Chapter 34: Apprenticeship
Liang Hengsheng, unaware of his feelings for Tao Xiaoxi, poured out everything to Li Nanshan under the influence of alcohol. Li Nanshan, having eaten her meat and drunk her wine, felt obligated to be a loyal listener, so he naturally couldn't express the bitterness in his heart.
"I used to believe that appearance reflects the heart, but now I think you can't judge a person by appearance. I never expected Tao Xiaoxi to bring up this matter," Liang Hengsheng continued. "She also said that I shouldn't worry too much about my parents' situation, and that everything will be resolved sooner or later. After all these years, this is the most comforting thing I've heard. Regardless of whether it's true or not, I feel relieved."
Li Nanshan lowered his head and took a sip of wine.
"I've never admired anyone before. Everyone says you're the most capable person in Mantou Village, but I never admired you either. It's just the circumstances that made you who you are. But this time, I really admire Tao Xiaoxi."
Li Nanshan took another sip of wine.
Liang Hengsheng was about to continue speaking when Li Nanshan moved the fire away and took out the sweet potatoes. "It's cooked."
Liang Hengsheng then noticed how small the sweet potato was. For a moment, he looked like a child who had been tricked out of candy, pursing his lips. "It's only this big?"
"It's just this big." Li Nanshan said calmly.
He thought it weighed at least one jin, but it turned out to be about two liang. He lost both his meat and his wine.
"I told you, there is only one sweet potato." Li Nanshan reiterated.
"But you didn't say it was so small." Liang Hengsheng muttered.
"You didn't ask either." Li Nanshan said righteously.
Liang Hengsheng picked up the almost empty wine bottle, packed up the oil paper wrapped around the meat, and walked back with a crooked step.
Li Nanshan had a delicious meal, but after listening to so much talk from Liang Hengsheng, it was a little hard to digest.
After throwing the last bite of sweet potato into his mouth, he patted his butt and went back.
The light in the house at the foot of the mountain was still on, making it particularly eye-catching in the darkness and silence.
Tao Xiaoxi was struggling with a ball of dough. She kneaded some dough, but perhaps because it was mixed with coarse grains, it was difficult to stick together, and the dumplings she made fell apart, revealing the filling.
She was a little bored, but she didn't dare to waste the dough and tofu filling, so she continued to wrap it.
Beibei was already dozing off to the side.
"Beibei, you go to sleep first." Tao Xiaoxi said.
Beibei shrank his head, yawned, and didn't move.
"I still have a meeting, you go to sleep first." Tao Xiaoxi said again.
"Mom, I'm scared." Beibei finally spoke.
"Afraid? What's there to be afraid of?" Tao Xiaoxi is very brave. Even though her family lives alone at the foot of the mountain, she doesn't feel afraid.
"There's a ghost." Beibei glanced out the window and shrank to the side of the peach path.
"Who told you that?"
"father."
"Your father? Sun Wangcai?" Tao Xiaoxi couldn't believe that her father would scare his own daughter.
"Dad said ghosts come out at night, so everything I hear and see is not real."
"Then tell me, what have you heard and seen?"
Beibei glanced out the window again. "Beibei couldn't tell what she heard. It was just crying, and what sounded like laughter. Then a woman with disheveled hair was fighting with Daddy."
"Damn Sun Wangcai!" Tao Xiaoxi threw the dough in his hand onto the chopping board, wishing he could strangle him to death right now.
"Don't be afraid, Beibei. That's not a ghost. There are no ghosts in this world."
"What is that?" Beibei's eyes revealed curiosity.
"Yes..." Tao Xiaoxi was at a loss for words. How could he describe the shameful act done by the two dogs?
It’s hard to describe, indescribable!
"Your father is a ghost. Beibei, stay away from him from now on." Tao Xiaoxi blurted out in desperation.
"Ah?! Daddy is a ghost?" Beibei was even more frightened now and was about to cry.
"No, no, I was just kidding. There are no ghosts in this world. It's just people's evil nature. Beibei, you have to remember, don't be scared by bad people. If you are upright, you have nothing to fear!"
Beibei remembered it, but didn't understand it. She waited until Tao Xiaoxi finished making dumplings before going to bed together.
After coaxing Beibei to sleep, Tao Xiaoxi herself yawned non-stop, wondering if she should give tomorrow's dumplings to Grandma Sun. Thinking of that bastard Sun Wangcai, she really didn't want to. Forget it, just two, no more!
The next day, when people saw the medicinal seedlings planted by Li Nanshan, they all smiled without saying anything. However, from their expressions, it was clear that Li Nanshan had stepped down from the altar in their hearts and became an ordinary person, even an ordinary person with some strange behaviors that were incompatible with them.
Li Nanshan's best friend, Cai Xiaoguang, who grew up with him wearing open-crotch pants, came to persuade Li Nanshan to pull out those and focus on harvesting sorghum, corn, wheat, etc., as there would always be some harvest.
"Xiaoguang, you should know that I'm not acting on a whim. I just want to prove that I, Li Nanshan, am more than just a miner."
"Why bother? You're taking such a difficult path. You're just too strong-willed. You've been like that since you were little. Isn't it better to be like everyone else? At least this path is traversable."
Li Nanshan didn't comment, but just replied, "How long has it been since you had a full meal?"
Cai Xiaoguang choked up and replied after a long while, "I'm not starving to death."
After Cai Xiaoguang left, Li Nanshan looked at the green mountains in the distance and said to himself, "I want to eat enough. I want my whole family to eat enough."
"It's right to want to eat enough, but I'm afraid to not even think about it."
Li Nanshan turned around suddenly and saw Tao Xiaoxi looking at him with a stern expression.
"Did you hear everything?"
"Well, I heard everything I should and shouldn't have heard." Tao Xiaoxi nodded.
"There's nothing I shouldn't hear. I have planted all the seedlings you gave me. You have experience. Tell me how to plant this kind of medicinal seedlings." Li Nanshan said sincerely.
"Well, that's a bit complicated. Are you planning to learn it from me for free?" Tao Xiaoxi said deliberately.
"Of course not. I'll pay your tuition."
"You don't need to pay for tuition. You don't have any money, so it's just a blank check at best. How about this? You can study with me and help me with some manual labor as tuition. It just so happens that there are some things I'm not good at. What do you think?"
Li Nanshan felt a little ashamed when he heard the first half of the sentence, and a little confused when he heard the second half, "What do you need me to do?"
"Like chopping wood, carrying water, and so on."
As a result, Li Nanshan had to go to her house every day.
Li Nanshan hesitated a little, "I'm telling you the truth, please don't be unhappy."
"Tell me, I'm not sad."
"It's okay for me to do these jobs for you. It won't affect me much, but I can't say how it will affect you. Are you sure?" Li Nanshan confessed.
"It doesn't affect me at all. As long as I don't mind, it won't affect me. So let's make a deal. I'll teach you how to grow herbs, and you'll work for me."
Li Nanshan looked at her again and said, "Okay."
Tao Xiaoxi's face remained calm, but she was secretly delighted. "Then let's start today. It just so happens that our water tank at home is out of water."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
