Chapter 24: Countryside
Around ten o'clock in the evening, Lin Yu and his teammates arrived in Pingnan County. After getting off the car, he moved his luggage to the hotel arranged by the local police station.
After a quick tidy up and washing up, everything seemed to have settled, but Lin Yu felt that something was still hanging in his heart, like a cloud floating in his mind, making him feel a little confused.
When Chen Wan received Lin Yu's call, he was watering jasmine on the balcony. His voice came from the other end of the phone, "Wanzi, are you asleep?"
It sounds a bit low and distorted, with a sense of distance.
After asking this question, Lin Yu felt very stupid. What if Chen Wan said she was asleep? He would have no choice but to hang up the phone.
But this inappropriate thought in his heart made him become a fool.
Chen Wan said no, but when he heard the whistling sound of the wind coming from his side, he asked curiously, "Are you outside?"
"I just settled into a local hotel. It might rain here," he explained. The room was filled with dampness, and a few leaves were stuck to the windowpanes. "How are you doing over there?"
Chen Wan looked out from the balcony. There was a half moon and scattered stars in the sky. "It's pretty good. The moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Have you eaten?"
After asking this question, Chen Wan heard a low laugh coming from the other end of the phone. Lin Yu said leisurely, "I've eaten."
"Are you full?" Chen Wan paused and continued to ask.
"I'm full." Lin Yu felt happy in his heart, pleased with her concern for the details, and asked her, "How about you?"
"I'm full too." Chen Wan picked a few jasmine flowers and put them in a small porcelain vase, saying casually, "I was just watering the flowers."
She didn't know why she spoke about such unimportant things so naturally. Her conversations with Lin Yu always seemed irrelevant, and slow, trivial, everyday conversations ran through their daily lives.
But she didn't feel bored at all. Chen Wan thought that if possible, she could stay with Lin Yu and talk to him about these little things.
Lin Yu reached out to close the glass window, and the wind came in through the gap, mixed with raindrops.
He looked at the heavy rain outside the window and thought of something. "I told Zhang Mo that you agreed to go to his old house to take care of Huang Dou and Xiao Mi. He said he would come to pick you up and take you to town in two days. When you finish your part-time job, please contact him. I should have taken care of these for you, but I may not be able to call or text you often in the next few days."
Maybe it was because of the rain, the signal bar on the screen kept flashing, and Lin Yu said hurriedly, "The signal is not good in the mountains, and I usually have to carry out missions..."
Chen Wan heard his intermittent voice, mixed with the sound of the rain, "I know, then you should rest first, and be careful when carrying out the mission."
She hurriedly finished her concerned words, and after a burst of muffled thunder, a busy tone came to her ears.
The phone suddenly disconnected.
Lin Yu looked at the signal grid that had returned to zero, feeling somewhat unsatisfied, but the cloud in his heart dissipated and turned into drizzle.
He lay down with his hands under his head, and saw the rain marks on the glass window casting light gray shadows on the white wall, like a flowing underground river.
They say it’s easier to sleep on rainy nights, so I should have a good dream tonight.
......
Zhang Mo ordered the old house to prepare a clean and tidy room for Chen Wan, and then called to ask Chen Wan when it would be convenient for her so that he could take her to town.
After slowly packing up his daily necessities and spare clothes, Chen Wan accepted Zhang Mo's kindness and made an appointment with him on the phone to set off for Qinghe Town tomorrow morning.
At around nine o'clock the next morning, Zhang Mo drove a wild-style off-road vehicle to the alley to pick up Chen Wan, attracting a lot of sidelong glances. He put his sunglasses on his fluffy hair, squinted his eyes to bask in the sun, and looked very comfortable.
Chen Wan walked downstairs carrying a suitcase and was a little surprised when he saw this scene.
I still remember Zhang Mo whom I saw not long ago. He seemed somewhat frustrated and downcast. But when I saw him again this time, I felt that he had become more high-spirited and daring.
Both of them tacitly agreed to put the previous drunken incident behind them. After all, they were both people who lost their composure after drinking, and they subconsciously maintained each other's dignity.
Zhang Mo smiled brightly and enthusiastically helped Chen Wan put her luggage away. After she got in the car, he reminded her to fasten her seat belt.
He started the engine and raised an eyebrow at Chen Wan, "Let's go to the countryside!"
In this not-so-spacious space, it would be awkward if I said nothing.
But Chen Wan didn't know what to talk to him about, so Zhang Mo started the conversation first, "Have you ever been to the countryside before? Are you born and raised in South City?"
Chen Wan nodded. "I've lived in this alley since I was born. I've rarely been to the countryside. This is my first time in Qinghe Town."
She had heard of it before, but she didn't know anyone there. She never thought that one day she would go to this small town and become a full-time cat and dog feeder. It was also interesting.
"It's okay if you haven't been there before. My old house in the countryside is in pretty good condition. It has all the necessary water, electricity, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi. You should be able to get used to it." Zhang Mo thought for a moment and said, "You don't have to worry about food and accommodation. I'm just worried that you won't be able to adapt to life in the countryside."
After hearing what he said, Chen Wan thought that the old house was indeed very old, which could make his high-profile personality become humble.
It was not until two hours later when Chen Wan saw the Zhang family's mansion with white tiles and gray walls that she felt that the humility in Zhang Mo's words was unnecessary.
