So, the kang stove that Qin Xiangyang and his family used this year was burning fiercely, and even though there were two kangs in their house, none of them ever got cold.
With a kang stove, they wouldn’t fear the cold outside, the winter at this time, without heating or air conditioning, was unimaginably cold in Dadao Village. The cold in the mountainous areas is something city people can’t imagine, but once used to it, they could endure it, especially when they return home to the burning kang stove, making the whole house warm and cozy.
Qin Xiangyang wrapped Nuannuan’s little face tightly with a large scarf, so tight that no wind could get through. Nuannuan shook her little head, then pulled down the scarf covering her face a bit, wondering if her older brother was trying to suffocate her with this scarf.
"Ah, sorry," Qin Xiangyang immediately knew he did something wrong when he saw his sister’s face turning red. He clumsily used both hands to rub her little cheeks.
Nuannuan’s face was being kneaded by her brother like dough, and it seemed he found it quite enjoyable as he continued until her little face turned red, looking very charming and then he finally stopped.
Nuannuan sighed, deciding to tie the scarf herself without letting her brother do it. Her brother had no talent in writing, nor in tying a scarf. She wrapped her entire face, neither too tight nor too loose, enough to breathe and block the wind.
A child’s face is very important, and there are things to be cautious about from a young age. At this time in the rural areas, hands and faces get frozen often. Just like Nuannuan would have her hands swell up like radishes every winter, then cracking open until healing in the spring of the next year.
Back when she was at the Qin family, she did all the harsh and heavy chores, washing clothes, washing dishes, all with cold water. As a result, her first period didn’t come until she was sixteen, and even then, it was accompanied by severe dysmenorrhea, an indescribably bitter experience. Now, she took care to avoid touching very cold water in winter, making sure not to just get by when washing her face and hands, and even tried to use hot water for laundry when possible.
Qin Xiangyang also knew the water was cold, so he always heated up a pot of hot water before washing clothes to prevent them from getting cold.
Despite that, Nuannuan still got frostbite on her hands, those little hands were pitifully red like little radishes, swollen like bread, itching whenever they were warmed, sometimes her fingers couldn’t even curl properly, making practicing calligraphy in winter a challenge.
There was no helping it, she had been this way ever since she was at the Qin family, freezing every year.
Qin Xiangyang pinched his little sister’s chubby hands, they were actually more like little chick claws, but they looked chubby due to being frozen.
"Wait until someone in the village slaughters a pig for New Year’s, I’ll take you to soak in pig’s blood," he said, and then took out a pair of warm gloves from inside his shirt, slipping the warm gloves onto Nuannuan’s little hands.
Nuannuan felt her fingers getting warm, she placed the gloves on her face, truly warm.
"Let’s go, let’s go sell the Spring Festival couplets," said Qin Xiangyang as he prepared to pack up the Spring Festival couplets, pondering how exactly to pack them. He took a set of couplets, feeling very proud inside - these were written by his sister, and they were beautifully written, it’s just that folding them might prove difficult for him.