The mountain road was quite dangerous, and Shi Zhen drove very carefully, fearing an accident.
Then, unsurprisingly, the tractor broke down again.
Now, Shi Zhen can immediately tell what's wrong with a car as soon as it breaks down, and he can quickly get out and start fixing it.
It's very close to the village now, and with the Lunar New Year approaching, there are many people coming and going. Quite a few people stopped to talk to Shi Zhen, and other tractors were blocked.
Fortunately, Shi Zhen fixed the tractor in no time.
He got into the car and continued driving, even striking up a conversation with another man driving a tractor—he had ridden in his car before.
Shi Zhen's tractor couldn't reach their village.
Over the next decade or so, many roads were built here. Later, rafting, glass cable cars, and all sorts of other things were added to make it easier to get in and out of the mountains.
However, at that time, not many people farmed anymore. Many people went to settle elsewhere, and those who stayed opened farmhouses, inns, small shops, and the like.
Shi Zhen parked his car next to the junior high school, where there was only open space.
He got out of the car and stretched his muscles.
It took him about two and a half days to drive here. Although he took breaks in between, he was still quite tired. Now he has finally arrived!
Once he relaxed, Shi Zhen went to check on Guan Baiyu: "Xiaoyu, are you feeling unwell?"
Guan Baiyu smiled and said, "Brother, I'm fine." He was a little carsick, but after riding in the car a few more times, he gradually got better.
Moreover, he has always been the type who doesn't get too carsick if the car window is open.
The tractor was very bumpy, but the ventilation actually prevented him from getting carsick.
"How's it going over here?" Shi Zhen looked at Guan Baiyu with curiosity and anticipation.
In his previous life, when he was with Guan Baiyu, he already had some money, and his family had been brought out of the country.
The first year, he and Guan Baiyu had only known each other for a short time. He went back home for the New Year, and Guan Baiyu naturally did not go with him.
And then... he never went back home for the New Year again.
On the one hand, he didn't want to be separated from Guan Baiyu; on the other hand, none of his family members were going back.
Zhao Meiyun is unable to move around easily and it's inconvenient for her to go back. She also needs Shi Dalin to take care of her. Zhao Dongjuan refuses to go back, and Shi Ting and Zhao Qiujuan are both married... It wouldn't be meaningful for him to go back alone.
So, after two lifetimes, this was the first time Guan Baiyu had come to his side.
"It's beautiful." Guan Baiyu's eyes sparkled.
There are no mountains in Changxi City, only plains. He has never left Changxi City since he was a child, so he has never seen a mountain.
Along the way... this was the first time he had ever seen mountains on the road.
Now that I'm in the mountains, I'm even more curious about everything around me.
This place is completely different from where he grew up.
“I’ll be a bit busy these next couple of days. Once I’m done, I’ll take you around. Some of the places here are really beautiful,” Shi Zhen said.
He hasn't been back for many, many years.
After all, everything he was familiar with was completely gone twenty years later.
That's probably why he's in a good mood right now.
Last time he came back to pick someone up, he was short on time and couldn't stay here for too long, so he didn't get to look around. But this time he plans to stay here until the seventh day of the new year before going back. He can squeeze out a few days of free time to go sightseeing with Guan Baiyu.
In a few years, he can bring a camera and take some photos.
When Shi Zhen and his group arrived in the village, it was already noon. Instead of rushing back, they found a family there and paid them to cook some dishes.
This family doesn't operate a business, but the locals know that if you come to the village and want to eat, you can go to their house.
Shi Zhen and his group of six ordered four dishes, two meat and two vegetable, which cost a total of five yuan. Prices here are much cheaper than in Changxi City.
It's already the end of the year, and tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve.
There were many people coming and going in the village, selling things at stalls and buying things. After Shi Zhen and his group finished eating, they didn't rush home. Instead, they took out the goods from their truck to sell.
At this time, more and more people saw them and came over to talk to them.
"Shi Dalin, you've gone out to work?"
"You've only been gone for six months, right? And you already have tractors?"
"How much do you earn a month when you're out there?"
...
Shi Dalin particularly liked it when people asked him, "Yes, I've been away for half a year."
"The tractor belongs to my son. He bought it, and it wasn't expensive."
"I can earn about a thousand a month, but I have a lot of expenses outside, so I can't save any money."
...
