Chapter 25 Going to Town
It was dawn when Pei Xingzhi woke up from his sleep. His first reaction was to look at Meng Wanqiu in his arms. She was sleeping soundly at this moment. Her pink lips were slightly parted, and she exhaled warm air, which hit Pei Xingzhi's chest, causing waves of warmth. The air passed through his skin and muscles, seeping into his heart, bringing a sense of solid fullness.
He woke up like this almost every day. Pei Xingzhi bent down and kissed the top of Meng Wanqiu's head, then got out of bed quietly.
When putting on clothes, Pei Xingzhi's hand accidentally touched his shoulder, and he hissed softly. He turned his head and saw a deep tooth mark on his left shoulder. It was left by Meng Wanqiu in anger because she was not satisfied last night.
Thinking of last night, Pei Xingzhi's eyes darkened. Looking at the girl lying on the bed, her long eyelashes were curled and cast a shadow on her eyelids, her skin was fair, and her long curly black hair was scattered on the pillow. For a moment, Pei Xingzhi remembered a Western word he saw in a book when he was young - angel.
Snow-white skin, beautiful face, and pure temperament, this is an angel.
But this thought only flashed through his mind. Angels, angels would not bite people to vent their unfulfilled desires. Meng Wanqiu was not an angel, but a seductress with a pure appearance, who was specifically there to seduce and lure him.
But after today, he won't have to endure it anymore.
It was already autumn and the temperature was gradually dropping. Pei Xingzhi covered Meng Wanqiu with a quilt, put on his clothes, and walked out of the room.
The autumn harvest is just a few days away, so the team gave everyone a day off so that they can have a good rest, recuperate and make full preparations for the busy autumn harvest.
It was only around four o'clock, and everyone except Pei Xingzhi was still asleep.
Pei Xingzhi came to the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and took out a bag of flour from the bowl rack. He and Brother Sun had been busy several times recently and made a lot of money, so they started buying food to supplement the family.
He took out a large bowl, poured flour into it, started adding water and kneading it vigorously. If an old hand watched, he could tell that Pei Xingzhi's movements were clumsy and he was a novice.
Pei Xingzhi was indeed a novice. He had been following Meng Mu these past few days, saying that he was helping her, but in fact he was secretly learning how to make noodles.
Pei Xingzhi is going to make noodles today, and it’s the very difficult longevity noodles.
Because today is Meng Wanqiu’s birthday.
Pei Xingzhi's itinerary for today was to first make longevity noodles for Meng Wanqiu at home, then ride a bicycle to take Meng Wanqiu to the town, and then take a bus to the county.
The bicycle was borrowed from Brother Sun in advance. Pei Xingzhi was also secretly thinking about how to get a bicycle ticket. It was indeed inconvenient without a bicycle, so he had to find a way quickly.
While the noodles were resting, Pei Xingzhi would boil the soup base. He had bought large bones in advance and asked the aunt at the supply and marketing cooperative to prepare the seasoning packets. Pei Xingzhi only had to clean the bones, boil water, and add the ingredients directly.
Time passed little by little. Meng's mother walked out of the room to go to the bathroom and saw a fire in the kitchen. She walked over curiously to see who was there so early.
"Xingzhi, why are you up so early?"
Mother Meng looked at Pei Xingzhi who was busy in front of the stove and exclaimed with her hands covering her mouth.
Pei Xingzhi looked over and saw Mother Meng, who was wearing her coat and staring at him with wide eyes. "Mom, are you up?"
Looking at the simmering broth, Pei Xingzhi felt a little embarrassed. "Isn't today Xiaowan's birthday? I plan to make her a bowl of longevity noodles. In my family, everyone makes longevity noodles when they turn eighteen."
Meng's mother came over and opened the lid of the pot. The rich aroma of bone soup overflowed. She swallowed her saliva unconsciously. Judging from the quality of the soup, her son-in-law must have gotten up very early.
Thinking that she was still a mother, but she didn't even think of making a bowl of noodles for her daughter, Meng Mu blushed as a mother lost to her son-in-law.
But it was only for a moment. Thinking that her son-in-law was so thoughtful and it was all for her daughter, Meng Mu's eyes became softer when she looked at Pei Xingzhi. She felt that she had chosen the right son-in-law.
"Xingzhi, just do it for your own good. Xiaowan eats everything. Don't tire yourself out, okay?"
Pei Xingzhi was left in a state of confusion by Meng Mu's words. Meng Wanqiu wasn't picky, was she? She simply didn't have the means to be picky. She didn't dare to be picky at home because she was afraid of being punished by Meng Mu.
