Chapter 81 Chapter 81 Enthusiastic Lady
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"Go, go, go back!"
"Take the axe with you and forget about the other things. Come on, get down the mountain first!"
"Watch your step, ugh, don't fall."
…
Less than an hour after climbing the mountain, the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour, as if someone had poked a hole in the sky, and torrential rain poured down from the sky, covering the entire forest with a "rustling" sound.
The rainstorm was fierce, and the bean-sized raindrops hit people painfully. It was impossible to work. A group of people just climbed up the mountain and hurried down the slope with axes in their hands. One of them slipped and returned to the village in a mess with mud on their bodies.
In front of the stone house, next to the stone washing table of the villagers, the people who had hurried down the mountain did not rush back to the house. All of them stood together in the overwhelming rain, using the rain to wash the muddy dirt off their bodies.
"Oh my god, what kind of weather is this? It really soaks me like a drowned chicken."
"That's right. It would be fine if it rained earlier. Why do we have to go up the mountain to get wet?"
"Oh! It's getting heavy again. I really don't know how long this rain will last."
The ground was a pool, the sky was a shower, and a group of big, strong men, shirtless, stood in the natural bathhouse and began to take baths. Everyone was in a bad mood because of the sudden rainstorm. There were cries of grief everywhere. Some people complained about the weather, and some complained that God was playing tricks on them, making them covered in mud.
Just two minutes later, a surprised cry broke the resentful wailing.
"Look what that is? Is it... a person?"
White mist filled the air, visibility gradually decreased, and on the cobblestone road, two tightly wrapped figures, one tall and one short, slowly approached.
From a distance, they looked like human figures; from close up, they were still human figures. The two people seemed to have rolled in the mud, with their heads, faces, and bodies all covered in a thick layer of mud.
Okay, it’s confirmed that it’s a person, but... I can’t see who it is at all.
Judging from their heights and long skirts, Luo Yuan tentatively called out, "Gu Mengran?"
"Hey, Brother Luo." The clay man blinked in response.
"What are you doing—" Luo Yuan tried to hold back, but the two looked too funny, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahahaha, my God, what's wrong with you two?"
Gu Mengran wiped his face helplessly, staring with two dark eyes, "My left foot tripped over my right foot and I fell. Liang Zhao tried to pull me up, and we ended up rolling around together for a few rounds."
"Hahahaha...you're wrapped up so tightly. Who would recognize you if you didn't say anything?"
"I was wondering where the person went. Did he go to take a bath in the mud after all this time?"
“Hahahahaha…are you not hurt?”
The haze was swept away, and there was a burst of laughter in the open space in front of the door. Everyone had the same goal and spared no effort to laugh at Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao.
It seemed like they were treating people to a monkey show? Gu Mengran, who was covered in mud, also laughed. Even though he was the monkey, the mockery without malice did not offend him at all.
They came back in the pouring rain, with the mud on their bodies still not dry. Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao took off their shirts and scrubbed them in the rain. It took them a while to clean themselves up.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. I thought I could get off work early today, but unexpectedly, when Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao had just finished taking a shower and walked under the eaves, Xiaodong came over with two sets of dry clothes.
When Gu Mengran saw the dry clothes, he immediately understood that there was work waiting for them.
As expected, they found an empty house nearby to change their clothes. When Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao came out together, Xiaodong was still standing under the eaves and had not left.
His eyes wandered between Gu Mengran and Liang Zhao, and finally he raised his chin slightly and said to Liang Zhao, "It's raining too hard, so we won't go out today. Liang Zhao, you go to the drying yard to chop firewood. Just walk under the eaves and you won't get wet."
Liang Zhao hummed, but remained standing still after that.
Xiaodong frowned and said, "Go ahead."
"Oh, let's go." Gu Mengran grabbed Liang Zhao's arm, pulled him and turned away.
"Hey! Gu Mengran, where are you going?" Xiaodong hurriedly called them.
Gu Mengran paused and turned back in confusion, "Aren't you chopping wood?"
"Who told you to go?" Xiaodong took two steps forward and grabbed Gu Mengran's other arm. "Liang Zhao is going to chop wood. You stay in the village with me to help."
As expected, he still couldn't get away with it. Gu Mengran sighed secretly and let go of Liang Zhao's hand, "Then--"
Just as he said a word, Gu Mengran's wrist suddenly tightened. He looked down and saw Liang Zhao holding his hand.
Facing Liang Zhao's worried gaze, Gu Mengran pulled his arm out of Xiaodong's hand, gently patted the back of Liang Zhao's hand twice, and gave him a look that said there was no need to worry, "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere, I'm just in the village."
Liang Zhao tried to persuade him, and although he was extremely reluctant, he still let go and left.
The back figure disappeared around the corner along the eaves. Gu Mengran withdrew his gaze and raised his chin towards Xiaodong, "Where are you going? Let's go."
They were separated on purpose and he was kept here in a roundabout way, definitely not for work.
Gu Mengran was already prepared for a new round of lobbying, but Xiaodong took him under the eaves and walked in twists and turns for more than ten minutes before arriving at a slightly old stone house.
