CH 82
Ye Wei said a five-minute break and five-minute break they got. She got to her feet, “Let’s go.”
The porters were nimble. With Ye Wei’s words, they put their things away and carried the suitcases again.
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu, who had never done heavy work before, traded glances and could notice the bitterness in each other’s eyes. However, they had no other choice but to carry their suitcases on their own. Ye Ying tailed behind them, she truly wanted to help, but she had no way to help. She could only anxiously fret over them.
However, not long after, she lost her strength to worry about others, because she herself could no longer keep pace with them. She had selected comfortable sneakers for this occasion, but the discomfort on the soles of her feet and legs couldn’t be alleviated.
Another short break later, Ye Ying sat on the trunk and touched her heel. She noticed there was a blister on it! No wonder every step she took hurt her feet.
She wanted to say, her feet hurt. She wanted to act like a baby to her brother like usual, but, when she looked at Ye Tao and Zhang Yu who was drenched in sweat, she swallowed back the complaint. She glanced at Ye Wei who had been leading the way, she seemed not as arrogant and domineering as she was at home. Pulp of sweat trailed from her forehead to her cheek, which was dyed pink by the sun. Her clothes were rumpled by the straps of her backpack. She, just like them, was in a sorry state.
Ye Wei sat on the ground with her backpack on one side. One hand rested on her lap and the other held a biscuit.
Ye Ying didn’t even bring a bottle of water, let alone snacks. She never considered bringing these things, because she assumed they could be bought later when they arrived. However, it slipped her mind that Chen Weiguo didn’t live in the town.
She was not only thirsty but also hungry.
She never regarded biscuits as a delicacy before. For her, biscuits were dry as dust, and she never liked eating them. Yet, now, when she looked at the biscuits on Ye Wei’s lap, they appeared delicious, and she really wanted to eat them
Ye Ying shook her head and told herself not to think about it. She was just too tired and hungry.
And it was not only her that was hungry, Ye Tao and Zhang Yu were also starving to death. They had eaten breakfast and lunch, but they consumed a lot of energy along the way, and naturally, they got hungry.
Sadly, they thought the journey would take at most an hour, and it wouldn’t take much time, so they didn’t buy anything to take with them on the way. They could only watch Ye Wei with eager eyes, but they had no face to ask for it.
Ye Wei was self-sufficient. She ate alone and didn’t offer any polite words asking the others whether they wanted to eat or not.
Ye Ying, of course, wouldn’t take the initiative to ask Ye Wei for food. Even Ye Tao couldn’t let go of his face to ask Ye Wei, let alone Zhang Yu.
And, Tong Ke enjoyed the benefit of being Ye Wei’s good friend. Ye Wei drank water, and Tong Ke also drank. Ye Wei ate biscuits, and she also ate. In turn, as a good friend, she also shared the burden of Ye Wei’s sling bag which appeared small but was actually remarkably heavy. Tong Ke exerted all her energy to carry it, stumbling on her feet and almost thrashing her small body.
Jiang Fei, who had a thick face, licked his lips and asked Ye Wei for biscuits. Ye Wei gave him a glance, “My food is not free.”
Jiang Fei wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans, with a reversed baseball cap on his head. His skin wasn’t as white as that of Zhang Yu, but a healthy wheat color. When he smiled, he became a dashing and bright handsome youth.
Ye Wei tossed the heavy travel backpack into Jiang Fei’s arms. Jiang Fei subconsciously extended his arms, and almost dropped it when he caught it. He saw Ye Wei carry the bag with ease, so he didn’t expect the bag to be so heavy.
“Rest assured, I understand,” Jiang Fei swung the backpack to his back, “I’m not the kind of person who only takes and gives nothing in return.”[1]
He eventually obtained two biscuits from Ye Wei on the promise that he would help her carry her backpack. He got only two biscuits and it was not enough to stuff down his hunger, still, it was better than nothing.
Calculating the time, they had been walking for approximately an hour. Didn’t Ye Wei say the road would be more than one hour but less than two hours? Anyway, that meant they were already halfway, they should be there soon, right?
At this moment, some hope bloomed.
Especially Ye Ying. She was exhausted, thirsty, and hungry. She wished she could reach the mountain in one step![2]
However, Ye Wei burst up their bubble, “You guys are slow, two steps, then rest, two steps, then rest, how far do you think you have walked in that style? We aren’t even halfway, if you guys keep taking a break, perhaps we will arrive there when it is dark.”
Ye Ying: “……”
Ye Wei wiped the biscuit crumbs from her lips. She dusted her palms and stood up, “Okay, less talking and more action. Let’s take another break only after we have reached that hill.”
She pointed to the hill not far away. From a distance, behind a rice field, there were hills of vast green, undulating and boundless.
Tong Ke gave a cry, “Ah, no!”
Ye Ying, Ye Tao, and Zhang Yu reflexively followed her pointer. Their eyes were dazed and their heads ached.
Ye Wei: “I hope everyone will work hard to persevere, else, it will be dark and the road will be even more challenging to walk. After all, there are snakes and other things in the mountains. It won’t be safe.”
The group: “…”
At this time, they suddenly seemed to understand the sentence that Ye Wei once wrote.
How can returning home be as difficult as an Immortal ascending to Heaven?
————·————·————
They took breaks along the way, and after more than three hours of walking, they arrived before dark.
Ye Ying felt that her legs were about to break, and the soles of her feet were in excruciating pain as if every step she took was like walking on a sea of knives and fire.
