Chapter 26: One man, one dog, and one mountain path

After leaving Aimen Village, Cheng Ying continued her mail delivery work, carrying her mailbag.

Dahuang led her down from the mountaintop to the next village called Liangfeng'ao.

The road down the mountain was not easy to travel because there was no highway. The road was a narrow mountain path that the older generation had carved out. It was mostly built along the cliffs that did not encroach on farmland, and it was winding and twisting.

Cheng Ying carried a heavy mailbag and had to be careful as she walked down the mountain to avoid slipping and falling.

Dahuang is familiar with this postal route and feels no pressure traveling it.

It had been running ever since it started coming down the mountain, thinking that its young master would keep up with it steadily as before, so it ran happily with its tail between its legs.

As a result, it ran a long distance before Cheng Ying could catch up. It had to run back quickly and stand by a clump of weeds near the cliff on the narrow mountain road halfway up the mountain. It tilted its head and looked at Cheng Ying, barking three times as if to say, "Woof, woof, woof!"

Cheng Ying peered over the roadside cliff. Below was a sheer drop of several hundred meters, with sparse green trees and vegetation growing on the cliff face. Below the cliff, a stream flowed swiftly, but the water was a clear, emerald-green color, and the sound of the flowing water could be clearly heard.

Across the mountain lies a vast expanse of trees and forests, with the sun high in the sky. The scenery here is beautiful, and a cool breeze brings a refreshing feeling, making the steep mountain path less dizzying and terrifying.

Liangfeng'ao was still three hours away from the mountain. Cheng Ying wiped the sweat from half of her face, pulled on the shoulder straps to ease the pain from the heavy mailbag straps rubbing against her shoulders due to the long journey, and said to Da Huang, "Let's go, Da Huang."

A man and a dog walked eastward toward Liangfeng'ao, following a winding, steep mountain path halfway up the mountain.

A gentle mountain breeze blew, and birds chirped occasionally in the forest, accompanied by the roars of wild beasts. A stream murmured at the foot of the cliff, and the distant mountain valleys were still shrouded in a lingering mist. Surrounded by such clear mountains and green waters, Cheng Ying felt as if her soul had been purified.

In her previous life, Cheng Ying lived a life driven by her strong-willed personality and military career, entangled with Wei Muchen for most of her life, and lived the good life that many people dream of.

But behind the good days are countless sorrows, endless mental exhaustion, and indelible physical pain.

In her previous life, Cheng Ying lived a very tiring life. She suffered greatly both physically and mentally, and never had a single day of peace and tranquility.

Having been given a second chance at life, she wants to live a different life than in her previous one, to return to the countryside, to the place where she grew up, to experience the rural mountains and rivers, and to live a peaceful and tranquil life. This is her dream in both her previous and current lives.

This is probably what every rural child who ventures out into the world thinks about: if things don't go well for them, or if they've been hurt, they'll want to return to their hometown, to the countryside where they grew up, to farm, grow vegetables, raise cats, dogs, chickens, and ducks, to eat simple meals, to stay with their parents, to feel the fragrance and tranquility of every blade of grass and tree in the countryside, to use rural life to soothe their pain, and to live out their lives quietly and peacefully.

Cheng Ying was originally a farmer's child, and her heart suffered irreversible damage. No matter how good life was in the city, she was unwilling to go back to the city to torment herself.

She would rather stay in the countryside and work as a mail carrier, a job that outsiders looked down on, than not travel through the mountains and fields, using the natural beauty of the mountains, rivers, plants, and trees to soothe the pain in her heart.

Taking a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, Cheng Ying poured out all the chaotic emotions in her heart, tightened her shoulder straps, and continued on her way.

It was around 10 a.m., and the fiery red sun was shining down on the earth. The mountaintops on both sides of the river were all golden red. The scenery was beautiful, but it was unbearably hot. Even though a cool breeze was blowing up from the river at the foot of the mountain, Cheng Ying was still sweating profusely.

After walking for more than two hours, Cheng Ying could no longer bear the heat and stopped at the edge of a cliff on a slope that had been carved out by man. She placed the mailbag against the inner cliff wall and leaned against it to catch her breath for a short while.

Big Yellow was also very hot. When he saw that she had stopped, he squatted down next to her, facing the cliff, enjoying the cool breeze, with his mouth open, tongue sticking out, and panting heavily.

Cheng Ying took out a military water bottle from her shoulder bag, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down half a bottle of water in one go. Then she took down an old ceramic water cup that was tied to the mailbag with a rope, poured the remaining half of the water from the military water bottle into the cup, and placed it in front of Da Huang. "Da Huang, are you thirsty? Drink up."

This ceramic water cup is only the size of a palm. It was the ceramic water cup that Cheng Jiantong used to use. He would carry it on his mailbag every time he was delivering mail, and when he was thirsty, he would scoop up water from rivers and streams to drink.

While this quenches thirst, it has two drawbacks.