The situation was the same for Zhao Meiyun. She even met a few people from her village and became even more excited, telling them about everything outside: "Outside there, a lot of people drive cars, and the cars are so beautiful."
"There are still high-rise buildings with more than ten floors!"
"People outside make a lot of money, and many of them wear big gold chains around their necks."
...
As she spoke, she began to praise Shi Zhen: "My Zhen is really capable. If it weren't for his desire to go out, we would never have known that the outside world is so wonderful!"
"He didn't just buy a tractor, he also bought a brand new tricycle."
"If it weren't for him giving Dalin the stall, how could Dalin have made any money?"
"He also gave Qiujuan a stall."
"He just doesn't know how to save money. He makes us eat meat every day. I keep saying that even landlords don't eat like this, but he insists on making us eat like this. Sigh, I've gained a lot of weight all of a sudden, and I can't fit into my old clothes anymore!"
“Dalin made a little money and couldn’t hold onto it. He wanted to buy a color TV, and Azhen didn’t stop him. I told him that the thing was a waste of electricity and that I didn’t want to watch it, but they insisted on making him watch it.”
"You guys know 'Journey to the West,' right? I watched every single episode!"
...
According to their custom here, no matter how good your own child is, it's not good to keep praising them in front of others, or people will talk about it.
However, Shi Zhen is not Zhao Meiyun's biological son, but Zhao Meiyun can praise him as much as she wants, it doesn't matter.
She would praise herself while telling people about her usual diet, how much her clothes cost, and how much she owned a color TV, emphasizing things like that.
Zhao Qiujuan stood next to Zhao Meiyun, adding a few words from time to time, and then asked if they wanted to buy the various things they brought back—these were all goods they bought in big cities, which were not available here!
The things Shi Zhen brought back are not here.
When he first started sourcing goods, he went to Changxi City and picked out the rarer items. Later, after selling them in Guanjia Village, he selected some of the most popular products to supplement his stock.
Those things are rare even in Guanjia Village, let alone here.
Colorful candies, couplets, the character "福" (fortune), and all sorts of toys that children love...
The things Shi Zhen brought sold very well.
At this time, parents usually bring their children along. When the children see the food on his stall, they want to buy some, and then the parents will buy some too.
Even if you're poor, it's okay to buy a few yuan's worth of snacks during the Chinese New Year.
They were setting up their stall when Shi Xingchao appeared out of nowhere, carrying a half-empty bottle of water: "Uncle, Aunt! Ah Zhen!"
He greeted Shi Zhen and the others, and said, "I told you you'd be here! Zhen, pack up and head back. I'll watch the stalls here for you."
“It’s alright, we can handle it ourselves,” Shi Zhen said. “You must have something to do too, right?” He noticed that Shi Xingchao was wearing new clothes, but… the bottle he was carrying, was it the Coke bottle he took from Anshan Town? Was he still holding it to drink water?
"I'm fine! I'll watch over things for you. You should go back now! You haven't been back for half a year, you definitely need to go back and tidy up. The power to your room has been cut off, and if you go back too late, you won't be able to tidy up." Shi Xingchao said, sitting down next to Shi Zhen, and then asked what price Shi Zhen planned to sell these things for.
Shi Xingchao's words made sense, so Shi Zhen did not refuse. He gave all the necessary instructions, packed up briefly, and took the bedding and half of the goods he had brought with him, intending to go home first.
Zhao Meiyun is still a little unsteady on her feet. She wasn't carrying anything on her back, but she did use a cane. The others, on the other hand, were carrying more or less something on their backs.
Guan Baiyu carried two quilts on his back, and Shi Zhen was a little worried when he saw it: "Xiaoyu, can you carry them?"
“I can do it, brother, I can take some more,” Guan Baiyu said.
Shi Zhen added, "You can carry this... Be careful, the road is difficult to walk on, don't fall."
Guan Baiyu smiled, his feelings mixed. His brother was carrying much heavier loads than he was carrying.
His brother kept showing concern for him.
Shi Ting was a little unhappy: "Brother, you don't even care about me..." She felt she couldn't carry him!
"Practice more," Shi Zhen said.
Shi Ting: "..." Why is her brother like this!
However, considering that Guan Baiyu was a guest and that her brother carried even more, Shi Ting didn't say much. Instead, she started talking to Guan Baiyu about her family's affairs.
She and Guan Baiyu got along quite well. After all, when she first arrived in Anshan Town, Guan Baiyu tutored her all the time.