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu shared the same pain. After all, they each carried a suitcase. Although the suitcase was not considered heavy, it was still about twenty or thirty kilograms at any rate. Their shoulders were crushed after carrying them for so long. At one point, they couldn’t bear it anymore and borrowed some rope from one of the porters and tied the suitcases to their backs.
These two Young Masters only ever knew the suffering of learning, when they had suffered this kind of suffering, the kind that demeaning to their figure.
Tong Ke, looking at Zhang Yu sweating profusely, hunched over, and panting heavily as he carried the suitcase, felt that the handsome and charismatic Zhang Yu in her memory and the person in front of her were two separate people. She could not connect such Zhang Yu with the perfect and elegant Zhang Yu in her memory
She looked at Ye Wei in turn. She walked in front of her lightly, and although her forehead was sweaty and her clothes were rumpled, she appeared leisurely. She seemed to have been used to this kind of tiredness for a long time. In Tong Ke’s eyes, Ye Wei looked ordinary, but at the same time, extraordinarily cooler than Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu didn’t know how he managed to persevere. During the three-hour walk, he could not keep his composure, he couldn’t even spare any attention for Ye Ying, because all his focus was on managing his breath. He was so tired that even walking became a burden.
Ye Tao was no better. For the first time, he regretted being too prideful. If he knew it earlier, he would have asked for help.
They trekked slowly and slower with each step. They thought that the porters that Ye Wei sent would come back to help them with the suitcases, and they would pay them extra wage— no, not only an extra wage, they were even willing to pay them a hundred times more than before!
Unfortunately, whenever this idea popped up in their mind, Ye Wei would stare at them with solemnity and ask, “Can you still keep up?”
And even if they couldn’t, they could only bite the bullet and said, “We can.”
“I see.” Ye Wei nodded, “Then, let’s continue walking.”
Ye Tao: “……”
Zhang Yu: “……”
They didn’t know how they survived that. The thirst, hunger, and tiredness. In the beginning, they still had the energy to look around, but later, they could only mechanically lift their feet, following the sound of the chant. They were sweating, but they couldn’t bother to wipe it off.
When Ye Wei told them they had arrived, they felt a light descend upon them and their bodies relaxed. The euphoria was hard to express in words!!
As for Jiang Fei, he only carried a backpack, and he got food and water from Ye Wei. So he was way more relaxed than Zhang Yu and Ye Tao.
Needless to say, Ye Ying also felt that the blisters on her feet worsened and every step hurt, but when she glanced at Ye Wei’s relaxed state, she didn’t want to admit defeat.
Now, they have arrived, there was only one thought in their mind, Have they finally arrived?!
Zhang Yu raised his head and saw the setting sun and billowing smoke from the kitchen at the foot of the mountain.
His gaze moved to Ye Wei, she stood in peace. She was sweating like them, but overall, she was in a better situation compared to them. Actually, it couldn’t even be said like that. For them, the three-hour journey was suffering, but for Ye Wei, it was nothing. It was as normal as breathing because it was a part of her previous daily life. She didn’t regard it as suffering as they did, because it was just a walk for her. How could she regard it as suffering? Where was the suffering from it?
In the way, even the porters outwalked them because they had a lot of breaks.
Ye Ying felt pity when she saw the porters working so hard. She paid them several times more, but she didn’t have much cash on her, otherwise, she would have given them more.
Her action got a compassionate look from Zhang Yu and Ye Tao.
Tong Ke was out of breath, but she didn’t forget to whisper at Ye Wei, “Bah, so annoying. Will she die if she doesn’t pretend to be kind for just one day?”
Ye Wei only smiled in response.
————·————·————
Ye Wei came back with a group of people.
The people in the mountain were made aware of it and came out to watch the fun. And, Chen Weiguo, who was at home, lazing around as he waited for food, ran out with his slippers when he heard that Ye Wei had brought his own daughter back.
Ye Wei, Ye Ying, Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, Jiang Fei, and Tong Ke were surrounded by villagers.
“Is Xiaohong back?”
“This is Xiaohong, isn’t it? Aiya, I can’t even recognize you if we met outside now.”
“It’s Xiaohong. It’s Xiaohong. Who is the girl next to her? I think she looks a bit like Lao Chen.”
Ye Wei smiled and confirmed, “Yes, yes, this is my Meimei, Ye Ying, Papa Chen’s daughter!”
Ye Ying was afraid of being the center of the attention of these people, and their gaze became even stickier with Ye Wei’s words. She reluctantly smiled but said nothing. She discreetly stepped behind Ye Tao.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed, “Ai, no wonder. This girl looks exactly like Lao Chen!”
“It’s like they are made in the same mold.”
Ye Ying was even more embarrassed.
Ye Tao was tired and his mind was foggy. Noticing his sister leaned over, he frowned at the crowd, “Let’s go meet Chen Weiguo first.”
Chen Weiguo was in his fifties. His skin was dark with a wrinkled face. He liked to smoke, but seldom brushed his teeth, so his teeth were yellow. When he opened his mouth, the smell of cigarettes was strong. He trotted to them with a loud voice, “Is Xiaohong back? Where is Xiaohong?”
A villager shouted, “Lao Chen, hurry. It’s not only Xiaohong that is back, but your own daughter is also back!”
From a distance, Ye Ying saw a man in a gray and white shirt with black shorts walk toward them. He had stubble on his face and greasy hair running over. He shouted with a wide smile, “Where is my daughter?”
Ye Ying had seen the photos of Chen Weiguo and heard his voice. He looked upright and his voice sounded strong.
Yet, when the real person stood in front of her, Ye Ying didn’t know how to react.
So this person is her real father?
