Chapter 28, Liangfeng'ao
Located in the southwest, Qingqu Town has a unique geographical location. Most of the mountain villages under its jurisdiction, like Aimen Village, consist of half common dry mountain soil and the other half terraced fields.
By early August, the rice planted in most parts of Qingqu Town had ripened, and the entire sloping mountain of Liangfeng'ao was a golden expanse.
Under the blazing sun, many villagers were still harvesting and threshing rice in the golden terraced fields.
In the distance, scattered among the fields and woods, houses are nestled, with wisps of smoke rising from their rooftops. Every household is cooking, and each has a courtyard in front of it. Standing at the entrance to the village via the mountain path, one can vaguely see children laughing and playing in the farmyards.
After exiting the steep cliffside mountain path, Da Huang, who had been walking ahead of Cheng Ying and behind Guo Guangsheng and his two sons, suddenly darted ahead, jumped onto the stone marker marking the entrance to Liangfeng'ao Village, and barked loudly towards the village. Then, it jumped off the marker, wagged its tail excitedly, and ran back to Cheng Ying, its dark eyes fixed on her as if to say, "Hey, we've arrived at the next place to deliver something."
Cheng Ying could tell what it wanted to say from its expression. She reached out and patted its head, saying softly, "Okay, I know, Liang Feng is upset."
Dahuang understood what she said, and happily wagged its tail at her. Then it turned around and ran forward excitedly. Its movements were so big that Guo Guangsheng and his two sons, who were leading the three goats, started to move around wildly and bleat loudly.
Guo Guangsheng and the other two hurriedly grabbed the struggling goat that was trying to run away. After the goat calmed down, Guo Guangsheng took the lead and walked forward. As he walked, he turned back to Cheng Ying and said, "Your dad's dogs are all smarter than the last. They've helped your dad a lot. The dog your dad used to have, named Dabai, even saved his life."
Cheng Ying knew about this. It was her father's second dog. When she was ten years old, one night, her father received an urgent telegram from the post office to be sent to Pucang Village in Ayishan.
Her father rushed to Pucang Village with Da Bai overnight. On the second night after arriving at Ayishan, they encountered a pack of wolves. Da Bai fought bravely with the wolves to protect her father, but was eventually killed by them. Her father was also badly injured, but he managed to deliver the telegram safely to the leader of Pucang Village.
Later, her father borrowed a hunting rifle from a Miao villager, went up the mountain alone, killed several wolves to avenge Da Bai, and carried Da Bai's body back to the Cheng family, where he buried it behind the Cheng family's bamboo forest.
Cheng Jiantong rarely brought his dogs home. Cheng Ying didn't have a deep memory of the dogs he used to have, but she still remembered the appearance of the big white dog that saved her. It was a dog with pure white fur, strong limbs, and a habit of 'attacking' people's legs with its tail.
Cheng Ying has never really liked or disliked cats, dogs, or other living creatures since she was a child. She's the type who might want to pet a cute cat or dog, but she finds it troublesome to keep one as a pet.
However, she is very protective of her own. Now that she has taken over her father's job as a mail carrier, her father has entrusted Dahuang to her so that Dahuang can accompany her. From now on, Dahuang will be her companion, and she will take care of it. Dahuang will be her family.
Cheng Ying felt proud to see her family praised by outsiders. "Dabai has been dead for over ten years. It was truly a good dog, and our whole family is very grateful to it for protecting my father. Speaking of which, the dogs my father raised were all native Chinese rural dogs. They have been recognized as good dogs by our ancestors since ancient times. They are intelligent, obedient, loyal, sensible, strong, and rarely get sick. Raising them along the way when we were running mail was a real help to us."
Take Dahuang for example. It looks very fierce, but it is actually very smart and sensible. It was clearly raised by Cheng Jiantong, so it wouldn't recognize a second owner.
However, it remembered its master's work and obeyed the orders given to it. From the moment it set off with Cheng Ying until now, it has not run around, nor has it been passive or lazy, abandoning Cheng Ying and running back to town.
Dahuang dutifully led the way for Cheng Ying, clearing away any unknown dangers for her. At each village, it would bark loudly in advance to remind her that a new village had been reached, and also to alert the villagers that the postman had arrived.
