I had a simple breakfast and will eat more lunch when I get home.
It takes more than an hour by bus to get to their hometown. The road is very bumpy, but Song Yining and her two siblings are already used to it.
With his father carrying his two sons in front and Song Yining sitting behind, they sped off to the station.
Luckily, they arrived early and sat by the window, next to the door, so the air wasn't too bad.
It's summer now, and the food inside doesn't taste very good. Mr. Song dropped them off at the station and then hurried off to work.
They go back to their hometown for a period of time every year. The driver and ticket seller know the three siblings, so Mr. Song is very at ease with them.
Songjia Village is located next to a small town in An County. It's very close to the town for shopping; it only takes about 30 minutes to walk there.
When we arrived at the departure point, the bus was almost full, and the driver sped along the country road.
After walking for almost an hour, Song Yining was about to give up and didn't dare to get up halfway. The people standing next to her were eyeing her seat with predatory intent.
They arrived at the main road at the entrance of Songjia Village. The three of them, their legs numb and unsteady, walked out of the car, facing the stares of the people inside.
The three of them carried their luggage and watched the villagers of Songjia Village working hard in the fields.
Most of the villagers are surnamed Song, either from the same clan or within five degrees of kinship. Song Yining and her two siblings walked through the fields, calling out "Grandpa," "Auntie," "Brother," and "Sister" all the way.
Everyone noticed that the Song family's granddaughter seemed much more cheerful today. The gossipy aunties started their chatter again, gathering in groups of two or three to talk about the Song family.
The squad leader saw his team chatting and yelled at everyone to return to their posts immediately.
The three walked quickly to the threshing ground at the village entrance. The village children were playing there, while some elderly grandmothers sat under the shade of trees, stitching shoe soles stitch by stitch.
The summer harvest was still drying on the threshing ground. When the children saw birds coming, they chased after them, making quite a scene.
The Song family lived at the end of the village. It was a five-minute walk from the threshing ground.
When they arrived home, the front door was open, and Grandma Song was drying herbs in the yard.
Grandma Song was very happy to see her granddaughter and grandson return.
He pulled Song Yining aside and said, "Your mother said you weren't feeling well a few days ago. Are you feeling better? Your grandfather will come back later and take a look at you. Your father is just a half-baked doctor; he's not very skilled."
Song Yining felt warm inside. Although they weren't her biological children, the love they gave her was genuine.
She even dotes on him more than her two grandsons. Her younger brother, Song Jingchen, was conceived the year Song Yining came to live with her. He is 13 years old this year and will be in fifth grade after the summer vacation.
The younger brother is calm and composed, and does things in a methodical way. At a young age, he takes care of the younger brother and doesn't cause his parents any worry.
The second brother, Song Zechen, is 10 years old this year and will be in second grade after the summer vacation. He is the older brother and is very mischievous.
Song Jingchen also worried a lot about his younger brother, as the two had completely opposite personalities.
The three of them went inside the house to put down their luggage and then helped their grandmother dry the remaining medicinal herbs.
A special pergola was built in the courtyard for some medicinal herbs to be dried in the shade.
The three of them were already quite adept at doing these things. Grandpa Song knew that his grandchildren would be back today, so he picked honeysuckle, which was in season, by the mountainside.
Looking at the time, the three siblings should be back by now, so Grandpa Song took his basket and went home.
Upon entering and seeing his mischievous second grandson, he jokingly remarked, "Whose naughty boy is this back?"
When the children saw Grandpa, they all came over and pulled him aside, chattering about the interesting things that had happened recently.
In the afternoon, Song Yining pulled Grandpa Song aside and told him about what had happened recently. Grandpa Song was already mentally prepared, but he was still surprised to hear that his granddaughter had just escaped death.
Grandpa Song quickly took his granddaughter's wrist to check the wound, then took her hand to check her pulse before he felt a little relieved.
Song Yining said to Grandpa Song, "Grandpa, can you teach me your special skill? I want to learn it now, okay?" Song Yining pulled on Grandpa Song's arm and said in a coquettish tone.
Her expression looked quite comical. Grandpa Song looked at his granddaughter and said, "Her personality has changed so much all of a sudden. Even I, an old man, can't handle it."
I used to teach you, but you wouldn't learn. Now some shameless people come to me, this old man, wanting to learn.
"Do you really think I'm some kind of persimmon you can mold and knead? Dream on! I'm not teaching you anymore!" With that, she walked away haughtily.
Song Yining was completely dumbfounded by what the old man was doing.
Why is this old man like this? The way he acted when he first got up was like a proud peacock, hesitating before he could even spread his tail feathers.
Sigh! I'm really fed up. This old man's mood is getting more and more unpredictable.
He was cuter when he used to chase after me, wanting me to learn alchemy from him.
However, the Shen mother and daughter, having been drugged, were still asleep on the ground, completely unaware that they were now penniless and destitute.
The neighbor lady next door saw that the Shen family's gate was open and the yard was quiet, but she didn't think much of it.
This mother and daughter have always been arrogant and looked down on the old ladies, a fact that everyone tacitly acknowledges.
Around noon, when everyone went home for lunch, a startling scream came from inside the Shen family's house.
Ah... Ah... Ah...
At this moment, Shen Shiyu screamed repeatedly, startling Han Ping, who was sleeping next door, into waking up.
Ah... Ah... Ah...
Then came another round of screams, and the neighbors realized something was wrong—why were the mother and daughter screaming?
The two people's screams startled the neighbor's old hen, who was about to lay an egg, but she held back.
The children who were about to collect the eggs were left speechless with grief, crying out, "My eggs! My eggs!"
When the adults in the family heard the child crying, they all ran out to see what was wrong.
The neighbors heard the screams and cries, and not knowing what was going on, they came out to ask.
The child next door to the Shen family was still crying. His family asked him what was wrong.
The young man, sniffling, said, "I saw the hen about to brood, hiccup, getting ready to lay an egg, hiccup."
Just as I was waiting to collect the eggs, burp! A few screams came from somewhere, and the chickens ran away.
"My egg, my egg, why haven't you laid it yet? I've been waiting since this morning, and it still hasn't laid."
After saying that, she hugged her grandmother and cried sadly.
I heard the child crying sadly because of an egg.
Then everyone asked, "Who was that screaming from just now?"
Everyone looked at each other, and finally confirmed that the voice was coming from the Shen family, so they all went to the Shen family.
The door to the Shen family's house was half-open. The neighbors, who usually didn't interact with each other, were all curious about what had happened at the Shen family's house and why they had heard screams.
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