As the sewing machine slowly emerged from the mountain, the tailor shop became smaller and smaller in sight until it was no longer visible. Thinking that it will soon collapse and be flattened along with other houses, disappearing forever in this mountain forest, I can't help but feel empty in my heart.

But Ruan Xi didn't show much. She took a few deep breaths to adjust her mood, turned around and chatted with the two middle-aged men carrying the sewing machines, and asked them: "Don't you go out to work?"

The middle-aged man walking behind continued, "Yes, these days if country people don't go out to work, they will starve. The city is building a lot, and all the people who can work in the country have gone out. It's better to go out and move bricks and stones than to stay at home. They were notified to come back and move. The elderly and children at home can't move anymore, so they had to come back."

Speaking of relocation, Ruan Xi said: "It's good to move out. At least the kids can go to school."

The transportation in the mountains is blocked and the roads cannot be built, so it will never develop. Now all the young people go out to work as laborers. There are no teachers in the mountains and it is difficult to build schools, so the children still have no schools to go to.

The middle-aged man walking in front with a shoulder pole said, "There are indeed many benefits to moving out, and life will be much more convenient. But everyone was born in the mountains, and their ancestors have lived here for generations, so no one wants to leave. The village has been mobilizing for more than half a year, and only some families are willing to move. Most people don't want to leave."

This is a deeply rooted concept among many Chinese people, especially the older ones, who would rather stay in their hometown and the house where they have lived for several lifetimes until they die than leave and go somewhere else.

It is only in recent years of opening up that there are more opportunities to make money, and young people are forced to go out to work. People have begun to leave their hometowns in waves to seek a living in better developed areas and send money home to support their families.

Ruan Xi sighed softly: "We still have to go out."

No matter how reluctant you are, you have to go out.

Two middle-aged men helped Ruan Xi carry the sewing machine to the town. Ruan Xi paid them for the transportation fee, treated them to a hot meal, and let them go after saying thank you.

Tired from climbing up and down the mountain, after returning to the town, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao did not go to the train station immediately. Instead, they put down their luggage in the guesthouse, prepared to rest for one more night, and then went to visit the Qian family to buy some things.

Although Ruan Xi has not returned in the past few years, Ruan Changsheng and Qian Chuan still find time to come back and visit Qian Chuan's parents.

Qian Chuan also has an older brother who worked in the county town after retiring from the army. He had a stable job and came back more often because he lived close to home.

After dinner, he returned to the guesthouse, washed up, sat down on the bed, stretched his muscles and said, "I'm so tired."

The man had just finished speaking when his cell phone in his bag suddenly rang.

Ling Yao took out the mobile phone from his bag, handed it to her, and sat down next to her with a sigh of relief.

Ruan Xi picked up the phone and said, "Hello, who is this?"

Ruan Cuizhi's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Xiaoxi, I'm your third aunt. Have you come down from the mountain?"

Hearing that it was Ruan Cuizhi, Ruan Xi subconsciously relaxed and said, "It's Third Aunt. We have come down and are now in the guesthouse in town. We plan to rest for a night and take the train back tomorrow morning."

Ruan Cuizhi: "Oh, okay, maybe there's no signal in the mountains, I couldn't get through to you before. It's like this, your fourth aunt called me a few days ago and said she wanted her Dapeng and his wife to come to Beijing. It just so happens that you and Ling Yao are there, how about I ask Chen Peng to go to the guesthouse to find you tomorrow morning, and you can bring him over on the way."

Chen Peng is the son of fourth aunt Ruan Cuilan and also Ruan Xi's cousin.

When we were in the mountains, Ruan Cuilan would come back to her parents' home every New Year and other holidays and they would meet her. But since Ruan Xi and the others all moved to Beijing and no longer returned to Fengming Mountain, I haven't seen them much since.

When Chen Peng married his wife three years ago, Ruan Cuizhi and Ruan Changsheng came back to attend the wedding.

Although they are far apart and seldom see each other, they have always kept in touch with each other. Of course, because they are all very busy and each family has their own life to live, they don't contact each other very often.

In fact, after they had established their company and factory in Beijing and settled down completely, Ruan Cuizhi had been asking Ruan Cuilan to go to Beijing. She even persuaded her for two days to attend Chen Peng's wedding, but she refused to go.

Ruan Cuilan didn't go, and Chen Peng didn't go to Beijing to work either, saying that there were more opportunities in the south, so he went to work in the south for a few years.

It was rare that they took the initiative to go there, so Ruan Xi naturally responded: "They are finally willing to go to Beijing. No problem, then tell them to come directly tomorrow morning. I will take him over."

