◇ 【099】 Strange phenomena on the mountain
"Are we almost there?" Fang Lingling asked excitedly.
The driver said, "Yes, the village ahead is Guiyi Village."
Gu Juan looked at his watch. It was half past twelve when they got on the ox cart, and now it was three forty-two. As expected, they had been bumping around on the ox cart for more than three hours.
Going downhill was more difficult than going uphill. It took more than ten minutes for the ox cart to enter the village.
Gu Juan saw three familiar horses tied to a tree in front of a house and frowned almost imperceptibly.
Guo Jianwen jumped out of the car and said, "Everyone get out and move the luggage."
Liang Yuntang entered the village first, and soon brought a wrinkled old man with him. This was Li Yichang, the village chief of Guiyi Village. Li Yichang was delighted to learn that Liang Yuntang and his group were offering free medical care to the villagers. He arranged for them to stay at the home of villager Li Daqiang. Li Daqiang was his younger brother, and his family worked away from home. Before leaving, he gave Li Daqiang the keys, and he would come every three to five days to clean the house.
Li Daqiang's house was newly built two years ago. It's a few brick and tile rooms with smooth, lime-washed walls and a cement floor. Although simple, it's very clean. The furniture must have been made by a carpenter, only polished, not painted, and is also brand new.
The layout of a main hall, four side rooms, and a large courtyard provided ample space for Gu Juan's group of eight, though two people had to share a room. The village chief, perhaps aware of the city kids' particularity, had proactively loaned them a few beds and new bedding, so roommates didn't have to share a bed. Liang Yuntang and Guo Jianwen shared a room; Wu Yu and Fang Lingling shared; Cheng Feng and Jin Meng shared; and Gu Juan shared a room with Zhou Dong.
Xi Lang, having anticipated that the accommodations wouldn't be very good, had placed a new quilt cover, sheets, and pillowcases in Gu Juan's suitcase. Gu Juan took them out and put them on the quilt and pillow that the village chief had borrowed.
The luggage remains in the suitcase and can be taken out when needed.
After everything was packed up, everyone gathered in the main room.
The village chief had not left yet and told them that if they needed anything they could tell him and he would try his best to meet their requirements.
Fang Lingling glanced at the simple courtyard and asked, "Is there a place to take a shower?"
The village chief pointed to a small hut in the corner of the yard. "You'll have to boil water for yourselves. That hut is the bathroom. The floor is made of cement, so it's very convenient. By the way, our village only has one well, and the water output is limited. Water is only available in the mornings. Don't forget to fetch water every morning. Draw plenty and store it in the water tank. The well is empty by now, so I'll have someone fetch some water to fill your tanks. Also, our village doesn't have electricity, so you'd better cook early in the evening."
The lack of water is one thing, but there's no electricity? Several students stared at each other in disbelief, speechless for a moment.
Gu Juan wished the old man would appear before him immediately so he could kiss him. The night before departure, the old man had stuffed ten fully charged batteries into his suitcase. He had laughed at the old man for being so exaggerated, but he had never expected that this would come in handy.
The village chief pointed to another small room across from the bathroom and said, "That's the kitchen. There's firewood, flour, and everything else there. You can cook your own meals. I'll have someone bring you some food later."
Liang Yuntang said hurriedly, "Okay, thank you, Village Chief. However, we can't use your noodles and vegetables for free. We will buy them according to your prices here."
The village chief looked at him in surprise and said, "No need. Our village is basically self-sufficient. We usually don't go out unless there is something important. Even if you give us money, we have nowhere to spend it."
"How can that be?" Liang Yuntang disagreed, "There are eight of us in total. We can't eat and drink for free."
The village chief said, "You provide us with free medical care, so how can you give us free food and drink? How about this? If you really feel bad, just teach the kids in our village a few words when you have time. You really don't have to pay. Even if you did, no one would take it."
Liang Yuntang had no choice but to give up.
"Village chief, I saw other outsiders coming to the village besides us. Do you know what they are here for?" Gu Juan asked.
The village chief said, "They said they were here to take some special photos. They wanted to participate in some... photography competition? I don't know."
"How long will they live here?" Gu Juan asked again.
The village chief said, "They said it would take four or five days."
Unable to find out any useful information, Gu Juan stopped asking.
"Village chief, if our cell phones run out of battery, where can we go to charge them?" Cheng Feng asked without hope.
The village chief smiled apologetically and said, "There's no place to charge, so please use it sparingly."
Everyone was helpless.
After seeing off the village chief, Guo Jianwen asked everyone to rest and arranged for Wu Yu and Fang Lingling to cook at five o'clock.
Cheng Feng and several other boys went back to their rooms to sleep.
Wu Yu and Fang Lingling were not used to the unfamiliar environment and had no desire to sleep, so they just sat in the main room.
