Chapter 48 Did you love her back then?
Perhaps it was because of the sachet given to her by Long Buxi, Cheng Ying's journey back to the postman was very smooth. The snakes, insects, and rodents she encountered along the way ran away as if they had seen a ghost. When she got home, she no longer had to be afraid of being bitten by those snakes and insects.
Carrying her mailbag, she returned to the post office, took out the envelopes and two light packages that the villagers had asked her to mail along the way, took out the money the villagers had given her for stamps, bought stamps, affixed them to the envelopes, put them in the mailboxes, and left the packages at the post office, waiting for the county's special vehicle for transporting letters and packages to come and collect them.
When the branch manager saw her return, he was shocked but couldn't help asking her a few questions.
The branch manager said that she hadn't returned within the three-day delivery period, which worried not only him but also her father. Even though her father was partially paralyzed, he still directed Wan Shuhui and her daughter Cheng Xue to help him to the post office to inquire about the situation.
The branch chief didn't know why Cheng Ying hadn't returned within the stipulated time. He had a gut feeling that something had happened to her. Just as he was about to personally go to Cheng Jiantong's postal route, he saw a young man dressed in Miao clothing who called himself Ga Suo. He said that Cheng Ying had fallen down the mountain and was rescued by the young chief of their Pu Cang Village. She would probably need to recuperate in the village for about ten days.
Cheng Jiantong had been a mail carrier for many years, delivering letters to Pucang Village. He understood the character of the Miao people in Pucang Village and knew about Long Buxi's past in Pucang Village. He subconsciously felt that it was not safe for Cheng Ying to stay in Pucang Village and wanted to go to Pucang Village to take Cheng Ying away.
Unfortunately, he was already partially paralyzed and could no longer walk to Pucang Village. His brothers and nephews had already broken ties with their family, so it was impossible for them to walk such a long distance to carry Cheng Ying out.
He couldn't possibly let his wife and Cheng Xue, who had little fighting experience, go into the deep mountains. He was afraid that if Cheng Xue entered Pucang Village, she would be targeted by those unruly Miao people who had little education and culture, and be cursed, just like he had been cursed years ago, suffering a fate worse than death.
Ultimately, persuaded by the branch chief and others, he decided to trust Cheng Ying and let her come back on her own after she recovered.
If she doesn't return within the timeframe Gasu mentioned, he'll spend money to hire someone to look for her, or he can simply call the police and have the local police go to Pucang Village with the branch chief.
Now that Cheng Ying has returned safely ahead of schedule, the branch director breathed a sigh of relief. He also frankly told Cheng Ying that Cheng Jiantong thought she would come back sooner or later, and also thought that the branch director was getting old and not suitable to run the rugged mountain road in Ma'anshan. Therefore, the letters and packages belonging to the Ma'anshan postal route that he had brought back from the county in the past ten days were still in the post office, waiting for her to come back so that he could continue to deliver the mail.
Cheng Ying expressed her understanding, saying that in an era when transportation and information were underdeveloped, it was normal for the post office to delay mail delivery for various reasons.
Especially on remote and difficult-to-traverse mountain village postal routes, as long as there are no urgent mails that need to be delivered quickly, the mailman will deliver the mail to the recipient intact, and the recipient will not say anything.
Most of the people in the mountains are very simple and honest. They know how hard it is for the postmen who run the mountain mail route. If there are no postmen to deliver the mail, they have to climb mountains and wade through rivers to come to town to pick up the mail themselves. The mail is just delivered late, and they will not blame the postmen.
After leaving the post office, Cheng Ying took Da Huang and rushed back to her home in Qingshui Village.
It was almost evening when Cheng Xue was in the yard outside their small home, shoveling peanuts from their private plot of land that had been drying on the ground into sacks.
Seeing Dahuang run into the yard, bark at her, and wag its fluffy tail, she was taken aback at first. Then, when she saw Cheng Ying, wearing a green post office uniform, enter the yard, Cheng Xue's eyes widened, and she excitedly dropped the small shovel in her hand, shouting, "Sister!"
Then she turned her head and called into the house, "Mom, Dad, my sister is back! My sister is back!"
She ran to Cheng Ying, hugged her tightly, and cried with red eyes, "Sister, you're finally back! You don't know, the people from Pucang Village came out to tell your post office branch manager that you fell off Ayi Mountain and were rescued by the Miao people of Pucang Village, but you were unconscious and had to stay inside to recover. Mom, Dad, and I were so worried. Mom has been crying every day these past few days and even secretly went to the temple on the mountain to pray for you, hoping you would come back soon. It's so good that you're back safe and sound."
Wan Shuhui was cooking in the kitchen when she heard Cheng Xue call. She quickly grabbed a spatula and came out. Seeing Cheng Ying return, she cried out in surprise and rushed to her. She looked Cheng Ying up and down, making sure she wasn't missing an arm or a leg, before hugging her tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Xiao Ying, you're finally back! Mom was so worried about you! While you were away, I couldn't eat or sleep properly. I even dreamt of you falling and shattering to pieces. I wanted to go to that Miao village to find you, but your dad wouldn't let me, saying that the people there don't welcome strangers..."