"I see, mother. By the way, I plan to take Xiaowan to the county to play today, so I won't be back for dinner. There's still a lot of noodles left over there, so remember to make some for the family."
Going to the county, Meng Mu thought for a moment. Xiao Wan had never been there before, so it would be nice to go and see it for herself. She nodded and said, "I understand. Be careful on the road. By the way, do you have any money or bills on you? Is it enough? If not, I can get you some."
Pei Xingzhi waved his hands quickly, "No need, mother. I have enough money and notes."
"Don't be polite to your mother. Xiaowan has never been to the county town at her age. Bring some extra money with you so you can have a good time together and buy some food and fun things. And your pair of leather shoes, I see they're getting torn at the edges, buy a new pair."
Mother Meng was afraid that Pei Xingzhi would feel embarrassed, so she planned to go back to her room to get money for him.
Pei Xingzhi was at a loss for words. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Mother Meng, saying with a smile, "Really, there's no need. I have money. If you don't believe me, I'll show it to you."
Mother Meng looked at Pei Xingzhi suspiciously, "You can't lie to me, can you?"
Pei Xingzhi nodded solemnly.
"Okay then, I'll go back to my room first. Ride slowly and come back early in the evening. If that doesn't work, stay in town for one night. Don't rush in the dark, okay?"
Meng's mother yawned and felt sleepy, but she still did not forget to give Pei Xingzhi instructions.
Pei Xingzhi smiled and nodded.
After Meng Mu left, Pei Xingzhi lowered his head to look at the fire in the stove, and warmth spread to his heart. It had been many years since he had experienced the feeling of being cared for and nagged by his parents.
Pei Xingzhi has lived in the Meng family for so long. He was polite and humble at the beginning, and felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Now he is familiar with them, accepts the Meng family from the bottom of his heart, and lets them get close to his heart. This is all thanks to the Meng family.
Pei Xingzhi was cold-hearted in the past because he had been deeply hurt by the ugliness of human nature, which built a thick barrier in his heart. This barrier protected Pei Xingzhi, but also distanced him from other people.
Meng Wanqiu, the timing of the Meng family's appearance was such a coincidence.
She appeared when Pei Xingzhi urgently needed to get rid of the Jiang family, and Meng Wanqiu unexpectedly made Pei Xingzhi feel comfortable, and took the initiative to let down his guard, which also made Pei Xingzhi have a natural liking for the Meng family.
Later, the actions of the Meng family completely melted the ice in Pei Xingzhi's heart, revealing his soft heart.
Whether it was Meng Yanchun helping him integrate into the village, taking him to dig loaches and catch eels, or go fishing in the river; when they went to dig a ditch, Meng's father Meng Aiguo gave him his own shoes and walked barefoot on the gravel road to move stones; Meng's mother making clothes for him, and Grandma Meng showing him her precious books in her private collection; although he and Dong Hanyun did not get along well, when outsiders spoke ill of him, the other party would fight with them without mercy.
Even his little nephew Zhuangzhuang would give Pei Xingzhi his treasured wooden ponies, pigs, and wooden warehouses to play with, which was very lovable.
Each of these things seemed to have turned into a small flame that would not hurt anyone, melting the ice in Pei Xingzhi's heart bit by bit.
As for Meng Wanqiu, Pei Xingzhi lowered his eyes and smiled faintly, his eyes full of pampering and softness, making people want to drown in them.
After the noodles were ready, Pei Xingzhi carefully scooped them into a bowl, cleaned up the kitchen briefly, then carried the noodles into the room and placed them on the dressing table.
It’s called a dressing table, but there’s only a box of vanishing cream on it, and it’s full.
After buying the vanishing cream, Pei Xingzhi learned that the facial oil used by the women in the Meng family was homemade. It was an old recipe that Grandma Meng used in Shencheng. Although many of the raw materials were gone, with the help of Meng Wanqiu, they successfully found replacement herbs in the mountains, and the effect was much better than the vanishing cream.
Pei Xingzhi saw Meng Wanqiu apply it several times. The product was bluish-green and had a transparent gel-like texture. Meng Wanqiu applied it all over her face. She sat in the yard with several women in her family, chatting about village gossip and discussing the effects.
This made the men in the family a little disgusted. Their faces were painted like ghosts. Fortunately, they didn't run away, otherwise they would have scared a lot of people to death.
How could those silly straight men know that their wives' tender and smooth faces are all the result of acquired maintenance.