Gu Juan asked Wu Yu: "Senior Sister, are you interested in walking around the village with me?" He was very concerned about the purpose of the three monks and wanted to go to the village entrance to take a look. It would be a bit conspicuous to go there alone, so taking Wu Yu with him could provide cover.
Wu Yu stood up and said, "Okay, let's go."
Fang Lingling was the only girl left in the room, and she felt very uncomfortable. "I'll go too."
Gu Juan nodded indifferently, and the three of them went out together.
The village is surrounded by high mountains, bare and barren, with only a few scattered trees and brambles, and even grass scarce. The first impression is one of desolation. There are few large trees in the village, though a few apple trees grow tenaciously beside haystacks, their apples already turning red. Most houses are made of mud bricks, with only a few being red brick and tiled. Every house has small doors and windows, which can feel a bit depressing to those unaccustomed to the scenery.
At the east entrance of the village, Gu Juan noticed the three horses were still there. He quietly probed inside and saw three monks standing in the main hall, talking. He eavesdropped for a while; they kept discussing how backward and poor the village was. He didn't hear anything of value, so he gave up.
"I can't believe there's no signal here!" Fang Lingling complained in surprise, moving the phone up and down in her hand.
At this moment, two children emerged from behind the haystack. One was a little girl of six or seven with pigtails tied in her hair, and the other was a little boy of four or five. Their clothes were patched with patches, and they wore cloth shoes. Their large, distinct black and white eyes looked at them timidly yet curiously, not daring to approach.
"No way?" Wu Yu also took out his own phone. "Didn't a certain mobile phone claim that its signal coverage was nationwide?"
"I haven't called my parents today. Wu Yu, why don't we go to the mountain and try?" Fang Lingling said.
Wu Yu glanced at the mountain behind the village and winked at Gu Juan playfully, "Junior brother, come with us." The mountain behind the village was still some distance away, and she didn't dare to wander around in an unfamiliar place.
Gu Juan nodded and said, "Go back and leave a note for the teacher first."
When we returned to our temporary residence, everyone else was already asleep.
Gu Juan left a note and took Wu Yu and Fang Lingling to the mountains. Since they were going on a long trip, Wu Yu and Fang Lingling were both wearing flat shoes, so climbing the mountain wasn't too difficult. Gu Juan walked easily in front, and the two girls followed behind, holding hands.
"Your junior brother is so handsome. Is he really married?" Fang Lingling whispered to Wu Yu. She had always suspected that Gu Juan only wore the ring on his ring finger to avoid being bothered. They all studied medicine for five years, and most of them graduated in their twenties. But Gu Juan looked no more than twenty, so getting married at twenty seemed a bit unbelievable.
"It's true. I've even met his significant other." Wu Yu said half-jokingly, "They're in a great relationship. Don't fall for him!"
Fang Lingling blushed and pinched her arm, "Don't talk nonsense. Hey, why are there so many bugs on the ground... So disgusting!" She exclaimed, her steps became hurried, and she almost fell to the ground.
Wu Yu looked down and nearly jumped up, scraping his shoes against the weeds. "Ahhh, why are there so many centipedes?! So disgusting!"
The two looked at Gu Juan and found that he had stopped walking a long time ago, looking down at the ground with a frown on his face, as if he was puzzled by something.
The ground was dotted with countless pencil-sized holes. Next to them, black, dead centipedes and ants lay densely packed together, forming a line that stretched into the distance. From a distance, it looked like the black streaks of a wildfire. Mixed among the carcasses of the centipedes were the remains of rats and snakes, their bellies turned upside down, a filthy and ugly sight.
"Junior brother, what's going on?" Wu Yu's face turned pale.
Gu Juan looked in the direction where the "black lines" began. There seemed to be a center in the distance, and these "black lines" were radiating out in all directions from that center.
He shook his head. "I don't know. Isn't it necessary to check if there is a cell phone signal?"
Wu Yu and Fang Lingling couldn't figure out what was going on with this strange phenomenon, so they quickly put it aside and continued to climb.
After climbing for another five or six minutes, the three finally reached the top of the mountain.
"There's a signal!" Fang Lingling said excitedly, "Thank goodness there's a signal! Otherwise, I really don't know how I'd get through the next week."
Gu Juan also took out his cell phone and walked aside to call Xi Lang.
“Old man!”
"Xiaojuan, you finally called! I couldn't get through to you just now. Did anything happen?"
"It's okay. This place is a bit remote, and there's no signal in the village. I'm calling you from the mountain now. Wait, I'll send you a photo."
Gu Juan took a bird's-eye view of the village and sent it over.
"I can't imagine where you've been. There's not even any cell phone signal." Xi Lang's voice was helpless. "Xiao Juan, I regret it. I should have gone with you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
