Wenxi took out a suitcase as a cover; she could use it to cheat later.
The two walked along a narrow path that could only be used by oxcarts for half an hour before they saw a building standing on the mountainside. However, the building was the color of stone, a dull gray, somewhat similar to the color of tree branches after the leaves have fallen in winter.
Wen Xi was somewhat surprised, "Brother Qin, are the conditions here already this good?"
"No, these houses were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and were gradually constructed by several generations of the family. It's not because the conditions here are particularly good," Qin Mi explained.
Wenxi nodded thoughtfully, "The wisdom of the ancients is truly unimaginable. They were able to polish stones into such smooth and flat blocks, and they were able to build two-story houses with such large stones. The key is that without cement or anything like that, how did they build such sturdy houses that have withstood hundreds of years of wind and rain?"
“It’s truly unimaginable. I wonder how the villagers’ ancestors built such houses, but they must have had their own methods,” Qin Mi said.
"Did you bring me here today for something?" Wen Xi asked curiously, wondering how Qin Mi had discovered this mysterious village.
"You'll find out soon enough," Qin Mi said.
The two walked for another twenty minutes along the mountain path and arrived at the village halfway up the mountain. There was a huge locust tree at the entrance of the village, which seemed to be a standard feature of every village, as if every village had a hundred-year-old or thousand-year-old tree at its entrance.
Some elderly people were sitting under the tree. When they saw Qin Mi bringing Wen Xi over, they asked curiously, "Officer Qin, who is this lady next to you?"
"This is my wife, Hao Liangliang," Qin Mi said. "We just arrived and need to hurry back and tidy up. We'll chat with everyone later."
"Officer Qin, you should go ahead! We won't take up any more of your time." The elderly men waved their hands.
Following Qin Mi into the village, Wen Xi realized just how beautiful this mysterious little village was. Almost every household had Chinese toon trees growing along their courtyard walls, and there were also many Chinese toon trees in the mountains. Some families even had cherry, peach, and pear trees in front of their houses... though not as many, but it was clear that this place was suitable for growing these fruit trees.
Arriving at the door of a stone building, Wen Xi was quite surprised to see Qin Mi take out his key to open the door. "Brother Qin, how do you have a key to this place? Do you rent a house here?"
"It's not rented, it's bought. I bought this house outright." Qin Mi opened the door and beckoned Wen Xi inside. "Now we have a place to stay here."
The place he lives in is a dormitory, not a house that will belong to him forever. Besides, he and Wenxi met here, so when he gets old, he wants to live here so that Wenxi won't have trouble finding him.
Once inside the house, Wenxi began to tour it. She was surprised to find that the house, built of stone, was so sturdy and had stood there for so many years.
Wenxi toured both the upstairs and downstairs buildings and couldn't help but admire the wisdom of the ancients. Standing by the window on the second floor, one could overlook the distant scenery, which was truly breathtaking.
"How is it? Do you like it?" Qin Mi asked as Wen Xi came down from the second floor.
Wen Xi nodded. "I like it."
"There's also an ancient bandit stronghold up on the mountain. I'll take you up there to see it when I'm resting," Qin Mi said.
"Is that the wall on the mountaintop?" Wen Xi raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected that it was where ancient bandits lived. But after so many years, there should only be ruins left!
"Yes, I didn't expect you to have such good eyesight, you actually saw it already." Qin Mi said with a smile, "However, the top has already collapsed, and only a little bit of the main structure is left. But there is no water up there, and it is not suitable for human habitation, so the villagers all live on the mountainside."
Wen Xi nodded thoughtfully. She remembered that Qin Mi and his sister from the 21st century had told her that millions of villages had become deserted and abandoned, and then the houses collapsed and slowly disappeared.
This place is prone to water shortages, and it's probably one of the first villages to be abandoned. If Qin Mi lives here, will he be the only one living here in the future?
Here, people sleep on kangs (heated brick beds). In winter, they cook at the head of the kang, which is also heated. In other seasons, they cook in the small kitchen outside. Almost every household has a small kitchen outside the gate for cooking and eating.
Wenxi and her group drove to the city first and then came here, meaning they had been traveling for almost a whole day. Wenxi wasn't in the mood to tidy up, so she brought out three portions of takeout dumplings, giving two portions to Qin Mi and one portion for herself, and also took out some fried chicken to eat.
She ordered a hundred of each item from the store according to the menu order. That means she had at least several thousand or even tens of thousands of servings of food from one takeout store. Why not eat all that food and just leave it there?
She ordered these things just to eat, didn't she?
After eating and drinking their fill, Qin Mi went out to fetch water and returned to boil it for washing. Wen Xi then lifted the mat on the kang (heated brick bed) that was used to cover the dust, and took out a clean mat from the cabinet to lay down, making two beds on the kang.
This kang (heated brick bed) is very large; I guess the previous owner made it so big so that his whole family could sleep in it.
Qin Mi had to go back to work and couldn't play with Wenxi in the village. He had to leave before dawn. Before leaving, he told Wenxi, "Liangliang, if you're leaving here, you must tell me so I can see you off, okay?"
If there's no chance for us to be together, then at least we should give him the chance to leave, right?
"If it's really too late, be sure to leave me a message. Don't just leave without saying goodbye," Qin Mi instructed.
Wen Xi nodded. "I understand. Don't worry, I've long considered you as family. I'll definitely tell you if anything comes up."
After Qin Mi left, Wen Xi locked the door and went to sleep. She didn't get up until dawn. After washing up, she brought out a bowl of shredded pork noodles to eat. The noodles also contained some shredded wood ear mushrooms, which were crisp, tender, and refreshing. They were really delicious.
After finishing breakfast, Wenxi opened the door and came out of the house. The air in the mountains was so fresh, and there seemed to be a faint fragrance in the air.
Wenxi took a deep breath of the fresh air. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw several children peeking out from a corner outside. They looked very cute.
Wen Xi beckoned to them, "Come here."
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