————·————·————
Ye Ying, Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, Jiang Fei, and Tong Ke settled in the Chen Family.
Chen Weiguo was not expecting so many people. Fortunately, the mudbrick house was quite spacious. The main room had a bed where Chen Weiguo usually slept. There were two other rooms that could be divided into bedrooms, where his wife and son slept.
In any case, they could only split the rooms. Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, and Jiang Fei were squeezed into one room, and Ye Ying and Tong Ke to the other room.
The rooms were simple, with cobwebs on the corners of the wooden beams. The walls were made of mud. From time to time, you could see several spiders forming small white webs on the beams.
The wooden bed had a mosquito net on it, but it hadn’t been washed for many years. It was dusty and no one dared to touch it.
The only fortunate thing was Chen Weiguo’s wife fetched them four pieces of cotton wadding and quilts, it was still fragrant. Alas, even after all that, they could barely sleep.
Chen Weiguo’s wife previously cooked fried bacon for Chen Weiguo and her son. She didn’t know there would be people visiting and all of them were distinguished guests at that. So, she quickly added more dishes, one stir-fried pork with lettuce, and one stewed pork. She also steamed sausage, fried some eggs, and made soup.
The Chen Family saved some money thanks to the Ye Family. They didn’t live as hard as they used to, so they were not stingy in treating their distinguished guests.
Ye Ying tried to help, but she had never been in a kitchen before. And the stove used in this house was a traditional stove. The stove was charred, and the cupboards had been used for years. All the dirt accumulated on it, and the washing basin was greasy… She felt helpless as she looked around.
She pursed her lips. This was probably what life in the countryside looked like, but, at any rate, it was still possible to eat meat, right? Why did it become so miserable in Ye Wei’s words? To the point, she only had a sweet potato for lunch?
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu were starving all afternoon. They rested in the room, but when they heard that the meal was ready, they went to the table right away. There were several large pots, but the appearance was not quite good. There were some charred rice grains floating on the egg-drop soup.
The two held their chopsticks wordlessly.
Tong Ke, who had been pampered all her life and worked so hard today, felt aggrieved when she saw such food.
Ye Ying had seen the kitchen, and she couldn’t help but think, Is this food hygienic? Will she have diarrhea after eating it?
Compared to them, Jiang Fei picked up his chopsticks and started to stuff his mouth.
Zhang Yu paused, and also moved his chopsticks to eat. His movements were graceful, not as rude as Jiang Fei’s. He put down his chopsticks when he was seven-point full.
Seeing that Zhang Yu had eaten, Tong Ke’s lips flattened. She touched her stomach and reluctantly ate with a scrunched face. She regretted that she had not brought some snacks when she packed. What use were the cosmetics and clothes she brought! It’s all useless!
“Come on, Yingying, eat more!” Chen Weiguo tried to cultivate some feelings with his own daughter, the biological daughter which caused the Chen Family to renounce the daughter they had raised with their own hand. Chen Weiguo sandwiched a piece of bacon and gave it to Ye Ying.
Ye Ying stared at the bacon in her bowl, then at the chopsticks that Chen Weiguo had put in his mouth. She put on a smile, “Thank you. I’ll do it myself.”
Chen Weiguo’s wife also smiled, “Don’t be polite, please make yourself at home. Come, come, eat quickly. Aren’t you tired from the trip? If you informed us, we would have come to pick you up.”
Ye Ying shook her head and said it wasn’t tiring, “We went to the town first, then we found out that you rented the house to others and came back here. Why did you move back?”
Chen Weiguo replied, “If we rent our house, we can collect monthly rent from it. We have our own house here, it will be a waste to leave it empty.”
Ye Ying only smiled and didn’t comment on it.
Chen Weiguo was brimming with enthusiasm. He served the food for Ye Ying and Ye Tao, and he also didn’t let Zhang Yu go. He heard that this man is Ye Ying’s classmate. He accompanied Ye Ying here, so it could be seen that he is interested in his daughter, but he wisely didn’t mention it. In this way, perhaps his daughter could marry into a wealthy family?
When it was Jiang Fei’s turn, Jiang Fei took the lead to protect his bowl, “No need, I will do it myself!”
Chen Weiguo was not embarrassed by Jiang Fei’s reaction. He moved the meat to Tong Ke’s bowl. Tong Ke almost slapped his chopsticks away, but she feared that Zhang Yu would dislike her temper, so she suppressed the urge, “Thank you, but I am on a diet, so I can’t eat meat.”
In the end, the meat arrived in Chen Weigou’s bowl.
After dinner, Chen Weiguo’s wife boiled a pot of hot water and mixed it with some cold water in a bucket. She asked Chen Weiguo to take it to the back for Ye Ying.
“Let’s go, I will lead you there.”
Ye Ying trailed behind Chen Weiguo’s wife with her clothes in her arms. She looked around at the scene under the dim light. Next to the toilet was a pigsty, which smelled of pig dung. Previously, the toilet was a small shed so she could feel the cold air blowing from all sides and even could see how dark it was on the outside. But, Chen Weiguo’s wife assured her,
“Don’t worry. There is no one outside, you can bathe here.”
“……”
Where did Ye Ying have the courage to do so? She was even inclined to continue to stink if this was the case.
Especially after some time, the mosquitoes were stinging her…
The aggrievement built layer upon layer. She began to feel alone and missed her parents.
————·————·————
The three boys, Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, and Jiang Fei, were just fine. They didn’t have so many scruples. After taking a bath, they went back to the room and lay on the bed, unable to move.
Jiang Fei abruptly mentioned, “Say, don’t you think bathing in that place in winter is especially nerve-wracking?”
