Chapter 11: Snow in Little Green Garden

Chapter 11: Snow in Little Green Garden

Chapter 11: Snow in Little Green Garden
Xiaolu Garden is located at the foot of Changxing Mountain. Although it is called Xiaolu Garden, there is not much green here. It seems to be always in autumn, with deep golden mountains and falling red leaves, bleak and peaceful.

It was clearly March, but it snowed heavily that day, and the entire autumn scene was covered with a thick layer of white.

Li Xiaoer was wearing thick cotton gloves and sweeping the snow in front of the restaurant, feeling happy.

Xiaoluyuan is a small place. Although Guangfenglou, where he works, is one of the only two large restaurants in the town, its business on weekdays can be said to be neither good nor bad.

But today, thanks to the heavy snow, the lobby was unusually full. They were all people who usually made a living by hunting and collecting herbs at the foothills of Changxing Mountain. Now that the mountain was blocked by heavy snow, they had no choice but to find a place to drink and keep out the cold.

His master, Shopkeeper Liu, was always busy shuttling back and forth between the lobby and the kitchen, and from time to time he would personally cook a few of his specialties, which won the guests' praises and made him smile with joy. It was not uncommon for a shopkeeper to be a cook in a small business.

At this time, at the end of the long street where the snow and fog were floating, a short, fat and sturdy figure walked slowly on the snow.

When Li Xiaoer got closer, he looked closely and found that it was a petite girl wrapped in an extremely thick cotton-padded jacket. Her little face was red from the cold under the furry cotton hat. She was carrying a luggage half a person's height on her back and it was obvious that she was walking with great difficulty.

The girl walked all the way to the entrance of Guangfeng Tower, and Li Xiaoer quickly came back to his senses. He put down his broom and walked over to her and asked, "Young lady, would you like to come in and have something hot? The beef stew made by our shopkeeper is delicious. Eating a bowl of it on this day will warm you up..."

As he said this, he tried to reach out to take the luggage for the girl who looked about his age, but the girl waved her hand and said no, then pushed the door open and walked in with the luggage on her back.

There was a charcoal fire burning in the main room, and it was warm.

Li Xiaoer followed closely behind and saw the girl looking around as if looking for someone, and then walked straight to the kitchen.

He opened his hands to stop her, but heard the girl shout, "Dad!"

A tall and strong middle-aged man wearing an apron poked his head out from the kitchen when he heard the noise.

"Supreme God, is it my illusion? Why do I seem to hear my daughter's voice?"

That was Liu Ruhai, the owner and chef of Guangfenglou.

"I'm back, Dad!"

Li Xiaoer saw the girl put her luggage against the wall, took off her hat and cotton-padded jacket soaked in snow water, and her chubby figure suddenly became thinner. Her black hair was simply combed into a high ponytail and fell on her shoulders. Her small oval face was as white as cream, and the red spots on her cheeks were steamed by the heat in the room and looked like two clouds. Her round almond-shaped eyes were clear as water.

Li Xiaoer was still staring at the girl in a daze. A slap was slapped on the back of his head. The master said unhappily, "Don't look at me. This is your sister Liu Sheng!"

"This silly boy is your uncle Li's son, Li Yongbao. We all call him Xiaoer. He doesn't like to study and only came to learn cooking from me this month."

Seeing that Liu Sheng had no recollection at all, Liu Ruhai continued to add to his memories.

"When he was just born, didn't you hold him in your arms all day and almost drop him to the ground?"

When Li Xiaoer heard that he had been in such a dangerous situation, he looked at the girl with a hint of fear.

Liu Sheng finally had some impression: "Oh, so you are the wrinkled skinny monkey!"

Li Xiaoer remembered that Sister Liu Sheng had always been a child of other people's families. She was the only genius in Xiaoluyuan who was admitted to a large academy outside. It was said that she also entered the weaving institute to work as a civil servant. In the eyes of her parents, she was a legendary figure with great prospects. They asked her to learn from others every day. In the end, seeing that she was really not cut out for study, they had to give up and let her learn from other people's fathers.

He hadn't seen Sister Liu Sheng since she left Xiaoluyuan to study. He didn't expect that she would be criticized as soon as they met. Is this what a genius's mouth is like?
Li Xiaoer wanted to cry but had no tears. He covered his face and left, making the excuse that he was busy.

Liu Sheng felt a little embarrassed.

"This...I didn't mean to do that..."

