"You don’t have to pretend, putting on such a democratic facade. Xiao Xian isn’t close to our family, so even if I ask, it’s pointless. Who knows if you’ve been inciting her behind our backs, badmouthing our family," Zhuo Feng said angrily, slamming the teacup down onto the table with force.
"I have never mentioned her parents in front of Xiao Xian, and even to this day, she thinks they have just gone on a long trip," this was completely wishful thinking on Zhu Shijun’s part. Maybe a ten-year-old Xiao Xian could still be kept in the dark, but Xiao Xian, who is already twenty, certainly wouldn’t think so.
She knew that Xiao Xian’s parents had died and was also aware that under Zhu Shijun’s pillow was a photo of "her" taken at full month old. The woman in the photo with the gentle eyes and the man who smiles so innocently were her biological parents in this lifetime.
They were both already dead. Xiao Xian didn’t feel too much sorrow over this; in her past life, she was an orphan and only learned the concept of familial ties from Zhu Shijun.
"I’m here this time to definitely take Xiao Xian away. My brother and sister-in-law’s ashes are still at Beijing’s Chaoyang Funeral Home, it’s been four years and they haven’t been buried yet. Xiao Xian is their only daughter, I plan to bring the ashes back to their hometown, my parents have been waiting for a long time." Saying this, Zhuo Feng choked up, controlling her tears to avoid losing her composure in front of strangers.
Four years had gone by, and in order not to disturb the spirits of her brother and sister-in-law, she never moved the urns.
Before committing suicide, my brother and sister-in-law left a suicide note. Sister-in-law said that because of her, her husband couldn’t stay home to accompany his parents during his lifetime, so she wanted him to take her and be buried in his hometown after their deaths.
Zhu Shijun had read that letter too, and this time, he didn’t oppose.
"After dinner, I’ll have a word with Xiao Xian." Zhu Shijun suddenly seemed much older, he stopped opposing and walked back into the inner room with his hands behind his back.
Zhuo Feng set down her mountaineering bag, planning also to stay tonight, so she could see the environment her niece had been living in these years.
"You must be Xiao Xian’s auntie, come, don’t stand, have a seat and enjoy the fan," Sister-in-law Lian came back carrying a few bundles of borrowed firewood.
Ever since the torrential mudslide that happened in the village, the mountain behind the village had been planned for reforestation, and firewood older than three years couldn’t be cut at will. The villagers’ firewood mostly consisted of dried ferns.
"I’m going for a walk outside, the scenery nearby is quite nice," in Beijing, the winds carry a tinge of pollution, so it was rare to have the chance to be in the Southwest mountain village, and Zhuo Feng was somewhat interested in seeing the sights.
When she went behind the house, the first thing she saw was a lush White Pear Tree, bearing hundreds of pears, each as big as a fist. The sight could lift the heat of summer from one’s eyes.
At the edge of the field, a figure was bent over, and upon closer inspection, it was an old woman from a neighboring house here to harvest leeks.
Noticing Zhuo Feng as someone unfamiliar, the old woman said, "You must be a guest at the Zhu Family’s place, right? This old lady is making dumplings tonight and was short half a pound of leeks, so I came to take a little advantage of the neighbors. The Zhu Family folks are nice, and Xiao Xian is such a sweet girl, the leeks she grows are even more spirited than garlic sprouts."
The old woman cutting leeks held a small sickle, with a quick swipe, she’d harvested half a pound of leeks, the pungent fragrance wafting through the air.
After the person left, Zhuo Feng squatted down, inspecting the soil and the crops planted behind the Zhu Family’s house. Judging by the distribution of plants in this plot, the person who planted them did so with complete freedom of heart—clusters of leeks here, a few eggplants there, and then a few tomato plants with green and red fruits hanging off them.
The long vines of the watermelons had borne fruit, three or four fat, stripy green watermelons were lying under the leaves. Above them was a luffa trellis frame, with a few luffas hanging down.
"The Southwest Mountain Area has red acidic soil, how is it that the fertility of the land is so good, and every kind of crop is growing so well?" After graduating, Zhuo Feng had become a civil servant and was doing quite well among her classmates, but the nine-to-five work and the politically charged life in the office made her uncomfortable. With her husband’s support, she quit her job before long.
She planned to take Xiao Xian back to Beijing and find a piece of land in the suburbs, becoming a "landlady" of scientifically farmed land, but she hasn’t decided on what to grow yet.
When she left Beijing, she paid special attention to the fruits and vegetables of various places along the Southwest route, wanting to choose one kind for future cultivation. After entering Ge Village, she also saw a stone tablet marked "Provincial High-Production Village" newly erected at the village entrance, and found the ubiquitous sight of paddy fields to be curious.
"What are you squatting there for? Sister-in-law Lian said you wanted to wander around, but there’s nothing much to see in the village. Let’s borrow two bicycles and ride towards White Dragon Pond. There’s a bridge over there that leads to Miao Village. Around this season, it’s quite cool by the pond." Xiao Xian carried a large grass carp back from the village chief’s uncle’s house and wanted to help Sister-in-law Lian cook the firewood but was kicked out.
The weather was hot, and cooking with wood in the kitchen was like entering a steaming basket. Plus, Zhuo Feng had wandered off on her own, so Xiao Xian was told to accompany her for a walk in the mountains.
Zhuo Feng eagerly wanted to get closer to her niece, to make it easier to take Xiao Xian down the mountain in a few days, so she quickly agreed.
Xiao Xian went to the village inn to rent two bicycles. She had only learned to ride a bicycle last year. Sister-in-law Wangcai’s husband said that many tourist spots in the city had started renting bicycles, and with transportation improved in the mountains, children could also ride bikes to play up there, with an afternoon rental costing only two yuan per bike. When Xiao Xian went to rent them, she got a discount of one yuan, so two bikes costs only three yuan.
The aunt and niece rode two almost-new ladies’ bicycles, going from the foot of the mountain toward the mid-slope. (To be continued. If you work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)