Ruan Cuizhi: "Okay, okay."

After hanging up the phone, Ruan Xi looked at Ling Yao and said, "Fourth Aunt finally let Dapeng and his wife go to Beijing."

Ling Yao heard it and said, "Then take them back together tomorrow."

After that, he picked up Ruan Xi's legs and rubbed them for her, "Go to bed early tonight."

He goes to bed early and gets up early, but Chen Peng and his wife Liu Hongmei come even earlier.

He came over as Ruan Xi and Ling Yao had just finished washing up and left the guesthouse.

They hadn't seen each other for six years, and they hadn't met that many times when they were in the countryside, so of course Ruan Xi didn't recognize this cousin. Chen Peng didn't recognize her either, and he recognized her only after they confirmed each other outside the courtyard of the guesthouse.

The four of them exchanged pleasantries outside the guesthouse courtyard, and Ruan Xi said, "Let's go, let's go have breakfast first."

Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei just shook their heads and said they would not go. "We have already eaten at home. We will wait for you here."

Seeing that they really came to eat, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao went. The two of them quickly finished their breakfast at the breakfast stall, then went to Qian's house again, and took Qian Chuan's father's tractor to the guesthouse to pick up their luggage and sewing machine.

After putting away the luggage and sewing machines, several people got on the tractor bed and sat on the small benches inside. Ruan Xi glanced at the large sacks at the feet of Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei and asked them, "Why are you carrying so much luggage?"

Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei are now in their mid-twenties. They are both good-looking and have worked outside for a few years, so they dress quite fashionably. However, they are still a little reserved in front of Ruan Xi and Ling Yao. They only say, "These are things grown at home."

Ruan Xi understood that these were things he brought for them from home.

This was a token of their love. Ruan Xi smiled and said, "It's okay if you don't bring it. It's too heavy to carry for such a long distance."

Chen Peng smiled politely and said, "No one visits relatives empty-handed."

There is no money but land in the countryside. They cannot afford expensive and good things, but they feel embarrassed to give away cheap things. So naturally they bring things grown in their own homes, which best express their thoughts.

Since they had already brought the gifts, Ruan Xi naturally did not continue talking to them. She asked Chen Peng again, "Is everything okay at home now?"

Chen Peng said: "Everything is fine. We have just moved out of the mountains."

Ruan Xi continued the topic: "How is the place arranged by the government?"

Liu Hongmei continued, "Life is quite convenient here. It's better than living in the mountains. Every family has a homestead and a resettlement house. But the land is not very good. It's wasteland. We have to reclaim and prepare the land ourselves. I'm afraid the harvest in the first two years will not be good."

Because the land has never been cultivated and fertilized, it will be difficult for crops to grow.

Ruan Xi looked at the two of them and asked, "Are you still planning to come back and farm?"

Chen Peng smiled and said, "If we don't come back to farm, where else can we go? Hongmei and I work outside to earn money, and my parents farm at home and take care of the children. When the children grow up and get married, we will come back to continue farming."

Ruan Xi thought for a moment and asked, "Does Fourth Aunt blame us for not bringing you to Beijing?"

Hearing this, Chen Peng was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said: "No, my mother never said that. She only said that every family has its own roof, no family depends on others to make a living, and every family has its own life."

Ruan Xi nodded after listening, looked at them and said, "Since you have decided to go there now, and we are all there, don't think about coming back in the future. Work hard there, and we will help you. Just work hard to earn money to buy a house there, and bring the children, fourth aunt and uncle over after you settle down."

If she had to rely entirely on them for support, Ruan Cuilan would probably never go there in her lifetime.

I didn't consider bringing them along when we first started out, of course because our relationship wasn't that strong enough to just drag them out to take risks, and also because we really didn't need so many people, and having too many people would have been a burden at the time.

Chen Peng had never thought about this direction. He just simply wanted to go to Beijing to work and earn some money to go home. After working in the south for several years, they found it too chaotic and didn't want to go there anymore, so Ruan Cuilan turned to Ruan Cuizhi.

He looked at Liu Hongmei who was sitting next to him and was shaken back and forth by the tractor, then looked at Ruan Xi for a moment and said in a low voice: "Cousin... we may not... have the ability to do this..."

They are just ordinary people who grew up in the mountains, and they dare not even think about buying a house and staying in Beijing.

Seeing the expression on Chen Peng's face, Ruan Xi didn't say anything more to them, and just said, "We'll see when we get there."

Chen Peng nodded, "Well, thank you for your help, cousin."

