Chapter 33
The bicycle was speeding through the mountains, with the whistling wind and the crisp sound of the chain in my ears. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and it was gloomy. The air was also humid and very stuffy.
At this time, at the entrance of Qinghe Village, the young men didn't care about the weather at all. They rolled up their trouser legs and went into the mud shirtless.
There's a lotus root field at the entrance to the village. It's been there for years, and no one knows who owns it. So it became public property. When the lotus roots are ripe, everyone digs them up together. Some are given to the purchasing station, and the rest goes to whoever dug them.
However, digging lotus roots is dirty and tiring, and older people are reluctant to do it, but only young people don't mind. Many people gather on the shore to see who can dig the biggest lotus root. When a big one is dug, there will be exclamations from the shore. The young lotus diggers hear this and feel full of energy, proud, and dig even harder.
Digging lotus roots has become a secret competition among young people to see who is more powerful.
Meng Yanchun felt that he was a father, so he didn't like to compete with these young people.
But once he dug up a big and long lotus root, he would scream louder than anyone else, which made Liu Aimin and others next to him feel disgusted.
Dong Hanyun is not interested in digging lotus roots. She comes here every year and it is no longer a surprise to her.
Pei Xingzhi was not very interested, but he wanted to wait for Meng Wanqiu at the village entrance, so he took his nephew Meng Zhuangzhuang to watch the villagers dig lotus roots.
Pi Jingxuan was also in the lotus root field. The fields were mostly muddy, and the lotus roots were buried very deep. He had to almost lie flat on the mud to dig them out. At this time, his whole body was covered with mud. The mud on his face had dried up, and new mud had been added.
Now Pi Jingxuan has become familiar with Liu Aimin and others, and is no longer dependent on Pei Xingzhi as before. He has become tanner, stronger, and more responsible than before.
Watching Pi Jingxuan playing with his peers in the village, Pei Xingzhi slightly raised the corners of his lips.
"Uncle, when will my aunt come back?"
Meng Zhuangzhuang held Pei Xingzhi's hand, his entire body hanging on his thigh, twisting and turning, unable to stand straight. Aside from a brief moment of excitement watching his father dig lotus roots, he was now tired of it. Now he just wanted his aunt to come home soon so he could eat the candy she promised him.
Pei Xingzhi raised the corner of his mouth. He didn't know if it was because they were aunt and nephew, but Meng Zhuangzhuang and Meng Wanqiu looked very similar. They had similar personalities as well. They just thought about looking for food every day.
Either eating or on the way to find food.
Suddenly, Pei Xingzhi's eyes flashed, and he felt something passing by, and he quickly looked up.
When he saw the person coming, Pei Xingzhi's eyes softened instantly and he walked over holding Meng Zhuangzhuang's hand.
"Aunt, you're back. I missed you so much."
When Meng Zhuangzhuang saw Meng Wanqiu, he broke free from Pei Xingzhi's hand, ran to Meng Wanqiu happily, hugged her thighs, and rubbed his face on Meng Wanqiu's legs, looking like a real bootlicker.
Meng Wanqiu pushed Meng Zhuangzhuang's forehead in disdain, having long known his nature. "Go away, I don't know you yet."
After saying that, he took out a bag of fruit candies from his pocket, handed it to Meng Zhuangzhuang, and warned: "This is enough for two weeks. Eat two a day. If you eat more, you won't have enough for next time. Remember?"
Meng Zhuangzhuang puffed up his cheeks, clasped his hands together, nodded like a chick pecking at rice, and then wanted to turn around and leave, but was caught by Meng Wanqiu by the back of the collar.
"Don't you see anyone? Call Sister Sun."
Meng Zhuangzhuang smiled brightly at Sun Yating, "Hello, beautiful sister."
She is very sweet-talking, and I don’t know who she learned this from.
Sun Yating stood next to the bicycle, staring at the man walking towards her from a distance with her eyes wide open.
He is actually here!
Just as Sun Yating was shocked, the sound of "beautiful sister" in her ears brought her back to her senses. She quickly adjusted her expression and smiled kindly, "Hello, little friend."
Meng Zhuangzhuang looked at Meng Wanqiu, and after receiving an affirmative nod, he ran to the back, "Uncle, I'm going to go play with Tiedan and the others."
Pei Xingzhi nodded and said, "Don't run, be careful not to fall."
"I understand." Meng Zhuangzhuang answered without turning his head, and quickly reunited with the other kids.
When Meng Wanqiu saw Pei Xingzhi, her eyes subconsciously turned into crescent shapes. She stood there, smiling, waiting for Pei Xingzhi to come over.
