Bird resting platform
The mother picked out a piece of fish, carefully removed the bones, and placed it in Meng Yan's bowl. Before she could rest, she picked out another piece for Lin Yun. This continued until the table was piled high with thorns, while her bowl remained as empty as when it was placed on the table.
Meng Yan dipped the fish in his mouth and put it in. It was just as fresh and fragrant as the fish, but it was a different experience from the one Yue Lang offered. There was a hint of bitterness that was not easily detected. It melted in his mouth and spread from his tongue to his body and mind.
Why did I expect him to come?
After only a moment of confusion, Meng Yan understood himself. His mother and Yue Lang were the only two people in the world who had ever criticized him; how could he not think of them when eating fish?
Her eyes were warmed by the soup, bright and exceptionally gentle.
She ladled a bowl of fish soup for her mother and then carefully picked out the bones. Although it was tedious, her mother's bowl was finally not so empty.
Lin Yun kept her head down and ate her meal, completely unaware of the subtle change in the atmosphere at the table. When she picked up her chopsticks to put some food into the dish, Lin Yu stopped her and glanced at Meng Yan and her mother's bowls. She immediately understood and gave the meat her mother had put in her bowl to her father, then timidly picked up some vegetables from the soup to eat.
Meng Yan raised an eyelid, ignoring it, and while serving the soup, he moved the fish closer to Lin Yu, then tossed it over with the spoon.
Sure enough, although this person had hands, they were crippled. Even when the food was handed to him, he didn't move an inch. He put on airs, but it was hard to tell who he was trying to impress. He was not as good as Da Bai and Er Bai in the valley, at least they could catch fish to eat by themselves.
After the meal, the illusion of harmony crumbled amidst the remaining chaos, revealing the darkness that had been lurking in the candlelight.
"Xiao Jian, you've been married for a year or two now. If you're too physically able to have children, why not give the opportunity to your younger sister?" Lin Yu grabbed Lin Yun's hand, trying to pull her into Meng Yan's grasp, but the latter deftly dodged and took a mischievous step back in her chair.
“What I’m saying is really unpleasant, but what woman in the world would willingly share her husband’s affections with another woman? Don’t you think so?” He shook off Lin Yun’s hand and turned to Meng Yan, continuing, “But Yun’er isn’t an outsider; she’s your own sister. The two sisters should share one husband, so you shouldn’t let her have this opportunity…”
The bowl in front of Meng Yan rolled over and fell off the table, shattering into pieces.
"On this day of family reunion, why talk about so much else? I think it's good to catch up. If you're tired, go back inside and rest. The three of us will sit for a while longer." The mother checked Meng Yan's hands, making sure there were no scratches or cuts, before reluctantly letting go.
"It's one thing for her to be tactless, but why are you joining in this nonsense? I'm doing this for her and Yun'er's own good."
Lin Yu suddenly shouted and slammed his hand on the round table, making a loud clattering sound.
“Xiao Jian, you are young and ignorant. Your father is showing you the right path.”
He glanced at Meng Yan's attire today, coughed, and asked indirectly if she had been neglected and wanted to move back home for a couple of days. Before Meng Yan could get angry, her mother retorted, "Jian'er's clothes are all dirty from catching fish. If she hadn't waded through the mud, would we have been able to have fish soup tonight?"
Lin Yu was well aware of the principle that one is obligated to another for their food, but his elder status gave him an edge in thinking. He was speechless for a moment before putting on his clever act again.
Meng Yan immediately stood up from the table, without bowing or saying goodbye, and went straight to the door.
"Jian'er, let me see you off."
The mother's voice was choked with sobs, leaving a scar in the late autumn wind, slowing Meng Yan's steps and stopping her outside the mahogany door.
“Jian’er, don’t think about what your father said. Once you’re out there, just focus on yourself. Everything about the Lin family has nothing to do with you. You don’t need to worry about them too much, and you don’t need to worry about me too much either.”
The mother's speech gradually slowed down, extinguishing Meng Yan's flickering flames. Moonlight fell on their shoulders, illuminating the door studs behind them.
"I only care about Mother." Meng Yan smiled faintly, her eyes crinkling.
Two shadows overlapped as the mother and daughter embraced tightly during their precious time together, neither willing to let go.
“Jian’er has grown up and grown taller. I used to be able to hold you up in my arms.”
The next instant, the shadow in the middle of the road suddenly grew taller. It was Meng Yan lifting his mother up, just like she had done to him when he was a child, holding her high and letting her pluck the stars and the moon from her arms.
Light and thin, as if she might break at any moment, she held her breath as she put her mother down, and only dared to let go after seeing that she was steady.
“Jian’er”.
Meng Yan had already stepped into the shade of the trees. It was pitch black all around, and the moon was barely visible. Upon hearing this, he stopped and turned back around.
"Bon Voyage."
Yes, Mother, the wind will be favorable.
Even if things don't go smoothly, even if I go against the wind, I will still go to the places I want to go.
.
The old wooden door creaked and returned to peace. A west wind blew, and the door cracked open. A thin figure emerged from the crack, and a moment later, pushed the door open again and squeezed inside.
The shadows of the tree branches are quietly reflected on the wall, stirred by the wind and obscured by passing clouds, leaving nothing else in sight.
"Lost them again?"
Lin Yu's gaze was fixed on Lin Yun's face, like a curved knife, groping her flesh without any rhyme or reason, making her shed tears that blushed red in the vast night.
"They're all my daughters, how can you not even handle such a small thing!"
Lin Yun dared not look up, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, trembling uncontrollably as her father spoke.
"Last time she went into a teahouse, but this time, she was lost the moment she stepped out the door. Is she some kind of frail woman who can fly into the sky?"