"Don't worry about this brat. He is very strong inside and has a bad memory. I guarantee he will forget everything after a while." Liu Ruhai didn't care much. "Did you have a smooth journey back?"

"Don't mention it. As soon as I got off the train, I found it was snowing heavily. I was so cold that my nose was running. I quickly bought a hat, a coat, boots and gloves at the station. The store owner was very cunning. He took advantage of the heavy snow to secretly raise the prices a lot..."

"The weather in Changxing Mountains is even more unpredictable than your mother's temper. There's nothing we can do..."

"Dad, don't say that. My mom will beat you if she hears." Liu Ruhai quickly shut up and helped his daughter lift the luggage in the corner. It was so heavy that he swayed. "What are you doing? Why are you carrying so many things?"

"Hiss, Dad, be careful not to bump into anything. There are all kinds of things in there, such as the fine iron pot and knives I bought for you. Don't you always say that the workmanship in the city is better? Seeing that you are greedy, you also bought some Lixian pickled pears, cured pork elbows, dragon beard cakes... and the formation plates, carving knives, and spirit crystals I bought for mom. They are very fine and expensive."

"Hey, kid, just go home, why bother being so polite? Besides, I'm not that greedy."

"Then, don't take it?"

"That won't do. This is all from my precious daughter's filial piety!"

The two of them walked noisily through the restaurant lobby and backyard and came to a small courtyard where a family lived.

The courtyard is not big, but it is decorated elegantly and tranquilly. It is obvious that someone has been taking good care of it. There are a few strong bamboos in the corner and a few old plum trees under the eaves, decorated with snowflakes, revealing a unique charm.

Liu Sheng looked at this familiar and cozy courtyard and felt warm in his heart.

"I'll go and get busy. I still have to prepare something delicious for you. You go see your mother first." Liu Ruhai put the luggage in the main room and turned to say to Liu Sheng.

"Dad, I want to drink pig's trotter soup!" Liu Sheng shouted to Liu Ruhai's back.

"I know, you love this, kid."

Liu Ruhai waved his hands backwards to indicate that he understood.

Liu Sheng's mother Ling Youlian is the only weapon refiner in the town. She has good skills. Usually, people will ask her for any spiritual weapons that need to be forged or repaired. Liu Sheng is good at refining weapons. Perhaps some of it is due to his natural intelligence, some of it is inherited from his mother, and some of it is from family learning.

Ling Youlian's weapon refining workshop was set up in a corner of the courtyard. Liu Sheng pushed open the door of his mother's workshop, and a warm breath hit him in the face.

The room was filled with various materials and tools for refining equipment. In the center was a small refining furnace with a blazing fire emitting a soft glow.

A tall, beautiful middle-aged woman was sitting at a workbench, concentrating on carving a half-finished spiritual weapon in her hands, meticulously.

Hearing the door open, Ling Youlian looked up and saw Liu Sheng standing at the door. She was immediately surprised and delighted: "Shengsheng, why are you back?"

Liu Sheng walked forward and hugged his mother gently: "Mom, I missed you and came back to see you."

Ling Youlian put down the tools in her hand, hugged Liu Sheng back, her face full of kindness.

"Okay, go home and eat some delicious food made by your father. You've lost weight. It must be hard for you out there, right?"

"Mom, I'm not miserable. My superiors and colleagues are all very kind to me."

Liu Sheng shook his head, his eyes felt sore, and he buried his head in his mother's arms to avoid being noticed by her.

In front of her mother, she always seemed to be unable to help but become the lawless and noisy little girl she used to be.

She took out the specially prepared gifts, packed them into a big bag and handed them to Ling Youlian: "Mom, I also made some money. Look, this is what I bought for you."

Ling Youlian took them out one by one and looked through them carefully. She couldn't let them go and showed joy in her eyes: "These things are of high quality. I also need them. You chose very well. Thank you, Shengsheng."

"But you have to save some money for yourself, things are expensive outside, and you have to spend money everywhere!" Ling Youlian said disapprovingly, "Not to mention anything else, you will get married in the future and have your own little family, and there will be many places to spend money."

"Mom, I won't get married. I want to be your treasure for the rest of my life." Liu Sheng blinked and said coquettishly, "What's more, I want to get promoted and make money, to be successful and famous, and to be a respected weapon refiner like you."

After hearing this, Ling Youlian smiled and patted Liu Sheng's head with full of doting.

"Okay, okay, my Shengsheng is the best. He will definitely become a great weapon refiner in the future and make a lot of money."

(End of this chapter)