Chapter 25 Return to the Village
Xie Shuangbai watched the mule cart speed away, turned around and asked, "Uncle, are you done?"
Village Chief Wang dusted himself off and said, "I'm on my way there now. I wonder if I'll run into you. I might as well change your household registration."
Xie Shuangbai patted his chest and said, "Uncle, I have the letter of severance."
The documents are in the space, he can just take them out quietly later.
He didn't want to make another trip, which would be too much trouble.
"Okay, then we'll do it today." He seemed to have thought of something and pointed to an old man next to him who was about his age. "This is the village chief of Dashi Village next door. You can just call him Uncle Li."
Xie Shuangbai stepped forward and bowed, "Hello, Uncle Li."
Village Chief Li was a bit fatter than Village Chief Wang, with wheat-colored skin and big eyes. He looked at him with a kind smile: "Dadi, this must be Mr. Xie's son. He's really handsome, no less handsome than Mr. Xie!"
Xie Shuangbai thought: So the village chief Wang’s name is Dadi, what a simple name.
Wang Dadi looked up at the sky anxiously: "Of course not, let's talk about it in the car and quickly go to the government office to get things done."
The donkey cart quickly brought the people to the yamen gate.
While they turned around and got out of the car, Xie Shuangbai covered himself with his clothes and took out the documents from the space.
Village chief Li was obviously very familiar with the people in the yamen. He and Wang Dadi finished the job quickly. Xie Shuangbai also benefited from him. The household registration and house deeds were changed very quickly. A copy of the severance letter was also given to the yamen as a record.
Village chief Li knew that he and Huang had severed their relationship. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he didn't.
Several people came out of the government office. Wang Dadi looked much more relaxed. Xie Shuangbai's stomach growled twice, and he held his stomach:
"Uncle, I'm hungry. Let's have a bowl of noodles before we go."
Xie Shuangbai hadn't eaten in the morning and was extremely hungry. He had a serious stomach problem. Although the spiritual spring water had improved him a lot, his stomach still felt uncomfortable when he was hungry.
Village Chief Li also smiled and touched his stomach: "Yes, I'm hungry too. Dadi, we're not in a hurry after we finish our business. Let's eat first and then go back."
Wang Dadi thought that it would take two hours to go back, so he nodded in agreement.
Village Chief Li took them to a small noodle stall on the street.
The old couple at the noodle stall obviously knew Village Chief Li. They greeted him with a smile, "Come on, it's been a while since I last saw you. What would you like to eat today?"
Village Chief Li smiled and said, "It's the same as before. Take a look at what you can eat. His noodles are very good."
Wang Dadi glanced at the people eating around him and said, "Give me a bowl of plain noodles. How about you, Shuang'er?"
"Boss, I want two more bowls of vegetarian noodles."
Soon all three bowls of vegetarian noodles were served.
He couldn't help but take a sip of the fragrant soup.
It’s very fresh, not broth, but a very fresh mushroom soup.
The noodles were hand-rolled, smooth and chewy. After taking a bite, Xie Shuangbai felt much better in his stomach.
He ate noodles and soup one mouthful at a time, and because he had a bad stomach, he didn't eat quickly.
He was enjoying the food to his heart's content, not noticing that several women and young women were watching him.
Wang Dadi looked around and sighed, "Shuang, eat quickly. Let's go back quickly."
Xie Shuangbai was completely unaware and looked up blankly, only to see Village Chief Li looking at him with a smile.
He looked around and felt a little embarrassed.
He quickly drank a few mouthfuls of soup and went to pay the bill.
The old lady at the noodle shop looked at the handsome young man and said with a smile, "I've already paid."
"Uncle, why did you give me the money? I said I would treat you!"
Wang Dadi wiped his mouth and said, "Your uncle Li invited us here. He can afford the few cents."
"You know that's not what I meant." Xie Shuangbai turned to Village Chief Li and said, "Thank you, Uncle Li. I should have treated you. I'm sorry for the expense."