Such a smart and dedicated dog like Dahuang is one in a hundred!
Guo Guangsheng laughed and said, "Yes, we also have a local dog, but it's a female. It often comes with me to go hunting in the mountains. Your Dahuang loves to play with it. Unfortunately, last winter, a group of wild boars came down from the mountain and ruined our village's grain. I took it with me and the villagers to chase the boars, and it was killed by a big wild boar."
Each mountain village under Qingqu Town covers a large area, and each village can be divided into more than ten production teams. In addition to the few hills where crops can be grown, Liangfeng'ao Village is also covered by several high mountains and a continuous range of mountains.
Among these mountains, there is a river that resembles a canyon, named the Qinghe River.
The mountains, even higher than Liangfeng'ao, are covered with steep slopes and vast forests, teeming with ferocious beasts like jackals, tigers, and leopards.
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were still tigers in these mountains and forests. During the winter when food was scarce, these beasts would come down from the mountains to eat people and the villagers' food.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to eliminate the tiger problem, the government organized militia to hunt and kill tigers. Later, the tigers that roamed the mountains and forests disappeared, but other wild beasts could not be driven away. The government could not possibly do such a wasteful and labor-intensive thing every year, so the villagers could only protect themselves.
In mountain villages during this era, there were always militia members who could legally carry guns and kill wild animals that harassed the villagers.
Many villagers also make their own hunting rifles and hide them at home for self-protection. As long as they don't use them for murder or arson, the village officials pretend not to see the villagers occasionally using their hunting rifles to hunt wild rabbits, pheasants, or other wild animals for a treat.
Guo Guangsheng was one of the militiamen in Liangfeng'ao. Although he had not received military training or been on the battlefield like Cheng Jiantong, he had learned martial arts such as military boxing during his time as a militiaman. He also learned how to fire guns, cannons, hold hands, and throw grenades. He was in excellent physical condition.
During his off-season, he would take his two sons to hunt pheasants and rabbits in the high mountains opposite Liangfeng'ao, which are covered with forests. Therefore, he also kept dogs, which guarded the house and occasionally accompanied him on hunting trips.
Guo Guangsheng was heartbroken when his dog was gored in the stomach by the sharp tusks of an adult wild boar while protecting a villager's child. The boar tore a large hole in the dog's stomach, and blood gushed out of the ground. The dog was pregnant at the time and had followed him to chase the wild boar while heavily pregnant.
Cheng Ying looked at Da Huang running ahead in surprise. Da Huang was a male dog. If he was getting along well with Guo Guangsheng's female dog, and that dog was pregnant, then it was probably Da Huang's puppies.
In this day and age, not many families in small mountain villages keep dogs, and those who can afford to keep dogs are considered to be relatively well-off.
After all, raising another living creature means eating another portion of food. Most villagers have a bunch of children and elderly people to support. They can't even feed themselves, so how could they possibly give extra food to cats and dogs? It's already a favor if they don't eat the cats and dogs.
Therefore, Guo Guangsheng's family was considered to be in relatively good condition in Liangfeng'ao Village.
But the mother dog died, along with her unborn puppies. I wonder if Dahuang knows about the mother dog's death, and if he will be as sad and heartbroken as humans are.
Guo Guangsheng's home is at the foot of Liangfeng'ao Mountain, near the Qinghe River, in a place where several pear trees are planted.
Guo Guangsheng led Cheng Ying down the mountain path halfway up the mountain, following the winding road, occasionally taking shortcuts, and walking along the ridges of the golden rice paddies where the branches were bent low.
Seeing that they were not on the right path, Da Huang hurriedly ran back, biting Cheng Ying's trouser leg and making low whimpering noises, trying to pull her back to the right path.
Cheng Ying had to say, "Dahuang, let's take the shortcut, not the main road."
No matter how many times he said it, Da Huang wouldn't listen until Guo Guangsheng said, "Da Huang, come to my house and see Xiao Hua."
Dahuang immediately perked up its fluffy dog ears, looked at Guo Guangsheng, and said, "Are you serious? You're not lying to me?"
