"Bang, bang-bang..."
Amid the howling, bitter wind, a little boy in thin clothes knocked on a household's courtyard gate, trembling all over.
It was New Year's Eve, and laughter drifted out from the courtyard now and then.
"Bang, bang-bang..."
After waiting a long time without an answer, the little boy reached up, grasped the door knocker, and tapped it gently a few more times.
"Hah..."
It was so cold that he immediately brought his hands to his mouth after knocking and breathed on them to warm them.
It was not just his hands. His feet, clad in nothing but straw sandals, were almost numb with cold as well.
"Who is it?"
Thankfully, someone in the courtyard finally answered.
The little boy's face brightened.
"Second Uncle, it's me."
He hurried to answer.
"Creeeak..."
Before long, the courtyard gate opened, and a middle-aged man with an honest, kindly face poked his head through the gap.
"Oh, Taiping. What brings you here so late?"
The middle-aged man addressed the little boy.
"S-Second Uncle... we've run out of charcoal at home. I wanted... I wanted to borrow a few pounds from you. When spring comes next year and I can go up the mountain to cut firewood, I'll pay you back. I promise."
The little boy spoke sheepishly, his gaze darting away.
"What's a few pounds of charcoal worth? Wait right here. I'll get you some!"
The man waved a hand and readily agreed.
"Taiping, have you eaten?"
After only a few steps, the man suddenly stopped and turned to ask the little boy.
"I, I... I ate... Grandpa... Grandpa hasn't..."
The little boy clutched the hem of his clothes tightly, his voice dwindling to a barely audible murmur by the end.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man sighed softly, then broke into a broad smile and said:
"Wait here, Taiping. I'll be right back."
"All right."
The little boy nodded gently.
Another gust of bitter wind swept past, making him shudder from head to toe, but his heart no longer felt quite so cold.
"Taiping!"
Before long, the middle-aged man came out carrying a winnowing basket.
"Here, take this."
His breath steaming white, Second Uncle hurried to the courtyard gate and thrust the basket into the little boy's arms.
The little boy looked down. Along with a few pounds of charcoal, the basket held four steaming white-flour buns.
"Second Uncle, I..."
The sight of those big white buns left the boy flustered, but he had not eaten all day, and he could not help swallowing at the sight of them.
"Go on, take them!"
The middle-aged man gave him a warm, guileless smile.
"Erniu, why are you still dawdling out in the courtyard?"
Just then, a rather burly woman strode up to the courtyard gate.
At the sight of her, both the little boy and the middle-aged man paled.
"Taiping... Taiping came to borrow some charcoal."
The middle-aged man gave her an awkward smile, his eyes darting about, full of fear.
"S-Second Aunt."
The little boy greeted the woman.
She first rolled her eyes at the middle-aged man, then looked at the little boy, her gaze finally settling on the basket in his arms.
When she saw the white-flour buns resting on the charcoal, her face fell at once.
"I saved those white-flour buns for Xiaohu. I couldn't even bear to eat them myself, yet here you are, playing the big spender!"
The woman glared fiercely at the middle-aged man, then angrily snatched up two of the white-flour buns in one hand.
"Ma, is the roast goose ready yet? I want roast goose, not white buns!"
Just then, a chubby boy in a new padded jacket came out of the house. When he saw the white-flour buns in the woman's hand, his face immediately soured.
"Son, what are you doing out here? It's cold outside. Hurry back in before you catch a chill."
The woman hurried toward the plump boy, her face full of concern.
"Ma, I don't want white buns! I want roast goose!"
The chubby boy stamped his foot sulkily, looking ready to cry.
"Yes, yes, of course. The roast goose will be ready soon. These buns are for A-Huang."
As she coaxed the chubby boy with a doting expression, the woman casually tossed the two white-flour buns into the dog cage beneath the eaves.
"Ah..."
Seeing this, the middle-aged man frowned, then let out a helpless sigh.
The little boy watched the dog gnawing at the white-flour buns and bit his lip. Then he hugged the basket of charcoal tighter, looked up at the middle-aged man, and smiled.
"Thank you, Second Uncle. I'll be going now."
"Be careful on the way home. When you burn the charcoal tonight, remember to leave the window open a crack, and tuck your grandpa in properly."
The middle-aged man waved a hand.
"Xu Erniu! If you don't get back inside, don't even think about getting into my bed tonight!"
The woman's cursing voice rang out from inside the house again.
"Coming, coming!"
The man hurried to answer, gave the little boy an awkward smile, then closed the courtyard gate.
Once the gate closed, the last glimmer of light on the snowy ground vanished. Darkness swallowed the world again, with only a tiny lamplight still glowing in a thatched hut a short distance to the east.
"With this charcoal and these two white-flour buns, Grandpa is sure to get better."
The little boy felt no fear in the darkness. Hunching his head into his shoulders, he murmured to himself with a smile, then hugged the basket of charcoal and the two white buns tightly and hurried with a skipping step toward a little earthen house glowing with lamplight in the night.
Outside the little earthen house.
"Creeeak..."
The little boy pushed open the door.
"Taiping... is that you?"
The moment he stepped inside, an old, hoarse, somewhat feeble voice came from the lamplit room.
"It's me, Grandpa."
The little boy rubbed his frozen face hard and struggled to muster a smile. Only then did he hurry to the room's doorway, lift the curtain, and step inside.
As soon as he entered the room, the thick smell of medicinal herbs washed over him.
Without a fire in the stove, it was scarcely warmer inside than outside.
At the far end of the room stood a bed pieced together from a few wooden planks. Beneath a worn quilt with its cotton stuffing exposed, an old man reduced to skin and bones lay curled up.
"Grandpa, Second Uncle lent me a few pounds of charcoal and gave me two white-flour buns. We'll toast them and eat them in a little while."
The little boy, Taiping, poured the charcoal into the stove as he spoke to the old man on the bed, his face beaming with delight.
"Good... good..."
The old man smiled and nodded.
Though the old man exuded the weariness of life's twilight from head to toe, his clouded eyes regained their sparkle the moment he saw little Taiping.
"Taiping... these past few years... staying with Grandpa... you've suffered so much."
The old man gazed at Taiping with eyes full of love, struggling to get the words out.
"I haven't suffered, Grandpa. Not at all."
After lighting the charcoal stove, Taiping raised his head, grinned at the old man, and shook his head.
"Silly child. Such a silly child... If you hadn't looked after me these past few years, I'm afraid I would have passed on long ago..."
The old man reached out to stroke Taiping's little head and sighed, his face full of tender pity.
"Grandpa, don't say such unlucky things. You'll live to a hundred, I know you will."
Taiping shook his head emphatically as he toasted the buns.
"Taiping, have you ever heard of immortals?"
The old man suddenly asked Taiping.
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