Chapter 70 Go to Xia Xia!
Passing through the screen wall, there is a corridor with stairs leading upstairs, a second courtyard, the main house, east and west wing rooms, and a small garden.
Although it is now in ruins and overgrown with weeds, Xia Wu can still see the owner's care and effort from the wood used to build the house and its layout.
"Grandpa, how should I address you?"
"My last name is Hao Datong, and you can just call me Grandpa."
Hao Datong was a person who couldn't sit still. When he was walking around the house with Xia Wu, he wanted to clean up the weeds and small trees growing on the path.
He had a sickle in the house and cut the grass heads neatly, but it was like drinking poison to quench thirst and was of no use.
Xia Wu followed behind and asked curiously, "Grandpa, this house is at least a hundred years old. Shouldn't it be considered an antique? Doesn't it need to be well protected?"
Hao Datong shook his head and chuckled, "What kind of antique is this? It's only a hundred years old at most. The Hao family was the last to rise to prominence. They hadn't been officials for a few years when the foreigners invaded. Later, when they finally stopped fighting, the Hao family, because their ancestors had served as officials for a few years and were landlords..."
From Hao Da's conversation, we learned that most of the descendants of the Hao family were dead, and most of the survivors were no longer in the country. The house was demolished, leaving only the main structure. Later, it was taken over by the state, and the keys were handed over to the village for safekeeping.
Hao Datong has lived in the village for sixty or seventy years, and the last time he saw the owner of this house was when he was a few years old.
Just now, he saw Xia Wu curiously turning around at the door. He looked young and Western, not like a local, so he thought it was a member of the Hao family who came back to take a look.
"I didn't expect you weren't. I guess after I die, it won't be long before these houses are demolished."
"That's such a pity," Xia Wu showed a look of reluctance on her face. She thought this house was pretty good, especially the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the yard. It was at least a hundred years old and grew tall and lush. If it were autumn, the fragrance would probably spread for ten miles.
“Hasn’t the village ever thought about developing and reusing these houses?”
"There are almost no people left. How can we develop and utilize the land? Who will pay for it?"
Hao Datong had also been a village cadre and knew what Xia Wu meant, but that was where the problem lay: no one bought it at all.
The local young people have all gone out to work. There are mountains and water here, but there are only mountains and water.
There are so many scenic spots across the country, and so many places with mountains and water that it is impossible to count them all.
What charm does their village have that attracts people to spend money?
After walking around the house, Hao Datong took Xia Wu to visit other houses. There were four houses in total, one of which was an ancestral hall.
Among the other three houses, only the first one is better preserved and has better structure.
“What a pity.”
After leaving the house, Xia Wu touched the high blue brick wall reluctantly.
The scenery of Haotang Village is so beautiful. Back then, the Hao family served as officials and must have seen the world. They brought some of the Hui-style architectural designs back to their hometown, including the several bridges over the Chaotian River. There are arch bridges and straight stone bridges. They look very ordinary, but the carvings on them, and...
Xia Wu said goodbye to Hao Datong and went to Chaotian River again. She chose an excellent shooting position and took pictures of the surrounding scenery.
Suddenly, an old man wearing a conical hat and leading a water buffalo walked onto the arch bridge. The clear river water under the bridge reflected the scene of the old man leading the buffalo. The old man was in front, the water buffalo was behind, and in the background were green weeping willows stretching for ten miles and the white river water.
Just like an ancient painting, Xia Wu pressed the camera button to freeze this moment.
"Sister Xu, aren't you going to rest during the Qingming Festival holiday?"
During the break, Xu Zhiyi took her breakfast bag to the tea room to make coffee. She happened to meet several colleagues who were discussing where to go for the Qingming Festival holiday. When they saw her, they all greeted her.
Is Qingming Festival coming soon? It’s the end of March now, and it seems like we’re going to have a holiday.
In previous years, the company has had three days off for Qingming Festival, and this year is expected to be similar, but the company still needs people to work on statutory holidays.
Xu Zhiyi rarely takes leave on statutory dates and always applies for overtime.
She smiled and said, "I don't have anywhere I want to go. I'm probably still at the company. Where are you planning to go?"
"Oh, I haven't decided yet. The classics in China are all the same and too commercialized. Besides, when you go out on a statutory holiday, you don't see the scenery, you see the crowds."
"How about we go abroad? Maybe we can catch the cherry blossoms in Japan."
"That's a good idea. It's convenient to fly, and my visa hasn't expired yet."
"Then let's go to Neon?"
"Okay, okay."
These female colleagues usually work at the same station. After spending a long time together, they have a good relationship and often make plans to go out together.
Xu Zhiyi's coffee was almost ready when they asked again, "Sister Xu, why don't you come with us to Neon? What's the point of going to work every day?"