Meng Shuang heard the argument between the Lin father and daughter. She was slightly taken aback, brushed aside her stray hairs, and continued washing the pots and pans in her hands.
.
"Basically qualified, but there's still room for improvement." Meng Yan waved goodbye to his senior brother and beckoned for the next person to come forward.
Before Senior Brother Hao even sat down, he greeted her with a smile and said, "Junior Sister Yan, let's not be so strict with those of us who are blind in one eye. We can just fly around as we please, okay?"
Meng Yan gestured for him to sit down, then shook his head. "It's okay to go slowly, but not haphazardly. What if there are more mechanical kites in the future, and they all collide with each other if we do it this way?"
Senior Brother Hao looked troubled, stammered for a long time before finally letting out a wail, and reluctantly sat down in the driver's seat next to her. The mechanical kite, which had just landed, flew into the air again.
There was no need to force everyone to know how to fly this mechanical kite, but considering the delivery range and volume in the future, Meng Yan felt that learning more skills wouldn't be a bad thing, and could be considered as facilitating transportation.
Therefore, he set an example by starting with his own group to popularize the technology, requiring everyone in the organization to be able to fly. As for others in the valley, they could come to test fly according to their personal preferences, receive guidance, and were not forced or pressured.
Meng Yan, the founder of the Flying Bird Clan, accompanied them throughout the entire process, staying at the Mechanical Kite Guest House after breakfast and watching his fellow disciples take turns leading them around in flight. There were indeed people with exceptional talent in this area, but the kitchen and medical groups next door, as well as the mechanical group, who were the creators of the Mechanical Kite, encountered numerous and disastrous situations. Some couldn't ascend high enough, some couldn't accelerate enough, and some couldn't even take the first step to take off.
This is a real challenge for Meng Yan!
"If I had known that the Creator needed to know how to use things, I would have gone to chop vegetables on the cutting board!" the senior sister said with heartache.
Meng Yan couldn't bear to see her sad, so he quickly comforted her: "It's okay, senior sister. Anyone you randomly pick from the kitchen team next door can fly better than one of our own."
That's a very effective comfort.
.
Despite the numerous mishaps it encountered on the mechanical kite, the group's affection for it remained undiminished. They would often send someone to watch over it, and once it landed after a test flight, they would rush to wipe away the dirt and stray leaves it had picked up. Their diligent and conscientious work deeply moved Meng Yan, who silently increased the intensity of the training.
The senior students who learned about the current situation were speechless.
With tears in their eyes, they accepted Junior Sister Yan's generous gift. Despite their hardships, they persevered and, while she was instructing others, quietly prepared return gifts.
"Are you my senior brother? Why are you practicing bird training so enthusiastically today?" Meng Yan was surprised by his senior brother's unusual behavior. He poked his arm hard and only felt relieved when he saw the other man grimacing. "Take off."
After one round, although there was no improvement compared to last time, Meng Yan nodded and let him go because of his commendable courage. However, his senior brother did not fly back according to the agreed route. Instead, he turned around when passing through the woods and went around to the back mountain.
Meng Yan: "Is the part broken and not working properly?"
Senior brother: "No, not at all."
Meng Yan: "Was it due to fatigue, distraction, or wrong turn?"
Senior brother: "That's not it either."
Meng Yan: "Was it intentional?"
Senior: "Wow, how did you guess that?"
Meng Yan: "..."
Without looking into it, the senior brother slowed down and slowly approached the ground. It was only then that Meng Yan realized the change on the ground.
This place was originally scattered with weeds and rocks, but at some point someone cleared it away, leveled the soil, and built walls, making it look like a half-finished building, with the other half seemingly unfinished and never repaired.
As Meng Yan got closer, he saw familiar faces inside the building. Everyone from the organization was standing below, waving to them.
The mechanical kite landed smoothly on the stone surface, perfectly within the light-colored frame. The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief and crowded around, their faces beaming with joy. Only Meng Yan was completely bewildered.
"Junior Sister Yan, do you like our bird-resting platform?"
"Take your 'Bird Resting Platform' and get out of here. Do you understand? It's a nice name that was specially chosen by the junior sister next door."
"Isn't this the same principle? They're both three characters, exactly the same!"
Amidst the minor squabbles, Meng Yan finally understood that this place was a perfect spot for storing mechanical kites, built by her senior brothers and sisters who had secretly worked day and night to find it.
Before this, the second mechanical kite couldn't be successfully folded due to parts size issues and had been placed on her rooftop, not significantly affecting Meng Yan's life. She just hadn't expected her usually carefree senior brothers and sisters to be so meticulous, handling everything from site selection and implementation to procuring and transporting raw materials—truly...
"I knew I was lucky!"
"Wow, Senior Sister! You picked a spot with your eyes closed, guessed its size, and used locally sourced stones. You still managed to piece together such a perfect place. Bird Stop Platform is so fortunate to have you!"
It really made me hold back my tears.
"Why is it my senior brother who's doing the test flight? Why aren't the others coming?" Meng Yan was more curious about the reason for assigning this task, since none of them seemed like the type to be proactive in this regard.
Amidst laughter and chatter, the senior brother scratched his head sheepishly and spread his hands, saying, "Let's decide this with a game of rock-paper-scissors. The person who loses the most will come to pick you up on a bird."
Meng Yan looked at his right hand, which was curled up in a ball and had no fingers, and touched it with his hand, saying, "Senior brother, you are really kind. You are still coaxing them to play even though you are sure to lose."
"I wasn't necessarily going to lose, it just so happened that I was eating when they came. I was chewing and holding the scissors in my left hand, so I could only use my right hand to fight. They, on the other hand, didn't even use a single scissor. In the time it took to eat, I became the last place."
What a coincidence!
"Haha, yes!"
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