Pei Xingzhi raised the corners of his mouth, put his hands behind his back and walked slowly and leisurely. Seeing Meng Wanqiu pouting unhappily, a smile of triumph appeared in his eyes. He no longer hesitated and arrived in front of Meng Wanqiu in two or three steps.
Just as I was about to speak, something suddenly appeared in my mouth, and then a sweet taste spread in my mouth.
It was Meng Wanqiu who took advantage of his unpreparedness and stuffed a piece of fruit candy into his mouth.
Meng Wanqiu leaned over slightly and moved closer to Pei Xingzhi, her eyes sparkling as if filled with stars. "How is it? Is it sweet? I saved this especially for you."
Pei Xingzhi's eyes were so soft that tears could drip from them. His voice was cold, yet it carried a hint of warmth. "Sweet."
The tone was somewhat meaningful, and I couldn't tell whether he was talking about candy or people.
After receiving a positive response, Meng Wanqiu stood up straight, in a good mood, "Of course what I gave is sweet."
He looked at Meng Yanchun who was digging lotus roots in the distance and asked, "How's it going, did you dig a lot?"
Pei Xingzhi didn't even turn his head, just looking at Meng Wanqiu, "Come home early. Mom and I have learned a dish and we will make it for you tonight."
Meng Wanqiu raised her eyes and saw her own reflection in Pei Xingzhi's eyes. Somehow, she suddenly felt shy.
Her eyes sparkled, and she turned her head to avoid Pei Xingzhi's scorching gaze, "Oh, I see."
Pei Xingzhi's mind moved, he took a step forward, lowered his head slightly, and raised his hand to touch Meng Wanqiu's face.
Feeling the warm hand on her face, Meng Wanqiu couldn't help but look up at Pei Xingzhi. Her thick sword-like eyebrows raised slightly, and her deep black eyes were extremely deep at this moment, like a spring in a mountain cave, clear but making it impossible to see the bottom.
Pei Xingzhi moved closer, staring at Meng Wanqiu's slightly opened red lips, and suddenly caught a glimpse of the figure out of the corner of his eye.
He frowned slightly, gave up his original plan, and lightly scratched Meng Wanqiu's face with his fingertips.
When the finger left, it left a mud mark.
Pei Xingzhi raised his eyebrows slightly, stepped back to look at his palm, and found that it was covered with mud.
Thinking about the time when I held hands with Meng Zhuangzhuang, it must have been at that time that I got involved.
However, looking at Meng Wanqiu's confused look at this time, her big round eyes were clear and transparent, and there was a mud mark on her fair cheek, but it didn't look dirty, but very cute.
Pei Xingzhi curled his lips and didn't intend to remind her.
Meng Wanqiu closed her eyes the moment Pei Xingzhi approached, but what she imagined did not happen. After feeling Pei Xingzhi's breath leaving, Meng Wanqiu was still a little confused.
Opening her eyes and seeing the teasing in Pei Xingzhi's eyes, Meng Wanqiu's ears flushed and she muttered, "You're so annoying."
Pei Xingzhi rubbed Meng Wanqiu's head amusedly, put his arm around her shoulders and turned her around. "Alright, hurry up and send them to the Youth Hostel, and then go home early."
Meng Wanqiu pouted unhappily, but when she thought about the fact that someone was waiting for her, she decided not to play around with Pei Xingzhi anymore.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. That's my husband. The one before that was my nephew."
Sun Yating forced a smile, suppressed the doubts in her heart, and congratulated Meng Wanqiu: "It's okay, it's okay, you two are a perfect match."
Meng Wanqiu smiled and said, "Then let's go."
Sun Yating pursed her lips, sat in the back seat, and looked at Pei Xingzhi's increasingly smaller figure, with more and more questions in her mind.
"Brother Xingzhi, is the girl that my sister-in-law brought just now the newly arrived educated youth?"
Pi Jingxuan came out of the field and saw the new female educated youth from a distance. He wanted to go over and get to know her.
But when he saw how slovenly he looked, he was too shy to go over and only dared to come over after everyone left.
"Yeah." Pei Xingzhi nodded.
"Hehe, there's a new person here again. Time flies so fast." Pi Jingxuan scratched his head and said embarrassedly.
Pei Xingzhi raised his eyebrows and looked at Pi Jingxuan deeply, until Pi Jingxuan's hair stood on end, then he looked away.
"Let's go. Come to me if you need anything."
Pei Xingzhi noticed something was amiss with Pi Jingxuan, but he didn't point it out. With newcomers arriving at the Youth Hostel, based on past experience, a lot of things were bound to happen.