The tractor swayed and rumbled forward. The four of them were chatting in the truck bed. Ling Yao and Liu Hongmei didn't say much. We talked about getting off the tractor at the train station, carrying large and small bags of things and sewing machines into the station and getting on the train.

After a rest in the car, I would close my eyes and rest, or chat and look at the scenery outside the window.

The next morning, the train whistled to arrive at the station, and I got off the train and left the station carrying these things. Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei carried their own packages and lifted the large sack together, while Ruan Xi and Ling Yao each carried a luggage bag and a sewing machine.

There were too many things to fit in the car, so Ling Yao found a tricycle driver outside the station, put the old sewing machine and Chen Peng's sack on the tricycle, and asked him to take it home.

Ling Yao and Ruan Xi drove Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei back.

Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei sat in the car and looked out the window, smiling and whispering, "We are finally here to visit the capital."

Xiao Ruanxi also heard their voices, and she said to Ling Yao, "Let's move around more."

Of course Ling Yao understood what she meant, so he drove around outside. In fact, he mainly wanted to let Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei see the TianA Gate, because many people's impression of the capital is the TianA Gate tower with the Chairman's portrait hanging on it.

When I got home after a round of shopping, the man who was transporting goods on the tricycle had just delivered the sewing machine and sacks.

Ruan Xi paid the money and asked the person to leave, then opened the door and led Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei into the yard.

As soon as she stepped over the threshold and entered the yard, Liu Hongmei smiled and whispered again, "It looks like the house in Dream of the Red Chamber."

They have been working in the south in recent years. The south has developed well, and high-rise buildings are no longer uncommon, but they have never seen a courtyard like the one Ruan Xi lives in, with gray tiles, a red door, and stone lions outside the door. It is similar to the house in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Ruan Xi smiled and continued, "In order to film Dream of the Red Chamber, a Grand View Garden was built. You can go and have a look if you have nothing to do."

Four people entered the house. Ruan Xi and Liu Hongmei were holding the luggage, Ling Yao was moving the sewing machine at the back, and Chen Peng carried the sack by himself, carried it through the second door and put it directly into the yard, where he stood there to catch his breath.

Ling Yao moved the sewing machine to the main room, placed it there, wiped it clean and covered it with a piece of cloth.

Ruan Xi boiled some hot water and went to the main room to make tea for Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei.

Both of them felt embarrassed and quickly stood up to take the cups.

Ruan Xi and Ling Yao also sat down to drink water. Just as they took a sip of hot water to moisten their throats, the mobile phone in Ruan Xi's bag started ringing again. Ruan Xi put down the cup, took out a mobile phone from her bag, answered the call and put it to her ear.

Ruan Cuizhi's voice came from the receiver again: "Xiaoxi, have you arrived yet?"

Ruan Xi smiled and said, "Third Aunt, you really know how to keep track of time. We just sat down to have a drink of water."

Ruan Cuizhi also smiled and said, "Come over after you finish drinking your water. We have already started preparing lunch. Let Dapeng stay here with me. Just bring their luggage with you when you come."

Ruan Xi responded: "Okay, we'll be there right away."

So after drinking the water, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao immediately took Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei, took their luggage and sacks, and drove to Ruan Cuizhi's house.

Ruan Changsheng, Qian Chuan, Ruan Jie and Chen Weidong were all there, and they greeted each other as soon as they entered the door.

Seeing so many people, Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei became more and more restrained, and even their smiles froze at the corners of their mouths.

If they were to be entertained by others, they might feel too restrained and uncomfortable, so Ruan Cuizhi asked them to talk to Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua. After all, the two old people have not changed much and give people a friendly feeling, especially they are Chen Peng's grandparents.

Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua were very happy to see Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei, and they had a lot to say.

They haven't been back for many years and they are always missing their hometown. No one has come over from home. Liu Xiaohu came over before purely with bad intentions to cause trouble, and he doesn't count since he's from the town.

Sitting and talking with Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei, Ruan Zhigao asked them a lot about their family's situation over the years. After understanding the general situation, he asked, "So how far has the demolition progressed?"

Chen Peng replied: "We have only moved some people in, and we haven't started demolishing yet."

Ruan Zhigao couldn't help but sigh, "Our ancestors have lived there for generations, and now it's being demolished. If your grandmother and I were not too exhausted, we would have gone back to take a look. We will never be able to see it again."

Chen Peng said: "Who says it's not true? Many families don't want to move and are still making trouble with the village committee."

Now Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua have also accepted many new ideas. Liu Xinghua said, "It is better to move out. Only by moving out can we find a way out. Being trapped in the mountains, generation after generation will remain the same."

…

After talking about the demolition and relocation, Ruan Zhigao asked Chen Peng: "Where are your parents? Why didn't they come with you?"

