Lan Yamei quickly put on her shoes and left the room. She bumped into the old woman who was entering the room, and the two smiled at each other.
The old woman stepped back and stepped out of the doorway, saying with a peaceful expression, "Young lady, you slept so soundly last night! After I heated up the food, I couldn't wake you up no matter what I did. You hadn't even taken off your shoes; Ya Ya had to help you take them off." As she spoke, she pointed to the little girl with pigtails.
The usually cautious Bluetooth girl had never slept so soundly before. A little embarrassed, she chuckled and said, "I've had a lot going on lately and haven't had a good night's sleep in days. I was so tired last night that I was just about to lie down for a bit, but I ended up sleeping until now. I'm so sorry to have troubled you and made you work so hard for nothing."
"Two bundles of firewood, no trouble at all. Are you hungry now? Go wash your face and come eat!" With that, he turned and went to heat up the food.
"Okay, Auntie." Lan Yamei didn't stand on ceremony. She was indeed hungry and was thinking that she would leave some money for the old lady when she left to express her gratitude.
This is sandy soil, and even after such a heavy rain last night, the ground was completely dry. Scattered withered yellow weeds covered the less-traveled areas, giving the whole courtyard a slightly desolate feel.
Led by the boy, Lan Yamei came to the yard. There was a bucket of cool well water next to the well, which looked like it had just been drawn.
Touching the water, she found it wasn't cold at all. She scooped up a couple of handfuls of water from the bucket to wash her face. Seeing an opportunity, the boy handed her a towel. Lan Ya Mei said somewhat shyly, "Thank you, little brother. How old are you?"
"Ten years old," the boy said shyly, his skin dry, as he took the towel and hung it on the line in the yard.
Upon entering the main room, the old woman had already laid out breakfast: a bowl of corn porridge, half a bowl of pickled vegetables, and two steamed buns. Everything looked delicious when I was hungry, so I didn't stand on ceremony and quickly finished the food on the table. After eating, I wiped my mouth and didn't forget to say thank you.
After a good rest, Lan Yamei didn't set off immediately. Since last night, she had noticed something: there weren't many young people in the village. So she asked, "Auntie, are there only the three of you at home? Last night, I saw that it was just the grandfather and grandson at Uncle's place. Where have all the young people in your village gone?"
"As you can see, our land here is sandy near the mountains, so crops don't grow well. Many young people have gone to work in the Shura Mountains." The old woman's face was full of worry as she mentioned this.
"Oh, I see. I'm going to Mount Shura anyway. Do you have any messages you'd like to send to your families? I can help." Lan Yamei thought that giving back in any way would be a small favor.
"Oh, thank you, young lady. I'm afraid I can't find my son!" Upon hearing this, not only the old woman but also the two children looked deeply saddened.
"Auntie, I'm sorry, but would it be convenient for you to tell me what happened at home? Perhaps I can help you." Lan Yamei was moved with compassion.
The old woman rubbed her two calloused hands together, a fleeting glint of expectation in her eyes, but she still recounted the whole story.
Originally, Mount Shura was an unnamed wild mountain rich in medicinal herbs and teeming with wild animals, rarely visited except by hunters and herb gatherers. Later, a Taoist priest came from who knows where and cleared the land to live in seclusion, building a Taoist temple on the mountain and living a life cut off from the world.
Normally, this wouldn't be surprising, but after the Taoist priest arrived, hunters and herb gatherers began disappearing one after another without explanation, their fates unknown. These hunters and herb gatherers were very familiar with this mountain and had entered it countless times before, without any previous disappearances.
Following that, the once fertile land in the village began to turn into desert, unable to retain water and lacking fertility. Young people who could not harvest food all year round had to go out to work, leaving the elderly and children to guard the houses.
Over the past two years, the number of people in the village has decreased, while the number of people in the mountains has increased.
The howls of wild beasts could no longer be heard in the deep mountains. As more people walked into the mountains, the path became a wide road, and throngs of believers came and went. The worship of the mountain evolved from the initial worship of villagers to the worship of high-ranking officials and nobles, and Mount Shura became more and more divine.
In just three to five years, the Taoist temple has grown from a small temple into a large-scale Taoist holy site shrouded in mist.
Most of the young people in this village find work at that Taoist temple. My son went there too, but unfortunately he died two years ago.
The Taoist temple said that the woman was killed by a tiger while taking out the trash in the back mountain, and her remains were never found, only a few pieces of tattered clothing. They gave us ten taels of silver as a subsidy, and a few catties of rice every month. We also farm some land, and our family can barely make ends meet. The old woman spoke very calmly, as if she were telling someone else's story.
"Such a thing actually happened? Did you report it to the authorities?" Lan Yamei asked as if she were listening to a fairy tale. She secretly thought to herself that this Taoist priest was probably not a good person. Not only had he been committing evil deeds in one area, but now he had even extended his reach to Lin'an City; it must be related to the counterfeit silver case in Huludao.
"Why bother reporting to the authorities! What's a life worth these days? Shura Mountain promised to give the two children a job when they grow up, so I guess that's how it is." The old woman resigned herself to her fate, pursed her lips, and said, "Sigh, life is all suffering. Sigh, that's how it is."
"Sigh!" Bluetooth Girl felt sorry for the old woman, seeing her resigned expression, but there was nothing she could do. She could only sigh heavily and ask, "Is it the same for your family, Uncle?"
“My brother’s family is in a similar situation to ours. The year his son had the accident, his grandson couldn’t swallow his anger. He was young and hot-blooded, so he took a machete and went to the Taoist temple to demand an explanation. As a result, he was bitten on the leg by a tiger. It was the Taoist temple that provided emergency treatment, stopped the bleeding, and sent him back.” The old woman’s eyes showed gratitude as she spoke of this incident.
"No matter what, there are always dangers when you go out to work. I don't know who told the child to gossip, but he recklessly ventured into Mount Shura and got bitten on the leg by a tiger. It's all fate! Now, our two families look after each other and help each other out. Things will be better when these little ones grow up." As she said this, the old woman touched her grandchildren with her rough hands.
So that's how it is! Lan Yamei had her own opinion on this matter, but she didn't say it aloud. She just took out a dozen or so taels of silver from her pocket, stuffed it into the old woman's hand, and said, "Auntie, you and Uncle have had a hard life. Take this money and use it to help your family with some food and drink."
The old woman felt as if she had been burned by the silver, and quickly pushed it back, repeatedly declining, "No, no, it's just simple food, no need to be so polite."
“Auntie, take this! To be honest, my family has some savings. I’m not going to Mount Shura to worship that Taoist priest. After I finish my business, I’ll stay at your house for the night. I’ll bring back two tiger skins for you to use as bedding!” Lan Yamei said, stuffing the silver into the old woman’s hand, and stood up to leave.
The old woman's hand trembled slightly as she held the silver, tears welling in her eyes, which she held back. She quickly pulled the two children to kowtow to her.
"Stop, stop!" Lan Yamei stopped the two children, patted their heads, and said, "Remember what your sister said, a man's knees are worth gold, he only kneels to heaven, earth, and his parents! He can't kneel to anyone else! Take good care of your grandmother, and when your sister is done with her work, she'll bring you something delicious."
After saying that, he strode out of the courtyard, took the horse, mounted it, and galloped away.
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