Village Chief Li patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much. I can afford it for a few cents. You can treat me another day!"
Xie Shuangbai nodded. Seeing that it was already noon, the few of them stopped being polite and got on the donkey cart to head back.
Dashi Village is closer to the town than Xiaoshi Village, and it only takes half an hour to get there, which makes Xie Shuangbai very envious.
Isn’t this distance the one-hour living circle advocated by modern people?
Wang Dadi dropped Village Chief Li off at the entrance of Dashi Village, and the two of them drove back to Xiaoshi Village.
Xie Shuangbai couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, why is our Xiaoshi Village so far away from the town, and Dashi Village so close?"
Wang Dadi explained: "Actually, many years ago, we were all from Dashi Village. Then, for some unknown reason, a mountain collapsed. It's the mountain behind your house, blocking the road. So now we have to go around this mountain to get to town."
Xie Shuangbai was thinking about what the village chief said: the mountain collapsed. Can the mountain really collapse?
He couldn't figure it out, so he might as well think about what to do.
"Uncle, I want to ask if the stone mill is expensive?"
He wants to grind tofu, but he can't do it without a stone mill.
Wang Dadi was curious: "Why buy that? There's a mill in the village. It's in the shed next to my house. Can't you see it?"
Xie Shuangbai knew that the mill was very large and heavy, and he couldn't push it at all.
And even if it can be pushed forward, it would be a waste of time to grind it and then pull it back every day.
"I know. I was wondering how much a smaller one would cost. I'd like to have a mill at home."
Wang Dadi thought for a moment:
"A small one costs nearly two taels of silver. Stone mills are not cheap, but if you have the money, it will last a long time."
"Where can I buy it?"
"Do you really want to buy it?"
"Well, as long as it's a little smaller than ours."
"Let me ask."
It was already dark before we reached the village, so we walked very slowly for the second half of the journey, fearing that something might happen.
Xie Shuangbai really wanted to cry. Forget about the street lights, only the moonlight would accompany them. If the moon was lazy, they would have to grope in the dark.
It's not that he's afraid of the dark, he just feels unsafe.
After getting used to the brightly lit modern nights, it’s a bit hard to adapt to the boundless darkness of a remote mountain village thousands of years ago.
"We've reached the village entrance."
It can be heard that Wang Dadi also breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, they saw the Wang brothers looking around with torches.
"Shun Yi, Shun Fa?"
The two men stepped forward and looked at the intact Wang Dadi, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Dad, you're back. Mom asked us to pick you up."
Turning around, he saw Xie Shuangbai sitting next to him: "Shuang'er is here too?"
"Brother Wang."
Xie Shuangbai greeted him with a smile.
The two men jumped onto the donkey cart and sent Xie Shuangbai home first.
The donkey cart just arrived at the door of the Xie family's old house.
There was a shout from inside the door.
"Brother, are you back?"
The door opened, and Xie Shuangbai was very satisfied with her sisters' vigilance. It seemed that regular science education was very useful.
"Okay, go in now, we're going back too."
"Uncle, Brother Wang, please slow down. I'll come find you tomorrow."
"Okay, come inside."
Seeing the donkey cart go away, Xie Shuangbai closed the door.
There was a kerosene lamp lit in the main room, with a dim candlelight.
He sat in the chair and didn't want to move.
"Brother, have you eaten yet?"
"I've already eaten. You guys should get some rest. We'll prepare the food tomorrow."
The three of them looked at Xie Shuangbai:
"Okay, let's go to bed then."
Xie Shuangbai stood up, blew out the kerosene lamp, and returned to the house in the moonlight.
He lay lazily on the bed and turned over: Life was really not easy in ancient times.
There are more than 3 taels left today. If I deduct the money spent on the stone mill, there will be 1 tael left. Thinking of the 10 taels of silver in my hand when I went out, I sighed towards the beam: Money is really hard to spend!
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