Chen Peng replied: "My family just moved and I'm a bit busy, and I'm also afraid it would be too much trouble for me to come over."

Ruan Zhigao snorted, "Wait until I die and see if they come back."

Hearing this, Liu Hongmei hurriedly said, "Pooh, pooh, pooh, grandpa, you will definitely live a hundred years."

At their age, they no longer shy away from talking about life or death, because it is something they have to face every day and there is nothing they can't say. But it was really a letdown to talk about this, so I didn't go on to talk about it.

When the four generations of grandparents and grandchildren talked until lunch, Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei felt much less restrained. After all, we are all family members. When I felt their warmth and kindness, the tension in my heart naturally decreased.

When the family was eating at the table, they were also talking about the demolition in the countryside, and then they talked about why Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei came here, and they just asked them: "Do you have any ideas?"

Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei shook their heads and said, "Let's go out and look for it. We'll do whatever we find."

Seeing that they had no idea, Ruan Changsheng said, "How about this, Hongmei, you go to the factory with Third Aunt, learn some skills and let Third Aunt arrange some work for you, and Dapeng will stay with me, what do you think?"

Hearing this, Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei were naturally very happy. But they were not too embarrassed to bother others, so they looked at Ruan Changsheng and said, "Isn't this too much trouble?"

Ruan Changsheng smiled and said, "What's the trouble? I don't have any other requirements. I just ask you to be willing to learn and work hard. You can't just live a lazy life just because you are from the family. That won't work."

Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei said in unison: "We are not here to mess around."

You are not qualified to live in such a place.

Ruan Changsheng had something to do, so after lunch he stayed at home for a while and then went out.

He was busy all afternoon and didn't come back until the evening. When he came back, his family had just finished dinner, so he took Qian Chuan and Ruan Dabao home directly. Naturally, the others also went home.

After getting home, washing up and going to bed, Ruan Changsheng suddenly said to Qian Chuan, "I ran into Sun Wei's grandson again today."

Qian Chuan felt sick when she heard the name Sun Wei. She just asked, "What did he do again?"

Ruan Changsheng said, "It seems that the restaurant has closed down again, but it seems that it has made a lot of money in the past few years. It is so proud. However, the grudge is deep, so he came up to belittle me, saying that I have no ability and rely on my niece for everything."

Qian Chuan sneered, "He has the ability? The ability to do evil things?"

Ruan Changsheng thought for a moment, "But what he said did give me some ideas."

Qian Chuan looked at him, "What do you think?"

Ruan Changsheng picked up the pillow and put it behind him. "The company's clothing business is so big now, and we have a lot of money. I was thinking, why don't we invest in something else? What do you think?"

Qian Chuan was stunned for a moment, but did not reject Ruan Changsheng's idea. He just asked, "What do you want to invest in?"

Ruan Changsheng thought for a while, "We can't do anything too big, and we really don't dare to do it, so let's do something small. I'll ask around recently to see what can make money, and then make a decision."

Qian Chuan looked at him and said after a moment: "If you want to make some investments, you might as well directly invest in Xiaoxi's real estate company. That is the most profitable. I don't think there is anything that can make more money than real estate."

Ruan Changsheng clicked his tongue, "Doesn't this still rely on Xiaoxi? Besides, the real estate company is not owned by her alone, and it is managed by Xie Dongyang. The time when they needed money to take risks has passed, and now they have stabilized and are on the right track. They don't encounter any risks and need funds. Do we have the nerve to say that we want to invest in it at this time?"

Qian Chuan thought about it and said, "Yes, it is indeed a bit shameless."

Ruan Changsheng didn't want to think about it, and just said, "I'll ask around first."

Qian Chuan suddenly looked at him with doubt in her eyes: "Are you doing this just to leave Sun Wei speechless?"

Ruan Changsheng cleared his throat and said frankly, "Yes, but not entirely."

Qian Chuan pulled the quilt and lay down, yawning sleepily, "Don't let your quarrel with him develop feelings for him one day."

Ruan Changsheng's eyes widened, "Unless the earth is destroyed!"

Qian Chuan was really not interested in Sun Wei. She yawned again and said, "Turn off the lights and go to sleep."

Ruan Changsheng reached out and turned off the light, and the room suddenly fell into darkness.

After a moment of silence, Ruan Changsheng suddenly said, "By the way, when the next building in Xiaoxi opens for sale, let's ask them to reserve a house for us. I want to move to a building. I feel it's more comfortable to live there."

