Feng Xing and Zhuo Feng were driving to the suburbs of Beijing for the first time.
One of them was a genuine Southerner, and although the other was from the North, they were a "New Beijinger", so finding their way was not easy for the couple.
The couple sat in the front seats of their little Alto, unfolding the map, with Feng Xing keeping an eye on the traffic while Zhuo Feng checked the map.
"Ah Feng, Yanqing is further than I thought. If we really settle there, we’ll need to fix up the house. Commuting every day, the cost of gas alone would be a big issue," Feng Xing lamented, his Northeastern masculinity was being worn thin by the demands of life.
"Um, we’ve been driving for an hour and only covered half the distance. Last time when we rode in someone else’s car, it didn’t feel ," Zhuo Feng was also troubled by this, just as the couple had finally decided to become "cultural farmers", new problems arose.
A four-hour round trip, even when they got used to driving, would still take about four to five hours. The cost of gas alone would match that of running a transportation service each month, though nobody would use a tiny Alto for that.
"Maybe we should sell the old house in the city and move to Yanqing," Feng Xing tentatively suggested, unsure whether Zhuo Feng would agree to sell the city house. He didn’t mind, having come from a rural background, he wasn’t bothered by the idea of living in the countryside.
But Zhuo Feng liked lively places. She had once given up a better and cheaper house outside the Third Ring Road to live in Chaoyang District because it was bustling.
Going out for a meal, catching a cab, or visiting a supermarket could take just about ten minutes or half an hour, but moving to Yanqing would definitely cause a major reshuffle of their lifestyle and spending habits.
Zhuo Feng really couldn’t make up her mind. During the first few days of the Lunar New Year, she went out to meet university friends, some of whom had recently gotten promotions or raises, and some who brought their children along. Among them, she was the only one without a job, and putting off having children as well. The look in her friends’ eyes seemed a bit off, some even deliberately distanced themselves from her.
Zhuo Feng forced a smile, but felt bitter inside.
If they sold the house in the city too, that would really be hitting rock bottom. It’s not easy being in the world; should she carelessly do her own thing and let others talk, or continue to squeeze into a cramped apartment in the old alleys of Beijing for that conventional inner peace?
"Let’s first go there and check it out, and take a look at the surrounding environment," Yanqing might be remote, but it wasn’t barren. Zhuo Feng recalled seeing a few houses along the way. How did the local farmers live their lives? She should be able to manage as well.
When they arrived at their destination, perhaps because the snow had melted, the twenty-plus acres of land that looked wide and tidy that day now appeared messy and disorderly.
What Zhuo Feng found even harder to accept was the herd of cattle and sheep running around on the field.
Among them, a cow with black and white patches typical of dairy cattle, was even standing under the red plum tree, as it’s said, "sheep nibble on grass and cows nibble on blossoms."
This cow seemed quite refined, nibbling on the petals and tender leaves of the plum tree.
"Damn cow," Zhuo Feng exclaimed, frustrated and wanting to drive the cow away. She picked up a dry tree trunk from the ground and charged into the flock of sheep.
But it seemed like the sheep were convinced this was their territory; not only did they not leave, but they also started circling around Zhuo Feng. The sheep stench and the littering of sheep droppings almost made Zhuo Feng vomit, and the more she tried to escape, the more she couldn’t get away.
Luckily, Feng Xing came over; unlike Zhuo Feng, who charged straight into the flock, he squatted on the ground and picked up a few stones, aiming them at a sheep with the beard of an old goat.
There’s a saying about a head sheep, it leads the flock in finding grass and water.
Feng Xing had seen sheep herding in the countryside, in springtime which differs from other seasons of the year, after long dry winters, the flock, having fed on dry fodder for months, would voraciously run and bite at the sight of freshly sprouted green grass from the melted snow.
Moreover, the shepherd was not paying attention, and under the leadership of the head sheep, as soon as they saw a patch of green, they fell into the habit of "running green." They’d nibble on any grass they saw, and in a few days, all the nearby grass and vegetable patches would suffer.
The head sheep startled by the stones, started bleating and sprinting outwards. The flock that was circling Zhuo Feng saw the head sheep run and hastily followed.