"Yeah, look at you, you've become a strong woman. You should relax once in a while."
"It's not enough to just know how to make money. We women have to treat ourselves better sometimes and spend money on ourselves. Otherwise, when we are old and our youth is gone, no matter how much money we have, no matter how beautiful the dresses and jewelry we buy, it will be of no use."
Her words were unanimously agreed by other colleagues. Xu Zhiyi took a sip of the coffee. It was a little hot, but she held it back and didn't say anything to seek approval.
Instead, Li Yun, who had been eating in the corner, suddenly said, "Everyone has their own way of life that they identify with. What you think is not necessarily what others like."
She had such a low profile that her sudden words startled several people. Those female colleagues wanted to retort, but when they saw it was Li Yun, they left the tea room muttering as if they had seen something dirty that they disliked.
Li Yun finished his meal and went to wash the lunch box with an expressionless face.
After signing Shanli Xia Xia for the company a few years ago, the data of this account has skyrocketed, the number of fans has increased rapidly, and the user stickiness is also high.
Li Yun was therefore converted to a full-time employee and stayed in the company.
Perhaps she tasted the sweetness of persistence in the market, and adhering to the principle that since she is not likable, there is no need to please others, she often speaks directly and is not afraid of offending others. As a result, her reputation in the office is getting worse and worse, and her popularity is getting worse and worse.
But Li Yun didn't care at all.
Many colleagues in the company are locals, with cars, houses and families. They are arrogant and condescending towards people like Li Yun who came from the countryside and changed their fate by passing the college entrance examination, and they always can't help but give them some advice.
Not only did Li Yun not buy into his arguments, he also often left them speechless.
Xu Zhiyi had received a lot of feedback from her colleagues before, but she never took it seriously. She thought that they were just cattle and horses, and as long as they could work, why did they need such a good temper?
I didn't expect Xu Zhiyi to realize Li Yun's strength so quickly.
Thinking of this, Xu Zhiyi couldn't help but smile. She quite liked Li Yun's spicy personality.
"Do you bring your own food every day?"
"Yes, Sister Xu."
"Isn't it troublesome?"
Xu Zhiyi is quite afraid of trouble, so when renting a house, she simply chooses one where cooking is not an option, which can also save her some rent.
"I'm used to it. Cooking at home is clean and saves money. The food sold out has too many additives and is unhealthy."
Li Yun spoke in a serious manner about the stereotype that only the older generation could say, that the food outside is not clean, but how many young people who work outside can cook for themselves?
"Sister Xu, is this all you eat every day?" Li Yun pointed at the remaining corner of the breakfast bag in Xu Zhiyi's hand, frowning and looking quite disgusted.
Xu Zhiyi looked at her expression and suddenly felt that the breakfast bag was not tasty anymore. He threw it into the trash can and pretended not to care: "Yeah, I don't want to bother with it, so this is more convenient."
"It's convenient, but it's not very nutritious. You're so thin..." Li Yun thought for a moment and suddenly said, "How about this? Starting tomorrow, I'll bring you lunch too?"
ah? ? ?
Xu Zhiyi's mind was full of questions. Bringing her food? That was too presumptuous, wasn't it?
"Isn't this a bad idea?" Xu Zhiyi said subconsciously, but her eyes were looking at Li Yun's lunch box. The oil stains had been washed clean, and she couldn't tell what he brought. She hadn't eaten home-cooked meals for a long time, so she didn't say a stern refusal at the first time.
Li Yun seized the opportunity to press her, "There's nothing wrong with it. I've been doing it a lot, so you don't have any dietary restrictions, right?"
Xu Zhiyi was a little embarrassed, "No..."
"That'll do."
The next morning, it was lunch time again. The others in the office were discussing where to go and what to eat, but Li Yun and Xu Zhiyi were the only ones still typing away on their computers, tacitly agreeing to stay.
Xu Zhiyi was very confused. She didn't know why she agreed to let Li Yun bring her lunch. It was beyond her principles of making friends in the office.
She never liked owing others, so after thinking about it, she opened her phone and ordered two cups of coffee.
When no one was around, Li Yun knocked on Xu Zhiyi's office door and asked, "Sister Xu, are you eating here?"
Xu Zhiyi nodded subconsciously, "Okay."
Li Yun took the rice to the microwave to heat it up without looking back, and came back after a while.
There were two lunch boxes, one pink and one yellow, different from the lunch boxes Xu Zhiyi saw yesterday.
"Did you get a new lunch box?"
"I dropped it on my way home from get off work yesterday and it broke, so I bought a new one. It just so happened to be a buy one get one free deal."
Xu Zhiyi had nothing to say.