Having lived in a tiled house for most of her life, especially in the old house of Sun Wei's family, Qian Chuan was eager to move out and live in a building, so she didn't even need to think about it. She just responded directly even though she was so sleepy: "Okay."

Ruan Changsheng wanted to say something else, but Qian Chuan suddenly said, "Go to sleep!"

“…”

After Chen Peng and Liu Hongmei arrived in the city, they adapted for two days. Then, as Ruan Changsheng had said, Liu Hongmei followed Ruan Cuizhi to the factory to learn a craft, and Chen Peng followed Ruan Changsheng.

After getting acquainted, Ruan Changsheng asked Chen Peng: "What kind of job do you do in the south?"

Ruan Changsheng thought he would say moving bricks and stones or something like that. After all, urban construction requires a large number of construction workers, and this type of work is also done by country people the most. But unexpectedly, Chen Peng said, "Working as a waiter in a karaoke bar."

Ruan Changsheng was slightly stunned, then looked at Chen Peng.

Seeing that Ruan Changsheng didn't seem to believe it, Chen Peng said, "I also learned how to make cocktails from someone. It's not just this job. I've done many jobs, and I've sold things to factories. Anyway, I'm just trying to see which one makes more money."

Ruan Changsheng nodded to show that he believed it, and then asked, "Why don't you go to the south?"

Chen Peng said, "It's too chaotic over there now. There are all kinds of people. There are even people riding motorcycles on the street snatching bags. Especially at the train station, children must be held in arms and not led. Bags must be held tightly in the arms. Money must be placed in the closest place to your body. Whether entering or leaving the station, you cannot stop for a step, let alone turn your head to look around. If you meet someone wearing sunglasses, you must walk around. No matter who comes to talk to you, you must not respond. No matter what happens, you must not intervene. It's hard to guard against it. This year, all the money that Hongmei and I earned was taken away by others, so we don't want to go there anymore."

Ruan Changsheng patted his shoulder and said, "It can be considered a life experience."

After saying this, he suddenly asked, "Are there many karaoke bars in the South?"

Chen Peng nodded, "A lot, especially in Guangzhou, which is close to Hong Kong and Taiwan. You can watch Hong Kong TV and listen to Hong Kong radio there, so you can hear a lot of pop songs. People are greatly influenced by it, and everyone learns quickly. There are many people who love to sing, but it is difficult to get on a proper stage, so most domestic singers are there. There are also many singers from the north who go there to perform in karaoke bars to make money."

Ruan Changsheng thought about it for a while and said, "Then I'll go and ask around."

Chen Peng didn't understand, "What are you asking?"

Ruan Changsheng smiled and said, "Ask about the local situation."

On a late autumn afternoon, the poplar trees outside the window were golden yellow, and a few leaves fell in the breeze.

There were five embroidery workers sitting in the studio, working with their heads down in front of the embroidery frame. Ruan Xi was sitting side by side with the five workers. After working for a while, her eyelids kept sticking together. She was so tired that she put down her needle and went back to her office to sleep.

Now there are four more workers in her studio, and she doesn't have to participate in the manual work.

But sometimes she can't keep still, especially when she has no inspiration and doesn't want to sit in front of the easel to draw designs, she will still pick up the needle and thread and slowly do handicrafts, which is also a way to relax her brain.

After returning to the office and taking a nap and feeling a little better, she came back to the studio.

When she got off work in the evening, she felt extremely tired, so she didn't stay in the company long and went home on time. I didn't want to bother cooking when I got home, so I went out to have dinner with Ling Yao.

After washing up in the evening, the two of them leaned on the bed and watched TV. As they were watching, Ruan Xi fell asleep again.

She slept so soundly that she didn't know when the TV was turned off or when Ling Yao went to sleep. And when I woke up the next day, it was almost noon and the sun was shining through the window, so bright that it was blinding.

Ruan Xi didn't have to go to work on Sunday, so she got up and sat on the edge of the bed to relax for a while.

Ling Yao came in at this time, walked to the bedside, looked at her and said: "Wake up, hurry up and wash up and eat."

Ruan Xi took a breath and stood up from the bed. Before she took a step, she was too lazy to slam her face into Ling Yao's chest. Even her voice was lazy and soft: "Am I really old? Why am I so tired lately?"

In her previous life, she never lived past the age of thirty. Is thirty a magical critical point, after which a person’s physical condition and body functions completely change? With her current condition, she can just retire and enjoy her retirement.

Ling Yao raised his hand and touched her forehead, "Are you sick?"

Ruan Xi lay still, "I just feel very tired, even more tired than when I had that..."

She paused for a moment, then raised her head and looked at Ling Yao, "How long has it been since I last had my period?"