This... is probably inappropriate?

"Mom, you've been working hard all year. How about making an exception today and having a small cup?" He poured half a cup for his mother-in-law, the cup gleaming in the breeze.

"Drink! Fill it up!" Mother Chen said with a smile as she picked up the glass.

-

At the other end of the courtyard is Liu Haizhong's house.

Aunt Er sighed, arms crossed, "That Liu Dong kid, really... why does he love to show off so much? Everyone else has given gifts, our Liu family can't just come empty-handed, can we?"

Liu Haizhong scrolled through his fingers: "What are we giving away? Noodles? Rice exchanged with ration coupons? Cloth saved from new cloth coupons? Or oil? None of these were earned without careful budgeting!"

The whole family fell silent; no one responded.

In the past, grain was readily available, and receiving a little food as a gift was nothing unusual;

Nowadays, a single ration coupon controls a single grain of rice; if you send out a pound of rice, your own family will go hungry for a meal.

After a few seconds of silence, the youngest son, Liu Guangji, suddenly looked up and said, "Deliver the coal briquettes."

"Huh?" Aunt Er's eyes widened. "A lump of coal?!"

Liu Haizhong was also stunned: "This...isn't this inappropriate?"

Liu Guangqi immediately chimed in, "Why not? If he's giving us a gift, why can't we? He's giving us eleven yuan, we're giving him twelve! It clearly shows—our Liu family also 'cares' about you!"

Liu Haizhong slapped his thigh: "Okay! Let's do it this way!"

"Guangqi! Guangtian! Guangfu! Grab your tools, let's go move some coal!"

In less than three minutes, twelve dark coal briquettes were neatly stacked in front of the Yi family's door.

"Old Yi!" Liu Haizhong shouted, his laughter exceptionally sincere. "Hang in there! Don't give up! We support you!"

"Here, a small token of my appreciation; it warms the house and, more importantly, warms the heart!"

"puff--"

Yi Zhonghai nearly fell while holding onto the door frame; it felt like he'd been hit in the chest with a hammer.

—The Xu family next door.

Xu Fugui strode out with his hands behind his back, his face full of righteous indignation: "See? The Liu family gave one, and Liu Dong gave one too—our Xu family is a reasonable family, how could we be left behind?"

"Da Mao! Move the coal!"

"Why!"

Two minutes later—

"Uncle Yi, Aunt Yi, Happy New Year! Here are eight briquettes, just a small token of my appreciation!" Xu Fugui bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

— Jia Dongxu approached, carrying a basket: "Sir, my coal is almost gone. I'll give you eight pieces first. If it's not enough, just let me know, and I'll make another trip right away!"

He Yuzhu carried twenty coal briquettes through the door, grinning broadly, "Uncle Yi! Is that enough? If not, I'll carry more!"

Yan Jiecheng, carrying a basket, bowed respectfully: "Uncle Yi, Happy New Year! Wishing you good health. These are coal briquettes I brought!"

In front of the deaf old lady's house, piles of coal grew higher and higher, forming a dark, dense mass that looked like a crooked little hill.

The wind whistled past, carrying snowflakes.

Snowflakes fell slowly, landing on the coal, on the threshold, and on Yi Zhonghai's stiff shoulders.

He sat there, motionless.

His face was calm, but his eyes were empty.

The wind suddenly picked up—

A stronger gust of north wind came crashing in, carrying snowflakes that splattered all over his face.

He didn't wipe it.

He just let out a long, long sigh. No one expected that when Yi Zhonghai opened his mouth, blood gushed out with a "pfft"—bright red, like a spilled jar of cinnabar, splashing precisely onto the two black lumps of coal at his feet, one red and one black, glaringly bright.

During the Chinese New Year, every household stays indoors to stay up late, make dumplings, and eat melon seeds. Why would anyone go out?

The tavern was deserted, so they simply closed the door and the waiters went home to warm up the wine.

Chen Xueru naturally stopped working as well.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to the old custom, one should kowtow and pay New Year's visits. However, Liu Dong had no relatives to visit at all—his parents had passed away long ago, and he had no uncles, cousins, or other relatives. He was a complete "lone commander," so idle that he could count the cracks on the ceiling.

Since he had nothing better to do, he dragged Chen Xueru along and strolled around the factory.

The department store is always open, and it gets busier during holidays, with the counters packed like sardine cans.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally the day for parents to visit their wives' parents' home.

Liu Dong took Chen Xueru and her mother with him to the Qianmen area.

He thought to himself: his brother-in-law's family is struggling financially, so he should bring something substantial over for the New Year—at least half a pound of meat, right?

We're family, no need to be so polite.

But Chen Xueru refused to budge and didn't bring a single ounce!

I only stuffed in a few packets of peach shortbread and a handful of frozen spinach and bok choy.

The brother-in-law's face immediately fell: "Sis! What... what happened to you?"

His voice was weak, and his hand unconsciously rubbed the cuffs of his cotton-padded jacket. "We're waiting for you to bring some meat! We still have to visit my father-in-law this afternoon. What will we say if we go empty-handed? 'Oh dear, my sister's family can't even save up enough meat coupons'?"

Chen Xueru raised an eyelid: "Want meat? Why are you asking me?"

She spoke quickly, each word like a hammer blow, "Liu Dongquan secretly gave you my four ounces of meat coupons! And you're still asking for them back? Your skin is thicker than a city wall corner!"

Upon hearing this, the brother-in-law seemed to have his spine removed; he shrank back, opened his mouth, but remained silent.

Chen's mother lowered her head and picked at her nails, while Liu Dong looked down at the tips of his shoes; neither of them responded.

The scene was so quiet that only the sound of icicles dripping from the eaves could be heard—anyway, Chen Xueru was the main speaker, and everyone else was just an audience.

In the third year of junior high, I continued to drift along.

On the fourth day, I continued wandering around aimlessly.

Chen Xueru suddenly remembered something: "I heard that the Temple of Heaven is really magnificent with its carved beams and painted rafters? I've never been inside before!"

Liu Dong shook his head: "That place is locked right now. The key is with the cultural relics bureau. For an ordinary person to get in? It's as difficult as climbing to heaven!"

He chuckled, "Never mind, let's go for a stroll around Shichahai. The ice is sparkling, and the withered willow branches are covered in frost; it looks quite bright!"

The two of them walked into the park, their feet crunching through the thin snow.

I'm always rushing to work, so I just dash across Yinding Bridge without ever stopping to see what's inside.

"Make way! Make way quickly!"

"Doctor! Is there a doctor? Someone come quickly!"

"Someone's fallen—!"

"It looks like poisoning! There's white foam all over its mouth!"

Seven or eight people were standing in a circle in front of them, making a lot of noise. In the middle, a middle-aged woman had a high-pitched and trembling voice.

"Something's happened!" Chen Xueru tugged at Liu Dong's sleeve. "Hurry over there!"

The two pushed through the crowd and squeezed in—there they saw a girl in a red cotton-padded jacket lying on the lakeside path, her body stiff, her jaw clenched tightly, white foam constantly coming from the corners of her mouth, her eyes rolled upwards, and she was already unconscious.

"They probably ate something bad?"

"This doesn't look like food poisoning..."

Everyone was talking at once, but no one dared to step forward.

Liu Dong frowned, stepped forward, and said, "Step back! Let me handle this!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd parted to make way for them.

He squatted down and quickly stripped off the red cotton-padded jacket—underneath was a navy blue sweater. He had a well-proportioned figure with a perfectly fitted waist, but at that moment, he only had his pulse and acupoints in his eyes and didn't care about anything else.

His fingers flew across the paper, tapping precisely at several spots on the girl's chest.