting and autumn harvest, while others stared out the dark window without a trace of light, feeling that the days were like a donkey pushing a mill, turning around and around.

But what leaks out from under the millstone is still the coarse grain that will not be available tomorrow, which makes people feel discouraged just thinking about it.

Hu Aihong's words seemed to have thrown a cold stone into everyone's hearts. The few people who were originally chatting suddenly fell silent. Only the kerosene lamp that was quietly glowing would occasionally make one or two sparks, reminding everyone that time was passing.

"It will be fine." A soft female voice suddenly broke the quiet atmosphere.

A few people looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lin Xi slowly getting up from the stool. She carefully put the envelope in her hand into the paint-chipped camphorwood box, then walked back to the table and carefully picked up the kerosene lamp on the table.

The glass lampshade was still stained with phosphorus powder from the moth that had just flown into the flame, creating a furry halo in her palm.

The dim light was not very bright, but it could burn a hole in the dark night that could not be ignored. Even Lin Xi's pale cheeks were stained with blood by the warm yellow light, like an azalea suddenly blooming in the frozen soil.

"Look." She held the lamp in front of everyone, her watery eyes sparkling in the light, gleaming with a strange brilliance. "No matter how dark the night is, as long as the wick is burning, we can always wait until the sun comes out."

Her voice was not steady and powerful, and even had a bit of weakness and hoarseness from someone who had just recovered from a serious illness, but it inexplicably had a convincing power.

As the words fell, the flame of the kerosene lamp suddenly jumped, casting swaying light and shadows on the mottled earthen wall.

In the dim light, someone heaved a long sigh first. The breath passed through the lamp flame, causing it to tremble slightly. Then there was a low laugh, as if the stone that had been pressing on the heart for a long time had finally loosened.

"That's right," Chen Lan suddenly raised her hand and wiped her still firm and plump face with her rough palm. "It's the darkest time before dawn, when the roosters haven't even crowed yet."

"Go to sleep," Zhao Xiaoyun said, already tucked into bed. Her voice was muffled by the cotton wool. "I have to fertilize the cornfield tomorrow."

As the last reply faded into the night, Lin Xi gently blew out the oil lamp. In an instant, darkness gently enveloped the area, leaving only a few sparse stars outside the window and the occasional barking of dogs in the distance.