Translated by Serena Love

He Songbai, who heard the girlfriend's words, was choked. His eyes looked at the pot, and he really didn't see the shadow of any porridge left. He drank a large bowl of porridge in two or three sips.

Although he was still not satisfied, he had no choice but to clean up the dishes and left the kitchen in grief.

He sniffed his body carefully, thinking about the scent of pig's excrement the girlfriend had said. He pulled water from the well in the middle of the night and took a cold bath.

He Songbai, who was finally able to lie down on the bed after cleaning up, had a feeling like he was taking a leisurely trip. After taking a bath, he became more energetic and couldn't sleep.

The swaying oil lamp dragged his thoughts to their simple "pig farm" ten miles away.

He blew out the oil lamp, thinking about the trivial aspects of the pig farm, and fell into endless thoughts, his eyes were so dark it could melt into the thick night.

His thought went back to half a month ago.

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After He Songbai made up enough money, he and Li Zhong handed over four thousand yuan to Master He. Master He quickly took them to see the piglets. Li Zhong immediately decided to build a pig farm and took the piglets to raise them as soon as possible. Li Zhong said this because they were afraid of making too much movement. They even built the sheds for the pig farm by cutting wood in the mountains and piled them up directly in place.

Seeing that it was getting closer to winter, the grassy woodshed was not windproof and too cold for the piglets. He Songbai had to buy bricks secretly and hired cement workers to build the walls.

He Songbai also knows a little about carpentry. He learned from a master carpenter in his early years. He was expecting one more skill to make a living, but only a few people gave him work after he became a carpenter.

He Songbai invited his master, and Li Zhong took him to the state-run restaurant to have a meal of white rice and the oily pork belly. The poor and straightforward carpenter master was moved and followed them to build a pig farm in the deep mountains.

During this time, He Songbai's rest was erratic. He was busy running around to supervise the pig farm, and he helped his master to work. Although he was tired enough to choke, but his heart was getting stronger.

The new pig farm was built from nothing to a little bit covered up, and now it's about to be completed. Looking at it, He Songbai was like looking at a child who was raised by his own hands, and he was full of energy.

The next day, He Songbai got up early.

Early winter is the slack period of agriculture. Except for the members of the brigade who raise pigs, sheep, and cattle, and the members who take turns guarding the fruit trees, everyone else had basically no work. Even if there was, the trivial work every day was not enough for people to stuff their teeth.

Li Daniu is not as meticulous as his eldest brother. He arranges everybody's work in every aspect. In the early winter, he led the members of a production team and successively harvested the wheat and potatoes in the field, and then they went completely idle.

He Songbai took a sip of warm water. The weather was getting colder and colder, and it was difficult for him to get up and go to the pig farm ten miles in the morning. He put on his clothes and pushed the door out to wash up.

The sky was gray, and Zhao Lanxiang, who had also got up early, caught He Songbai, who had just gotten up.

He squatted on the edge of the eaves to brush his teeth with willow branches. Zhao Lanxiang saw him and handed him a toothbrush. Then she took out toothpaste from her pocket and squeezed it up to the size of soybean grains.

"Didn't you recover some debt? It's gone so fast that you can't even afford a toothbrush?"

The willow branch held by He Songbai stopped for a moment, and he took the brand new toothbrush handed by the girl.

He said vaguely, "You got up so early?"

In winter, the days are short and the nights are long, and the dawn is late. Because of the cold weather, the villagers are willing to stay at home and don't like to walk around. He Songbai doesn't have to rush to leave late at night like in summer.

In winter, the days and nights are long, the day is late, and the cold weather. The villagers are happy to stay at home and don't like to move around. He Songbai does not have to hurry to set off late at midnight like summer.

He Songbai heard the girlfriend's request, so how could he dare to disagree? He hurriedly moved and went to her room after washing.

A warm fragrance came from the woman's room, a little stuffy and extremely warm.

He Songbai had not come to this room for a while, and saw many new changes in her room. It was a little unexpected.

Zhao Lanxiang took off her coat, took out a dark black thing out of the cabinet, patted it in front of He Songbai, and unfolded it.

It's a cotton coat.

He Songbai's dark eyes flashed slightly, but he was silent.

"You left early and returned late, and you don't know many things at home. The eldest sister and I are making clothes, and I asked her to work for me."

"Really?" He Songbai was surprised.

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He knew that the woman always had so many ideas.

She could make his elder sister willingly do the job, earn money, and not making any movements, which surprised him.

From the very beginning, when He Songbai decided to do something speculative, he didn't intend to tell his eldest sister about it. He only informed his grandmother because he knew his eldest sister was stubborn and not flexible enough. Telling her would only create another resistance instead.

He couldn't imagine the elder sister helping his girlfriend to make clothes together.

He Songbai's lips squirmed a bit, and he wanted to ask about his sister's response.

In his opinion, if his eldest sister knew that he had done this, probably she had to break his head before she could calm down. After all, this job was disgraceful, and the reputation of their family was already bad enough.

Zhao Lanxiang said, "Don't be stupid. Try it on?"

She patted the coat in her hand and handed it to the man.

