In the evening, in the banquet hall of Ruyi Restaurant,
cups clinked and cheers were thunderous.
Xie Dongyang's face turned red from drinking, and he smiled from ear to ear. He patted everyone on the shoulder and called them brothers.
Since taking over this project, all the pressure he had been carrying for more than a year disappeared on this day. And the greater the pressure he had been carrying before, the more confident he was now.
Their Xiyang Real Estate is now the thumb of the city!
The house is selling so hot and so well, Ruan Xi is naturally very happy. Although she was not as exaggerated as Xie Dongyang, she also drank a lot of wine, and her face was also red and puffy, and the corners of her mouth never had a chance to fall from beginning to end.
After the banquet, Ling Yao came to pick her up.
Ruan Xi got into the car, leaned back in the chair, turned her head to look at him, and said with a drunken smile, "I made a lot of money again."
Ling Yao leaned over to help her fasten her seat belt, "I heard that it was sold out in an hour."
Ruan Xi raised her hands and hooked them around his neck. She was not as serious and steady as she was in front of others. She blinked slowly a few times, letting the pride in her heart come out. She looked at Ling Yao and asked, "Am I... very good?"
Ling Yao looked at her and replied, "Yes, very good, rich woman."
Ruan Xi laughed happily, "The rich woman allows you to kiss her."
Ling Yao smiled and kissed her on the lips. Seeing that she didn't let go and her eyes were full of drunken mist, he kissed her a little longer. The car was parked in a relatively secluded place, and it was dark, so there was no need to worry about being seen.
After a while, the headlights came on and the car started on the road.
Ruan Xi was a little sleepy, so she leaned back in the chair with her eyes closed to rest. When she was about to fall asleep, the car suddenly stopped. She thought she was home, but when she opened her eyes, she found that she was still on the road.
She turned her head again and saw two traffic police standing outside the car window.
The traffic police looked at Ling Yao and asked, "Have you been drinking?"
Ruan Xi was stunned for a moment - huh? In this era, are there still people checking drunk driving?
Ling Yao naturally replied, "No."
The traffic police took out a breathalyzer, "Blow into it."
Ling Yao blew into the breathalyzer.
The traffic police looked at the instrument and
said, "He drank." Ling Yao: "Impossible?"
Traffic police: "How can it be impossible? Your car smells of alcohol."
Ruan Xi said at the side, "He really didn't drink. I drank."
Traffic police: "There's nothing wrong with my instrument."
He said, "Fine fifty."
Ruan Xi wanted to continue to argue, but Ling Yao suddenly remembered something and stopped her from arguing with the traffic police.
He took out his wallet, opened it, and handed the traffic police fifty yuan.
As the car started, Ruan Xi looked at him and said, "It must be that his instrument is broken. A fine of fifty yuan is so much. Fifty yuan can buy... can buy thirty kilograms of pork!"
Ling Yao couldn't help laughing, "It should not be broken."
Ruan Xi: "You didn't drink."
Ling Yao looked at her and suddenly laughed, "You drank."
What does it mean?
Ruan Xi looked at him with blank eyes and thought for a while. Because of the effect of alcohol, the brain thought slowly. Then she waited until the car entered the alley and was about to get home, and she suddenly reacted, "I...you...that..."
What a sin!
One year later.
The rising sun climbed up the roof.
The silhouette of the stone lion in front of the courtyard was elongated.
The red door opened from the inside. Ruan Xi, wearing a simple shirt-style dress and high heels, stepped over the threshold and carried a simple and elegant small leather bag in her hand. She turned around and waited for Ling Yao to lock the gate.
After locking the door, the two went to the car, opened the door, got in the car, and drove out of the alley.
Ruan Xi looked at the alley ahead and said, "Another couple has achieved the achievement of having a baby."
She and Ling Yao are now going to attend a wedding banquet - the full-month banquet of Xie Dongyang and Wen Xiao's baby.
The banquet was scheduled for noon, and they left a little early, so they did not go to the restaurant where the banquet was held immediately, but drove to Xie Dongyang's house first to see the child.
The one-month-old baby was wrapped in a swaddle, with a fair and soft face and two white and tender hands. Ruan Xi held him in her arms, and her heart melted every time she saw him smile.