Zhang Yu hadn’t thought that far. Only when Jiang Fei mentioned it did he consider it. What he said was not wrong. If he were to bathe there in winter, his next destination would most likely be the hospital.
How did Ye Wei pass the winter all these years?
He had heard that the Chen Family was poor, but he didn’t imagine that the Chen Family could be so poor that they lived in a house with air leaks everywhere. And she, Ye Wei, had lived here for eighteen years……
He was exhausted and sleepy, and his mind began to wander. When he was about to fall asleep, it suddenly occurred to him that Ye Wei had disappeared. He hadn’t seen her since they arrived here.
He wanted to ask about it, but he was too tired, and soon, lulled to dream.
The next morning, he was woken up by a loud voice. He didn’t know someone could have such a loud voice in the early morning. It was like a shrew swearing at the street, buzzing loudly in his ears.
“Lao Liu, what do you think you are doing? You dare to plant your canola and dig a pit in my field. Believe it or not, I will tear your seedlings right away!”
“You old hag, where did you say I planted it? Can’t you see the ridge clearly for yourself[3]!”
“I can’t see it clearly, you say? I may be old, but I am not blind! You dare to test me?”
“I think you are already old and forgetful, you say that about me, but did you forget who planted seeds in my field last year?”
“……”
Apparently, it was a small matter, but the argument was endless and became more boisterous with each word.
Zhang Yu fully sobered up at nearly ten o’clock. He got out of bed, and almost landed face-first on the ground because of his soft legs.
His legs were weak, his back was sore, and his arms were numb. The parts of his body felt like not his own, and the whole body ached terribly.
Zhang Yu was the first to wake up, followed by Ye Tao. Ye Tao was no better, he woke up and gasped in pain. As for Jiang Fei, they had no idea where he had wandered.
Chen Weiguo’s wife had prepared breakfast. She steamed more than ten steamed buns. She picked some pickles and fried them. She also fried two dishes of vegetables. Wasn’t it said that the people in the city need vegetables for breakfast?
Zhang Yu and Ye Tao went out, and each of them took a steamed bun to chew. They walked out of the house and not far away, they saw a hunched old woman standing at the door of a family. It was clear that she already had white hair, but her sharp appearance was not at all like the encompassing grandma, instead, it was fierce.
Ye Tao shook his head and sighed, “Seems like in the countryside even a trivial matter can blow up so big.”
Zhang Yu responded in silence.
Unexpectedly, when they were about to leave, Ye Wei appeared. She stood beside the old woman, “Nai[4], what are you arguing about? Guess what I do? I just went to reclaim our place!”
Before the old woman could respond, the old Liu jumped up, “What did you do?! You dug up my seedlings?”
The old woman’s face crumpled, “My grandaughter turned over my land, what does it have to do with you!”
Old Liu, “You, you…! Whatever! I am too lazy to argue with you women!”
The old woman snorted at him, and then said to Ye Wei, “Let’s go home and have a meal.”
Ye Wei: “Mm-hmm.”
In this mountain where the Chen Family resided, who didn’t know that no one could win a fight against Old Lady Chen and Chen Xiaohong?
————·————·————
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu were not prepared to see such an event. They glanced at each other and observed them.
The Old Liu that argued with them appeared like he was in his fifties. He was still mad over the matter.
When Ye Tao and Zhang Yu passed by him, they heard him mutter with towering rage, “That old hag Chen really has a double standard! Claiming that I surpassed her ridge, but didn’t she also surpass mine last year? Have I complained about that? Bah.”
Someone chimed in, “Old Chen can even steal money from her own son, don’t you already know how her character is. Forget it, let’s continue working.”
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu shared a look. They trekked for about ten minutes before they noticed that Ye Wei and the old woman were in a more dilapidated tile-roofed house with smoke leaking on the chimney.
They didn’t see any trace of Ye Wei yesterday, was it because she was here?
Ye Tao said, “Is she Ye Wei’s grandmother?”
Zhang Yu nodded, “It should be.”
But, why did she live separately? Why didn’t she live with Chen Weiguo?
The old woman sat in front of the stone table at the door. Ye Wei entered the room and came out with two bowls of rice and a bowl of pickles in a short time.
Old Lady Chen asked, “I heard that his own child has also come back?”
Ye Wei gave her a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, Nai. My sister will come to visit you soon.”
“What is she visiting me for? I don’t want to look at her.”
“It’s up to you, Nai, but after all, you are also her grandmother.”
And the sister she speak of, Ye Ying, was currently sleeping.
The author has something to say:
When I was young, I followed my Grandpa to the field to plant canola (I couldn’t do it well, so I mostly helped to sow the seed). My Grandpa often pointed to the ridge and said to me, look at those people planting exceeding their own areas, there was no space left. We had to move aside and plant less. At that time, every piece of land was extremely valuable
However, it all remained only as a talk and the dissatisfaction was kept in heart. Generally, the people wouldn’t quarrel openly over those things and they were harmonious on the surface.【Laugh in Tears.jpg】
Footnotes
[1] 吃白食 – chī bái shí. Eat idly without work; Free meal. Basically, a freeloader or someone who lives off others. ↵
[2] 一步登天 – yī bù dēng tiān. Reach the sky in a single bound — attain the highest level or reach the finish in an instant. ↵
[3] 田坎 – tiánkǎn. An embankment or footpath between fields; The ridge between fields. It is used to divide the area or facilitate the walking of farmers and passers-by. ↵
[4] 奶 – Nǎi. Short for 奶奶 – nǎinǎi a.ka grandma. ↵
The porters were nimble. With Ye Wei’s words, they put their things away and carried the suitcases again.