In Lin Yu's words, it is very despicable and lacks the beating of socialism.
He spoke in a kind tone, chatting casually with Chen Wan, "That's great. I'm also a native of South City. I've been walking the streets of this city since I was a child. I know every household well."
"Are you from South City?" Chen Wan was a little surprised, because Zhang Mo was drunk last time and spoke with an authentic Northeastern accent. He was also very warm and unreserved, and his style was also quite free and easy. She thought Zhang Mo was from the Northeast.
"Why, I don't think he is?" Zhang Mo smiled. "Lin Yu is from the north, but he doesn't really have an accent when he speaks."
Chen Wan almost blurted out, "Your accent is not a southern accent," but she held it back. She thought about it and realized that Lin Yu's speech was indeed clear and regular, just like everyone else, very proper.
Seeing Chen Wan's hesitant expression, Zhang Mo coughed and said, "My accent was introduced to me by my secretary. He's from Harbin and he learned Northeastern dialect unconsciously."
Chen Wan nodded politely and said, "You have learned it very well."
"What are you talking about? I'm the same age as your brother. If you don't mind, you can call me brother." Zhang Mo waved his hand at her and said disapprovingly.
After hearing him call her brother, Chen Wan was suddenly speechless. She thought of the time when Lin Yu called him Octopus Brother.
Zhang Mo caught a glimpse of her hesitant expression and asked, "Does your brother always call me Octopus Brother in front of you?"
Chen Wan didn't respond, but agreed. Then she felt like laughing. She turned her eyes away and looked at the lush green shadows flying past and receding outside the car window.
"It's okay, everyone actually calls me that." Zhang Mo tutted twice and said indifferently, "Do you know why Lin Yu and I have such a good relationship?"
Chen Wan turned his head to look at him, waiting for an answer.
Zhang Mo said thoughtfully, "The first time I met Lin Yu was during the military training in my freshman year of high school. He was wearing a T-shirt with SpongeBob SquarePants printed on it that day, and I thought he looked so familiar. After the training, we became close friends."
"Very friendly?" Chen Wan couldn't help laughing, "Squidward and SpongeBob seem to dislike each other."
And to be honest, Zhang Mo's personality is not at all like the depressed and melancholic Squidward. Instead, he is more like the optimistic and carefree Patrick Star.
But Chen Wan thought about Lin Yu wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants T-shirt, and his occasional silly smile came to her mind. Combined with his usually optimistic and cheerful personality, she quite agreed with this image.
"Don't you think your brother is a lot like SpongeBob? A little silly, but kind-hearted. No matter if you ask him to do anything for you or not, he's always prepared for you and ready to help you out whenever you need him." Zhang Mo said this and imitated SpongeBob's classic line, "I'm ready, I'm ready!"
Chen Wan was amused by Zhang Mo's deliberately exaggerated tone. He went over his words in his mind and agreed with the saying "prepare for a rainy day and make all preparations for others to solve their unexpected needs."
Lin Yu is a very good person. He is kind and generous, like the warm sunshine, but his behavior is like flowing water, gentle and silent.
After driving for about three hours, we arrived at Qinghe Town at noon.
After coming down from the viaduct, the rows of high-rise buildings were replaced by endless countryside wheat fields.
It was the first time that Chen Wan saw such neat fields. Looking from afar, the sunlight flowed like water on the wheat ears, and the wind blew, creating a shimmering green tide.
"Does it look good?" Zhang Mo asked her.
Chen Wan nodded, carrying the suitcase and slowly following him, "It looks great."
Zhang Mo breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her. "I'm glad you like it. I was worried you might find it too rustic."
In his opinion, girls aged seventeen or eighteen prefer fashionable and beautiful things and would not think wheat fields are beautiful.
Qinghe Town is an ancient town in the south of the city. It has a long history, but it has not been widely publicized. It exists quietly and peacefully among the green mountains and green fields.
Chen Wan and Zhang Mo passed by an arch bridge. She saw dark green moss on the bluestone stele standing beside the bridge, covering the mottled inscriptions. She could vaguely tell that the last time it was repaired was during the Jiaqing period of the Ming Dynasty.
There is a locust tree growing by the water under the bridge. Its lush branches and leaves hang over the water, casting layers of shadows.
Occasionally, a water bird with gray and blue feathers flies out from the green leaves, causing ripples.
Zhang Mo casually talked about his family history. His ancestors were the top scorers in the imperial examinations in the Qing Dynasty, and they could be considered a family of scholars.
In the old years of the Republic of China, the Zhang family still retained the style of literati, living in a corner of the ancient town, ignorant of worldly affairs.
However, dynasties changed and things changed beyond our control. After the war, the Zhang family declined a lot.
Fortunately, during the reform and opening up period, Nancheng responded to the call and actively improved the city's strength. The Zhang family followed the trend of going into business and started to run a business and build a family business.
Today, the Zhang family is one of the largest families in South City, but they still miss their hometown and have always arranged for people to take care of the old house.
"arrive."
As Zhang Mo was talking, they had already arrived at the door of his house. Chen Wan withdrew his gaze and saw an ancient and elegant Su-style garden building in front of him.
She thought of the old house in the countryside that Zhang Mo mentioned in the car, and was a little surprised. She felt that he really didn't need to be so low-key.
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