"Oh, I understand." Pi Jingxuan was a little confused. Looking at Pei Xingzhi's back, the beautiful figure appeared in his mind, with a dirty face faintly pink.
Because Sun Yating's luggage was still on the way, Meng Wanqiu took her to Grandma Fu's house first. Her family had many young men, and it was not convenient for Sun Yating, an unmarried young girl, to live there.
After explaining things to Grandma Fu, she happily accepted Sun Yating. Meng Wanqiu went home to get some ointment and treated Sun Yating's leg injury. After explaining some precautions, she left Grandma Fu's house.
Looking at Meng Wanqiu's disappearing figure, Sun Yating was hesitant to speak.
After spending a short time together, she could roughly see that Meng Wanqiu was a beautiful and good girl, but she just couldn't understand why she got together with Pei Xingzhi and even became husband and wife.
Sun Yating's parents were businessmen who donated their property at the beginning of the movement. Later, she taught at a school near her home. Later, her class status was again classified as a capitalist, but because she had donated her property at the beginning, she didn't face much persecution.
Although life is a little hard, it is still peaceful.
However, the family of Sun's father and mother's teacher was destroyed by this movement.
Pei Xingzhi's grandparents were Sun Yating's teachers. When Sun Yating was little, her parents often took her to visit Pei Xingzhi's grandparents. That's when she met Pei Xingzhi, who was as noble as a little prince.
Standing high on the stairs, wearing a white T-shirt and black overalls, he looked down at the daughter of his grandparents' student, with the pride of a young man in his eyes.
At that time, Pei Xingzhi's grandparents asked Pei Xingzhi to take Sun Yating out to play, but the reserved and indifferent boy just took Sun Yating to the study and let her read by herself.
He sat on a chair by the window, holding a book and reading carefully.
The breeze blew up the white curtains, and the golden sunlight sprinkled on the boy, giving him a dreamy filter.
The young Pei Xingzhi was so engrossed in watching that he didn't even notice when Sun Yating left.
Or should I say, I don't care.
The young man reading a book in the sunshine by the window has amazed Sun Yating for many years. Even now, she can recall every detail.
Until the movement broke out later, the Sun family was unable to take care of themselves. When they came to their senses, Pei Xingzhi's grandparents had passed away, Pei Xingzhi's father was missing, his mother remarried, and Pei Xingzhi himself was left on the streets.
Sun Yating sighed deeply at the fact that the once noble young man had fallen into such a state.
It wasn't that Sun's father and mother had thought about adopting Pei Xingzhi, but they were rejected.
Two years later, Sun Yating heard from her parents that Pei Xingzhi was taken away by his mother, and thought that he could finally live a stable life.
Unexpectedly, a few years later, she would meet Pei Xingzhi in a poor village in the south.
The boy has grown into a handsome and tall young man. His arrogance has faded, replaced by the calmness of having experienced the vicissitudes of life.
However, his indifferent personality remained the same. Thinking of Pei Xingzhi's indifferent glance before, Sun Yating was shocked. He was still so indifferent to others.
However, in this small village, there is an exception.
Thinking about how Pei Xingzhi’s eyes were filled with Meng Wanqiu, and he didn’t even notice others.
Sun Yating sighed. The reserved and indifferent boy back then now had a lover whom he cared about.
Sun Yating didn't know how to describe her complicated feelings. She met an old friend whom she hadn't seen for many years, and the other party was a young man who had amazed her throughout her youth.
She still remembered him, but he never took her to heart. She was the only one who cared about their childhood. To Pei Xingzhi, she was just a stranger.
Sun Yating was sure that she didn't like Pei Xingzhi, and her feelings for him were just a teenage obsession. But when she found out that Pei Xingzhi was married, her heart still trembled, but only for a moment.
Forget it. Knowing that Pei Xingzhi is living a good life now, has a wife who understands him, and is not lonely like duckweed drifting in the world, Sun Yating has no regrets.
To Sun Yating, Pei Xingzhi was like the protagonist in a book. His excellence amazed Sun Yating and made her remember him in her heart for many years.
She had no possessive desire for Pei Xingzhi, she just hoped that he could live a good life. This simple expectation was like fulfilling her childhood dream.
Looking at the dark roof and listening to the sound of rain outside, Sun Yating smiled carefreely, turned over, wrapped herself in the quilt, closed her eyes and fell into a sweet dream.
In another corner of the village, the Meng family's house was brightly lit.
The rain was heavy, and the table that was usually placed in the yard was moved into the main room. Meng Aiguo was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan; Meng's mother and Dong Hanyun were mending shoes next to him, making one rustling sound after another; Grandma Meng was holding Meng Zhuangzhuang and teaching him to read "The Rules for Being a Good Pupil and Child"; Meng Yanchun was holding a piece of wood and carving it with a knife, preparing to make a small sword for his son.
Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi were still preparing the last dish in the kitchen, and the others tacitly agreed not to disturb them.
The dim light of the kitchen oil lamp was on, and two overlapping human figures were cast on the wall. Occasionally, there was the sound of sizzling water and heavy and shallow breathing. Sparks in the stove crackled, and heat extended from it, spreading throughout the space.
"Hu——" Meng Wanqiu leaned on Pei Xingzhi's chest, taking deep breaths to replenish oxygen to her drowsy brain.
Pei Xingzhi's chest was also heaving violently. The two had just had a fight, and neither of them was willing to admit defeat.
Looking down at Meng Wanqiu, who had not recovered for a long time, Pei Xingzhi slightly curved his eyebrows and rubbed her earlobes and the back of her neck with his big hands with distinct knuckles, then slid to her back, soothing Meng Wanqiu up and down.
The outcome is self-evident.
Meng Wanqiu seemed to sense something and suddenly patted Pei Xingzhi's chest. Pei Xingzhi chuckled, held the hand that had hit him, brought it to his lips and kissed it, saying lovingly, "Alright, hurry out."
Meng Wanqiu's ears turned red, and she felt embarrassed when she thought about the two of them kissing in the kitchen.
Usually when they were alone in the room, Meng Wanqiu didn't care, but in the kitchen, she was a little bold.
After a while, the plate of spicy and sour lotus root slices was served on the table, and Pei Xingzhi's cooking skills won praise from Meng Mu.
Pei Xingzhi smiled faintly, knowing that this was the filter that Meng Mu used for his mother-in-law.
He turned around and picked up a few slices for Meng Wanqiu, whispering, "Try it, how does it taste?"
Meng Wanqiu looked at Pei Xingzhi with some disgust in her eyes. This guy was really enough. She had clearly tried it in the kitchen, and just said that the taste was average, but he pinched the back of her neck and kissed her.
Now he comes again, really holding a grudge, Meng Wanqiu secretly complained. But she timidly put the lotus root slices that Pei Xingzhi had picked up from the bowl into her mouth and nodded, "Hmm, delicious."
Pei Xingzhi raised his eyebrows, a smile in his eyes.
Dong Hanyun, who was sitting opposite, saw this scene and glared at Pei Xingzhi angrily. She turned to look at Meng Yanchun who was eating happily and put all the lotus root slices in her bowl into his.
"If you like it, eat more."
Meng Yanchun paused, then gave Dong Hanyun a disgusted look. "Wow, wow, wow, I know my wife loves him the most."
He immediately turned the meat that was going to be given to his son and put it into his daughter-in-law's bowl.
"Wife, eat more meat."
Meng Zhuangzhuang rubbed his eyes. What happened? There was clearly a piece of meat in front of him, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Oh, by the way, Dad, did you know that the captain borrowed the harvester?"
Meng Yanchun suddenly remembered what happened in the afternoon. The little guy Meng Zhuangzhuang brought a bag of fruit candies and distributed them to other kids. When he gave it to Jiang Bo, the grandson of the Jiang family, it was unexpectedly knocked away by him.
Not only that, Jiang Bo also boasted that his grandmother bought him a lot of candy and looked down on Meng Zhuangzhuang's fruit candy. Perhaps because he was too proud, he even imitated what his father Jiang Wu said at home.
Something like, let the Meng family be arrogant for a while, Jiang He will be able to borrow the harvester immediately, and then the whole village will have to thank the Jiang family.
Meng Aiguo shook his head, thinking that Jiang He had been acting mysteriously recently, and it was very likely that he was busy with this matter. The eldest son of the Jiang family worked on a farm, and I heard that it was doing well, so it would not be difficult for him to borrow a harvester now.
"I'm not sure, but if this is true, and Jiang He can really borrow a harvester to help with the autumn harvest, then it would be a contribution to the village. Let him take the spotlight."
Meng Aiguo smiled heartily. He never cared about being in the spotlight. It was always the Jiang family and some people in the village who thought that he was competing with Jiang He. In fact, Meng Aiguo never took what happened in the past to heart.
Qinghe Village is such a small place, how could there be so many intrigues? He had seen all kinds of tragic scenes on the battlefield, and these sesame-sized things in the village could not cause any waves in his heart.
"Your father is right. No matter what conflicts there are between our family and the Jiang family, no matter what the team leader's original intention is, everyone will benefit in the end. So no matter what the villagers say, don't take it to heart." Grandma Meng put down her bowl and chopsticks and earnestly instructed everyone.