Wen Xiao asked her, "Aren't you planning to have one yet?"
Ruan Xi looked at her and smiled and whispered, "We are preparing."
Now her fashion company has fully started the ready-to-wear business. Both Rose Court and Blooming are well-known brands in China, and the custom clothing business has a relatively stable customer base.
Last year, Xiyang Real Estate Company won its first battle and made a lot of money, and the company has been on the right track.
Her career has almost stabilized, and the rest is just a matter of moving forward step by step. Besides, she and Ling Yao have been living alone for five or six years, so it's time to change the family structure.
With her mind on things, she naturally began to think about this matter seriously.
Wen Xiao smiled and said, "Hurry up, it's a good opportunity for you to play with our Doudou."
Ruan Xi smiled, "Okay."
After playing with Doudou at Xie Dongyang's house until almost noon, everyone went to the banquet together. Just like when Xie Dongyang got married, Ruan Xi didn't know any of their relatives and friends, so after dinner, they exchanged some pleasantries and left.
The two drove around outside and then went to Ruan Cuizhi's house to see Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua.
After chatting with Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua, they naturally stayed for dinner in the evening.
It was a rare Sunday with nothing to do, so Ruan Changsheng and Qianchuan took Ruan Dabao out to play today, so Ruan Cuizhi didn't invite them over, nor did she invite Ruan Jie. In the evening, they cooked dinner and sat down to eat. While eating,
Ruan Cuizhi said to Ruan Xi, "By the way, Xiaoxi, your grandfather received a call from his hometown yesterday, saying that the people in the mountains are going to be relocated, and no one is allowed to live there or farm there anymore."
Hearing this, Ruan Xi was slightly stunned, "Relocation?"
Ruan Zhigao nodded and replied, "They said they were going to build a dam, and all the villages had to be relocated."
Ruan Xi didn't say anything, and Ruan Cuizhi continued, "In places like the mountains, you can't get much money from demolition. It's already good to be able to exchange houses for houses and land for land. We have nothing in our hometown. The house and land were given to your second uncle and second aunt at that time, so we don't plan to go back. But the old tailor's house, do you want to go back and take a look?"
Ruan Xi lowered his eyebrows and thought for a while, and said after a moment: "Then I
will go back and take a look." If you don't go back this time, you won't be able to go back in the future. The villages and people there will disappear, and all traces of their lives there will disappear in the mountains and forests.
Although I haven't thought about going back to live there since I came to Beijing, I still can't control my disappointment when I heard such news. After all, it is the place where they grew up, and it is a root in their hearts.
If it weren't for Ruan Zhigao and Liu Xinghua's advanced age, they would be the ones who wanted to go back and take a look the most. After all, they had lived in the mountains all their lives and had originally thought of being buried in the mountains after their death.
Let's go back and take a look. That's where her life began.
When she got home in the evening, she washed up and lay on the bed.
Ruan Xi looked indifferent, blinking slowly and said, "I didn't expect that the mountains would be demolished."
Ling Yao looked at her and said, "I'll go back with you."
Ruan Xi turned her head and said, "Do you have time?"
Ling Yao said, "The hospital is not too busy recently, I can take a leave."
Ruan Xi looked at Ling Yao, thinking that he probably wanted to go back and take a look too. After all, he had never been back since he left Fengming Mountain and returned to the city in 1976.
Since he wanted to go, Ruan Xi nodded to him, "Okay."
Three days later, Ruan Xi, who had freed up time, invited Ling Yao to take a fake trip, and took the train back to Fengming Mountain with their suitcases. The train was noisy and chaotic, and the two of them squeezed into the seats, chatting and looking at the scenery outside the window.
Ruan Xi said to Ling Yao: "I haven't been back for many years. I don't know what it's like now."
Ling Yao said: "I've been back longer than you. I miss that time."
Ruan Xi looked at him and laughed, "Do you miss me?"
Ling Yao looked at her and nodded, "It's true that it's mostly you. It seems that there is nothing to miss when you're not around."
Ruan Xi still smiled: "Fortunately we are together, otherwise you would miss me for the rest of your life?"