Guo Guangsheng said, "Xiaohua is dead. I'll take you to the place where it was buried to see it."
His female dog, Xiaohua, died and was buried in the woods near his family's ancestral graveyard, quite far from his home. Before, when Cheng Jiantong brought Dahuang to his house for dinner while delivering mail, Dahuang would always circle around his house, barking incessantly, looking for Xiaohua.
He wanted to take Dahuang to see Xiaohua several times, but Cheng Jiantong was always in a hurry and would leave right after eating, so he never took it.
As if realizing something, Da Huang looked at Cheng Ying, whimpering softly as if pleading for something.
Cheng Ying waved her hand, "Dahuang, go ahead and follow Uncle Guangsheng to see your Xiaohua."
Big Yellow barked and rushed to Guo Guangsheng's side.
Guo Guangsheng took the rope that was leading the goat and put it in Guo Daxi's hand, and told him: "Take Xiaoying home first. When you get home, talk to your mother properly. Don't scare her. I'll take Dahuang to see Xiaohua and then come back."
Da Xi nodded, then led the two sheep, along with Cheng Ying and Er Xi, towards their home at the foot of the mountain.
On the way, Erxi stayed close to Cheng Ying, chattering incessantly. He'd ask her if the mailbag was heavy and if she needed him to carry it, which she politely declined. Then he'd ask her what it was like in the military, how tough and tiring it was to be a soldier, what it felt like to fire a gun, and whether she'd ever killed anyone...
Cheng Ying answered in a half-hearted manner, while Guo Daxi remained silent in front, occasionally turning back to look at Cheng Ying.
Cheng Ying always felt that the way he looked at her was strange, particularly hot and bright, the kind of look a young man would have when he looked at a girl he liked.
She had seen that look in her eyes many times in her past life, before Wei Muchen betrayed her.
Could it be that Guo Daxi likes her?
But she didn't have much contact with him. Apart from today, her only contact with him was nine years ago when she had a meal at his house when she was young.
He was five years older than her. Did he fall in love with her back then?
That's so strange!
With this realization, Cheng Ying felt extremely uncomfortable and began to regret agreeing to go to Guo Guangsheng's house for dinner.
On the way to Guo's house, villagers would see Cheng Ying from time to time, greet her and ask her questions, which Cheng Ying answered politely and courteously.
When they arrived at the Guo family's house, the Guo family had already received word of the arrival. A group of people stood in the courtyard to greet them, chattering, "Is this Old Cheng's eldest daughter? She's really beautiful!"
"How could she not be beautiful? She was fair-skinned and pretty when she was little. My husband suggested to her father that we arrange a marriage between us when we were little, but both she and her father disagreed."
"Oh dear, I remember her so well. She had quite a temper when she was little. The time she and her dad delivered mail to our house, she got into a fight with Erxi and beat him so badly that he didn't dare utter a single word!"
"Haha, I knew Erxi had become much more obedient since then and dared not bully the girls anymore. It turns out she had taught him a lesson."
"Huh? I heard she's the only female soldier recruited into the army in our town in recent years. She's retired and taken over her father's job?"
"Haven't you heard? Old Cheng fell down the mountain because his nephew, who was traveling with him, pushed him. This girl came back from the army to seek justice for her father."
......
Today is Guo's mother's forty-fifth birthday. She invited close relatives and some familiar neighbors. Three tables were set up in the yard, and more than thirty people were standing in the yard.
Guo Daxi led Cheng Ying into the Guo family courtyard. Fearing that Cheng Ying was shy and might not speak up for the relatives, he quickly said, "Dear grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, Xiao Ying is here to deliver a message. She was originally going to her cousin's house for dinner, but my dad asked her to come to our house for dinner. Please don't gossip in front of her and scare her."
"Oh my, Da Xi, this is the first time I've seen you so protective of a girl," a neighboring auntie chuckled teasingly. "You wouldn't happen to be...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Guo Daxi's dark face flushed red.
Everyone stared in surprise, glancing at Da Xi and then at Cheng Ying, and smiled knowingly.
