Shen Qiqi's eyes were fixed on the old man smoking a pipe, and a raging fire of gossip ignited in her heart.
"Uncle, you know..." She was about to speak when Lu Qing grabbed her.
"Wait, Qiqi, you have such an impetuous temper, you need to slow down." Lu Qing smiled and shook his head, his eyes full of doting, "We have to be polite first and then use force, we can't scare people."
Shen Qiqi curled her lips, but still obediently slowed down her pace.
She knew that collecting folk tales could not be rushed.
You have to play it like a cat playing with a mouse, slowly and carefully, to get the story out of their mouths.
"Then whose house should we go to first?" she asked Lu Qing, with excitement shining in her eyes.
Lu Qing pointed to the small adobe house at the entrance of the village and said, "Let's start with Aunt Wang's house. She loves to chat."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiqi immediately became energetic and walked briskly towards Aunt Wang's house.
She took a deep breath, as if to inhale all the stories in the air.
"Knock, knock, knock!" Shen Qiqi raised her hand and knocked on the door. The crisp knock sound was particularly loud in the quiet village.
The door creaked open, and a woman with a dark complexion and gray hair appeared at the door. It was Aunt Wang.
When she saw Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing standing at the door, a hint of doubt flashed across her face, and then she became a little uneasy.
"Oh, it's the third daughter-in-law and the third son. Why are you here?" Aunt Wang rubbed her rough hands, her tone a little nervous.
Seeing this, Shen Qiqi immediately put on a brilliant smile, like a blooming sunflower.
"Aunt Wang, we're here to ask about something. Is it convenient for us to come in and sit down?"
Aunt Wang hesitated for a moment, but finally moved aside to make way.
"Come in, the room is a bit messy, don't mind."
The room was dimly lit and the air was filled with a faint smell of wood.
Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing followed Aunt Wang into the house and carefully sat down on the bench.
"Aunt Wang, it's like this..." Shen Qiqi exchanged a few pleasantries before getting to the point. "Our village is going to compile a village history and needs to collect some folk tales. Do you know any interesting stories?"
When Aunt Wang heard this, she immediately waved her hand and quickly declined, "Oh, I'm an old woman, how can I have any stories? They are all family matters, not presentable."
Shen Qiqi had anticipated this situation. She was not discouraged, but continued with a smile: "Aunt Wang, don't be so modest. We know you are the best storyteller! The stories you tell are even better than movies!"
Aunt Wang felt a little embarrassed by Shen Qiqi's praise, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.
"Really? Don't you think what I say is boring?"
"How could that be?" Shen Qiqi quickly shook her head, "We love listening to your stories the most!"
"Then...then let me try?" Aunt Wang rubbed her hands, her face full of shyness and hesitation, as if she was making a difficult decision.
Shen Qiqi and Lu Qing looked at each other. It seemed that this first step was successful!
But what she didn't expect was that Aunt Wang's next words made their hearts skip a beat.
"Actually... I don't remember clearly..."
Aunt Wang’s words were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the gossip fire burning in Shen Qiqi’s heart.
"Can't remember?" she repeated, a hint of disbelief in her tone.
This is like playing a game and fighting a BOSS. When your equipment is about to drop, the system prompts a network error!
The smile on Shen Qiqi's face froze, and anxiety surged like a tide, almost drowning her.
She subconsciously bit her lower lip and frowned as if she could pinch a fly to death.
The atmosphere in the room froze instantly, and it was so oppressive that it made people breathless.
Seeing this, Lu Qing patted her back gently, silently comforting her.
"Ah, I'm getting old, and my memory is not so good." Aunt Wang sighed, her tone full of helplessness, "There are so many stories that I used to remember clearly, but now I can't recall them at all..."
Other villagers echoed this, either saying they couldn't remember clearly or that the story was too trivial to be worth mentioning.
Shen Qiqi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. If this village chronicle didn't have folk tales, what else would it have?
Do I have to write it as a diary?
That's too tasteless!
"Aunties and uncles," Shen Qiqi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "I know everyone is very busy, so it's normal that you can't remember clearly. But this village chronicle is meant to be passed down to future generations! It will record the history of our village and everyone's contributions! Think about it, decades or even hundreds of years from now, our descendants will see this village chronicle and know what kind of people their ancestors were, what they did, and what stories they told..."
As soon as Shen Qiqi finished speaking, a gray-haired grandfather stood up with a cane, his cloudy eyes gleaming with light.
"Qiqi girl is right! This village history is a big deal! Although my memory is not good, I still remember a few stories, so I will tell you!"
The old man's words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.
Other villagers were also infected and showed expressions of reverence on their faces.
They looked at the old man.
Shen Qiqi quickly took out a pen and paper and carefully recorded the story told by the old man.
The atmosphere in the room was no longer oppressive, but full of vitality.
Each story, like pearls, was strung together into a shining necklace, illuminating Shen Qiqi's heart.
"Back then..." The old man's voice was deep and powerful, as if he was telling a piece of forgotten history...
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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