This coat is the result of her work in the past few days. Winter is coming, and his thicker clothes were nothing but the new dress shirt. But the shirt was still new, and he couldn't wear it outside. He only wore his worn-out long-sleeved shirts and shivering around to work every day.

He didn't look like a man with a considerable amount of money in his pocket. This level of low-key made her admired him.

How did Zhao Lanxiang know that this man's natural adventurous and enterprising heart prompted him to put all his net worth into the pig farm?

He Songbai's dark eyes couldn't help but show softness. He nodded and put on the clothes made by the girl personally.

The coat that his girlfriend has made for him is already "worn down." He could wear it directly. The longer he wore it, the more at ease he felt. The outer fabric of this "broken coat" is worn out, and a few "holes" were intentionally made. Several patches have been applied, which are gray. However, there was new, warm cotton batting inside, and when he put on the coat inside the room with a coal stove burning warmly, a thin layer of sweat appeared.

The slightly harder fabric was windproof and wide, and it could dress him up quite a bit.

Zhao Lanxiang looked up and down with an appreciative eye, feeling very satisfied.

The fleshy He Songbai was a natural clothes hanger. When she first saw him, he was thin and gloomy. His eyebrows were somber and vicious. He looked indifferent and unkind. The aura of his whole existence was very weak, probably if he were hidden in the corner, no one would notice. In the second half of the year, after the He family's food improved, he ate a lot, and the flesh on his face grew back, gradually becoming handsome.

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His long legs and broad shoulders, and her shawled cotton coat made him dazzlingly handsome.

The "worn out" of this coat is not the kind that looked like the coat has been worn for a long time, old and sloppy. The water-washed fabric of the labor cloth has a gradient color texture. She made it by washing it a few times, and she wore it down intentionally. Grinding the gray and black color, punching holes according to the golden ratio, and they were scattered on the coat with a kind of irregular beauty.

It is similar to the washed-out jeans in later generations. The torn was intentionally broken. Anyway, it can make him look good, even though it was deliberately ruining the clothes, it's still good?

People nowadays cannot appreciate the "dilapidated beauty," which could cover him just right.

He Songbai didn't have as much thought as Zhao Lanxiang. As a person born in the 50s, he touched his "worn-out" clothes with satisfaction, but he regretted it at the same time.

"It looks like I picked someone else's old clothes to wear."

His deep eyebrows stretched out, and he couldn't help but smile. The sharp corners of his eyes were slightly raised, with an unremovable aura of heroism.

Zhao Lanxiang couldn't help but glared at him because he was "clueless."

"Then, you can wear it in peace!"

"You can wear such sturdy clothes for several years!"

He Songbai nodded and methodically buttoned up the coat, "I still have something, I will go first."

"Wait until I come back tonight."

Zhao Lanxiang watched him riding a bicycle, and disappeared into the gray night while whistling. She looked down at her watch. It was precisely five o'clock.

...

He Songbai rode the bike to find Shunzi.

He had hard money in his arms; his chest was hot and throbbing.

The woman's tenderness made his heart soft, and he became more determined.

His ripped coat blocked the frigid cold winter wind blowing in the mountains. He Songbai was not feeling cold at all, but rode the bicycle faster than ever.

He soon arrived at Shunzi's house.

Shunzi is an old man who has been on guard duty for many years. His profound and sophisticated "detective power" was not comparable to anyone. It's not hard to find a farmer to raise pigs. Most people in rural areas have experience in raising pigs. The craftsman who builds the house is also not difficult to find. The critical role is an experienced "sentry" who went around the post.

The last time the Yangbaoshan pig farm closed down, if there were no Shunzi, a large group of butchers would be implicated one by one like pulling carrots from the mud. Shunzi was not just standing around and watching the wind. With his sharp eagle-like eyes, he can see through the people walking on the road. Who was a peasant, and who was the policeman who came to arrest people.

It was not something an average person can do.

He Songbai wanted to ask Shunzi to "go out with him."

Before dawn, Shunzi still hugged his wife on the hot Kang bed and had not entirely woke up yet.

He Songbai disturbed his dreams. He was both surprised and angered, "What's the matter?"

As he spoke, he put on a coat and followed He Songbai into the bush.

He Songbai asked him to squeeze the thick money in the bag. He deliberately exchanged the money with two yuan loose notes. Bills of several hundred yuan could be as thick as a brick when stacked together.

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With such "rich wealth," Shunzi was stunned.

"You... what do you mean?"

He Songbai handed him a cigarette and lit it with his own hands. The match lit up the faces of the two of them with bleak emotions.

With a smile in his eyes, his straight eyebrows, and his spirit was clean.

"I want to make money with you."

"Pig farm, guard, do you dare to do it?"

Shunzi was so surprised that the cigarette he held in his mouth almost fell to the ground. How would he think that this butcher, who was too poor to eat meat, one day would dare to come and ask him to go out and work in the mountains?

He Songbai paused and said, "Our pig farm has closed down, and it has now taken over by me. There is still a lack of guard posts. I will keep this position for you, do you want it?"

He stuffed the warm banknotes in his arms into Shunzi's coat. The movements were neat and not sloppy. Shunzi, who had earned money for so many years on the pig farm, can't help but felt speechless.

"Fu... fuck."

Shunzi was stunned for a long time, then said quietly while holding the thick money.

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