Chapter 23 (Second update, now VIP)

The rising sun hangs high in the sky, its rays bathing the mountains and forests.

Amidst the lush, rugged mountains, a narrow, winding path meanders and spirals towards the summit.

The sunlight shone on Cheng Ying's beautiful face, making it look rosy.

Carrying a heavy mailbag on her back, Cheng Ying followed the big yellow dog leading the way, walking along the narrow path from the foot of the mountain all the way to the top.

The postal route that Cheng Ying ran was about 200 miles long. She had to walk about 70 miles of mountain road every day, and she had to rest at a villager's house along the way. The round trip took three days, and the journey was quite tiring.

According to the map drawn for her by Cheng Jiantong and the branch chief, she had to deliver mail to two villages on the first day. The first village was on this mountaintop. Then she would climb over Liangfeng Mountain, go down to the foot of the mountain, and arrive at Liangfeng Valley. She would have a meal at a villager's house in Liangfeng Valley, deliver the mail, then climb over Ma'an Mountain and spend the night in Ma'an Village. The next day, she would deliver mail to two more villages, and finally climb over Ayi Mountain to arrive at Pucang Village. After delivering the mail and packages, she would return.

These three days of travel are extremely important. Apart from the rest stops designated by Cheng Jiantong, she cannot afford to waste any time. If she is delayed, she will not be able to return on time to deliver the next batch of letters and packages.

If she is delayed, she will have to sacrifice her overnight stay and get up early to return within the specified time.

Cheng Ying was an adult in the military training program. She walked along the winding mountain road for three hours without showing any signs of fatigue and did not stop to rest.

Dahuang is also in good physical condition. It is only four years old and is in its prime. It used to run mail with Cheng Jiantong. Because of Cheng Jiantong's long-term mail running, he developed a leg ailment and his walking speed is much slower than before. Dahuang has to keep up with his speed and walk slowly so as not to run too fast and leave its owner behind.

Now it runs the mail route with Cheng Ying. Cheng Ying is young and nimble, and walks very fast. It started walking slowly, then picked up the pace, and then ran ahead from time to time. Following the mail route that Cheng Jiantong used to run, it led Cheng Ying forward all the way, and it only took half an hour.

A collar was tied around Dahuang's neck, with a rope around it. When Cheng Jiantong couldn't walk anymore, he would tie his crossbody bag and some daily necessities to Dahuang so that it could help carry him forward and lighten his burden.

When they reached the river crossing Ma'an Village, Cheng Jiantong had to hold onto the rope around Da Huang's neck, and the two of them, one man and one dog, waded across the turbulent river and climbed towards Ma'an Village.

Normally, when Cheng Jiantong and Da Huang were running errands, Cheng would always talk to Da Huang as they walked.

He delivered mail alone for many years, and the roads he traveled were all uneven mountain paths. He didn't encounter many people. If he didn't talk to Dahuang, he would develop a lot of health problems after a while.

It was Cheng Ying's first time running mail with Da Huang, and she hadn't yet experienced the loneliness that Cheng Jiantong felt when he was on the road all year round with no one to talk to. She didn't say anything to Da Huang and just kept her head down and followed him up the mountain road.

As Dahuang walked along, it would occasionally turn back to look at her, probably thinking to itself that its little owner was really strange, never saying a word to it, and wondering if she was mute.

Cheng Ying didn't care what it was thinking. She walked and stopped, and each time she stopped, she was admiring the scenery in the mountains.

The endless mountain ranges are shrouded in mist every morning, but as the sun rises high in the sky, the mist gradually dissipates, revealing the villages, terraced fields, mountains, and forests that were once shrouded in mist.

Birds chirped in the nearby trees, while in the distance, many villagers could be seen working in the terraced fields, and the sounds of people talking could be heard from time to time.

The mornings in the mountains are very quiet and peaceful. On the right side of the narrow mountain path that Cheng Ying was walking, there was dry land and no one was working. On the left side of the path, however, there was no land, but rather a cliff-like cliff with a valley in the middle. In the opposite terraced fields, there were quite a few people.

Someone spotted Da Huang and Cheng Ying and called out from afar, "Hey—postman over there, do you have any mail for my family?"

Hearing the sound, Cheng Ying stopped on a stone-paved dirt path and shouted loudly to the other side, "Auntie—whose family are you?"

The person on the other end heard a young woman's voice answering, covered his eyes with his hand, and looked carefully in her direction. Realizing it wasn't the original postman, he shouted again, "I'm Comrade Cao Shijia—are you the new postman? Where did the previous postman go?"

The two were too far apart, and the woman's voice was barely audible, but it reached Cheng Ying's ears on the mountain breeze, and Cheng Ying guessed what it was.

She put down the mailbag on her back, carefully examined the mail destined for Aimen Village, and confirmed that there was a letter written by a man named Cao Shi. Then she straightened up and called out to the woman, "Auntie—there's a letter for you. I'll go to the village committee right away. Please come and collect it."

The other person excitedly exclaimed "Hey!" and together with the others, headed towards the village committee where their village was located.

