When they entered Gaojia Village, Yun's parents were stunned to see the houses of various shapes and sizes. This was their first visit to the village since the earthquake.
These houses are not very tall, probably because glutinous rice is added, so they are only built to a height that can just accommodate people. It is a little unusual to see houses like this for the first time.
Si Cheng had visited once before, but he didn't offer any suggestions, since it was built using glutinous rice grown by everyone. Although every family in Gaojia Village grew glutinous rice at the time, they were still reluctant to use grain to build walls. Actually, Si Cheng initially only asked Gaojia's uncle to build a simple house first, and then go to Pinghe Village to transport limestone after the freezing period. However, they all wanted to have a place to live as soon as possible, so they chose to build it with glutinous rice. Unexpectedly, in order to save money, they built the house like this.
“No wonder Ci’an always sighs when he comes to our place. But the road is easier to travel now. We should have them come to our place and carry some limestone back. We need to build a decent house. What will we do when Gao Liang gets married?” Mother Yun started worrying about her nephew again.
Unlike Pinghe Village, Gaojia Village dug a deep and wide trench at the entrance of the village and inserted sharp bamboo sticks into it. When someone entered or exited, a suspension bridge was lowered.
After shouting a few times towards the other side, the people guarding there came out to check the situation. Since they didn't know each other, they had to ask them carefully before notifying the Gao family to come and pick them up.
Gao Liang ran over to pick them up. He saw his family waving excitedly and helped the people guarding the area lower the suspension bridge.
After greeting them, I led them into the village.
Upon entering the village, the buildings became even more jarring. Some people, in an effort to save on materials, had built houses that resembled miniature yurts. One wonders if living inside would feel oppressive.
"Brother-in-law, sister." They had only walked a short distance when Gao's uncles and the others came to greet them.
"Is everything prepared at home?" Upon seeing her younger sister, Yun's mother quickly asked with concern.
"Everything is almost ready. We were wondering why you hadn't arrived yet. Were you delayed on the way?" Aunt Gao knew this was her sister's first trip out, so she had been a little worried.
"No, it's because Xiao Qi and the others cleared all the weeds from the road so it'll be easier to walk around, and Xiao Jie can dress up beautifully for her wedding." Mother Yun wasn't the type to do good deeds anonymously, so she immediately tried to curry favor with her younger sister.
"We really hadn't thought of that. We always overlooked this when we went out fully armed. We really have to thank you for this." Aunt Gao had been so immersed in the sadness and reluctance of her daughter's upcoming marriage that she had completely overlooked it.
"You can rest assured now. By the way, we also brought you some fresh fish. We need to process these quickly, otherwise it would be a waste if they spoiled."
"Okay, now we can have one more big dish tomorrow. We really have to thank you guys."
"Mom, look what my brother and the others brought!" Gao Liang held up the rabbit by its ears, proudly showing it off to his mother.
"Yes, and this fat rabbit too, it looks like it weighs seven or eight pounds. We can stir-fry it with some dried goods and make a small plate of it."
There is also a large mountain area near Gaojia Village, but most of the mountains here are rocky, so don't even think about digging traps to hunt on them.
After the family sat down to eat a bowl of noodles, the mother and her sister went to the stream to clean the fish.
The stream here is really small, the water level is very shallow, and it's full of rocks, so you can't see any fish at all. The most they can catch in this stream is a small grouper about the length of a finger. This kind of fish is very delicious and used to fetch a high price, but now it's not worth the time to go looking for such fish that can't even fill your stomach.
Seeing Aunt Gao bring so many fish to the water's edge to clean them, the villagers who were washing fish nearby gathered around curiously, staring enviously at the large fish in the basket. Heaven knows how long it had been since they had seen such fresh fish since the earthquake.
"Sister An, where did you find so many fresh fish? You're in for a treat!"
"It's because Xiaojie is getting married tomorrow, and her aunt specially brought some food from Pinghe Village to add to the meal. Everyone's coming over to celebrate tomorrow," Aunt Gao replied with a smile.
"Is it almost time? I've watched the days go by so quickly that I don't even know the dates anymore. I just know that another day has passed, from night to day."
"It's almost tomorrow, and I was thinking of notifying everyone later. But since everyone's here, I won't make another trip. Please tell each other when the time comes." Most of the people in Gaojia Village are from their clan, and on special occasions like tomorrow, everyone brings some food to visit each other's homes to celebrate.
“Just for these fish, we should get there as soon as possible,” one of the old ladies said, and everyone else echoed her sentiments.
After finishing their own work, some people came over to help process the fish.
"These fish are really plump. Your Pinghe Village is the best, nestled against the mountains and beside the water." Although busy with their work, they didn't forget to chat.
"This wasn't a sudden sinkhole, otherwise such a large lake wouldn't have appeared at the village entrance. Luckily it's at the village entrance; if it had been inside the village, it would have been dangerous. Thinking back on it now, everyone is still terrified." Mother Yun didn't want to stir up any hatred at this moment.
"That's right. As the old saying goes, misfortune and fortune are intertwined. Your village is destined for good fortune."
"We don't know if we're lucky or not, right now we just hope to have enough to eat and wear."
With many people working together, things get done quickly. In no time, all the fish were prepared. The two sisters thanked the women who helped them and then carried the fish home.
Because their relatives from the village won't be coming to help until tomorrow, their family has to fry all the fish tonight, so the next few days will be quite busy.
While they were working, they talked about the house.
“Zian, I saw a huge pile of old bricks that you guys cleared out in the corner. Gao Liang is almost of marriageable age. If possible, you should build another house or two. Living in such a small house for too long will make you feel very depressed.” Yun Zhiming and his brother-in-law brought up this topic when they came to the vegetable garden to pick scallions, ginger and garlic.
"Who says otherwise? Every time I see your bright and spacious house, I'm so envious. I was even thinking of going there to carry some limestone back after I'm done with this busy period, but the road there is just too difficult to walk on."
"The section of road leading out of the village was repaired some time ago and is much easier to travel now."
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