At dawn, the bugle sounded in the regiment.
In front of the family compound, Zhuang Mingcheng held Lu Fangfang in his arms, and the two rode on a chestnut horse, heading east.
Behind the two men and their horse was a lithe snow leopard.
"Giddy up!"
"Giddy up!"
After crossing the stream, Zhuang Mingcheng pulled on the reins and rode towards the grassy area by the roadside.
At this time, the grass on the entire grassland has turned green, and the undulating grassland is covered with small yellow flowers.
In the distance, there are high mountains, and at their highest points, there is a ring of white snow-capped peaks.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, both of them felt much better.
After riding for a while, Zhuang Mingcheng slowed down by holding the reins.
He glanced back and saw that Xiaohua was still following closely behind, so he felt relieved.
"Fangfang, the most important thing about horseback riding is coordination. You need to understand the horse you're riding, and you also need to make the horse understand your commands. I'll teach you properly later."
Forehead……
"Um... um..."
Lu Fangfang sat in front of the horse and suddenly felt a little guilty.
"What's wrong?"
Zhuang Mingcheng leaned closer and looked at his lover.
A thought struck him, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
"I...I can ride a horse now."
Zhuang Mingcheng's face darkened. He knew it! He knew it!
I'm so frustrated!
My partner is already so busy with clearing land, climbing snow-capped mountains to dig for caterpillar fungus, and hunting, and now he's even learning to ride a horse. He's really not giving me any chance at all.
"It's that old Xu again?!"
Lu Fangfang secretly glanced back and saw that her husband's face was almost as black as the bottom of a pot.
“Back then, I had to go to the Gona Snow Mountain every day to dig for caterpillar fungus. I had no choice; if I didn’t learn to ride a horse, I would keep bothering others. I learned with Sister Shufen, who could also ride a horse…”
"drive!"
Zhuang Mingcheng cracked his whip hard, and the chestnut horse immediately galloped at full speed.
He was furious; he needed to see Old Xu immediately.
"Slow down, Xiaohua can't keep up."
"Whoa~"
Zhuang Mingcheng slowly came to a stop.
When Xiaohua caught up, he had his lover carry her, and then they ran off again.
The two men and the leopard were all riding on chestnut horses, and they were very fortunate to have such good horses.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the sixth team village.
Lu Fangfang pointed to the stone-built courtyard to the south and whispered:
“That’s where Old Xu lives, Mingcheng. Old Xu is a rightist, but he’s a very good person. He taught me out of kindness, so we can’t repay kindness with enmity.”
Zhuang Mingcheng nodded helplessly, his face dark.
To be honest, that's exactly why he was even more frustrated.
"Old Xu? Old Xu?"
Lu Fangfang stood in the courtyard and looked around curiously.
A few days later, Old Xu's house was once again plastered with big-character posters, but fortunately, the few tomatoes under the window were not damaged.
Thinking about the exercise she had started, she sighed softly.
"Squeak."
The dark mud-brick house had its wooden door wide open.
Old Xu, wearing a blue jacket with his sleeves rolled up, came out.
"Comrade Lu, you're back? Are you alright?"
Xu Huayun was very happy to see Lu Fangfang again.
"Well, the investigation team couldn't do anything to me. I spent a few days in the provincial capital and then came back. Old Xu, thank you for your help these past few days..."
"Cough cough."
Zhuang Mingcheng frowned, coughed, and looked very dissatisfied.
"Old Xu, this is my wife, Zhuang Mingcheng."
Lu Fangfang had no choice but to pull Zhuang Mingcheng over. "Mingcheng, this is Comrade Xu, Xu Huayun."
Zhuang Mingcheng looked Lao Xu up and down.
He noticed that the man was slovenly and unshaven, yet he possessed a unique aura.
He understood that kind of temperament; it was the temperament of a cultured person, which was most popular with young girls.
He suddenly felt a little worried; his wife was just a young girl now.
Xu Huayun was also looking at Zhuang Mingcheng.
After all this time, this was the first time he had met Comrade Lu's legendary lover.
He took two steps forward, wiped his hands on his clothes, and then said, "Comrade Zhuang, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Fangfang often talks about you to me, Comrade Xu, hello there, um..."
Zhuang Mingcheng gripped his hand tightly.
After a while, the two separated and remained silent, neither of them speaking again.
Seeing this, Lu Fangfang felt the atmosphere was extremely awkward; neither of them seemed inclined to be friends.
She coughed and quickly asked, "Old Xu, how's my little wild donkey with you?"
"It's great. I've been leading it around herding horses these past few days, and it's gotten used to me."
Xu Huayun turned and walked towards the horse pen.
Zhuang Mingcheng frowned and followed.
"Oh...ah..."
The stubborn little donkey was tied up in the stable, and as soon as it saw the group of people coming, it immediately brayed.
Zhuang Mingcheng was taken aback; it was the first time he had ever seen such a handsome little donkey.
He stepped forward and couldn't resist touching it.
"Fangfang, is this the stubborn little donkey you caught?"
"Yes, it looks good, doesn't it?"
Lu Fangfang felt a little proud. She stepped forward and reached out to touch it as well.
It had been more than a week since I last saw the little wild donkey, and it looked like it had grown quite a bit.
In a few more months, she'll be able to ride it. Wild donkeys are just as fast as horses, which will make traveling much easier.
Xu Huayun watched the two laughing and joking, then silently left the horse pen.
Seeing Xiaohua in the yard, he walked over, squatted down, and started playing with her.
...
"Old Xu, thank you for your help these past few days. I'll take the little wild donkey back with me."
Lu Fangfang led the little wild donkey and walked out of the horse pen with Zhuang Mingcheng.
She could tell that there was something off between Lao Xu and Zhuang Mingcheng, so she decided to leave quickly to avoid making things awkward for them.
Xu Huayun stood at the courtyard gate, silently watching the two leave.
After a while, he went into the house, took some food, carried a chicken coop on his back, and then went to the horse pen to release all the horses.
This time, he plans to go to a more distant pasture to graze the horses for a few more days, and he won't be coming back at night.
...
"Zhuang Mingcheng, why did you look so down just now? He's a rightist, he's having a tough time right now, and you're still acting like this."
Lu Fangfang, leading the little wild donkey, was somewhat dissatisfied.
This petty man really embarrassed her; she should have known better than to bring a man.
"How can I be happy when I think about him teaching you to ride horses and taking you to climb snow-capped mountains?"
Lu Fangfang: "..."
She led the little wild donkey and plopped down on the grass.
Mingcheng was right. She sighed and realized that she hadn't been careful enough in her work.
"I...I was wrong."
Zhuang Mingcheng was overcome with jealousy. He reached out and grabbed his lover, saying, "Take me to Gona Snow Mountain."
Lu Fangfang was taken aback. "Why go there? That's far away, and the cordyceps are all gone now."
Zhuang Mingcheng didn't speak. He grabbed his lover's waist and pulled her onto the horse.
He tied the little wild donkey to the back, handed it to his lover Xiaohua, and then mounted the horse himself.
Which direction is Mount Gona Snow Mountain in?
"...to the south."
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