Chapter 85: Countryside
The farm dishes cooked on the earthen stove had a unique flavor, especially the crispy rice specially made by Granny Yan, which was fragrant and crunchy. Wrapped with homemade fermented tofu brewed from grain liquor, it was spicy, salty, and absolutely delicious!
After a lively lunch, Maternal Uncle Yan, not forgetting the serious matter, asked again about the reason.
After the whole family heard Luo Shuangshuang’s account from beginning to end, Granny Yan gripped her hand tightly in lingering fear, her eyes reddening, and didn’t dare let go for a long time.
In her heart, she felt both gratitude and an indescribable relief toward Su Ning, who had saved her.
Just thinking about how everyone around was led away by the human traffickers, believing that was the truth, and some even stepped forward to dissuade and help the human traffickers, how terrified and despairing must Luo Shuangshuang have been in that situation?
They had come so close—the only girl in the Yan and Luo families had nearly been dragged away and trafficked right on the street!
“Xiao Ning, old woman thanks you. You’re such a good child, a good baby. If not for you… my You You would be gone!”
“Granny, don’t cry. I’m fine, aren’t I?”
Seeing the old man sobbing uncontrollably, Luo Shuangshuang felt heartbroken and broke free from her hand, instead hugging her waist tightly, gently rocking her back and forth like she was coquettishly acting spoiled.
“Xiao Ning, thank you for saving You You. This is truly a life-saving kindness.”
Yan Xi’s eyes also reddened. His face showed both hatred for the human traffickers who dared to boldly abduct someone in broad daylight and immense gratitude toward Su Ning, the only one who stood up, noticed something wrong, and immediately stopped them.
If it weren’t for her, he didn’t know what would have happened to his sister—just thinking about his old mother…
Rubbing his hands hard, Yan Xi stood up to go out, conveniently grabbing his two sons who were gnashing their teeth and cursing the human traffickers.
They had arrived suddenly at noon, so they definitely had to prepare a sumptuous dinner in the evening!
“This…”
“Maternal Uncle, where are you going?”
“You two don’t worry about it.”
Wiping her eyes, Granny Yan smiled and shook her head. How could she not know the thoughts of her son, whom she had raised single-handedly?
Exchanging a glance with her daughter-in-law, Qian Hongmei immediately understood and stood up. “You You, Xiao Ning, you two rest and then feel free to go out later. I’ll go to work first.”
As she spoke, she had already walked out of the room, grabbed a sack from inside the house, and went out the door.
Luo Shuangshuang and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, not understanding why this couple suddenly skipped their afternoon nap and went out in the blazing sun.
“Granny, it’s not time to go to work yet. Aunt, she?”
“Probably the morning’s work isn’t finished, so she’s rushing to complete it to get off early in the afternoon.”
Is that so?
Luo Shuangshuang, who knew nothing about farm work, nodded dazedly. “Then I’ll go help Aunt later!”
“You, don’t go and make trouble instead. If you still have energy, take Xiao Ning to the riverside to play. There are lots of small crabs in the river now—you like them the most, right? When you catch some, Granny will fry them for you.”
“Alright.”
Thinking of the result from that time she tried to help, Luo Shuangshuang smiled embarrassedly and decisively accepted her granny’s suggestion.
Besides, crispy fried small crabs…
“How about Ning Bao Gai?”
Seeing her eyes full of eager anticipation and her face like a little greedy cat, what could Su Ning do? She could only spoil her own friend. “Okay.”
……
Yan Xi, who had just stepped out the door and was preparing to take the two rascals up the mountain, stopped at the familiar call from behind and turned around.
“Hongmei, what is this?”
Looking down at the sack in her hand and thinking of the nearly empty rice jar at home, he immediately understood she was preparing to go back to her parental home to borrow some grain again.
The family didn’t have enough laborers, and the two boys were at the age where they ate a lot.
Although his sister occasionally subsidized them, that was her filial piety as a daughter to her old mother—how could they touch it?
Luckily, her parental family had many people, all laborers, honest and kindhearted… Thinking of his father-in-law and mother-in-law’s occasional help, Yan Xi’s expression turned somewhat ugly.
Besides going to work in the fields, he had thought of other ways, but…
“Xi-ge, don’t overthink it. Autumn harvest is coming soon. Once the new grain comes in, we’ll pay it back to Father and Mother and them.”
“Hongmei…”
“The children are still watching!”
After more than ten years together, how could they not know what he wanted to say? But as a man, he might not understand a woman’s thoughts.
Her mother-in-law treated her like her own daughter, her sister-in-law never caused trouble like in other families but only showed closeness and respect, her husband was willing to work and considerate, and the two sons were sensible and filial.