Seeing this, Guo's mother quickly pulled her aunt aside, signaling her to stop talking and not to tease Daxi in front of Cheng Ying.
Young people are easily embarrassed. If they scare Cheng Ying and mess things up, Da Xi might blame her.
"You must be Xiaoying. Girls change so much as they grow up. You're even more beautiful than when you were little. Xiaoying, do you remember me? I'm Daxi's mother. You call me Aunt Guo." Guo's mother walked up to Cheng Ying and warmly pulled her into the yard. "Come, come, Xiaoying, have a seat. You've come at the right time. We've prepared the meal and are just waiting for your Uncle Guangsheng to come back and start eating."
Cheng Ying followed Guo's mother into the living room, put down the mailbag on her back, and greeted her politely: "Hello Aunt Guo, I remember you. Nine years ago, my dad and I came to your house for a meal while delivering mail. You even cooked me a hard-boiled egg separately. Don't blame me for hitting your Erxi. I really like you. I didn't know it was your birthday today. I didn't bring anything and just came to your house for a meal. I'm really sorry."
Boiled eggs were considered a delicacy in those days. Most families could only raise two chickens a year. People were reluctant to eat the chickens once they were fully grown, keeping them to lay eggs and sell for money, or to hatch chicks and raise them at home to lay more eggs to sell.
In ordinary mountain families, family members are reluctant to eat eggs themselves, only giving them to children. When Cheng Ying, a young girl from out of town, came to the Guo family, Guo's mother not only did not blame Cheng Ying for hitting her son, but also cooked a boiled egg for Cheng Ying. This was not only because Guo's mother was generous and kind, but also because she was very good at handling things and had a gentle and likable temperament.
Over the years, Cheng Ying no longer remembers Guo Guangsheng and his two sons, but she does remember that Guo's mother once cooked her a delicious egg, which shows how kind Guo's mother was.
Guo's mother laughed heartily, "You still remember when you came to our house that year? You like eggs, don't you? I'll steam some egg custard for you later. Your father hasn't come to our house for meals much these past few years. He fell down the mountain, and we haven't had time to visit him. How would you know it's my birthday today? You don't need to be so polite. Since you're here, you're our guest. Come, come, don't stand inside, go sit down in the yard. We'll start the meal soon, so eat plenty of meat."
As she spoke, she pulled Cheng Ying into the courtyard, arranged for her to sit at the main table in the middle, and then turned to Guo Daxi, saying, "Daxi, fetch a ladle of water for Xiaoying so she can wash her hands."
Also known as Guo Erxi, "Erxi, go to the small field ridge and pick a basket of pears to share with Xiaoying and everyone else later."
"Hey—" Guo Erxi responded, picked up his basket, and ran to pick pears from a tall pear tree by a paddy field, which was only ten meters away from the Guo family's house.
Guo Daxi silently picked up a gourd ladle from beside two water vats in the left courtyard of the Guo family, scooped up a ladle of water, and gestured for Cheng Ying to wash her hands.
Cheng Ying stood up and said apologetically, "Brother Daxi, I can go wash my hands myself."
Guo Daxi didn't say anything, but stood in front of her with the gourd ladle in his hand, his eyes full of determination.
Having no other choice, Cheng Ying could only walk to the edge of the courtyard and stretch out her thin hands.
Guo Daxi walked to her side and slowly poured the water from the gourd ladle into her hand.
She washed her hands with the cool mountain spring water and then splashed the remaining water on her face, instantly feeling much cooler.
Seeing this, Guo Daxi went to the water vat and scooped up a ladle of water for her, indicating that she should continue washing her face.
Cheng Ying: ......
"Brother Da Xi, I've washed my face, I don't need to wash it again."
"That little bit of water isn't enough to wash you, you can wash again." Guo Daxi poured more water into her hands.
Since she was a guest, Cheng Ying had no choice but to cup the water he poured in her hands and wash her face.
In the courtyard, Guo's relatives and friends sat around the dining table, watching the two young people's movements with great interest.