They work under the sun every day. Haven't you seen that other people's wives have dark, red and sallow faces, but the women in the Meng family are all beautiful and fresh? That's because they have done a lot of maintenance in private to achieve the effect.
Meng Wanqiu shrugged her nose, her long eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes drowsily, only to see Pei Xingzhi's extraordinarily handsome face.
"woke up?"
Thinking of what Pei Xingzhi did last night, Meng Wanqiu was filled with anger, which had not subsided until now. She angrily said, "Go away! I don't want to talk to you!"
Seeing the resentment in Meng Wanqiu's eyes, Pei Xingzhi touched his nose and said with a wry smile, "I was wrong. I made longevity noodles for you. Eat them quickly. I'll take you to the county town today."
Seeing that Meng Wanqiu's attitude had softened, Pei Xingzhi sat down beside the bed, pulled Meng Wanqiu into his arms, blanket and all, and apologized softly, "I promise there won't be a next time. Get up and eat noodles first, okay? I got up at three o'clock to cook."
Meng Wanqiu pretended to struggle. "You don't even want to do it, and yet you still want to recruit me." She reached out from under the quilt and pinched Pei Xingzhi. "Who told me not to recruit you before? It was you, Pei, who recruited people last night."
Pei Xingzhi didn't dare to resist. After all, he was a hot-tempered young man. His beloved was lying next to him, and he was already married. How could he not be distracted? He got a reaction after a few frictions.
Pei Xingzhi was principled and said that he had to wait until Meng Wanqiu came of age, not even a day earlier. They kissed and touched each other, and except for the last step, they did everything. He even learned other positions without any instruction, which even made Meng Wanqiu blush.
Pei Xingzhi could endure it, but Meng Wanqiu couldn't. She felt a bone-chilling itch in her body, but it was also accompanied by an inexplicable comfort that made her limbs almost cramp.
But Pei Xingzhi still refused to satisfy Meng Wanqiu. In the end, Meng Wanqiu was so angry that she bit him hard and even tasted blood.
"Is your shoulder okay?"
Thinking of the harsh bite she had given her, Meng Wanqiu wanted to lift Pei Xingzhi's clothes to take a look, but was stopped by Pei Xingzhi.
"It's okay, it's just a shallow mark. Let's eat our noodles quickly. We still have to go to town to catch the county bus."
Pei Xingzhi pulled Meng Wanqiu's hand away, lifted the quilt and prepared to put clothes on her. As soon as the quilt was pulled open, Meng Wanqiu's chest was exposed with red and purple spots from her chest to her lower abdomen and even her thighs. The picture was quite ambiguous, seductive and tempting. Pei Xingzhi's ears turned red and his eyes dodged. This was all his masterpiece.
However, Pei Xingzhi still had some rationality. He remembered to take Meng Wanqiu out today and did not leave any marks on her neck.
Otherwise, if Meng Wanqiu didn’t wear a scarf today, she might not even be able to leave the door.
For fear of sparks arising again, Pei Xingzhi dressed Meng Wanqiu and put on her shoes as quickly as possible, then carried her directly to the stool in front of the dressing table. He also wrung out the face towel and handed it to Meng Wanqiu.
Meng Wanqiu: ...
She took it and washed her face silently, then handed the towel to Pei Xingzhi. She ran out to rinse her mouth and then came back to eat the noodles made by Pei Xingzhi.
"Hey, why is there no head on this side?"
Meng Wanqiu picked up a noodle and searched for the source for a long time without finding it, so she turned to look at Pei Xingzhi.
"I almost forgot, this is longevity noodles. Normally, there should only be one strand, but my cooking skills are not good. When I was pulling it, it broke a few times, so there were a few extra strands. Be careful not to break them when you eat it."
Pei Xingzhi took the chopsticks, helped Meng Wanqiu find the source, fed it to her mouth, and then returned the chopsticks to her.
Meng Wanqiu raised her eyes to look at Pei Xingzhi, with a complicated look in her eyes, "Thank you, it tastes very good."
Pei Xingzhi rubbed Meng Wanqiu's head and said softly, "No need. If it tastes good, eat more."
Taking Meng Wanqiu's appetite into consideration, Pei Xingzhi made a lot, fearing that Meng Wanqiu would not have enough to eat.
"Have you eaten?" Meng Wanqiu's cheeks were puffed up from eating, and she stared at Pei Xingzhi with her big eyes and asked.
Pei Xingzhi was stunned. He only remembered to make it for Meng Wanqiu and didn't think about himself at all. Now when Meng Wanqiu asked, he remembered that he hadn't eaten yet. However, there was no more noodles in the kitchen, only dough. It would take a lot of time to make a new bowl. They had to go to town to catch the bus soon and didn't have that much time.
