Chapter 2 Big Yellow, Long Time No See
She followed her father, dejected, onto the bus to the county.
She had only been driving for less than ten minutes when waves of nausea washed over her, and the intense urge to vomit almost overwhelmed her.
She covered her mouth with one hand and pulled the red plastic bag out of her coat pocket with the other.
With a "whoosh," everything she had just eaten came right back up.
Mr. Shen, sitting to the side, frowned upon seeing this scene.
"You just ate something, and you're already throwing it up? Isn't that a complete waste?"
Seeing Shen Xuewei's distressed and pale face, he sighed and swallowed back the words of reprimand he was about to say.
He took a bottle of water out of his backpack and handed it to Shen Xuewei.
Shen Xuewei took the water, drank some to clear the sour taste from her mouth, then rolled up the car window, which was only slightly open, and spat out the water she was holding.
Facing the cold wind blowing in from outside the car, I barely managed to suppress the nausea and vomiting.
The bus drove for more than an hour before finally arriving in the county.
She and Shen's father waited by the roadside for more than half an hour before finally getting on a minibus to the town.
The road was full of potholes and uneven, and the bumpy ride almost made Shen Xuewei's bitter bile come out.
When they finally arrived in town, Shen Xuewei was so exhausted that she didn't even have the strength to speak.
In town, there are vans waiting for passengers, three-wheeled vehicles with canopies in the back, and motorcycles.
The tricycle was full of people and drove away.
There was one half-full van and two motorcycles left.
Mr. Shen picked up his luggage and headed toward the van.
Having been tormented all the way, Shen Xuewei quickly grabbed her father, her voice weak as she said:
"...Dad, there's only a short distance left. Can we take a motorcycle ride?"
This was the first thing she said to Shen's father since her rebirth.
A minibus ride to Wenshan Village, the closest village to my grandmother's house and accessible by road, costs two yuan per person; while a motorcycle ride costs six yuan per trip.
Mr. Shen wanted to tell her that she was being wasteful, but when he saw her pale face, downcast eyes, and pitiful appearance, he finally agreed.
"Since you insist, then let's take the motorcycle. It's so cold today, you'll suffer if you catch a cold later."
Shen Xuewei could no longer control what happened next.
Forget about having a cold; all she could see at that moment was the "luxury car" in front of her.
To someone prone to motion sickness, a convertible motorcycle is practically a luxury car.
The motorcycle driver took them both to Wenshan Village. Despite being exposed to the cold wind the whole way, Shen Xuewei was in much better spirits than before.
Looking at the rolling mountains in front of her and thinking about the more than one-hour hike ahead, Shen Xuewei's legs went weak.
Looking at the mountains in front of him, Shen's father sighed deeply, slung his backpack over his shoulder, carried his luggage bag in his hand, and called for Shen Xuewei to follow.
"Hurry up, or you won't be able to see the road when you turn around."
Shen Xuewei followed behind him, the two of them walking slowly into the mountains along the path carved out by the mountain people.
Mr. Chen had not visited for many years, but before he came, he received a letter from his maternal grandfather, in which he mentioned how to get there.
In addition, he had a good memory and vaguely remembered the previous times he had been here, so he could barely find his way.
The mountain path was difficult to walk, and the two of them did not speak a word the whole way, only the panting sounds of their gradually exhausted bodies.
After crossing several mountains, Shen Xuewei even slipped and fell because of the slippery rocks, but she was not seriously injured.
Seeing her father walking away into the distance, Shen Xuewei, afraid of getting lost, quickly dusted herself off and hurried after him.
As wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, night gradually enveloped the sky.
Looking at the few mountain houses ahead, Father Shen wiped the sweat from his face and smiled lightly.
"Xiaowei, do you see that? That house on the far right is your grandma's house."
Looking at the small village before her, Shen Xuewei was overwhelmed by distant memories and felt a sense of disorientation.
How could she not remember?
As she grew older, she no longer remembered most of what happened when she was a child.
However, she still remembers what her grandmother's house looks like, and she remembers how her grandmother waited for her to come home from school every Friday.
Shen's father led her into the village, walking along the stone path towards her maternal grandmother's house.
Before they even got close, a yellow figure darted out like lightning, blocking their path and barking at them.
People from the nearby houses peeked out to see who had arrived.
Father Chen paused, muttering, "Dead dog."
The yellow dog was quite intelligent and could tell good from bad, so it barked even louder at Chen's father.
Shen Xuewei stood to the side, looking at the barking yellow dog with a nostalgic and tender gaze.
She silently thought to herself: Big Yellow, it's been a long time.
In my childhood memories, there was always a big yellow dog.
Despite its fierce barking and menacing appearance, it is actually quite well-behaved.
When it sees a stranger, it only barks, it doesn't bite.
"Dad, Mom, are they home?" Da Huang blocked his way, and Shen's father, unable to move forward, had no choice but to raise his voice and call out.
"Hey, home, home, is that Xiao Shen?" A kind voice came from inside the house, and a figure quickly walked out.
She quickly walked up to the two of them, slapped Big Yellow's rump, and scolded them in a low voice:
"Big Yellow, don't bark. These are our family members. From now on, don't call them either, understand?"
Big Yellow whimpered, as if it had been hurt, or as if it had remembered her instructions, and ran back to its doghouse with its tail drooping.
Although she doesn't often mention it, Shen Xuewei still remembers her grandmother's name, Xi Youyan.
Xi is my maternal grandmother's surname. Her given name was Yan. After she married into the Chen family, my maternal grandfather heard that her original name was Youdi, so he changed it to Yan for her.
Grandma Xi was not tall, only a little over 1.5 meters, with a slender figure and a slightly hunched back.
Time has left its mark on her, with wrinkles covering her face, and her black hair now streaked with gray. Her ear-length hair is held in place by a black headband.
Grandma Xi smiled at Mr. Chen and quickly welcomed the two into the house.
He filled a bowl with hot water, added a pinch of sugar, and then served it to the two of them separately.
Shen Xuewei accepted it and gave Grandma Xi a sweet smile, "Thank you, Grandma."
Grandma Xi smiled kindly, watching Shen Xuewei holding the bowl and sipping the sweet soup, reluctant to look away.
"Weiwei, do you still remember your grandma? Does your mom often mention grandma to you? Grandma doesn't have time to visit. I can't believe you've grown up so much. When you were just a few months old, you were only this tiny little thing."
"Our Weiwei is so pretty, just a little thin. Oh, our Weiwei is so good, so wonderful, she can even drink her own sugar water now..."
While Shen Xuewei was drinking water, Grandma Xi had already praised her over and over again.
The person being praised wasn't embarrassed at all.
Hearing her grandmother's voice again after many years, Shen Xuewei responded softly, wishing her grandmother could say a few more words to her.
Listening to this, Mr. Shen got goosebumps all over and interrupted helplessly:
"Mom, stop praising her. Can't you see how her lips are practically curled up to the sky?"
Grandma Xi gently stroked Shen Xuewei's hair, saying, "Our Weiwei is such a good child, what's wrong with praising her a few more times?"
Shen Xuewei nuzzled her hand like a kitten, nodding in agreement, "That's right, that's right."
Big Yellow, lying on the ground in the corner, seemed to understand and barked.
Before long, Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen, who had been working in the fields, returned home, making the house even more lively.
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