Zhan Chunlan took Xiao Cheng away. Her hometown was in Xiangshu Brigade, Minfeng Commune, Qushui County. The journey involved taking a boat, then a car, and then walking, a shaky, winding, and bumpy road.
Xiao Cheng arrived in high spirits. His parents told him that if he could go to the countryside with Zhan Chunlan and stay there for two months, they would no longer stop him and Luo Shan.
At first, as he gazed at the vast river and recalled the poems he had learned, a strange emotion welled up in his chest. Seeing the scenery from his textbooks in reality, the poetic and artistic sentiment flowing in the blood of the Chinese people became almost irrepressible…
"The cries of monkeys on both banks could not be stopped..."
"You can tell he's never been on a boat before, tsk tsk~" Zhan Chunlan glanced at him, rolled her eyes, and continued to close her eyes to rest.
"Wow--"
Zhan Chunlan knew without even looking that Xiao Cheng had already started to "cry out."
Before Xiao Cheng could even finish reciting a poem, he started feeling nauseous and his throat was constantly churning with acid. Within two minutes, he began vomiting violently, completely losing his composure.
"Does Rosanne have to take a boat to the countryside? She's never been on a boat before, and she'll probably get seasick. I wish I could be there to take care of her."
"Hoo~~"
Zhan Chunlan, who was still struggling to hold on, could no longer hold back after hearing his words. She leaned over the side of the ship and vomited violently. She had rarely heard such disgusting words since she came into this world. Was the power of being in love really that great?
"Don't you often take a boat back to your hometown? Why are you seasick?" Xiao Cheng felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to talk to Zhan Chunlan to distract himself.
"Did I not take a plane because I didn't want to?" Zhan Chunlan rolled her eyes; she didn't want to talk when she was seasick!
"It's because we can't. None of us are qualified to fly, and there are no flights from Jiangcheng to Qushui County," Xiao Cheng said after careful consideration, giving a very firm answer.
"So, seasickness is not something you can control. Whether I want to or not, whether I sit a lot or a little, I'll still get seasick!"
Four hours later, the boat docked at the Qushui County pier, and the two men disembarked carrying large and small bags.
Xiao Cheng could barely carry his own things, so he certainly didn't have the energy to help Zhan Chunlan carry her luggage.
Zhan Chunlan didn't mind; she had put most of her things in her spatial storage anyway. The luggage looked big, but it was actually very light.
After another two-hour bus ride, the two of them were so dizzy they felt completely disoriented.
The entire journey was along winding mountain roads, going up and down in twists and turns. Every slowdown was a relief for those prone to motion sickness.
Along the way, there were many cliffs and precipices without guardrails. At first, Zhan Chunlan and Xiao Cheng held tightly to the front seats, and when the driver turned a corner, they were worried that they would be thrown off.
Then, Master, let me fall down again, I can't take it anymore. I've vomited up everything, not even breakfast. My stomach and intestines feel cleaner than ever before. I think I can go straight for a colonoscopy and gastroscopy without even needing to take laxatives!
No matter how much I thought about it, I still had to vomit. My throat and stomach were constantly convulsing and churning. The other people on the bus were the same; most of them were vomiting.
After enduring two hours, we finally arrived at the Minfeng Brigade.
The two of them, their arms and legs weak, carried their luggage and stood on the ground with vacant eyes. It took them a while to absorb the earth's energy before they regained 20% of their battery.
The two of them started carrying their large and small bags of luggage again, walking slowly and unevenly towards Xiangshu Brigade.
"Hey," Xiao Cheng said, looking at Zhan Chunlan walking ahead on her own, his heart filled with endless resentment, "Why is your hometown so far away? Don't you have a tractor? I read in the newspaper that many places use tractors to pick up educated youth!"
"You still have the energy to complain? Looks like our home isn't far enough." Zhan Chunlan kept walking; she was tired too. If she stopped to rest, she wouldn't want to walk anymore, so she couldn't stop. "Besides, what use is a tractor in a place like this, surrounded by mountains? Here, you have to walk to get to town, and shout to find someone. From now on, you'd better get used to it!"
Around 4 p.m., the two finally arrived at the Zhan family's door. What took others an hour to walk took them two hours. They looked like two homeless people fleeing famine, drenched in sweat in the dead of winter, their hair a mess like a bird's nest.
Xiao Cheng, in particular, was carrying such heavy luggage and walking such a long distance, mostly along mountain roads. He was completely unrecognizable. As soon as he heard the news, he put down his luggage and lay down on the ground.
"Sigh, young people sleep so well, they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow!" Zhan Chunlan ignored him, sighed, and went inside.
Xiao Cheng lay in the courtyard, carefully observing the old house where he would be staying for two months.
People in Jiangcheng don't enclose their courtyards. All the houses, some of which resemble traditional courtyard houses without a reverse-facing room, have three main rooms in the middle, with east and west wing rooms at both ends, like outstretched arms embracing the small courtyard in front of the house.
In the very center was the main room, with a portrait of a high-ranking leader hanging in the middle. Below it was an eight-immortal table. It was getting dark, and he couldn't see very clearly, but he remembered that Zhan Chunlan went into the door on the right.
He slowly stood up, moved his things under the eaves, and searched for Zhan Chunlan based on his memory.
Stepping over the threshold, the room became even darker. By the faint light of the fire, the first thing I noticed was the uneven, muddy ground beneath my feet, dotted with very round little bumps, but not uncomfortable to walk on.
Zhan Chunlan and her family sat on a wooden platform, raised about 60 or 70 centimeters off the ground. There were two walls on either side and a fire pit surrounded by stones in the middle, with a small fire burning. The whole family sat around it.
It is said that this is called a "fire station," where the people of Qushui sit around a fire in winter. At mealtimes, they set up a three-legged stove on top to cook rice and stir-fry dishes. After the food is cooked, the whole family gathers around the fire to eat. This is the "living room," "kitchen," and "dining room" of the people of Qushui.
In good years, the area directly above the fire pit was always filled with cured meats and sausages, which were slowly smoked over a wood fire and tasted the best.
As soon as Xiao Cheng entered the house, he attracted the attention of the whole family. So many eyes were staring at him in the dim light, making him feel like he was being pricked by needles.
Zhan Chunlan was sitting nearby. When she saw him, she immediately invited him to sit down and brought him a straw stool. She casually patted the ash off the stool and said, "Sit down and warm yourself by the fire."
Then he said to the others, "This is Xiao Cheng, whom I just told you about. He wanted to experience authentic rural life and begged me to bring him here."
Xiao Cheng looked at Zhan Chunlan with a face full of questions: Is that so?
Zhan Chunlan nodded vigorously and patted his shoulder to encourage him: "You must not be polite and treat him as if he were 'me'. He will do whatever I used to do."
Xiao Cheng was surprised. "You're being so kind?"
Zhan Chunlan smiled even more sweetly: "He even brings his own food rations, and all the work points he earns belong to you. The only requirement is that he must truly experience all kinds of labor in our Xiangshu Brigade."
Old Man Zhan remained silent, sitting quietly at the head of the table. Every now and then, the smoke would sting his eyes, and he would only slightly shift his body. If he couldn't avoid it, he would simply close his eyes and endure it.
Zhan Chunlan felt that this old man... was quite stubborn.
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