"I've eaten it. Eat slowly and don't choke."
Pei Xingzhi took out a handkerchief and placed it next to Meng Wanqiu so that she could wipe her mouth after she finished eating.
Meng Wanqiu didn't believe it and reached out to touch Pei Xingzhi's belly. It was indeed flat. She pouted and said angrily, "What are you eating? Did you eat air? Your belly is still flat, and you still want to hide it from me."
A soft hand pressed against his abdomen, pressing hard. Pei Xingzhi's Adam's apple moved, and he pressed down the restless hand, his voice a little hoarse: "No, I was thinking of going to town to eat something."
Meng Wanqiu pulled her hand back, stood up, went to the kitchen and got another bowl. She put half a bowl of noodles in it, poured bone broth into the bowl, and placed it in front of Pei Xingzhi. "Eat quickly, and leave early after eating."
Pei Xingzhi didn't move his chopsticks. He looked at Meng Wanqiu with eyes so soft that they seemed to be dripping with water. He said in a low voice, "No need. I can eat in town. You got up early today and the journey is long. Don't go hungry."
Meng Wanqiu ignored him and rolled her eyes. "I'm a pig. I eat so much. You still have to ride your bike on the way. Stop wasting time and eat quickly."
I really don't know what Pei Xingzhi is thinking. She eats a lot because of her martial arts training and is indeed guarding her food, but she is not so conscienceless. Someone got up early in the morning to make noodles for her, but she was reluctant to share half with him.
Pei Xingzhi couldn't be more stubborn than Meng Wanqiu, so he had to eat the half bowl of noodles that was given to him, thinking of going to town to buy her something delicious.
After breakfast, the two of them packed up and went out.
Pei Xingzhi rode a bike, Meng Wanqiu sat on the back seat, and accompanied by a few wisps of smoke, they left Qinghe Village, nestled under the green hills and white mist. The river at the entrance of the village gurgled, and the sounds of wheels spinning and chains colliding could be heard.
The road from Qinghe Village to the town was not easy to travel on, as it was full of small stones. However, it did not affect Meng Wanqiu much because Pei Xingzhi had wrapped the back seat with soft foam, which made it soft to sit on and reduced a lot of the impact.
Pei Xingzhi moved quickly. After about an hour and a half, Meng Wanqiu saw the houses in the town. They were up and down, neatly planned and orderly, and many of them were two-story buildings.
As the bicycle entered the town, Meng Wanqiu noticed that the road below was flat, but there was a lot of dust, which would rise up as it passed by, filling the air with yellow dust.
Meng Wanqiu covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, her big eyes darting around. The further she walked in, the more she felt there were more and more people and bicycles. This was very different from the countryside.
In rural areas, there is often not even one in several villages.
It seems that no matter now or in the past, the development of the town is the same, and the conditions are always beyond the reach of ordinary rural areas. The clothes of rural people are all patched, with patches on the chest and legs, while the people in the city wear clean and tidy clothes. Pei Xingzhi said that because the people in the city have jobs and do not need to work in the fields, they will receive wages, various tickets and food every month.
In rural areas, money is only distributed at the end of each year. This money is not even a fraction of the salary of people in the city, but it is the living expenses for the next year and needs to be carefully calculated.
The people on the street were all wearing shirts and trousers, basically in black, yellow and blue. Meng Wanqi looked down at his own pink shirt and thought it looked quite out of place.
However, Pei Xingzhi was riding his bike very fast and no one noticed Meng Wanqiu.
After riding for a while, Pei Xingzhi and Meng Wanqiu stopped in front of a large courtyard. There was a wall outside the courtyard, but the gate was open. Meng Wanqiu looked up and found that there was a three-story building in the courtyard with five big words "Hongshan Bus Station" written on the roof.
"Is this the place?"
Meng Wanqiu got out of the car, looked around, and turned to ask Pei Xingzhi.
"Well, this is the bus station. We'll take a bus to the county from here later."
Hongshan Town is not far from the county, and it only takes one hour to reach the county by bus. After Pei Xingzhi finished speaking, he locked the bicycle and took Meng Wanqiu in.
When she walked in, Meng Wanqiu realized that the yard was full of bustling crowds of people. People of all ages were carrying bags of all sizes, and they were all pushing their way into the first-floor lobby. Apologies, curses, and crying sounds were heard one after another.