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu, who had never done heavy work before, traded glances and could notice the bitterness in each other’s eyes. However, they had no other choice but to carry their suitcases on their own. Ye Ying tailed behind them, she truly wanted to help, but she had no way to help. She could only anxiously fret over them.
However, not long after, she lost her strength to worry about others, because she herself could no longer keep pace with them. She had selected comfortable sneakers for this occasion, but the discomfort on the soles of her feet and legs couldn’t be alleviated.
Another short break later, Ye Ying sat on the trunk and touched her heel. She noticed there was a blister on it! No wonder every step she took hurt her feet.
She wanted to say, her feet hurt. She wanted to act like a baby to her brother like usual, but, when she looked at Ye Tao and Zhang Yu who was drenched in sweat, she swallowed back the complaint. She glanced at Ye Wei who had been leading the way, she seemed not as arrogant and domineering as she was at home. Pulp of sweat trailed from her forehead to her cheek, which was dyed pink by the sun. Her clothes were rumpled by the straps of her backpack. She, just like them, was in a sorry state.
Ye Wei sat on the ground with her backpack on one side. One hand rested on her lap and the other held a biscuit.
Ye Ying didn’t even bring a bottle of water, let alone snacks. She never considered bringing these things, because she assumed they could be bought later when they arrived. However, it slipped her mind that Chen Weiguo didn’t live in the town.
She was not only thirsty but also hungry.
She never regarded biscuits as a delicacy before. For her, biscuits were dry as dust, and she never liked eating them. Yet, now, when she looked at the biscuits on Ye Wei’s lap, they appeared delicious, and she really wanted to eat them
Ye Ying shook her head and told herself not to think about it. She was just too tired and hungry.
And it was not only her that was hungry, Ye Tao and Zhang Yu were also starving to death. They had eaten breakfast and lunch, but they consumed a lot of energy along the way, and naturally, they got hungry.
Sadly, they thought the journey would take at most an hour, and it wouldn’t take much time, so they didn’t buy anything to take with them on the way. They could only watch Ye Wei with eager eyes, but they had no face to ask for it.
Ye Wei was self-sufficient. She ate alone and didn’t offer any polite words asking the others whether they wanted to eat or not.
Ye Ying, of course, wouldn’t take the initiative to ask Ye Wei for food. Even Ye Tao couldn’t let go of his face to ask Ye Wei, let alone Zhang Yu.
And, Tong Ke enjoyed the benefit of being Ye Wei’s good friend. Ye Wei drank water, and Tong Ke also drank. Ye Wei ate biscuits, and she also ate. In turn, as a good friend, she also shared the burden of Ye Wei’s sling bag which appeared small but was actually remarkably heavy. Tong Ke exerted all her energy to carry it, stumbling on her feet and almost thrashing her small body.
Jiang Fei, who had a thick face, licked his lips and asked Ye Wei for biscuits. Ye Wei gave him a glance, “My food is not free.”
Jiang Fei wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans, with a reversed baseball cap on his head. His skin wasn’t as white as that of Zhang Yu, but a healthy wheat color. When he smiled, he became a dashing and bright handsome youth.
Ye Wei tossed the heavy travel backpack into Jiang Fei’s arms. Jiang Fei subconsciously extended his arms, and almost dropped it when he caught it. He saw Ye Wei carry the bag with ease, so he didn’t expect the bag to be so heavy.
“Rest assured, I understand,” Jiang Fei swung the backpack to his back, “I’m not the kind of person who only takes and gives nothing in return.”[1]
He eventually obtained two biscuits from Ye Wei on the promise that he would help her carry her backpack. He got only two biscuits and it was not enough to stuff down his hunger, still, it was better than nothing.
Calculating the time, they had been walking for approximately an hour. Didn’t Ye Wei say the road would be more than one hour but less than two hours? Anyway, that meant they were already halfway, they should be there soon, right?
At this moment, some hope bloomed.
Especially Ye Ying. She was exhausted, thirsty, and hungry. She wished she could reach the mountain in one step![2]
However, Ye Wei burst up their bubble, “You guys are slow, two steps, then rest, two steps, then rest, how far do you think you have walked in that style? We aren’t even halfway, if you guys keep taking a break, perhaps we will arrive there when it is dark.”
Ye Ying: “……”
Ye Wei wiped the biscuit crumbs from her lips. She dusted her palms and stood up, “Okay, less talking and more action. Let’s take another break only after we have reached that hill.”
She pointed to the hill not far away. From a distance, behind a rice field, there were hills of vast green, undulating and boundless.
Tong Ke gave a cry, “Ah, no!”
Ye Ying, Ye Tao, and Zhang Yu reflexively followed her pointer. Their eyes were dazed and their heads ached.
Ye Wei: “I hope everyone will work hard to persevere, else, it will be dark and the road will be even more challenging to walk. After all, there are snakes and other things in the mountains. It won’t be safe.”
The group: “…”
At this time, they suddenly seemed to understand the sentence that Ye Wei once wrote.
How can returning home be as difficult as an Immortal ascending to Heaven?
————·————·————
They took breaks along the way, and after more than three hours of walking, they arrived before dark.
Ye Ying felt that her legs were about to break, and the soles of her feet were in excruciating pain as if every step she took was like walking on a sea of knives and fire.
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu shared the same pain. After all, they each carried a suitcase. Although the suitcase was not considered heavy, it was still about twenty or thirty kilograms at any rate. Their shoulders were crushed after carrying them for so long. At one point, they couldn’t bear it anymore and borrowed some rope from one of the porters and tied the suitcases to their backs.