Marrying him and coming to such a Yan family, no matter how hard or tiring, she was willing, wholeheartedly.
“This afternoon, ask the team leader for leave on my behalf. I’ll go quick and come back before dinner.”
“Okay, got it. Tell Father and Mother hello, say we’ll visit them after autumn harvest is done.”
Seeing his daughter-in-law’s figure walking far away, Yan Xi rubbed his face, glanced at his son behind him making sneaky little moves, immediately dropped his momentary vulnerability, and instantly reverted to a father’s sternness. “What are you fooling around for? Let’s go, up the mountain with me!”
“Yay, finally going up the mountain to catch rabbits again~”
“You little rabbit bastard, you want to yell so the whole brigade knows? Shut up!”
“Oh.”
Yan Wu was two years younger than Yan Wen, but he had grown taller faster than his peers and was almost catching up to his brother.
Hearing his father’s gruff words, he shrugged, obedient on the surface but not really scared inside. When his father turned away, he still signaled his brother with his eyes.
Helpless against the fussing, Yan Wen had no choice but to pull out his share of milk candy from his pocket and give him two more pieces, finally completely placating him.
The father and sons skillfully found the previously hidden bow and arrow in the abandoned thatched hut at the foot of the mountain, slung them on their backs, and quickly entered the mountain.
……
The three left at home chatted for a bit. Seeing the old man low in spirits, Luo Shuangshuang persuaded her to go to bed for an afternoon nap, assuring her they wouldn’t be bored.
Having gotten up too early in the morning and labored all morning, Granny Yan indeed felt tired. After instructing the two a few words, she returned to her room.
Luo Shuangshuang, now full of energy, grabbed a small bamboo basket, pulled her along, and went out the door.
The back mountain, now in shade, plus the trickling small stream, brought a rare coolness.
Washing her face with the clear stream water, her previously sunburned red skin instantly felt refreshed, as if all her pores had opened.
“Ning Bao Gai, look at that!”
Shaking off the water droplets from her hands, Su Ning looked in the direction of her fingers.
Not far away, hidden behind two hilltops, there was a mountain peak piercing the clouds, with white mist shrouding its mountainside.
“That’s the Treasure Mountain I told you about.”
Luo Shuangshuang squinted with a smile and lifted her chin at her. “Want to go treasure hunting?”
“Can your little feet still climb the mountain?”
“Uh… I can make it to the foot of the mountain!”
She’d heard there were no tigers or such fierce beasts in these deep mountains here, but there were definitely plenty of wolves, wild boars, big pythons, and such.
Just the two of them—if they couldn’t fight, they couldn’t outrun either. Were they delivering themselves as toothpicks?
If it were just her, in a dangerous situation, she could flash into the space in time to save her life…
“Stop fooling around. If we go up the mountain, that wouldn’t be called treasure hunting.”
“Hm? If it’s not treasure hunting, then what is it?”
Luo Shuangshuang’s eyes darted as she suddenly understood her meaning, swallowing the blunt truth with a mix of laughter and tears: not treasure hunting, but courting death.
Her mind suddenly flashed to a few years ago when she was starving and came down the mountain—that wild boar’s long tusks made her shudder.
“Then tonight, ask Maternal Uncle when he can take us up the mountain. Don’t you want fresh wild ginseng?”
Her maternal uncle was the captain of the winter hunting team, and his bow and arrow skills, said to be accurate from a hundred paces, were inherited from her maternal grandfather.
With him there, just wandering around the foot of Treasure Mountain without entering the deep woods, it should be fine… right?
“No rush for now, I don’t need it right now.”
“Rest assured, my maternal uncle’s hunting skills are top-notch—it’s a family heirloom!”
“Okay, okay, okay. Then we’ll ask your uncle’s opinion later. If he agrees, we’ll go wander at the foot of the mountain. If not, no big deal.”
Su Ning, who had already made up her mind inside, didn’t say more and nodded in agreement along with her words.
Now completely cooled down, the two began flipping over stones one by one along the small stream to catch crabs.
This stretch had probably been turned over several times daily by the children, and after searching for a long time, they didn’t see a single small crab.
Only when they reached a small mountain hollow where there were no traces of flipping on either side of the stream did they finally catch the crabs Luo Shuangshuang had been craving.
Amid the mountain woods and stream, came bursts of silvery bell-like laughter, accompanied by occasional exclamations.
A person who had just gathered a back basket full of firewood and was preparing to take a shortcut home paused, hesitated for a moment, but still followed his heart to the streamside.
Sure enough, he saw that extremely familiar figure, and a silly smile instantly spread across his face.
“Shuang Shuang!”
“Da Chengzi?”
