Chapter 114 Lodging in a Mountain Village
As they talked, it took them about an hour to reach the end of Da'ao Village, where Jiang Yuan planned to stay the night.
"Aunt Ge, are you home?" Jiang Yuan stopped at the third-to-last house at the end of the village, knocking on the door and calling out.
"Who is it?" A childish voice answered, and then Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan heard footsteps approaching from afar.
"I'm Jiang Yuan, from Mingfu Village outside the mountains. You must be Xiaohua, right? Do you remember me?"
"It's Brother Yuan!" The child named Xiaohua clearly remembered Jiang Yuan. She opened the door and said, "Brother Yuan, it's been so long since you've come to our village."
Jiang Yuan's expression softened. "Yes."
The little girl looked around and said, "Huh, Uncle Hao didn't come this time?"
Jiang Yuan nodded, "I came with Sister Xie this time."
When Xie Wanniang heard him mention her, she stepped forward and stood in front of Xiaohua. "Hello, Xiaohua, I am Xie Wanniang."
When Xiaohua's eyes met the beautiful older sister's smile, her little brain suddenly went blank. "Thank you, sister. I'm Lü Xiaohua."
Xie Wanniang smiled and handed her a small piece of malt candy, "Isn't Grandma Xiaohua home?"
Xiao Hua nodded, looking at the candy but too shy to reach out and take it. "Grandma and my brother went to the fields."
Xie Wanniang placed the candy in her little hand, "Little Flower, can you take us to find Grandma and Brother?"
Xiaohua nodded, "Let me lock the door."
In villages nestled between mountains, wild animals would occasionally wander in and wreak havoc on the fields, poultry, and houses of each household. As a result, the villagers had a habit of locking their doors when they went out and bolting them when they were at home.
The two waited patiently for Xiaohua to tiptoe and lock the door. The neighbors who heard the noise peeked out and greeted Jiang Yuan when they saw that he was someone they knew.
The first to come out, Aunt Liu, looked Xie Wanniang up and down before saying to Jiang Yuan, "Oh, it's Yuan! Didn't your uncle come with you this time?"
Aunt Hu, who was a step too late, asked, "Who is this little girl?"
Jiang Yuan nodded and called out to each person in turn, "Aunt Liu, Aunt Hu."
Then he introduced Xie Wanniang to them, saying, "This is Miss Xie."
Xie Wanniang curtsied and said, "Junior Xie Wanniang greets Aunt Liu and Aunt Hu."
The two quickly exchanged a glance and wisely refrained from asking further questions.
Aunt Liu took out two dates and handed them to Xie Wanniang, saying, "These are from my date tree. They're a bit small, but they're quite sweet."
Aunt Hu then gave Xie Wan Niang a handful of roasted soybeans, saying, "Don't mind them, I roasted them myself for the children to chew on."
Xie Wanniang quickly accepted the gifts with both hands and thanked the two women in turn.
Little Flower watched longingly, but obediently remained silent.
After Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan had exchanged pleasantries with the two, she took them to find her grandmother and brother.
Her brother is nine years old this year and is already able to work in the fields with her grandmother.
Because she was only seven years old, her grandmother left her at home to help with cleaning, laundry, and cooking.
The three walked along the dirt road outside the village for about 15 minutes when Little Flower spotted his younger sister leading two people toward them.
"Grandma, it's Xiaohua, Xiaohua is here." The little boy pointed to his sister's thin and small figure and said to his grandma, Aunt Ge.
Aunt Ge straightened up, rubbing her aching back. "Oh, it really is Xiao Hua."
She and her grandson Awang walked out of the field and headed towards Xiaohua and the others.
After walking for a short while, she and Awang recognized Jiang Yuan following behind Xiaohua.
"It's A-Yuan. He's probably out hunting again." Aunt Ge squinted, straining to see Xie Wanniang. "I just don't know who that girl with Xiao Hua is."
"Grandma—Brother—" When Xiao Hua saw the two walking towards her, she immediately let go of Xie Wan Niang's hand and ran towards them.
"Why--"
"Little Flower, slow down."
An aged voice and a childish voice rang out simultaneously, and the grandfather and granddaughter quickened their pace so that Xiaohua could run less.
Little Hua rushed into her grandmother's arms, her little hand reaching out towards her brother, "Brother, these are for you."
What she gave Awang was the piece of maltose that Xie Wanniang had given her, as well as two dates and half a handful of soybeans that Xie Wanniang had given her after the three of them left the village.
The little girl hadn't eaten a single bite; now she was offering it all up to her brother as if it were a precious treasure.
Aunt Ge asked in surprise, "Where did you get these things?"
"The candy was given to me by Sister Xie, and the dates and soybeans were given to Sister Xie by Grandma Liu and Grandma Hu, and then Sister Xie shared them with me."
As soon as Xiao Hua finished speaking, Xie Wan Niang and Jiang Yuan walked up to the three of them.
Jiang Yuan nodded to Aunt Ge in greeting, "Aunt Ge."
Xie Wanniang smiled and curtsied, "Junior Xie Wanniang greets Aunt Ge."
Aunt Ge said "Hey, hey" twice, "You're going to stay at my house for two days, right? Okay, I'll go back and help you tidy up the house."
Jiang Yuan nodded, "Then I'll trouble Aunt Ge. We'll each have a room and stay for about two to three days."
Aunt Ge waved her hand vigorously, "What trouble? I'd love for you to come more often."
Her husband and son were both dead, and her daughter-in-law didn't want to stay with her and quickly remarried. She was left alone as an old woman, struggling to make a living in the village with her two children.
Although their relatives were not only kind but also strong and capable, their few acres of land were not seized by any shady people, and their relatives would occasionally give them some food, their family still lived a very tight life.
Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu would come over several times a year to stay at their house. They would not only pay for their stay with grain, but also exchange grain and salt for some mountain products such as wood ear fungus and mushrooms that they could hardly sell for much money at the local mountain product shops in town, where the shopkeepers would ruthlessly lower the prices.
Aunt Ge therefore welcomed Jiang Yuan and his family very much. Every time they came, she would bring out clean mats, quilts, and pillows that she had specially prepared at home, just in case they were uncomfortable staying at her house.
This time, Xie Wanniang came along, and although Aunt Ge had to prepare another room for her to stay in, she was particularly happy about this because she could earn an extra accommodation fee.
As they talked, they returned to Aunt Ge's house. Aunt Ge immediately grabbed some tools and went with A-Wang to clean the room, while Xiao Hua brought warm water for Jiang Yuan and Xie Wan Niang to drink.
Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang thanked Xiao Hua, placed the water bowl on the stone table in the courtyard, and then went together to the east wing of Aunt Ge's house to help her and Awang tidy up the room.
Seeing that the guests had all gone to work, Xiao Hua immediately ran off with her short legs to help Aunt Ge with her work.
Aunt Ge tried to chase them away several times but failed, so she had no choice but to let them work alongside her family.
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