The stone houses in the village have similar structures. Two old wooden doors are wide open. Entering the door is the most spacious main room in the whole house. However, this main room is too crowded. There are rows of half-person-high bamboo racks in the room, which are so densely packed that people have no place to step.
The smoked and roasted ones are strung together with hemp ropes, like a string of beaded curtains, and hung neatly on bamboo racks, while the dried and roasted potato chips and sweet potato strips are placed in a winnowing basket and placed between two bamboo racks to dry.
The smell in the room was fishy and smoky. Gu Mengran followed Xiaodong and squeezed into the house through the gap in the bamboo frame. Before he could catch his breath, he received the snakeskin bag handed to him by Xiaodong.
"Put them in bags, separately. Oh, yes, touch them before you pack them, make sure they are completely dry before you pack them, otherwise they will get moldy." Xiaodong arranged in an orderly manner.
Are you really here to work? Gu Mengran was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Xiaodong had already picked up the bag and put it away, he hurried to take action.
After being carefully baked and fully air-dried, the dried goods in the bag have completely lost their moisture. As long as they are not placed in a cool and humid place, these dried goods can be stored for a long time.
When enemies come, we will fight them with soldiers; when water comes, we will block it with earth. This is probably the wisdom of the working people. Even if it is cloudy and rainy outside, they can still store a lot of food in such a difficult situation.
While feeling around and packing the bags, most of the dry goods on the bamboo rack were collected, and more than an hour had passed.
Without any intention of taking a break, Xiaodong took Gu Mengran to move the packed dry goods outside the door, and gathered the smoked fish that were scattered on the bamboo rack and not completely dried together. Then he waved his hand and said, "Let's go, take out the ones inside and hang them up."
Gu Mengran exhaled a breath of hot air and said, “Let’s go. What can happen?”
Xiaodong immediately took him around to the right side of the main room and pushed open the wooden door in the corner.
When he passed by the window, he heard smoke coming out. Gu Mengran knew that there were people in the inner room, but he didn't expect that there were so many people in the room.
As the wooden door opened, thick smoke rushed in, with a fishy smell mixed with the smell of firewood. Gu Mengran took a big breath without any preparation and choked, coughing continuously.
After finally recovering, Gu Mengran raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. The white smoke dissipated through the doors and windows. Four pairs of dark eyes were staring at him, curiosity written all over their faces.
The fire was burning brightly, the fish on the grill were sizzling, and four middle-aged women in their fifties were sitting around the fire, staring at this outsider without blinking.
Gu Mengran looked at them out of pure curiosity and inquiry. For some reason, he had the illusion that he was passing by the village entrance during the New Year and was surrounded by a group of gossipy old men and women.
...Well, it must be just an illusion.
Under the gazes of four burning eyes, Gu Mengran followed Xiaodong into the house. At this moment, a gray-haired aunt called out "Xiaodong" and turned her gaze to Gu Mengran, "Dong, who is this boy? Why haven't I seen him before?"
"Ms. Wang, his name is Gu Mengran, and he just arrived a few days ago." Xiaodong answered every question and even moved a little to the side to make it easier for the aunts to see Gu Mengran clearly.
"Meng Ran? That's a good name."
"He's handsome, and looks about the same as Xiaoyan."
"Should your temper be better than Xiaoyan's, right?"
Not treating Gu Mengran as an outsider, several aunts started discussing him in front of him.
Xiaodong didn't leave, just stood there. Gu Mengran couldn't play dumb, so he forced a dry laugh, "Hello, auntie, are you busy?"
It would have been fine if she hadn't spoken, but once she did, the aunts' enthusiasm was so overwhelming.
Miss Wang, who spoke first, smiled even more and waved at him quickly, "Don't be busy, come on, young man, sit here and rest for a while."
"Mengran, have you eaten? Come, let me get you a roasted sweet potato." Another aunt in red clothes immediately picked up the tongs and rummaged around in the fire pit.
Gu Mengran was a little overwhelmed and turned to give Xiaodong a look for help.
Who would have thought that when Xiaodong heard about roasted sweet potatoes, he was like a cat seeing cat food. He completely forgot about the business and jumped in front of the fire pit, pulled a stool and sat down, "Give me one too, Miss Wu, I'm a little hungry."
After saying that, he patted the empty stool next to him and looked back at Gu Mengran. "Why are you standing? Come sit here and rest for a while. Have you ever tried authentic roasted sweet potatoes? The kind buried in wood ash. They are guaranteed to be sweet."
Gu Mengran really wanted to say that he was not hungry, but when he casually glanced over, he met several pairs of eyes full of expectation. The words of refusal were stuck in his throat, and he silently pulled out a stool and sat down.
The roasted sweet potatoes just dug out from the fire pit were still a little hot, so the aunt used the fire pit to move them aside to cool down. During this time, no one was idle, except for an aunt with gray hair and a sad face. The other three all pulled Gu Mengran to chat.
How old are you? Where are you from? Are you studying or working? Are you married?
The aunties asked questions one after another, just like checking the household registration. But they did not have any malicious intentions, but were purely curious and casually chatting.
Gu Mengran who was caught in the middle: ...The New Year is so early this year!
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