Firstly, when Cheng Jiantong is truly thirsty, he may not be able to walk to a stream or river to fetch water and drink it. If a person is constantly in a state of thirst, his body is prone to developing health problems.

Secondly, although those river and stream waters may look crystal clear and taste very sweet, they have not been boiled. They contain many microorganisms, parasites, and invisible leech larvae. Drinking raw water for a long time will inevitably cause discomfort and health problems.

Wan Shuhui felt sorry for Cheng Jiantong, so not long after he took office as a postman, she bought him a military water bottle and tried to persuade him to carry the water bottle filled with boiled water on his journey. However, he always refused to listen, complaining that carrying the water bottle was too troublesome.

Later, as he got older, he drank some spring water from the mountains and accidentally swallowed a leech. He felt unwell for a long time and became increasingly thin. When he was taken to the hospital for a checkup, the leech was found to be quite large and required surgery to remove it.

From then on, he never dared to drink tap water again. He always carried his military water bottle with him, and he never forgot the ceramic water cup he used for drinking tap water. He always carried it on his mailbag and gave it to the dog that ran the mail with him to drink.

Cheng Jiantong insisted that Cheng Ying carry the water cup with her. Besides using it to give Da Huang water, the water cup was also hung on the mailbag. Every time Cheng Ying took a step, the water cup would hit the mailbag, making a crisp tinkling sound.

Passersby or villagers who hear this sound know that the postman has arrived, which can save her a lot of unnecessary trouble.

After running for half a day on the mountain road, Dahuanglian was naturally thirsty. Cheng Ying poured it some water, and it lowered its head and drank the water in the cup clean without spilling a single drop.

Seeing this, Cheng Ying couldn't help but reach out and stroke its fluffy head, praising, "Dahuang, you're such a good dog. You don't drink water and you spill it everywhere. My dad has raised you so well."

Like all dogs, Dahuang enjoys being petted by people he knows and can also recognize human emotions.

It knew Cheng Ying was praising it, and although it couldn't understand what she was saying, Da Huang was very happy.

It held its head high, its dog face displaying a human-like smile, its round dog eyes squinting with laughter, and its fluffy tail wagging back and forth as Cheng Ying stroked it, appearing good-tempered and docile.

Cheng Ying petted it for a while, and when it seemed to have rested enough, she re-tied the water cup rope that Da Huang used to drink water to the handle on the outside of the mailbag. Then she picked up the mailbag again, stood up, patted Da Huang's sturdy back and said, "Come on, Da Huang, let's continue delivering mail."

"Woof!" Big Yellow barked and took the lead, walking forward at a leisurely pace.

In the quiet mountain path, the soft, rhythmic tinkling of Cheng Ying's enamel water cup hitting the mailbag as she walked could be heard once more.

The two walked for about half an hour when Big Yellow, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and barked loudly at a bend in the mountain path, out of Cheng Ying's sight.

"What's wrong, Da Huang?" Cheng Ying asked, puzzled. She pulled out a military dagger from her shoulder bag and held it in her hand, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

Big Yellow glanced back at her, then turned and continued barking "Woof, woof, woof" ahead, though this time the barking was noticeably softer than before.

Judging from its expression and movements, Cheng Ying didn't think it was wary of biting anyone. Just as she was wondering why it was barking like that, a strong male voice came from around the bend ahead, where the view was blocked by a large protruding rock: "Old Cheng, is that you? You've come to deliver a message to our village?"

Soon, a thin, dark-skinned man in his late forties with a small mustache appeared on the mountain road at the bend.

Behind him were two equally dark-skinned and thin young men in their twenties who looked somewhat like him. The three of them, each holding a black goat on a rope, were stunned when they saw Cheng Ying carrying a green mailbag.

At that moment, Dahuang wagged its tail at the three people, clearly recognizing them.

The people Da Huang knows shouldn't be bad people.

Cheng Ying lowered her guard, quietly put the military dagger in her pocket, and leaned closer to the cliff wall. On the narrow mountain path, less than a meter wide, she made way for the people and sheep on the other side, and greeted them: "Uncle, hello, I am Cheng Jiantong's eldest daughter, my name is Cheng Ying. My father is no longer a postman, so I will take over his job. Are you from Liangfeng'ao? I will deliver all the mail for your village from now on."

"You're Old Cheng's eldest daughter? I knew you looked familiar. Did you deliver letters for your dad when you were little? That time your dad brought you to our house for dinner, you even beat up my brat."

The middle-aged man recognized her and, smiling, grabbed the black goat that was itching to bump into a stranger, saying, "I'm your Uncle Guang Sheng. The one on my left is Erxi, the one you were fighting with, and the one on my right is Daxi, who was trying to break up the fight. They're not much older than you. Back then, your aunt saw that Daxi was always taking sides and protecting you, so she told your dad that you should be betrothed to Daxi. Your dad refused, saying that your marriage had to be decided by your mom, not him. You weren't happy either, saying that if you were betrothed to Daxi, you would beat him to death."