Moreover, Guan Baiyu worked very hard, improving her English and completing her basic Chinese language knowledge.
At school, although her grades in science subjects like math weren't great, her grades in Chinese and English were above average. As for politics, she could manage to get decent grades by memorizing some material. In her class of fifty students, her grades were around thirty-five.
Their homeroom teacher was a Chinese language teacher, so she wasn't often criticized at school. Occasionally, she would be told a few things, but she didn't really care.
As they walked away, a group of young women passed by. One of them was complaining to someone, "That man is really crazy. He brought me to the countryside and didn't buy me anything. When I bought something to eat, he told me it wasn't worth it and I shouldn't buy it... His family even said he was making money outside. Is he lying?"
"Later at noon, when I brought up lunch with him, he pulled out a plastic bag containing two rice balls!"
"He even brought his own water, a huge bottle! He even asked me if I wanted some."
"I've never seen anything like this before, still looking... Go over there yourself!"
...
As Shi Zhen listened, he felt that the person they were talking about looked somewhat familiar, very much like... Shi Xingchao.
At this moment, the women also saw them. The woman who was talking immediately blushed and fell silent when she met Shi Zhen's gaze. In the end, the young girls walked away laughing and joking.
There is a road from the township to Shizhen's village, but it's difficult to travel. Mountain roads sometimes look short, but it can take a long time to walk... It took them more than two hours to get back to the village.
Shi Zhen carried the most loads and was exhausted, as were the others.
Fortunately, once they entered the village, someone came to help carry their things. Shi Dashan came out and asked Shi Zhen and the others, "Have you seen Xingchao? He went to meet someone, but I don't know if they'll like him..."
Shi Zhen: "..." The person that girl was talking about was definitely Shi Xingchao.
Shi Zhen didn't tell them what the girl had said, only that they were originally setting up a stall, but Shi Xingchao came to help, so they came back first.
"Have you seen any girls he's interested in?" Shi Dashan asked.
"I didn't see it." Shi Zhen sighed inwardly.
"That brat!" Shi Dashan cursed a few times and then began to complain about his two sons. He said that he had arranged several blind dates for his two sons in the past few days, but neither of them was enthusiastic enough and the dates fell through... He felt that his sons were too picky.
Shi Zhen didn't know what to say.
The older generation always felt that if the conditions were right, a relationship should be formed, but times have changed.
As Shi Dashan muttered to himself, he helped them carry their things home.
When Shi Zhen and his family moved out, they entrusted the house to Shi Dashan.
Shi Xingchao told them to come back and tidy up, saying the house was out of power. But in reality, Shi Dashan and his wife had already helped tidy up their house and even paid a small amount for electricity, so they could turn on a light.
When Shi Zhen and his group left, they took a lot of things with them, but since it was summer, they only took the good ones, like blankets, and left many things behind.
The Shi couple also helped them take out the quilts to air them out, and now they are folded up and placed on the bed.
Shi Zhen's house only has two bedrooms. After tidying up a bit, Shi Dalin said, "Zhen, you and Xiaoyu will sleep in one room, Meiyun, Tingting, and Qiujuan will sleep in another room, and I'll sleep outside."
Of the two bedrooms, the larger one was previously occupied by Zhao Qiujuan, Zhao Dongjuan, and Shi Ting, but now Shi Dalin has let Zhao Meiyun and the others sleep there.
The other one was smaller, and it used to be the place where Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun slept. It had a small double bed, so Shi Dalin let Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu sleep there.
As for himself, he planned to sleep in the place where Shi Zhen used to sleep in the main room.
"Dad, I'll sleep outside," Shi Zhen said.
“Why don’t you stay with Xiaoyu?” Shi Dalin said. “You two are close, and living together will allow you to talk.”
Shi Dalin's arrangement is indeed fine, but it's a bit odd to have Shi Dalin and Guan Baiyu live together...
Shi Zhen knew that if he kept making excuses, it would seem abnormal, so he didn't refuse in the end.
However... he's been sleeping with Guan Baiyu every night these past few days?
It's really nothing, they don't sleep in the same bed anyway.
Guan Baiyu was conflicted at this moment. He was afraid that if he lived with Shi Zhen, he might do something or reveal something.
However, Guan Baiyu quickly lost interest in thinking about it.
The villagers flocked to the Shi family's house, wanting to talk to them, inquire about what was happening outside, and most importantly... they also wanted to go out and find work.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com