A tractor sat idle there, roaring with a powerful surge, surrounded by a gathering of adults and children.
Women grabbed their bags and poured corn kernels into the hopper of the tractor.
Everyone, as if by an unspoken agreement, fixed their gaze on the machine in front of the tractor.
Normally chattering children fell into an unusual silence, leaving only the thundering sound of machinery.
Soon enough, 'Burning Rice Sticks' were extruded from the machine, sending faint whiffs of aroma into the air.
The snack-loving kids immediately let out a burst of joyful cries.
The women expertly wound the Burning Rice Sticks into bundles, then handed them out to the children.
The children held the Burning Rice Sticks in their mouths, making crunching noises, creating a beautiful, lively scene.
Standing by her side, Xue Yuantong muttered, "How wonderful!"
She used to do the same when she was young.
Xue Yuantong didn't join the crowd; she and Jiang Ning quietly walked by.
One hundred meters ahead, Xue Yuantong stepped off the asphalt road.
A dirt path leading south unfolded before her, the end nowhere in sight.
Fields lay to the west, more fields to the east, and on the edge of the eastern field, there was a village.
Xue Yuantong walked for a bit, then suddenly stopped, lifted up her face with a smile on it:
"Jiang Ning, no bragging, but I've walked this road so many times, I could make it home with my eyes closed."
Jiang Ning asked, "Really?"
"Humph, of course, it's true," Xue Yuantong answered with full confidence, "My elementary school is right there, look, look!"
She turned around, pointing at a three-story building in the distance to the north.
"I walked this path for a full six years!"
Jiang Ning surveyed the surrounding area; to the east of the village, there was another route into the village, a cement road.
If she had taken the cement road to school, it would have clearly been much closer.
"So why didn't you walk that way before?" Jiang Ning inquired.
Xue Yuantong kept her smile: "I like peace and quiet."
That said, a sense of melancholy unavoidably settled in her heart.
Her father had passed away early, and her mother never remarried, raising her all on her own.
Children from such families often attracted peculiar glances in the village.
Sometimes, when Xue Yuantong walked to and from school, villagers would stop her, inquiring about her family.
Some aunties would talk to her at length, mentioning how tough life was for the widow and orphan; as they talked, they might reflect on their own hardships or become emotionally moved, until they ended up crying...
She'd stand to the side, not sure whether to leave or stay, just standing there stiffly.
Xue Yuantong knew they meant well, but she didn't like it.
Later on, to avoid bumping into villagers, she would always take her school bag and walk home via this secluded dirt road.
Now, Xue Yuantong, with her school bag on her back, was once again following this dirt road back to her village.
Just like the years before.
Xue Yuantong never let her negative emotions affect Jiang Ning; she wouldn't let him know, always the cool little girl.
In the rural fields, mounds of raised earth could be seen everywhere; passing by this dirt road at night would scare the faint-hearted.
Every once in a while, Xue Yuantong would check if Jiang Ning was tired and offer to carry the milk if he was; however, the answer was always that he wasn't.
Walking along the country lane, amidst bird song and floral fragrance, Xue Yuantong hopped and skipped along:
"Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning, look quick, that power pole is leaning, so funny!"
Jiang Ning looked over to where the dirt path met the field, where a power pole stood at a 60-degree angle.
Xue Yuantong ran next to the pole and extended her foot, pretending to kick it down, boasting arrogantly:
"Jiang Ning, do you believe that with one kick from me, the entire village will lose power today?"
Jiang Ning said, "Is that how you repay the people of your village?"
Xue Yuantong ran back to the middle of the road and continued forward, turning a corner towards the east.
That's how Xue Yuantong led Jiang Ning into the village.
Their village was named 'