Chapter 7 The happiness brought by six hot water bottles

Saga is located in the south, and many people think that the weather there is warm, but the winter in Kyushu is unexpectedly cold.Grandma's house is an old-fashioned house, and it is extremely cold; moreover, it seems that when people are cold, they will consume subcutaneous fat, and they always feel empty in their stomachs.Especially when really hungry, it feels colder. One day in the third grade of elementary school, it was the time when the autumn coolness was deep and the cold was threatening.When I came home from school, I shouted before I put down my schoolbag: "Grandma, I'm so hungry!"

But that day, there must have been nothing to eat at home, and grandma suddenly replied to me: "It's your nervousness." Hearing what she said, I, who was only nine years old, could only obediently admit, "That's right."If you don't eat, what should you do?We don't have a radio in our house and certainly no TV to watch.I was extremely bored and muttered: "I'll go outside and play." Grandma actually said to me: "No! Going out to play will make you hungry, so go to bed." I looked at the clock, it was only half past four in the afternoon!It's still too early anyway!But because it was too cold, I got into bed obediently and fell asleep without knowing it.

At about 11:30 in the evening, although my grandma kept saying that I was nervous, I really woke up hungry that time.I shook my grandmother who was sleeping next to me and said: "I'm really hungry!" This time she told me: "you are dreaming!" Because I was in bed, I really thought it was a dream for a moment... But in the end, because I was cold and hungry, I shed tears.After finally staying up until the next morning, I told my grandma that I wanted to have breakfast, but she actually said: "Didn't you eat breakfast yesterday? Hurry up and go to school, the school has a nutritious lunch!"

In this way, I survived two meals. Grandma is always cheerful, but in the cold winter, her mood occasionally becomes depressed for no reason.It was a cold night that was colder than usual, but grandma was very happy. "Anything good?" "I have this hot water bag today, it's very warm!" Excitedly, she poured hot water into the old oval silver hot water bottle. I don't know if I picked it up or where I got it from. I wondered dubiously, can I really get warmer with that thing?But after wrapping it in a blanket and putting it under my legs, it really feels so warm.This warm quilt is like heaven, let me fall into a deep sleep.

From that night on, I became a big believer in hot water bottles.In the evening, when my grandma poured hot water into the hot water bottle and brought it to me, I was very happy. Hot water bottles bring happiness to our cold home. One night, the aunt next door came to our house.It was only around eight o'clock, and my grandma and I had already got into bed early. Of course, there were warm hot water bottles under our legs.Grandma didn't feel disturbed, and politely called aunt in. The aunt brought us pickled mustard greens and said, "It was sent by someone else..." Grandma immediately keeps her:

"Have a cup of tea before leaving." The aunt said, "Oh, it's too late, I'm sorry." She walked quickly into the house. Then there is the problem. I only heard my grandma say: "Ah, just right." I took out the hot water bottle from the bed, unscrewed the lid, and poured the hot water in the bag into the teapot. The aunt refused to reach out to pick up the cup of tea that grandma had been persuading her to drink.Grandma still giggled and said: "You're welcome, drink it! Although it was used to warm your feet just now, it has nothing to do with the hot water inside."

Only at this time, my position was on the side of the aunt next door.But after a few days, I also became the person to be pitied instead of empathized with. Happy fall outings. That morning, I asked my grandmother: "Is there a kettle?" Grandma quickly said: "Put the tea in a hot water bottle and take it." "Huh? Hot water bottle?" But something is better than nothing, I really put the tea in a hot water bottle and take it out.But that's a hot water bottle after all. Walking on the road with a hot water bottle tied to my body, not only my classmates, but even passers-by on the road frequently looked sideways.I had been feeling ashamed all day, and then on the way back from the excursion, things suddenly turned.

After running and playing around, and walking for another day, my classmates were very thirsty, but their small water bottles were all empty, only my hot water bag still had more than half of the water left. "Tokunaga-kun, do you still have tea?" "Give me a drink." Everyone ran to my side, and I also thought that if there was less tea, the hot water bottle would become lighter, so there was no reason to refuse. "Yeah." I generously distributed tea to them, but someone brought me a snack and said, "This is for you, thank you." If in someone else's house, when a child comes home and says: "I'm back, how about some snacks?", there will be sweet steamed buns or biscuits to eat, but in our house, if a child asks: "Do you have any snacks?", you will only hear: "The persimmons from Tanaka's house are at the right time to eat!"

The tea in the hot water bottle is exchanged for snacks and candies. It feels like a "straw rich man". This is also thanks to grandma who is not bound by the traditional concept that "a hot water bottle is just a tool to warm your feet".