Hua Xiangyun helped her wrap her scarf tighter, wondering if the cold wind would get in if she spoke like that.
"Your memory is really good," Hua Xiangyun praised, noting that she only remembered faces, not clothes. "But why are you up so early today? Not sleeping in?"
Wu Yanxin linked arms with her and walked forward, saying, "I do want to stay in bed, but I have to be able to stay in bed for a while."
You have no idea how outrageous my dad and brother were. They were banging and making noise in the room before dawn.
I'm not dead. How can I sleep with all this noise?
And you? Why are you out so early today?
Hua Xiangyun wrapped her hands in her sleeves. "Just like you, everyone in my family has been fishing like crazy these days. We're almost out of salt, so I'm going to buy some."
“It’s all the same,” Wu Yanxin said, feeling both happy and troubled. Fish is meat, after all, and who doesn’t like to eat it?
But since every household was doing it, the air was filled with a fishy smell.
"What's wrong with the fish this year? It's like there's an endless supply. Even with my dad's terrible fishing skills, he comes home with a full catch every day."
Hua Xiangyun said, "If you talk about Uncle Wu like that, he'll punish you when he finds out."
“He wouldn’t dare,” Wu Yanxin said smugly. “My mom and brother both protect him; they’ll only grumble a few words at most.”
It doesn't hurt or itch; it goes in one ear and out the other, and you forget about it as soon as you turn your head.
"How have you been these past few days?" Wu Yanxin asked Hua Xiangyun cautiously. "Tianhe's family is very talkative. Once they got home and told everyone, the whole hospital knew."
She had heard a lot about it these past two days, but she didn't want to go and ask, for fear that Hua Xiangyun would misunderstand and think she was there to see her make a fool of herself.
"Fortunately," Hua Xiangyun had guessed it when she came out of the post office that day. Now these people are laughing at her, but in a few years, they will be envious. "I estimate that half the people in the whole county will know."
"Aren't you angry?"
“What’s there to be angry about?” Hua Xiangyun smiled. “Like my grandfather said, everyone has hobbies. It’s not like we’re stealing or robbing, and it’s not like we’re using their money. Those people are just worrying in vain.”
“My grandma said that people might talk about you when you find a partner in the future.” Wu Yan thought of her grandma’s instructions. “My grandma said that you can’t use up all those stamps at once. Anyway, we send letters every year, so she wants you to resell some of them.”
Hua Xiangyun felt a warmth in her heart. "Please thank Grandma Wu for me. These stamps are useful to me. If you have any spare money, you can buy some too."
"I'll pass, I'm not interested, and I don't have the money." Wu Yanxin shrank her neck. "Are you going to the West City Reservoir with them?"
"Are you going?" Hua Xiangyun didn't answer, but asked instead.
"I want to go but I don't want to go. It's too cold, but I also want to see the excitement. My dad is always showing off at home. You know, he's not the only one with such a good catch. What's he so proud of? I told him that I could probably do better than him even if I just went fishing casually."
"Then let's go too," Hua Xiangyun said, wanting to see for herself, since they hadn't had such a harvest in previous years.
"Go ahead, let's buy the stuff and then set off. I need to let my dad know that it's not that he's good at fishing, it's that those fish are stupid."
Hua Xiangyun was amused by her, "The fish is stupid, yet you eat it so heartily. Aren't you afraid of catching it and becoming stupid too?"
“No,” Wu Yanxin said with a smile, “I never eat fish heads, so it won’t be passed on.”
Hua Xiangyun, "~~"
"Sigh, has your grandma ever thought about finding you a partner?" Wu Yanxin suddenly asked in a low voice.
"No, I'm still young." Hua Xiangyun teased her, "What, did Grandma Wu introduce you to someone? Which family is it?"
“I’m the same age as you,” Wu Yanxin said irritably. “I also think I’m young, but my grandma says if I don’t find someone soon, all the good ones will be taken.”
You just moved in recently, right?
"They're not exactly new residents, are they? I heard they're all old neighbors, just away from home for years." Of course she'd heard; a few young women had recently moved into the courtyard, and everyone knew why.
"It's the same thing, you know? My grandma is very insistent on this matter, and she's even started asking people to talk to her. Isn't that embarrassing? It's not like I can't get married. Is it necessary for her to be so eager to get married?" Wu Yanxin got angry as soon as she said that.
"I don't even know if the other person is round or flat. What if they have a face full of pockmarks? I'd be at a disadvantage."
Hua Xiangyun: "It shouldn't be. I heard that some people blocked the road before and went again the next day. It should be fine."
"That's what's even more annoying. Our courtyard has gone crazy. It's not like we're choosing a concubine, why make such a fuss?"
Hua Xiangyun quickly covered her mouth, "You say all sorts of things out loud. If you don't want to get married so early, talk to your family properly. Don't go around spreading rumors outside."
"I just wanted to complain to you a little," Wu Yanxin said softly. "Besides, with such good conditions, it's only right that they're picky."
This helped to smooth over what she had said earlier, and the two changed the subject.
By the time they finished buying the goods and went to the West Reservoir, it was already packed with people.
"So many people," Hua Xiangyun thought to herself. In such a noisy environment, the fish still took the bait. They must be really stupid.
"This is too much!" Wu Yanxin had already met many classmates. She was popular and wanted to greet everyone. There were even some that Hua Xiangyun didn't remember, so she took this opportunity to make sure they were in her memory.
Hua Xiangyun: "With so many people, is it possible to find someone?"
Wu Yanxin looked at the homemade fishing rods in their hands and said, "That's not important. I'm afraid we won't even have a place to cast our lines."
It's estimated that everyone who could come from the entire Heping County has come. With so many people, everyone is wrapped up tightly, how can anyone recognize them?
Hua Xiangyun said, "Why don't we just watch the excitement from the sidelines for a while and then go back?"
"Alright then," Wu Yanxin said, seeing that the people climbing the mountain behind her were also standing by watching, and she really couldn't find a place to start. "Next time, I'll come earlier."
"Since I'm already here, I want to go find where my dad is. What about you?"
Hua Xiangyun said, "Then you go ahead. I'll go look for it too, but I guess it'll be hard to run into each other later, so let's all go our separate ways."
“Okay,” Wu Yanxin readily agreed. They were familiar with this area, so that was for the best.
After Hua Xiangyun waited until she was far away, she didn't rush to look for her family. Instead, she walked along the mountain path to the middle of the mountain and looked down.
The mountain path was covered with ice crystals, making it impossible for others to walk on.
The area below was quite lively, with exclamations erupting from time to time. Following the sound, one could usually find something interesting.
"Master, you've arrived," Yuan Tianjing's voice came through the air, accompanied by a gust of cold wind.
Hua Xiangyun didn't turn around, still staring down below. "Did you make this noise?"
Yuan Tianjing nodded happily, "Yes, it's been a long time since it's been this lively on the mountain. How about it, it's no worse than a bustling city, is it?"
Since that day when I met the master, Yuan
Tianjing was very excited, with a premonition that he would soon be able to leave this mountain.
Unable to leave the mountains and forests to share his joy with others, he helped drive the fish up from the underground river.
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