Seeing her family's concern, Cheng Ying felt a warm current flow through her heart, and her eyes reddened. She gently patted Wan Shuhui and Cheng Xue's backs, softly comforting them, "Mom, Xiaoxue, I'm fine. The day I ran to Pucang Village, I encountered a fierce wind and torrential rain. When I was going down the mountain, the wind blew me down and I didn't hold the iron chain tightly, so I fell down the mountain. Fortunately, I didn't fall very far, and I was rescued by the young clan chief of Pucang Village. He used their village's secret medicine on me, and my injuries healed quickly. Now, I'm almost fully recovered. Knowing you were worried about me, I rushed back overnight."
Wan Shuhui stopped crying, let go of her, and looked her over from head to toe, making sure there were no obvious injuries. Wiping away her tears, she complained, "You silly girl, I told you not to be a postman. After you came back from the army, any job you did in town would be better than being a postman. But you wouldn't listen, and on your first delivery, you fell off the mountain. I was really worried that something bad had happened to you."
"Mom, this was my first time delivering mail, and I wasn't familiar with the route, which is why I fell down the mountain. I promise I won't have any more accidents next time, don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Cheng Ying held her hand, nestled her head against her chest, and said coquettishly, "Mom, I haven't had your cooking for several days, and I'm starving. Could you make me something delicious to help me recover?"
When she started to act cute, Wan Shuhui couldn't resist. "We were planning to just make something simple for dinner, but now that you're back, Mom will cook something nice for you. There's half a cured pig's face hanging in the kitchen. I'll take it and roast it, then boil it and cook the last two sausages. How about I steam an egg for you?"
"Okay, that's great, Mom, you're the best to me." Cheng Ying smiled, her eyes crinkling.
Wan Shuhui had endured many hardships. She vividly remembered the days when she and her two children went hungry every day before they separated from the Cheng family. Even after the separation, when life finally improved, the village only distributed a few pounds of meat throughout the year, and the village didn't give each member many meat coupons. Like many others in the village, the meat she bought and the cured meat she made were only eaten when guests came to her home or during festivals.
When Cheng Ying returned, Wan Shuhui was willing to cook the last half of a cured pig's face and two sausages in the kitchen, which shows that she really cared about Cheng Ying.
Cheng Xue and Wan Shuhui went to the kitchen to cook. Cheng Ying wasn't idle either. She collected all the peanuts that Cheng Xue hadn't finished collecting, put them in a bag, and carried half a bag of peanuts into Wan Shuhui's room. She placed the peanuts behind the door and said to Cheng Jiantong, who was lying on the bed, "Dad, I'm back."
It was already the second half of the month, and the Cheng family couldn't wait to send Cheng Jiantong back to the second house. For the past two weeks, Cheng Jiantong had been staying in the house, being taken care of by Cheng Xue.
Cheng Jiantong had already heard Cheng Ying and her two daughters talking inside the house, and knew that Cheng Ying had returned safely.
When he saw Cheng Ying and Da Huang appear, his thin face was clearly filled with excitement. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
The moment Dahuang saw him, it rushed to his bedside, wagging its tail incessantly and whimpering as if trying to say something.
Cheng Jiantong stretched out his mobile left hand and stroked the big yellow dog's head with affection in his eyes: "Good big yellow, you've done very well. It wasn't your fault that Xiaoying fell down the mountain. You were injured too, weren't you? Are you feeling better?"
Big Yellow licked his palm and circled around in front of him, as if to say, "Master, I'm alright."
Cheng Jiantong laughed, stroking the big yellow dog's head as he looked at Cheng Ying. He carefully examined her and, seeing that she seemed healthy and there was nothing wrong with her, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Ying, during your time in Pucang Village, did the Miao people in the village, or that kid named Long Buxi, do anything bad to you?"
"What bad things could they possibly do to me?" Cheng Ying sat calmly at the foot of the bed. "Dad, do you mean they used a curse on me?"
Cheng Jiantong frowned; the meaning behind her words didn't sound good.
Cheng Ying didn't hide anything and told him about how she had been infected with a heart-cursing curse, emphasizing that Mei Shu had removed the curse from her, and also the conditions Mei Shu had set for removing the curse.
Cheng Ying said, "Her condition is very simple. She wants me to ask you two questions on her behalf: Did you ever love her back then? Did you ever have even the slightest feeling for her?"
Cheng Jiantong shook his head without hesitation, "No, I have never been attracted to her, nor have I ever loved her."
"Why?" Cheng Ying asked both on behalf of Mei Shu and because she wanted to know the reason herself.
Although her mother, Wan Shuhui, was good-looking and had a gentle personality, she was still somewhat inferior to Mei Shu's stunning beauty.
Cheng Ying thought that most men would be curious about young, beautiful Miao girls with distinct personalities, and would gradually become attracted to them, eventually falling in love with them and becoming hopelessly infatuated. She never expected that her father was an exception.
Cheng Jiantong said, “I knew your mother before I started working as a mail carrier. I was only fifteen years old then. We were deeply in love and agreed that I would marry her after I was discharged from the army. I know how biased your grandparents are. If they knew that I knew your mother and that we had been dating since we were young, they would definitely try to control her and even break us up. So we didn’t tell anyone about our relationship when we were young. After I was discharged from the army, they arranged a marriage for me and thought your mother had a good temper and was easy to control, so they took the initiative to arrange a marriage for me. Soon I got engaged to your mother. No matter how beautiful Mei Shu is, my heart has always belonged to your mother.”
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