These two Young Masters only ever knew the suffering of learning, when they had suffered this kind of suffering, the kind that demeaning to their figure.
Tong Ke, looking at Zhang Yu sweating profusely, hunched over, and panting heavily as he carried the suitcase, felt that the handsome and charismatic Zhang Yu in her memory and the person in front of her were two separate people. She could not connect such Zhang Yu with the perfect and elegant Zhang Yu in her memory
She looked at Ye Wei in turn. She walked in front of her lightly, and although her forehead was sweaty and her clothes were rumpled, she appeared leisurely. She seemed to have been used to this kind of tiredness for a long time. In Tong Ke’s eyes, Ye Wei looked ordinary, but at the same time, extraordinarily cooler than Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu didn’t know how he managed to persevere. During the three-hour walk, he could not keep his composure, he couldn’t even spare any attention for Ye Ying, because all his focus was on managing his breath. He was so tired that even walking became a burden.
Ye Tao was no better. For the first time, he regretted being too prideful. If he knew it earlier, he would have asked for help.
They trekked slowly and slower with each step. They thought that the porters that Ye Wei sent would come back to help them with the suitcases, and they would pay them extra wage— no, not only an extra wage, they were even willing to pay them a hundred times more than before!
Unfortunately, whenever this idea popped up in their mind, Ye Wei would stare at them with solemnity and ask, “Can you still keep up?”
And even if they couldn’t, they could only bite the bullet and said, “We can.”
“I see.” Ye Wei nodded, “Then, let’s continue walking.”
Ye Tao: “……”
Zhang Yu: “……”
They didn’t know how they survived that. The thirst, hunger, and tiredness. In the beginning, they still had the energy to look around, but later, they could only mechanically lift their feet, following the sound of the chant. They were sweating, but they couldn’t bother to wipe it off.
When Ye Wei told them they had arrived, they felt a light descend upon them and their bodies relaxed. The euphoria was hard to express in words!!
As for Jiang Fei, he only carried a backpack, and he got food and water from Ye Wei. So he was way more relaxed than Zhang Yu and Ye Tao.
Needless to say, Ye Ying also felt that the blisters on her feet worsened and every step hurt, but when she glanced at Ye Wei’s relaxed state, she didn’t want to admit defeat.
Now, they have arrived, there was only one thought in their mind, Have they finally arrived?!
Zhang Yu raised his head and saw the setting sun and billowing smoke from the kitchen at the foot of the mountain.
His gaze moved to Ye Wei, she stood in peace. She was sweating like them, but overall, she was in a better situation compared to them. Actually, it couldn’t even be said like that. For them, the three-hour journey was suffering, but for Ye Wei, it was nothing. It was as normal as breathing because it was a part of her previous daily life. She didn’t regard it as suffering as they did, because it was just a walk for her. How could she regard it as suffering? Where was the suffering from it?
In the way, even the porters outwalked them because they had a lot of breaks.
Ye Ying felt pity when she saw the porters working so hard. She paid them several times more, but she didn’t have much cash on her, otherwise, she would have given them more.
Her action got a compassionate look from Zhang Yu and Ye Tao.
Tong Ke was out of breath, but she didn’t forget to whisper at Ye Wei, “Bah, so annoying. Will she die if she doesn’t pretend to be kind for just one day?”
Ye Wei only smiled in response.
————·————·————
Ye Wei came back with a group of people.
The people in the mountain were made aware of it and came out to watch the fun. And, Chen Weiguo, who was at home, lazing around as he waited for food, ran out with his slippers when he heard that Ye Wei had brought his own daughter back.
Ye Wei, Ye Ying, Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, Jiang Fei, and Tong Ke were surrounded by villagers.
“Is Xiaohong back?”
“This is Xiaohong, isn’t it? Aiya, I can’t even recognize you if we met outside now.”
“It’s Xiaohong. It’s Xiaohong. Who is the girl next to her? I think she looks a bit like Lao Chen.”
Ye Wei smiled and confirmed, “Yes, yes, this is my Meimei, Ye Ying, Papa Chen’s daughter!”
Ye Ying was afraid of being the center of the attention of these people, and their gaze became even stickier with Ye Wei’s words. She reluctantly smiled but said nothing. She discreetly stepped behind Ye Tao.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed, “Ai, no wonder. This girl looks exactly like Lao Chen!”
“It’s like they are made in the same mold.”
Ye Ying was even more embarrassed.
Ye Tao was tired and his mind was foggy. Noticing his sister leaned over, he frowned at the crowd, “Let’s go meet Chen Weiguo first.”
Chen Weiguo was in his fifties. His skin was dark with a wrinkled face. He liked to smoke, but seldom brushed his teeth, so his teeth were yellow. When he opened his mouth, the smell of cigarettes was strong. He trotted to them with a loud voice, “Is Xiaohong back? Where is Xiaohong?”
A villager shouted, “Lao Chen, hurry. It’s not only Xiaohong that is back, but your own daughter is also back!”
From a distance, Ye Ying saw a man in a gray and white shirt with black shorts walk toward them. He had stubble on his face and greasy hair running over. He shouted with a wide smile, “Where is my daughter?”
Ye Ying had seen the photos of Chen Weiguo and heard his voice. He looked upright and his voice sounded strong.
Yet, when the real person stood in front of her, Ye Ying didn’t know how to react.
So this person is her real father?
————·————·————
Ye Ying, Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, Jiang Fei, and Tong Ke settled in the Chen Family.
