What's wrong with you?
That day, the mother and daughter carried a basket, a bag and a hoe and went to Yingtaoao.
Cherry Valley, as the name suggests, is a valley full of wild cherries. It is the farthest piece of land from Wu Meilai's home.
The two of them set out at daybreak and didn't reach the field until the sun rose above the horizon.
However, some farmers had already arrived.
Wu Meilai put the basket away, listened to the man greet her, responded casually, then spat on her hands, picked up the hoe and started digging, while Liu Guiyan followed behind and picked up potatoes.
After digging two trenches, the man sighed and straightened up to rest. She thought he was bored, so she chatted, "I heard you beat your dad half to death, haha, that's not good enough, little sister."
People in rural areas have close interactions with each other, and any unusual thing will become known to everyone within two days.
Wu Meilai smiled and said it was just a minor conflict, and continued to work. The man, wanting to gossip, said to himself, "Your father is a petty person, and he might do something to you. You better be careful."
"He dares!" Liu Guiyan shouted sternly.
Shan'ao raised her voice, as if that would make the warning more forceful. "He's a father after all. How can he argue with his own child?"
The man laughed heartily, "You never know. He even dared to do something to his own father."
After the potatoes in a small patch were dug, the woman came down the mountain, carrying her small basket on her back, singing folk songs. The rustling of cherry blossoms created a scene reminiscent of a paradise. Soon, the folk songs gave way to greetings and pleasantries.
Liu Guiyan was digging potatoes in the dirt, still brooding over the woman's words. She said, "Don't mess with your father in the future. Stay away from him."
"Um."
Wu Meilai originally wanted to say: If he doesn’t provoke me, I will definitely not provoke him.
But then I thought, it’s better to have less trouble than more, so I just stay away from it.
After digging another ditch of potatoes, Wu Meilai was exhausted and sweating. She dropped her hoe and took two bottles of water from the basket. She handed one to Liu Guiyan and drank half of it herself while sitting on the dirt ridge.
Liu Guiyan was not thirsty, but she felt a little pain from bending over for a long time, so she stood up and walked back and forth in the field to exercise.
Suddenly, she said, "Huh?"
In the wild cherry grove by the stream, two women were strolling leisurely, caressing the flowers and grass. They were wearing the style you often see on TV.
Who else could it be but the Zhou mother and daughter?
Liu Guiyan snorted. Seeing Zhou Fang, at her age, still sitting on the stone slab and flirting, she felt uncomfortable and said sarcastically, "These two mother and daughter are always acting like coquettish women and showing off."
Wu Meilai turned her head and looked over. Zhou Qianling was squatting and taking pictures of Zhou Fang. The cherry blossoms fell between her hair and on her clothes, creating a beautiful contrast.
As if by telepathy, the woman holding the camera stopped, turned her head slightly, and looked into Wu Meilai's eyes from afar.
We haven't seen each other for a long time, but even though we are far apart, I can still see the joy in her slightest movements.
Wu Meilai turned her head away like a quail, afraid that others would notice. She held the large water bottle, feeling neither drink nor not drink.
Zhou Qianling glanced at Liu Guiyan, turned back expressionlessly, and reminded his mother to look at the camera.
"What happened between you and Zhou Qianling?" Liu Guiyan asked casually.
Wu Meilai choked back and flatly denied it: "We have nothing to do with each other."
"Of course I know. What's the difference between a little sparrow in the mountains and a golden phoenix in a big city?"
Liu Guiyan guessed that Zhou Qianling was probably tired of playing with Wu Meilai, so he ignored her.
"Humph, there's nothing wrong with these frivolous people..."
"Mom." Wu Meilai interrupted the string of negative words that was about to appear, screwed the bottle cap on and stood up, "Keep digging."
Seeing her give the opposite side a blank look and turn around to continue working, Wu Meilai suddenly understood what Liu Guiyan said in the hospital and where the problem lay.
Although her malice towards the two of them was partly due to her desire to protect her own shortcomings, it was more due to her own hatred for Zhou Fang.
She comforted herself with people who were worse off than herself, allowing herself to numbly endure the pain. However, when she discovered that not everyone was like that, she could no longer continue to hypnotize herself.
As the mountain breeze blew, cherry blossoms danced in the sky and fell on the mother and daughter, forming a pleasant and beautiful picture.
It was in stark contrast to his and Liu Guiyan's dirty appearance.
Wu Meilai felt a little envious, and her usually closed and boring vision suddenly became broader.
Why not compare yourself with the good, but with the bad?
Before Zhou Qianling noticed, she lowered her head and concentrated on turning the soil.
——
After a week's delay, Wu Meilai's mutton noodle shop is finally reopening.
The closer she got to the noodle shop, the more anxious she became. She had posted a status two days ago, so anyone with an eye for the place would have guessed she'd be here to clean up today.
Sure enough, I saw a person leaning against the door from a distance.
Wu Meilai's heart was pounding like a drum. She walked to her side pretending nothing had happened, bent down to unlock the door, lifted it, and didn't look away.
When they lifted the door curtain, they both reached out their hands, and Zhou Qianling's hand just covered the back of her hand.
Wu Meilai shook her arm and quickly retracted it.
Zhou Qianling pursed his lips, walked up to her and asked, "Did you feel uncomfortable that day?"
Wu Meilai was so scared that she covered her mouth and looked around nervously. When she found that there was no one around, she retracted her hand because she felt the soft touch of her palm and it burned her.
She didn't dare to look Zhou Qianling in the eye, but only stared at his toes and said, "What do you mean by 'that day'? I don't understand what you are talking about."
When someone passed by, she moved sideways and walked around her into the store.
Her behavior was very hurtful, and she just wanted Zhou Qianling to give up.
After cleaning the kitchen with a lot of noise, she came out with a mop and saw that the man had not left yet. He was sitting quietly at the round table. When the mop reached his feet, he lifted his feet without being asked, and was incredibly well-behaved.
Wu Meilai felt a little reluctant, but she never looked at her from beginning to end.
The outside was cleaned up and the soup was cooking. There was really nothing to do, so Wu Meilai had to sit at another table and play games.
"That day made you uncomfortable, didn't it?"
She asked this again. After all, in her opinion, they were having fun the night before, but were ignored the next day. Apart from this reason, Zhou Qianling could not think of any other reason.
The noise of loud games filled the entire space.
Wu Mei came and talked, and she should be honest with her: they have no future, and she doesn't want to do anything out of line again.
But she could never say it.
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