Seeing Guo Daxi's dumbfounded look, everyone couldn't help but chuckle. They whispered among themselves, "For so many years, Daxi has never given a kind look to the girls his parents introduced him to. He avoids the unmarried girls in the village as much as possible. Why is he so proactive in fetching water for Comrade Xiao Cheng this time? Has he really taken a liking to Comrade Xiao Cheng?"
"I think it's probably true. Didn't Guang Sheng mention to Lao Cheng before that he wanted to arrange a marriage between his eldest daughter and Da Xi? I guess Da Xi had that idea back then, which is why he has refused to marry any other girl his parents have introduced over the years."
"Huh? I heard from Da Xi's mother that Old Cheng politely declined the marriage proposals for the two children in front of them. This Comrade Cheng himself said that he would never marry Da Xi. Look how red Da Xi's face is, but Comrade Cheng doesn't blush at all. These two definitely won't get together."
"It's hard to say. Girls change a lot as they grow up. A girl might not want to get married when she was little, but now that she's grown up and has spent more time with him, she might be willing. Look at our village secretary's eldest daughter, Guizhi. When she was little, she really disliked Daxi, saying he was a quiet type who rarely spoke and that it was no fun to play with him. But now that she's grown up, she sees that Daxi is a handsome young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and she's fallen for him. She keeps saying she wants to marry him and that she wants her father to marry Guangsheng and his wife. In the end, Daxi ran away, the engagement was called off, and the two families became estranged. But Guizhi still sneaks off to the Guo family to see Daxi."
Everyone sighed with regret when they thought of Guizhi. Guizhi was beautiful and had a good temper. She was efficient at both housework and other tasks. Countless young men from all around wanted to marry Guizhi. Why did Daxi not like Guizhi?
Cheng Ying had excellent hearing. Even though the Guo family's relatives and friends were speaking very softly, she still managed to catch the gist of what they were saying.
She showed no embarrassment whatsoever, and sat back down in her seat with a normal expression, seemingly unaware of Guo Daxi's feelings.
She had lived two lives. After being entangled with Wei Muchen in her previous life, she became completely disillusioned with romantic relationships and would never fall in love easily again, nor would she marry into another family.
All she wants in this life is to live her own life well. Even if she were to get married, she would only invite a man to live with her and become her son-in-law, so that he would revolve around her.
It's impossible for her to marry someone else, become someone else's wife, do laundry and cook in someone else's house, serve her in-laws, and revolve around a man.
Soon, Guo Erxi returned carrying a basket of bright green pears. Guo's mother distributed the pears in the basket to a dozen or so young people and children, including Cheng Ying, so that they could share them.
These pears are huge, one about the size of a palm. They are the old-style green-skinned duck pear variety, and each one weighs half a pound.
In previous years, Guo's mother wouldn't share the pears from this pear tree with everyone; she would pick them to sell at the town's grocery store or exchange them for other things.
Today, seeing that Cheng Ying had come, I wanted to pick some pears for her to eat, but I was afraid of what relatives and friends would say, so I reluctantly let Guo Erxi pick a basket of pears to share with the young people.
The elders who didn't get any pears weren't unhappy at all. After all, fruit was a rare commodity these days. Guo's mother gave each family one pear, and some families with many children even got two. The children were very sensible; they didn't bite into them right away but put them on their tables, waiting to take them home after dinner and share them together.
Twenty minutes later, Guo Guangsheng returned with Dahuang.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he warmly greeted his relatives and friends and introduced Cheng Ying to everyone. Everyone chatted and laughed with him, making it a lively scene.
Dahuang looked listless, its tail drooping, and it slowly walked to Cheng Ying's side, lying down at her feet without making a sound.
Cheng Ying bent down, reached under the table, and stroked the dog's head, whispering to comfort it, "Dahuang, a dead dog can't come back to life. Try to think positively. When the feast starts, I'll give you a meat bone to eat."
Big Yellow whimpered listlessly, its head resting on the ground, its eyes half-closed, seemingly lost in thought.
A few young children saw it and rushed over to pet it, pulling on its ears and tail. They pulled too hard and hurt it, but it didn't bother to look up and pay attention to them.
Cheng Ying felt sorry for it, so she found an excuse to chase away all the children, and then protected it at her feet, waiting for the banquet to begin.
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