Chen Weiguo was not expecting so many people. Fortunately, the mudbrick house was quite spacious. The main room had a bed where Chen Weiguo usually slept. There were two other rooms that could be divided into bedrooms, where his wife and son slept.
In any case, they could only split the rooms. Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, and Jiang Fei were squeezed into one room, and Ye Ying and Tong Ke to the other room.
The rooms were simple, with cobwebs on the corners of the wooden beams. The walls were made of mud. From time to time, you could see several spiders forming small white webs on the beams.
The wooden bed had a mosquito net on it, but it hadn’t been washed for many years. It was dusty and no one dared to touch it.
The only fortunate thing was Chen Weiguo’s wife fetched them four pieces of cotton wadding and quilts, it was still fragrant. Alas, even after all that, they could barely sleep.
Chen Weiguo’s wife previously cooked fried bacon for Chen Weiguo and her son. She didn’t know there would be people visiting and all of them were distinguished guests at that. So, she quickly added more dishes, one stir-fried pork with lettuce, and one stewed pork. She also steamed sausage, fried some eggs, and made soup.
The Chen Family saved some money thanks to the Ye Family. They didn’t live as hard as they used to, so they were not stingy in treating their distinguished guests.
Ye Ying tried to help, but she had never been in a kitchen before. And the stove used in this house was a traditional stove. The stove was charred, and the cupboards had been used for years. All the dirt accumulated on it, and the washing basin was greasy… She felt helpless as she looked around.
She pursed her lips. This was probably what life in the countryside looked like, but, at any rate, it was still possible to eat meat, right? Why did it become so miserable in Ye Wei’s words? To the point, she only had a sweet potato for lunch?
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu were starving all afternoon. They rested in the room, but when they heard that the meal was ready, they went to the table right away. There were several large pots, but the appearance was not quite good. There were some charred rice grains floating on the egg-drop soup.
The two held their chopsticks wordlessly.
Tong Ke, who had been pampered all her life and worked so hard today, felt aggrieved when she saw such food.
Ye Ying had seen the kitchen, and she couldn’t help but think, Is this food hygienic? Will she have diarrhea after eating it?
Compared to them, Jiang Fei picked up his chopsticks and started to stuff his mouth.
Zhang Yu paused, and also moved his chopsticks to eat. His movements were graceful, not as rude as Jiang Fei’s. He put down his chopsticks when he was seven-point full.
Seeing that Zhang Yu had eaten, Tong Ke’s lips flattened. She touched her stomach and reluctantly ate with a scrunched face. She regretted that she had not brought some snacks when she packed. What use were the cosmetics and clothes she brought! It’s all useless!
“Come on, Yingying, eat more!” Chen Weiguo tried to cultivate some feelings with his own daughter, the biological daughter which caused the Chen Family to renounce the daughter they had raised with their own hand. Chen Weiguo sandwiched a piece of bacon and gave it to Ye Ying.
Ye Ying stared at the bacon in her bowl, then at the chopsticks that Chen Weiguo had put in his mouth. She put on a smile, “Thank you. I’ll do it myself.”
Chen Weiguo’s wife also smiled, “Don’t be polite, please make yourself at home. Come, come, eat quickly. Aren’t you tired from the trip? If you informed us, we would have come to pick you up.”
Ye Ying shook her head and said it wasn’t tiring, “We went to the town first, then we found out that you rented the house to others and came back here. Why did you move back?”
Chen Weiguo replied, “If we rent our house, we can collect monthly rent from it. We have our own house here, it will be a waste to leave it empty.”
Ye Ying only smiled and didn’t comment on it.
Chen Weiguo was brimming with enthusiasm. He served the food for Ye Ying and Ye Tao, and he also didn’t let Zhang Yu go. He heard that this man is Ye Ying’s classmate. He accompanied Ye Ying here, so it could be seen that he is interested in his daughter, but he wisely didn’t mention it. In this way, perhaps his daughter could marry into a wealthy family?
When it was Jiang Fei’s turn, Jiang Fei took the lead to protect his bowl, “No need, I will do it myself!”
Chen Weiguo was not embarrassed by Jiang Fei’s reaction. He moved the meat to Tong Ke’s bowl. Tong Ke almost slapped his chopsticks away, but she feared that Zhang Yu would dislike her temper, so she suppressed the urge, “Thank you, but I am on a diet, so I can’t eat meat.”
In the end, the meat arrived in Chen Weigou’s bowl.
After dinner, Chen Weiguo’s wife boiled a pot of hot water and mixed it with some cold water in a bucket. She asked Chen Weiguo to take it to the back for Ye Ying.
“Let’s go, I will lead you there.”
Ye Ying trailed behind Chen Weiguo’s wife with her clothes in her arms. She looked around at the scene under the dim light. Next to the toilet was a pigsty, which smelled of pig dung. Previously, the toilet was a small shed so she could feel the cold air blowing from all sides and even could see how dark it was on the outside. But, Chen Weiguo’s wife assured her,
“Don’t worry. There is no one outside, you can bathe here.”
“……”
Where did Ye Ying have the courage to do so? She was even inclined to continue to stink if this was the case.
Especially after some time, the mosquitoes were stinging her…
The aggrievement built layer upon layer. She began to feel alone and missed her parents.
————·————·————
The three boys, Ye Tao, Zhang Yu, and Jiang Fei, were just fine. They didn’t have so many scruples. After taking a bath, they went back to the room and lay on the bed, unable to move.
Jiang Fei abruptly mentioned, “Say, don’t you think bathing in that place in winter is especially nerve-wracking?”