Ling Yao squeezed her hand into his palm, "Well, fortunately we meet again."
The train went forward one stop at a time and arrived at Tianfeng Town in the evening.
Riding the train was too torturous, so Ruan Xi and Ling Yao naturally didn't go to the mountains immediately. They went to the guesthouse to put down their luggage and wash up, then went out to stroll around the town and look at this town in their memory.
Compared to more than a decade ago, Tianfeng Town has hardly changed much in appearance. It is still the same as before, but it has become more dilapidated and there are fewer people on the street. The reason
for the fewer people is that working outside the home has become a trend in this era. Young people cannot make money in the countryside, so they all go out to work and earn money. Most of the people left at home are the elderly and children.
The town is not big, and it doesn't take long to walk around.
After Ruan Xi and Ling Yao finished their walk, they finally sat down at a noodle stall and ordered two bowls of dandan noodles.
While waiting for the noodle stall owner to come up, Ruan Xi smiled and said, "Do you remember? The first time we came to the town to buy wine for our master, we also ate a bowl of dandan noodles here. I still remember you said you couldn't eat spicy food."
Ling Yao remembered it better than she did. She pinched his face at the time and said he was so tender.
It was at that time that he said he would take her to his home if there was a chance.
Thinking about it now, it seems like a lifetime ago. At that time, he had never thought that he could leave Fengming Mountain and return to the city, nor did he think that he could really take Ruan Xi to his home.
He never thought that the world would change later, and all the beautiful dreams he had had would come true.
He replied to Ruan Xi, "Now I can eat spicy food very well."
And he loves spicy food.
The two chatted while eating noodles at the noodle stall. They were originally planning to go back to the guesthouse to rest, but they unexpectedly learned that a movie was being shown on the playground of Tianfeng Middle School tonight. So the two changed their direction and went to Tianfeng Middle School.
People are not as enthusiastic about watching movies now as they were in the 1970s. After all, 14 or 15 years have passed, the times are developing, and some families in the town have already bought TVs.
Ruan Xi and Ling Yao naturally did not have much enthusiasm for the movie itself, but they were just nostalgic for the past, so they stood behind the crowd to join in the fun. Watching the movie is secondary, and watching the movie together and reminiscing about the past is the main thing.
Speaking of the night they ran to the town and happened to see a movie, the two arrived late and climbed up the old locust tree at the back to watch it. Ruan Xi was so tired from walking on the mountain road for two days that he fell asleep hugging the tree.
On the way back to the guesthouse, Ruan Xi looked at Ling Yao and asked, "You were the one who held me up against the tree that night, so I didn't fall? You also kept your hands under my face?"
Ling Yao nodded at her and said softly, "Yeah."
Ruan Xi looked at him and blinked, "Wow, you are so warm at such a young age. It's not in vain that I love you."
Ling Yao laughed, "Thank you sister for loving me back then."
Hearing this, Ruan Xi couldn't help laughing and said, "But you never treated me as a sister for a day. Did you have some thoughts about me at that time, right?"
Because he looked like a child and was really young at the time, she never thought much about it. She treated him as a brother and a friend, and holding hands and leaning against each other was also regarded as the most normal behavior between children.
But now thinking back, boys and girls aged thirteen or fourteen already have those thoughts.
Ling Yao looked at her and said after a moment, "Can I say so?"
Ruan Xi pursed her lips to hold back her laughter for a while, then pinched his arm, "I knew it! On the surface, you look like a good baby, simple, gentle and cute, but in fact, you have a lot of thoughts in your heart!"
Ling Yao was pinched by her and felt pain. He smiled and took her hand down and pinched it, and then continued, "Not a lot, just a very simple thought, I like you, I want to see you every day, and I am happy to see you."
After being together for such a long time, Ruan Xi still felt a sweet feeling in her heart when she heard him say these words without embellishment. Because she knew that every word he said came from the heart.
The two walked forward hand in hand, feeling the evening breeze of the town, and occasionally looking up at the stars in the sky.
Ruan Xi and Ling Yao stayed in the town for one night, had breakfast in the town the next morning, and then carried their suitcases to the mountains. They walked on the mountain road that they were all familiar with, heading for the Jinguan Village in their memories.