The village committee of Aimen Village is located in a relatively flat courtyard next to the mountain road near the top of the mountain.

About 100 meters from the village committee, Da Huang stood on a protruding rock beside the mountain road and barked a few times in the direction of the village committee, reminding the villagers that the postman had come to deliver mail.

These days, very few people keep cats and dogs. The main reason is that most people can't even feed themselves, let alone have the extra food to feed animals like cats and dogs.

Only Cheng Jiantong has been accustomed to bringing a dog with him on his mail runs for many years. The dog not only keeps him company on the road but also helps him solve problems and dangers at critical moments. As a result, the villagers along Cheng Jiantong's mail route all know his dog.

Cheng Jiantong knew all too well what kind of people were these days. In many people's eyes, a big, imposing dog like Dahuang was a piece of meat. If Dahuang was out of his sight, it was very likely to be beaten and eaten by some ignorant villagers.

Therefore, over the years Cheng Jiantong has been a mail carrier, he has raised several dogs. He trains them from a young age to keep them within his sight as much as possible, and they eat and live with him.

He never brought Dahuang back to Lao Cheng's house, for fear that Lao Cheng's family might beat and eat his dog when he wasn't looking. He preferred to entrust the dog to his colleague for care.

Before Cheng Ying left, Cheng Jiantong repeatedly told her to keep a close eye on Da Huang and not let anyone beat or eat it. Cheng Ying naturally agreed.

Big Yellow's voice was very loud, and its echoes continued to reverberate through the valley.

Its call brought hope to many villagers.

Its appearance signifies that the postman has brought letters and packages, carrying the longing of those who have been away from home, and is someone the villagers eagerly await to see.

Soon the villagers heard its call and rushed to the village committee.

When Cheng Ying arrived at the village committee with Da Huang, carrying a heavy mailbag, many villagers were already waiting by the roadside next to the village committee.

Most of these villagers were sallow and thin, their skin tanned dark from working in the fields, and they wore old, patched clothes in gray, black, and blue.

Upon seeing Cheng Ying appear, everyone, regardless of age or gender, looked on in surprise and began to chatter amongst themselves, "They really changed the postman! Did the old Cheng quit?"

"Why is the postman a woman? I've never seen a female postman run this remote mountain route before. Does the post office trust her to run this route alone?"

"This female postwoman is really pretty. I haven't seen such a beautiful girl in so many years."

"Hey? Isn't that Comrade Cheng's dog, Da Huang? Why is it following this female postman? She looks familiar. Hey, ma'am, what's your relationship with Cheng Jiantong?"

Faced with the villagers' barrage of questions, Cheng Ying put down the heavy mailbag on a wooden table by the roadside near the village committee entrance, took a breath, and then answered their questions one by one.

“The former postman, Cheng Jiantong, fell down from Ayishan Mountain a while ago and became paralyzed on one side, so he can no longer continue to work as a postman. I am his eldest daughter, my name is Cheng Ying. I will take over his work. From now on, I will be responsible for delivering and receiving all the letters and parcels on this postal route in Mashan. Please take good care of me, fellow villagers.”

Cheng Ying has long, narrow eyebrows and eyes, a high nose bridge, thin, slightly red lips, and delicate, beautiful features. She has a natural air of heroism between her eyebrows and eyes. Her short, glossy black hair is hidden under a green five-pointed star cap on her head, and her honey-colored skin glows with a healthy luster in the sunlight.

When she wasn't smiling, her gaze had a sharp edge, but when she smiled, she was radiant and captivating, instantly winning people's favor. Coupled with her military-style green postal uniform, all the villagers present felt an instant surge of goodwill towards her.

"So you're the eldest daughter that Comrade Cheng has been talking about all along. I heard from Comrade Cheng that you were a female officer in the army. How come you suddenly became a postman?" After the villagers learned that she was Cheng Jiantong's daughter, they were very curious and fond of her, and they surrounded her and asked her questions.

Cheng Ying smiled and was about to explain when a man in his forties, wearing a slightly worn Zhongshan suit and looking like a village cadre, walked over and scolded the villagers: "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Don't hurt people's feelings. Old Cheng's story has already spread to several surrounding villages. Why are you asking these questions on purpose?"

The villagers who had asked those questions earlier awkwardly touched their noses.

The man turned to Cheng Ying, his expression changing, and said with a smile, "Comrade Cheng Ying, right? Hello, my name is Ge Shengli, and I am the village secretary of Aimen Village. The mail and packages your father sent were all left at the village committee. Except for the elderly people in the Ge family and the Tian family who are illiterate and have difficulty moving around, so I collect them on their behalf, the other letters and packages are delivered to everyone by the postman."

Cheng Ying nodded. "My dad told me, 'Hello, Secretary Ge, the two elderly people you mentioned, this time there were no letters from them, only from other people.'"

"Okay, I understand." Ge Shengli stepped aside and gestured to the villagers watching the commotion. "Those who have letters, come and get them. Those who need to mail parcels, go home early to prepare them. After Comrade Xiao Cheng finishes his mailings, give the parcels to him to take to the post office."