Zhang Yu hadn’t thought that far. Only when Jiang Fei mentioned it did he consider it. What he said was not wrong. If he were to bathe there in winter, his next destination would most likely be the hospital.
How did Ye Wei pass the winter all these years?
He had heard that the Chen Family was poor, but he didn’t imagine that the Chen Family could be so poor that they lived in a house with air leaks everywhere. And she, Ye Wei, had lived here for eighteen years……
He was exhausted and sleepy, and his mind began to wander. When he was about to fall asleep, it suddenly occurred to him that Ye Wei had disappeared. He hadn’t seen her since they arrived here.
He wanted to ask about it, but he was too tired, and soon, lulled to dream.
The next morning, he was woken up by a loud voice. He didn’t know someone could have such a loud voice in the early morning. It was like a shrew swearing at the street, buzzing loudly in his ears.
“Lao Liu, what do you think you are doing? You dare to plant your canola and dig a pit in my field. Believe it or not, I will tear your seedlings right away!”
“You old hag, where did you say I planted it? Can’t you see the ridge clearly for yourself[3]!”
“I can’t see it clearly, you say? I may be old, but I am not blind! You dare to test me?”
“I think you are already old and forgetful, you say that about me, but did you forget who planted seeds in my field last year?”
“……”
Apparently, it was a small matter, but the argument was endless and became more boisterous with each word.
Zhang Yu fully sobered up at nearly ten o’clock. He got out of bed, and almost landed face-first on the ground because of his soft legs.
His legs were weak, his back was sore, and his arms were numb. The parts of his body felt like not his own, and the whole body ached terribly.
Zhang Yu was the first to wake up, followed by Ye Tao. Ye Tao was no better, he woke up and gasped in pain. As for Jiang Fei, they had no idea where he had wandered.
Chen Weiguo’s wife had prepared breakfast. She steamed more than ten steamed buns. She picked some pickles and fried them. She also fried two dishes of vegetables. Wasn’t it said that the people in the city need vegetables for breakfast?
Zhang Yu and Ye Tao went out, and each of them took a steamed bun to chew. They walked out of the house and not far away, they saw a hunched old woman standing at the door of a family. It was clear that she already had white hair, but her sharp appearance was not at all like the encompassing grandma, instead, it was fierce.
Ye Tao shook his head and sighed, “Seems like in the countryside even a trivial matter can blow up so big.”
Zhang Yu responded in silence.
Unexpectedly, when they were about to leave, Ye Wei appeared. She stood beside the old woman, “Nai[4], what are you arguing about? Guess what I do? I just went to reclaim our place!”
Before the old woman could respond, the old Liu jumped up, “What did you do?! You dug up my seedlings?”
The old woman’s face crumpled, “My grandaughter turned over my land, what does it have to do with you!”
Old Liu, “You, you…! Whatever! I am too lazy to argue with you women!”
The old woman snorted at him, and then said to Ye Wei, “Let’s go home and have a meal.”
Ye Wei: “Mm-hmm.”
In this mountain where the Chen Family resided, who didn’t know that no one could win a fight against Old Lady Chen and Chen Xiaohong?
————·————·————
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu were not prepared to see such an event. They glanced at each other and observed them.
The Old Liu that argued with them appeared like he was in his fifties. He was still mad over the matter.
When Ye Tao and Zhang Yu passed by him, they heard him mutter with towering rage, “That old hag Chen really has a double standard! Claiming that I surpassed her ridge, but didn’t she also surpass mine last year? Have I complained about that? Bah.”
Someone chimed in, “Old Chen can even steal money from her own son, don’t you already know how her character is. Forget it, let’s continue working.”
Ye Tao and Zhang Yu shared a look. They trekked for about ten minutes before they noticed that Ye Wei and the old woman were in a more dilapidated tile-roofed house with smoke leaking on the chimney.
They didn’t see any trace of Ye Wei yesterday, was it because she was here?
Ye Tao said, “Is she Ye Wei’s grandmother?”
Zhang Yu nodded, “It should be.”
But, why did she live separately? Why didn’t she live with Chen Weiguo?
The old woman sat in front of the stone table at the door. Ye Wei entered the room and came out with two bowls of rice and a bowl of pickles in a short time.
Old Lady Chen asked, “I heard that his own child has also come back?”
Ye Wei gave her a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, Nai. My sister will come to visit you soon.”
“What is she visiting me for? I don’t want to look at her.”
“It’s up to you, Nai, but after all, you are also her grandmother.”
And the sister she speak of, Ye Ying, was currently sleeping.
The author has something to say:
When I was young, I followed my Grandpa to the field to plant canola (I couldn’t do it well, so I mostly helped to sow the seed). My Grandpa often pointed to the ridge and said to me, look at those people planting exceeding their own areas, there was no space left. We had to move aside and plant less. At that time, every piece of land was extremely valuable
However, it all remained only as a talk and the dissatisfaction was kept in heart. Generally, the people wouldn’t quarrel openly over those things and they were harmonious on the surface.【Laugh in Tears.jpg】
Footnotes
[1] 吃白食 – chī bái shí. Eat idly without work; Free meal. Basically, a freeloader or someone who lives off others. ↵
[2] 一步登天 – yī bù dēng tiān. Reach the sky in a single bound — attain the highest level or reach the finish in an instant. ↵
[3] 田坎 – tiánkǎn. An embankment or footpath between fields; The ridge between fields. It is used to divide the area or facilitate the walking of farmers and passers-by. ↵
[4] 奶 – Nǎi. Short for 奶奶 – nǎinǎi a.ka grandma. ↵
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