Hongshan Town is located at a transportation fortress. A bus station was built before the war, but it has been several decades now. Several nearby communes do not have one, so if people in the surrounding area want to travel far, the only first choice is Hongshan Bus Station.
This also means that it will be very crowded here. In addition, there are limited tickets every day, and the rush to grab tickets will further aggravate the congestion.
Pei Xingzhi looked around while explaining the origin of Hongshan Bus Station to Meng Wanqiu.
"Hey, Xingzhi, I finally found you. I thought you were late. If you were any later, the bus would have to leave."
Brother Sun's voice suddenly came from behind. The two turned around and saw Brother Sun walking towards them with a red face and panting.
Pei Xingzhi stepped forward and said, "Thank you, Brother Sun. Sorry for the trouble!" Then he lowered his head and instructed Meng Wanqiu, "Call me Brother Sun."
Meng Wanqiu stood slightly behind Pei Xing, revealing half of her body. She smiled shyly, revealing her dimples. "Hello, Brother Sun."
Brother Sun was stunned when he saw Meng Wanqiu. This was the second time he saw Meng Wanqiu. The last time was when Pei Xingzhi got married. Although the girl was pretty then, she looked quite plump. It had only been a short time, how come she had become so thin?
She was wearing a pink shirt, her face and lips were also pink, she spoke softly, and her temperament was pure and transparent, just like his niece who was a few years older.
"Hey, hello, sister-in-law!"
Brother Sun was distracted for a few seconds and quickly greeted Meng Wanqiu. He thought that Pei Xingzhi was really lucky. In order to escape trouble, he married a little village girl who turned out to be so pretty. Looking at her well-behaved appearance, it seemed that Pei Xingzhi must be the one who made the decisions at home, unlike his tigress.
Thinking of this, Brother Sun sighed. The tigress wanted to eat spare ribs today, so he had to go buy them early. Otherwise, if he didn't buy them, he would have no chance of going to bed today.
Pei Xingzhi: "Brother Sun, what's wrong?"
Brother Sun came back to his senses and waved his hand. "It's okay, it's okay." He took out two tickets from his pocket and handed them to Pei Xingzhi. "The train will leave in a while. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Pei Xingzhi took it and said, "Thank you, Brother Sun. Thank you for your help."
Meng Wanqiu: "Thank you, Brother Sun."
"No, no, we have no relationship, no need to say anything."
"Brother Sun, park the bicycle at the door." Pei Xingzhi instructed.
"knew!"
Brother Sun had already left. Meng Wanqiu took the ticket from Pei Xingzhi's hand, glanced at the time on it, then looked up at the big clock on the roof. There were still more than ten minutes left.
It was Grandma Meng who taught me how to recognize clocks. She had a priceless pocket watch, inside of which were photos of Grandpa Meng and her when they were young, which she had always treasured.
There is still some time left. There are also some vendors at the station entrance. The inspections are strict in other places, but the patrol team does not pay much attention around the bus station. However, those who dare to sell things here must have connections in the bus station, but there are not many such people.
Pei Xingzhi took Meng Wanqiu to a roasted potato stall. The potatoes sold there were only as big as Meng Wanqiu's fist, but they were very fragrant.
Potatoes are a kind of food that will never taste bad no matter how you cook it. Pei Xingzhi actually prefers potatoes to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a little too sweet for him.
Pei Xingzhi lowered his head and asked Meng Wanqiu, "How many can you eat?"
Meng Wanqiu raised a finger.
Pei Xingzhi nodded and said to the boss, "Three please."
"Okay, I'll install it for you right away."
The boss deftly pulled out the cut newspaper from the ground, used pliers to add three potatoes and placed them on the paper, and in a few seconds he folded a piece of paper into a paper box.
"Hold it carefully, be careful."
When Pei Xingzhi took it, he handed the money to the boss. You don’t need to use food coupons to buy things outside the station.
After shopping, Pei Xingzhi wanted to take Meng Wanqiu for a walk around the area, but Meng Wanqiu stopped him. "The bus is about to leave, why are you still running around?"
After saying that, he grabbed Pei Xingzhi's sleeve and walked into the station.
Pei Xingzhi had one hand held by Meng Wanqiu, and the other hand was protecting the roasted potato. Seeing that Meng Wanqiu was taking the correct route, he was not in a hurry to walk in front to lead the way, and let Meng Wanqiu pull him along.
For a while, the two switched roles, with Meng Wanqiu taking the lead.
Just like the relationship between the two before, Pei Xingzhi seemed to be the active one, but in fact it was Meng Wanqiu who really dominated the relationship between the two.
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