"I understand, grandma."
Grandma Meng rarely cares about village affairs, but she is still the head of the family. They still have a lot to learn from her in terms of speaking and doing things.
Mother Meng: "Don't worry, mother. When have we ever cared about what outsiders think?"
Dong Hanyun: "Yes, grandma, don't worry."
Grandma Meng's expression softened. They were hers and Changhe's children, and she trusted them.
Meng Wanqiu also nodded.
Meng Yanchun started discussing harvesters with Pei Xingzhi. "Hey, Xingzhi, have you ever seen a harvester? I saw one from afar when I passed by a farm before. Wow, it was a huge thing, bigger than a tractor."
Pei Xingzhi smiled. Not only had he seen it, he had also personally repaired it.
I didn’t expect that the eldest son of the Jiang family actually works on a farm. I wonder if the person who asked him to repair the harvester last time was Jiang Wen.
However, Pei Xingzhi shook his head secretly, thinking that the person who could come up with so much money should not be Jiang Wen.
Even if not, the two must know each other.
At this time, the farm.
Director Yao and his family were also finishing their meal.
Yao's mother kept putting meat into her son Yao Jin's bowl, muttering to herself, "You're getting thinner."
Director Yao's mouth twitched. He glanced at Yao Jin, who was becoming increasingly plump, and put down his bowl and chopsticks with a bang. "Don't feed him. He's almost like a pig, and he's still eating so much. It will be even harder for him to find a partner."
Upon hearing this, Yao's mother was unhappy. "What pig? He is a pig, but you are not. I am not. Are you cursing me in a roundabout way?"
Yao Jin lowered his head silently, not daring to say a word.
Director Yao quickly explained: "Nonsense, don't misinterpret what I meant, I meant to say -"
Yao's mother interrupted him directly, slammed the table and stood up, looking down at Director Yao condescendingly, "Humph, I don't know you, you got mad at me at work, and you're taking it out on us, mother and son. Don't you see what kind of place this is?"
"This is home. My son and I are not your subordinates. Don't act like a leader in front of us. I won't fall for it..."
Yao Jin finished his last bite of food and immediately stood up to leave. "Mom and Dad, I'm done. Take your time. I'm leaving now."
"Hey, where are you going so late at night?"
Ignoring what Yao's mother said behind him, Yao Jin closed the door and slipped out.
There were no entertainment venues at that time, and there was nothing to do after dark. Yao Jin and his group of young masters had no time to spare, so they created the conditions if they didn't.
In late autumn, the weather gradually turns cooler.
Yao Jin gathered his clothes, hunched his neck, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and walked into a staff dormitory on the farm.
"Brother Jin."
"Brother Jin, you're here."
"Come here quickly, you are the only one missing."
In a room of a few square meters, there were two mahjong tables, three poker tables, and a dozen young people.
Yao Jin took the cigarette handed to him, lit it with a lighter with a click, took a deep breath, and exhaled the swirling white smoke.
"Damn it, is Jiang Wen giving me trouble again?"
The man at the opposite table played a card and said, "Dongfeng, what's wrong? What did that guy do again?"
Yao Jin held a cigarette butt between his lips. "Hongzhong, this plan to help the subordinate villages is actually just a face-saving measure for his father. He has to help the village with the autumn harvest."
"I helped his father, and even held a special meeting to tell me to go to the countryside to help. The old man scolded me again, asking why I didn't think these things were just to increase my political achievements, and he kept talking about it endlessly."
"Qi Tong, forget it. Don't think too much about it. Just think of it as helping the countryside. Who knows, they might even treat you to delicious food and wine?"
"Is this what I'm annoyed about? What annoys me is that that bastard Jiang Wen always sets traps for me and always acts as a stepping stone for him. Damn it, I'm so angry." Yao Jin flicked the ash from his cigarette in annoyance.
Sitting next to Yao Jin was a skinny man. He was the cousin of someone present and an unemployed vagrant. He usually envied his cousin for being able to hang out with a young man like Yao Jin, and always wanted to join in and hang out with Yao Jin.
However, he was not an employee of the farm and could not see Yao Jin often. Even if they did meet, it was not his turn to show courtesy. After knowing Yao Jin for a few months, he was just familiar with him and Yao Jin could not even remember his name.
After hearing this, the man's eyes rolled around.
Since Brother Jin is so annoyed with that guy named Jiang Wen, why not create some trouble for him? Then when he suffers, Brother Jin will definitely be happy. He might even promote him and arrange for him to work on the farm.
Thinking of this, the man instantly came up with a plan in his mind.
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