"How much? I'll pay you."
"What color lunch box do you want?"
"Pink, right?"
Li Yun handed the lunch box to her, as if he didn't hear Xu Zhiyi asking the price.
She sat down across from Xu Zhiyi's desk and opened her lunch box. It was divided into four compartments. The largest compartment was for rice, and in the rice were tiny green grains...
"Is this peas?" Xu Zhiyi also opened her lunch box, picked up a round pea and put it in her mouth. It was her first time to eat the magical combination of peas and rice steamed together.
It was unexpectedly delicious. The peas were very tender and tasted sweet. The more she ate, the more she liked it. Xu Zhiyi picked up a chopstick of pea rice and put it in her mouth. The more she chewed, the sweeter it became. She even felt that she didn't need to eat any vegetables. She could finish all the rice.
"Sister Xu, is the food not to your liking?"
"No!" Xu Zhiyi answered too quickly, afraid that Li Yun would misunderstand. "It's just that the rice and peas are so delicious. I haven't eaten such delicious food in a long time."
Li Yun smiled and whispered, "Try this dish again: stir-fried rapeseed tips, this one with pork belly and lettuce, and this one with steamed egg. I also added a few shrimps."
Xu Zhiyi tried every dish in the order she recommended. With sparkling eyes, he gave her a thumbs-up and praised her, "Your cooking skills are really good!"
"I've been practicing since I was little. When I was little, I wasn't even as tall as the stove, but my family asked me to cook. I kept doing this until I was in boarding school in high school."
"How do you let a child cook, what about the rest of your family?"
"My parents are away from home working, and my grandma takes care of me and my brother, and also has to work in the fields. She has no time at all."
"You have a younger brother too?"
"Yeah, five years younger than me."
Xu Zhiyi ate more slowly and asked hesitantly, "Are you two on good terms?"
"It's okay. He's in his third year of high school this year. I was thinking of letting him come to my place after he finishes the college entrance exam, and then finding him a summer job to train him."
"oh."
Xu Zhiyi seemed to be lost in thought, concentrating on eating.
"Sister Xu, cooking isn't that difficult. I love cooking, and I love having other people eat my own food. Do you know what the secret to making delicious food is?"
"Is the chef a skilled cook?"
"Another thing is good ingredients. I bought all these ingredients from Xia Xia."
"Xia Xia from the mountains?"
"Yes, she sells vegetables grown by people in her village online. They are all grown at home, without pesticides, so they taste sweet."
"But it seems these peas are grown by her family. I heard they have several acres of them. Now is the time to eat them. There were pea sprouts in the vegetable bag, but I made soup with them."
"You really like her," Xu Zhiyi said with some emotion. Ever since she discovered the blogger Xia Xia during her internship at Li Yunjin's company, she has never stopped paying attention to Xia Xia.
Xia Xia used to sell strawberries, and the office was often filled with the fragrance of strawberries.
Some colleagues said that the strawberries sold by Xia Xia must have been sprayed with pesticides, but at the same time they couldn't help but go to the supermarket to buy expensive strawberries, but the smell was completely different.
Later, when the flu broke out, most people in the office were coughing, but Li Yun was the only one who survived. He drank water soaked with loquat leaves from a thermos cup every day.
Xu Zhiyi also benefited from it and drank a lot, and his cough was indeed relieved.
Li Yun chuckled, "She is my lucky star!"
"Lucky star?"
"If it weren't for her, I might not have been able to get a full-time job. Besides, I also like the content she does. Every time I see her life, it makes me feel calm and gives me a desire to strive!" Li Yun clenched his fists, his face full of determination.
Xu Zhiyi found it a little funny, "Then what are you fighting for?"
"To live a leisurely life like hers! When I save enough money, I will return to my hometown to retire, raise chickens, ducks, cats and dogs, and grow my own vegetables. It's beautiful just thinking about it. Sister Xu, what about you? What are you working so hard for every day?"
The meal was unknowingly finished as they chatted. Xu Zhiyi sighed softly, "I can't go back to my hometown to retire. I just want to buy an apartment in the city and have a little nest of my own."
However, the kind of life Li Yun described was indeed something to yearn for. After spending too long in the city, even breathing felt like wearing a mask, numbly repeating the same day 365 times...
"Sister Xu, I want to invite you to go out with me during the Qingming Festival, is that okay?"
Li Yun's sudden invitation was as sudden as bringing her food.
Xu Zhiyi wasn't too surprised, she just asked, "Where are you going?"
Li Yun smiled widely, took out his cell phone and opened Xia Xia's video account.
This video is not very long, just a few photos.
Li Yun said firmly: "Let's go to Xia Xia's place! Let's experience a few days of carefree country life!"
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