After the two finished tidying up the honey, spoons, and honeycomb, they heard Jin Guihua call out from afar, "Dinner's ready!"
Shen Yanming opened the door, and he and Bi Qiaoan woke up the two babies before carrying them out of the room.
"There are a lot of people today, so let's just make do in the yard," Jin Guihua said, swatting away mosquitoes around her with a embarrassed gesture.
Upon seeing this, Shen Yanming went back, took out mosquito repellent incense, and lit it. The area around the dining table instantly became quiet.
Jin Guihua beamed, "It's all thanks to Xiao Shen's resourcefulness. Otherwise, we would have been covered in mosquito bites after this meal. Rongbai Mountain is like that, with lush vegetation and lots of mosquitoes. But it's cool at night, so it's quite comfortable."
Shen Yanming nodded: "It's good, the environment here feels nice."
“That’s right, otherwise how could we have lived here for generations?” Jin Guihua said proudly. “Let me put it this way, no matter what it’s like outside, we’re right next to the mountains, so we’ll never lack food.”
Shen Yanming was surprised. He asked with a smile, "Then why are you asking me to exchange for smoked meat? I see you have chickens and ducks to raise, so you don't need any at all."
“We don’t lack anything, but who wouldn’t want to stock up?” Jin Guihua grinned. “Young man, don’t you think so? It’s so chaotic outside, it’s better to stay in our little village.”
Shen Yanming agreed with this. If they didn't have space, and if they weren't used to the convenience of the city, it would be really nice to have a mountain to lean against.
"Auntie is right. A life like yours, where you have no worries about food and drink, is the kind of good life that many people aspire to."
Jin Guihua, flattered by such praise, immediately beamed and boasted, "Young man, you look clever. Let me tell you, our place is sparsely populated, nestled against the mountains, and rich in resources. If you ever have trouble making ends meet, come to our Jintao Village. We..."
Uncle Jin, who was standing next to her, couldn't stand it anymore and coughed twice to interrupt Jin Guihua's boasting. "Well, don't listen to her nonsense, it's not that good here either."
As you all know, the temperature in the mountains is low. Summer is alright, but winter is unbearable. Especially around New Year's Day this year, heavy snow blocked the mountain passes, and she almost froze to death at home. If the patrol team hadn't come to check on her, she would have died long ago.
Here, we can only hunt some wild game and find some wild vegetables occasionally; in reality, it's not much better than in the city. And strangers generally don't register their households in the village…”
Upon hearing this, Bi Qiaoan finally understood what the other person was worried about.
She chuckled and reassured everyone, "Don't worry, uncle, we're just here for fun. We'll probably leave tomorrow or the day after. We all have jobs here, and even if we wanted to change our household registration, it wouldn't be that easy."
Bi Qiaoan didn't say it explicitly, but Jin Guangsheng breathed a sigh of relief.
It's good to have a job. Having a job means security, which means they won't try to take advantage of their Golden Peach Village.
"Moreover, after we leave, we will not reveal the situation here to anyone. You can continue to live off the land and maintain your idyllic paradise."
Jin Guangsheng chuckled awkwardly, "Young man, it's not that I'm being petty, but too many people have tried to take over this place in the past two years. If it weren't for the unity of the people in Jintao Village, this place would probably have been taken over by those with ill intentions long ago. We've had it tough too."
Shen Yanming nodded: "It's a crime to possess a treasure. The living conditions here are much better than in other places."
"We also have our own difficulties; we're all in the same boat."
Shen Yanming smiled and didn't ask any further questions.
Seeing this, Jin Guihua pushed the bowls and chopsticks in front of the couple: "Eat quickly, don't be shy. Today, to treat you, I specially made stir-fried dried bamboo shoots with pork, smashed cucumber, pickled tomatoes, stir-fried chrysanthemum greens, romaine lettuce, and braised eggplant. I just don't know if it suits your taste."
"And there are two babies, are they not allowed to eat these? Maybe I should steam an egg for them?"
As Jin Guihua spoke, she was about to get up and get busy. Bi Qiaoan quickly stopped her, saying, "Auntie, there's no need. My two babies can eat solid food now. Let them eat a little less, and we'll make them some formula later."
"Really?" Jin Guihua was a little suspicious, but she still sat down. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know, don't be shy. It's fate that you came here."
“Yes! Of all the people who came to Rongbai Mountain before, only your family of four got my aunt’s approval. Do you know how difficult that is?” Jin Pengjie said while chewing, not forgetting to stuff two pieces of meat into his mouth.
Pengjie's mother couldn't stand it anymore, so she smacked his hand with her chopsticks and scolded, "How old are you? You're almost a grandfather and you still have no manners. Are you a reincarnated starving ghost or something? Has the family mistreated you? Have you never eaten meat in your eight lifetimes?!"
"Mom, can't you give me some face?" Jin Pengjie slammed down his chopsticks angrily. "It's all because my aunt's cooking is too delicious!"
Upon hearing this, Jin Guihua's mouth practically stretched to the back of her ears in a wide grin.
She smiled and reassured them, "It's alright, it's alright, we're all family here. Eat as much as you like. Speaking of which, we should thank Xiao Shen. The rice he gave us wasn't bitter at all, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to eat such delicious food today."
Shen Yanming nodded: "I don't deserve such praise. These are all previous stock. I'm glad you don't mind that they are old grain."
“Old grain is good, it’s not bitter,” Jin Guangsheng said with a smile. “We can’t even find grain that’s a year or two old. We usually eat grain that’s slightly bitter. Today is good, at least we can have a decent meal.”
Shen Yanming smiled and said, "It's alright. Just hang in there for another month, and the new grain will be ready. The sunshine is normal this year, so everyone will be able to eat normal grain again."
"Hehe, yes, yes!" Jin Guangsheng laughed awkwardly, too embarrassed to tell people that he couldn't distinguish the seeds and just scattered them randomly.
Shen Yanming noticed something was off with the old man, but didn't ask further. He turned to Jin Pengjie and asked, "How old are you this year?"
"Thirty-seven? My mom is exaggerating."
"Oh, I was just saying, you look like you're only in your early thirties, how come you're already a grandfather?"
Pengjie's mother paused with her chopsticks and retorted, "Why can't he be a grandfather? He got married at twenty and had a child back then. His son is seventeen this year. In another two or three years, he'll definitely be a grandfather."
Shen Yanming felt like he had been hit with a critical strike of ten thousand points.
"How old are you?" Jin Pengjie asked casually, unaware of the unusual behavior of the person next to him.
Shen Yanming coughed, "Thirty-one!"
Bi Qiaoan covered her mouth and chuckled. He was six years older than her and was about to become a grandfather. Her husband, Lao Shen, was only a father for the second year.
The two children, still oblivious, tugged at Shen Yanming's clothes: "Daddy, I want to eat eggplant!"
Bi Qiaoan couldn't help but burst out laughing. The others followed suit, laughing so hard they were doubled over.
Jin Guihua, fearing that Shen Yanming would feel embarrassed, quickly smoothed things over: "Well, people in our village get married early, unlike you city folks who value late marriage and late childbirth."
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