In recent years, she has been busy studying and working in the city, and has not had much time to exercise. So after walking down a mountain road, Ruan Xi felt more tired than before, and it was not as easy as before when she climbed the mountain.
She said to Ling Yao: "I haven't climbed the mountain for a long time, or maybe I'm getting old."
Ling Yao looked at her and smiled, "I'll carry you for a while."
Ruan Xi waved her hand at him directly, "That's not necessary."
She said no, but when she was tired and panting, Ling Yao still carried her for a few sections.
When she sat down to rest, Ruan Xi sat on a stone and drank water while saying: "No, I still have to exercise."
Even if there is no mountain to climb, she has to insist on running every night when she returns.
However, she was tired, but she did not slow down.
In order to reach the village as early as possible, they continued on their way even after the night fell. They stopped to rest in the middle of the night, sat on a rock, looked at the moon above, and counted the stars in the sky.
Just as Ruan Xi was resting her hands on a rock and looking up at the moon to catch her breath, Ling Yao suddenly said, "I remember, is there a natural hot spring near here?"
Hearing this, Ruan Xi lowered her gaze and looked around.
She also remembered, looked at Ling Yao and said, "It seems to be here."
After saying this, the two of them immediately reached a tacit understanding and immediately picked up their suitcases to find the hot spring.
After successfully finding the hot spring with gurgling water, Ruan Xi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm going to go down and take a bath."
Without saying a word, she decisively took off her long-sleeved jacket, took off her shoes and socks and placed them on the dry stones beside her, then went into the water directly in her suspender dress and walked slowly into the water.
Her dress and hair were half wet. She turned to look at Ling Yao and called him, "Come down."
Ling Yao sat down beside the stone and looked at Ruan Xi, "Are you sure you want to wash together?"
Ruan Xi didn't waste time talking to him. She came over and stretched out her hand to pull him into the water. He fell into the water and got his whole body wet. She wiped the water from her eyes and blinked, saying, "After walking on the mountain road for so long, I don't believe you can still do it."
Ling Yao stood in front of her with a wet body. He saw her hair dripping with water and her face was also full of wetness. After looking at each other for a while, he didn't say anything more. He directly grabbed her waist, held up the back of her head, and lowered his head to cover her mouth.
Ruan Xi: "!!"
"You are really capable, you are really brave."
Bathed in the morning light, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao held hands and continued to rush to Jinguan Village.
Because of the short rest time, the two arrived at Jinguan Village at around four o'clock in the afternoon. In the past, because returning to the village was like returning home, they would be particularly happy every time they came back, but this time they felt more nostalgic.
There was no one they missed here, only the scenes where they had lived together.
Ruan Xi did not go to see Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui on purpose. She and Ling Yao stayed in Jinguan Village and went to the brigade headquarters of Jinguan Village to find Secretary Wang, confirmed the demolition with him, and signed a demolition agreement.
The compensation was very small because the place where they lived had to be returned to the mountains and forests, rather than used for planning and construction.
The next day, Ruan Xi and Ling Yao wandered around the mountains all day, and smiled and greeted acquaintances when they saw them. Now that some people in the mountains have moved away, and with the young people going out to work, there are not many people to see in the village.
Ruan Xi and Ling Yao took pictures of many places where they used to live and play - old houses with smoke coming out of cooking, golden terraces, old buffaloes swaying their tails, hillsides where pigs graze, and old, dilapidated, shaky stilt houses...
Time was limited, so Ruan Xi and Ling Yao only stayed in the mountains for one day, took pictures, and visited the old tailor and Da Mi.
When she left the next day, Ruan Xi asked two people in Jinguan Village to help her carry her things down the mountain.
She took away an old item from the sewing shop - the old tailor's old sewing machine.
As she followed the sewing machine down the mountain path, Ruan Xi looked back from time to time. A picture kept appearing in her mind:
the old tailor was sitting on a chair and being carried by someone, smoking a cigarette leisurely, while she was braiding two big black braids, carrying a schoolbag and following the chair, walking slowly on the mountain path.
If she met someone, they would greet her with a smile: "Little tailor, are you following the old tailor to make clothes?"
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