Chapter 92 Sand
Xiao Enci got up very early today.
The woman sat quietly by the window, closing her eyes as if dozing, trying to avoid the omnipresent sandstorm in the air. Her thoughts drifted outside the window.
In the courtyard stands a resilient poplar tree. It is now deep winter, and the poplar tree has long since lost its leaves, leaving its branches bare and looking somewhat weathered. However, upon closer inspection, the various shapes of its branches reveal a sense of ancient strength and simplicity.
It's a plant that can take root and grow even in the desert.
Thinking this, she calmly opened her eyes, picked up a letter from the table, and gently read the words on it.
It was a new letter her younger sister had sent her from outside, telling her about recent events that had happened to her—
My younger sister looks a lot like our father. She has deep-set eyes and a lively, bright personality. She also has two faint but pretty dimples on her face. She is extremely cute when she smiles and is very lovable.
Her father, in particular, doted on her. He would hold her while watching fireworks on her birthday, and he would bring her gifts every time he came back from a trip. He would always think of her when he got something trendy, and he cared about her.
When she's sick, I'll stay by her side day and night; when she's bored, I'll take her out to play; when she's unhappy, I'll ask her what's wrong, whether someone is bullying her...
My younger sister always says with a smile, "How could that be? Father protects me so much, and everyone likes me. How could anyone bully me?"
She would occasionally ask, "Father, will you love me forever? Will you still love me after I get married?"
Father smiled and said, "Yes, I can."
"You are my daughter, and I will protect you and love you for the rest of my life."
Having received the familiar reply, the younger sister smiled, covered her face with a veil, rode her horse leisurely into the caravan, and greeted her father goodbye.
Her father asked her, "Going out with a caravan again... Where are you going this time, and when will you be back?"
She said, "I just want to go out and see the world..."
"Father, this time I'm going to the South, and I promise I'll be back very soon."
Father said, "I can't control you, go ahead."
She smiled, riding her horse against the wind and sand. She traveled a long, long way, until finally, she arrived at the place she had longed for.
The Yunlan River flows swiftly, and the Jiangnan region is shrouded in mist and rain. As the woman walks across the bridge with her umbrella, she looks up and feels completely dazed.
Ironically, seeing such a view for the first time, she stood at the bridgehead, so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the children playing around—
"Why!"
Unexpectedly and in a panic, she fell into the water. The water wasn't deep; children from the city often played in it. The shore was always nearby, and she quickly made her way there.
Unfortunately, she had grown up in Xiliang and was not a good swimmer at all. After falling into the water, she panicked and swallowed several mouthfuls of water. She stretched out her arms and waved them, hoping that someone would help her. She was truly terrified.
The rain intensified, and some children, seemingly realizing she couldn't swim, began thrashing about as if they were about to drown themselves.
They panicked, but the rain was pouring down harder, and surprisingly, there wasn't a single adult on the bank. The children shouted for help, some even wanting to jump in to save the stranger.
Just then, a young man reached out and stopped the child who was about to jump into the river. He smiled and said,
"Brother, come here."
...
In an instant, the wind whipped up the rain, and the misty rain gently tapped on the two umbrellas that had fallen on the bridge and the shore. The umbrellas were thin, and when the breeze blew, ripples appeared on the water. Together with the countless green-tiled bamboo rafts behind the bridge, they gently and strangely created a hazy and beautiful scene on the bridgehead in the rain.
She struggled to be carried to the shore, her hair tangled and her whole body soaked. She lay on the ground, breathing heavily, barely able to keep herself upright, her mind hazy, unable to open her eyes.
In the wind and rain, she heard a young man ask,
"Young lady, are you alright?"
...
What does he look like? What does he sound like? What is his name? How old is he? Where does he live? Is he engaged? Does he have someone he loves?
As the older sister, Xiao Enci looked at the letter, curious about the person her younger sister had met.
She thought that her younger sister must have fallen for that young man.
Sure enough, my sister said,
He looked to be in his early twenties, with regular features, deep-set eyes, and an air of righteousness. His voice was calm with a hint of seriousness.
To be honest, he seems a bit stubborn, but he's also quite lovable.
To be honest, the young man wasn't her type, but at that moment, as the wind and rain fell, she didn't even see him clearly, yet she felt his embrace was so warm.
He said his surname was Wei and he came from Xiliang. He was invited to Jiaozhou to attend a wedding banquet on behalf of his elders.
People from Xiliang?
She said, "My surname is Xiao, and I also come from Xiliang. I came to the south to visit relatives."
The young man smiled and said, "What a coincidence."
She smiled too, her eyes lowered. She counted the bluestone slabs on the ground, and not far away, the bright red petals were embroidered on the watermarks by the rain, drifting away and burying in the water.
They listened to the wind, softly, without speaking.
In the misty rain of a foreign land, the young girl, for the first time, secretly tasted the joy that belonged to her, a joy called fate.
Sister, I haven't seen him often these days.
But every time I see him, I look forward to it immensely.
I had never known before that people could be so happy.
How could I be so happy that I can't sleep, or I long to fall asleep and relive the moments we spent together in my dreams?
Every moment is sweet.
So sweet, so sweet that I think, this is the one.
How could this be? Is this what liking someone is?
elder sister.
elder sister.
I want to marry him.
I will try my best to become a better person, and I will be a good wife.
As long as it's him, I will definitely be happy.
Is it right?
...
As if a misty rain was drifting in, and the sound of flowing water was whispering in her ear, Xiao Enci opened her eyes, and for a moment she was still a little dazed.
After a long pause, the woman folded the letter, quietly put it away, and placed it in an envelope.
She opened the drawer, which was filled with letters written by her sister over the years. She smiled and placed this letter at the very bottom.
Gently, she picked up her pen and wrote a reply to her sister on a blank sheet of paper.
Xiao Enci thought that her younger sister had grown up in Xiliang since childhood, and perhaps she was just temporarily blinded by the misty rain of Jiangnan.
She was different. She had lived in the south with her mother since she was a child. Her mother gently led her as she grew up. Step by step, she walked across the misty bridge, watching the clouds rise and fall, living a quiet and peaceful life.
The water flowed swiftly, and the boatman, poling on his bamboo raft, drifted by. He smiled and said, "Kid, be careful standing alone on the bank."
She smiled and nodded, "Yes! I'm waiting for my mother!"
My mother was a very skilled embroiderer. She worked in a very large shop and would be busy for a long time.
Mother said, "Enci, you stay here and behave yourself."
"Mother will be back soon, you know?"
She nodded vigorously, "I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay here and wait for my mother!"
The mother smiled, kissed the girl's cheek, and praised her.
"Enci is such a good girl, Mother loves you very much."
The girl looked up and asked, "Enci has always been a good girl. Will Mother always love me?"
Mother smiled and said, "Yes, I do."
"You are my daughter, and I will protect you and love you for the rest of my life."
The girl smiled, hugged herself, and stood on this side of the bridge, waiting for her mother to return.
Waiting and waiting, until the girl, holding an umbrella, lifted her skirt and lightly stepped onto the stairs, one step at a time, she stood on the bridge, gazing at the misty rain of Jiangnan in the distance.
I don't know if it's the sandstorm slowly receding into the distance, or the murmuring stream right before my eyes.
She was momentarily stunned, and a child playing by her walked past, almost bumping into her.
She was used to this scene, and with a helpless smile, she said to them.
Child, it's going to rain, hurry home.
Remember, don't play around on the bridge next time. What if you bump into someone?
You guys.
Finally, some children shouted "I know, I know!" and scattered with giggles, running home before the rain intensified.
In what seemed like an instant, the wind rose and the rain fell, the misty rain gently tapping on the umbrella. The woman stood quietly, letting the breeze caress her.
Rippling river water, green tiles and bamboo rafts, the misty rain of Jiangnan, this is what it is all about.
She finally smiled, and gently walked to the other side of the bridge, to the shore, step by step, she walked on that unknown road.
At some point, or perhaps simultaneously, a tall young man carrying an umbrella walked across the opposite bank.
The rain pattered softly, and across the flowing water and a lifetime, they ultimately went their separate ways.
...
younger sister,
In the misty rain, emotions are most easily stirred.
You must clearly distinguish between gratitude, love, and joy.
That's all, there's nothing I can do to help you.
I don't have anyone I like.
That was completely foreign to me.
Or perhaps it's not important.
younger sister.
younger sister.
You say you want to marry him, but do you know his true feelings?
I think you must ask him yourself, ask this kind person who was willing to jump into the water to save you—
Don't lie to me, you have someone you like now.
If so, is it me?
You say you want to become better, but how do you become better?
I think you're good enough.
You say you want to be a good wife, but isn't that something that's bound to happen?
Sister, I'll say it again: you are an excellent girl, kind, sensible, beautiful, and outstanding. You are in love with him now. No matter what, you will be a good wife. You must believe in yourself.
Finally, you said that as long as it's him, you will definitely be happy.
You asked me, right?
My sister thought about it for a very long time, but she could only tell you helplessly—
No, sister, you're wrong.
It wasn't him, it was you.
younger sister,
Because it's you, you will be happy.
It doesn't matter whose wife you are or what kind of wife you are.
Who you are is what matters.
...
Xiao Enci, you must remember this.
Your happiness comes from yourself, not from others.
The many things you crave are simply because you've given them special meaning.
You walk on the road, trying your best to meet those people, but at the end, you are still alone waiting for yourself.
You are the most important.
You are the one who deserves my love the most.
Do you understand?
...
The woman folded the letter again, carefully placed it in the envelope, and sealed it away little by little.
Finally, she opened another drawer, which was also full of letters. She smiled and placed the reply on top.
She closed the drawer, looked up, and saw the poplar tree outside the window.
For a moment, she seemed to see a girl standing on the street in Liangzhou crying, but no one paid attention to her for a long time. So the girl wiped away her tears, mounted her horse, and walked into the distance with a confused but determined air.
On the banks of the Yangtze River, a misty rain falls, petals are buried in the flowing water, and gently, a young girl holds an umbrella as the seasons turn, eventually changing into her wedding dress and returning to Xiliang with anticipation.
She was young then and thought that someone had finally come to love her.
Unfortunately, the golden sand gently brushed against the woman's face, causing her eyes to well up with tears once again.
Finally, she came to understand many things and ultimately found her own way of living in this desolate world.
The surface changes with the seasons, but the roots have already penetrated deep into the soil.
She thought that people never get a second chance; it was all just an illusion.
What happened next? What was she going to do next?
The woman smiled, got up, and left.
A poplar tree, perhaps.
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