Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

The workers in the shed were all fast asleep, their snoring deafening.

Old Liu snored the loudest, like a bellows; Xiao Zhao ground his teeth; and Old Wang's stinky feet mixed with the smell of instant noodles permeated the entire shed, making people's eyes hurt.

Song Chao tiptoed to his bunk, and without turning on the light, took off his coat by the moonlight streaming through the window.

He took out his phone, glanced at the photos of his wife and children on the screensaver, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

The light from the screen shone on his face, finally bringing a touch of warmth to his face, which was red from the cold.

I can go home in a little over a month.

He tiptoed into bed and wrapped himself in the faded military overcoat.

I bought the coat five years ago at a second-hand market for thirty yuan. The cotton inside had long since clumped together, the sleeves were worn shiny, and one of the buttons was missing.

He couldn't bear to throw it away, and he would wrap himself in it to sleep every winter.

He fell asleep in no time.

In his dreams, he always dreamed of going home. Niu Niu would rush into his arms, wrap her little arms around his neck, and call out "Daddy" in her sweet, childish voice. Yuan Qiao would bring him a bowl of hot soup, with tender pork ribs and a layer of scallions floating on top, making his mouth water with the aroma.

In his dream, he felt warm all over, as if he were soaking in warm water.

Days passed by like this.

During the Song Dynasty, people were the first to rise and the last to leave every day, and they would volunteer to do any dirty or tiring work.

He carried cement that others were unwilling to move, fifty kilograms a bag, from the warehouse to the construction area, making more than a dozen trips back and forth, leaving layers upon layers of bloodstains on his shoulders.

He would tie steel bars, which others found too tiring, squatting under the sun all day long. His knees ached so much that he couldn't sleep at night, so he bought the cheapest safflower oil, rubbed it on himself, and continued squatting the next day.

He'd take jobs that others thought paid too little.

Sometimes there are odd jobs on the construction site. He gets 20 yuan for unloading a truckload of bricks and 15 yuan for cleaning up construction waste. Others look down on such small amounts of money, but he eagerly takes them on.

Earning an extra fifteen yuan is enough to buy Niu Niu a small box of strawberries.

Old Liu couldn't stand it anymore and once said to him during a meal, "Song Chao, why are you working so hard? You can't earn enough money, but your health is your own responsibility. Look at your back; if you keep working like this, you'll be bedridden before you're even forty."

Song Chao ate a mouthful of rice and smiled broadly.

"It's okay, I'm in good health. I'll earn more while I'm young, because expenses will be even greater when Niu Niu starts school, so I need to save in advance."

What he didn't say was that every time he thought about Yuan Qiao staying at home taking care of the children and not even being able to afford a new scarf, he felt that he wasn't working hard enough.

He owes Yuan Qiao too much.

I've owed her since the first day of our marriage.

For the past three years, she has not had a single good day with him. They live in a dilapidated house in the suburbs that leaks when it rains. It is cold in winter and hot in summer. They have to haggle with the vendors for ages when they buy vegetables.

She never complained.

But he knew in his heart that any woman would be miserable if she married a man who was incapable in that area.

Therefore, he could only treat them even better, doing everything in his power to be good to them.

He swallowed the first mouthful of rice and then took another bite.

Today the cafeteria served stewed potatoes and cabbage, which was almost devoid of oil, and the rice was a bit hard, but he ate it very quickly, finishing a bowl in just a few bites.

We need to finish eating quickly; we still have two truckloads of bricks to unload this afternoon.

Yuan Qiao called him twice during that time.

The first time was around 7 p.m. He had just finished unloading a truckload of bricks, and he was covered in dust. He didn't even have time to wash his hands before he took over the call.

"Have you eaten yet? Don't just keep working without eating." Yuan Qiao's voice was still so gentle, making him feel warm inside.

"Yes, I ate! The cafeteria made braised pork today, and I ate two big bowls." He lied; he clearly ate stir-fried potato shreds for lunch, without even minced meat. "What about you? Did you and Niu Niu eat?"

"We ate too. Niu Niu ate more than half a bowl of rice today, more than usual." Yuan Qiao paused, her voice tinged with joy. "Her cold is better, and the kindergarten gave her a little red flower sticker. The family photo she drew was posted on the classroom wall. The teacher said it was drawn exceptionally well and even asked the other children to copy it."

Song Chao was overjoyed to hear this, and most of his fatigue instantly disappeared.

"Really? Then Niu Niu will definitely be a great painter in the future! Much better than me, I can't even draw a circle properly. You tell her to keep drawing, and when Daddy gets back, he'll buy her new paintbrushes, the kind with 48 colors."

"Don't always spoil her," Yuan Qiao said softly, without any blame in her tone. "Be careful at the construction site, don't overwork yourself. The weather forecast says there's going to be a cold snap in the next few days, so wear more layers."

"Okay, okay, take care of yourself too." Song Chao gripped his phone, his knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure. "Once this project is finished, I can go back home. I already picked out the aluminum alloy materials for the balcony last time, so we can install them when I get back, and Niu Niu won't get cold in the living room this winter."

"Okay," Yuan Qiao replied. "Then you go ahead with your work, I'm going to give Niu Niu a bath. She got all muddy from playing in kindergarten today."

"Go on, go on, tell Niu Niu that Daddy misses her."

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, Song Chao pressed it against his chest and took a deep breath.

The day after the cold wave passed, it was so cold that people would freeze to the bone if they stood outside for ten minutes.

The water pipes on the construction site froze and burst, spilling water all over the ground, which quickly froze.

Several workers huddled inside the shed, warming themselves by the electric heater; none of them wanted to go outside.

In the Song Dynasty, a man carried a pickaxe to chisel through the frozen soil in order to remove the formwork at the edge of the foundation.

This job wasn't originally his responsibility, but the foreman said he'd get a fifty-yuan subsidy for whoever did it, so he went.

The pickaxe struck the frozen, hard mud, making my hands go numb and the bones in my arms buzz.

It took him almost an hour to break through the frozen soil; his fingers were so frozen they looked like carrots and he couldn't even close them.

Fifty yuan in hand.

He silently did the math in his mind: fifty yuan plus double pay for working overtime tonight, plus next month's salary, plus the five hundred yuan bonus that Boss Zhang promised, he would have nearly a thousand yuan left over when he went home.

That's enough to buy several cartons of milk for Niu Niu.

That night, Lao Zhou came to see him again.

"Song Chao, there's something I need to tell you. There's a problem with the steel bars at our construction site. The quality inspection team is coming to check tomorrow, and they might ask you a few questions."

Song Chao didn't understand anything about quality inspection stations, but Lao Zhou's tone sounded quite serious, so he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"What's wrong, Brother Zhou? Did I do a bad job? Do you need me to redo it?"

"It's not your problem." Old Zhou said this without looking him in the eye, lighting a cigarette as he looked down. "It's just that there's a problem with the materials. If the quality inspection station asks, just say you don't know anything, that the steel bars were like that when they arrived."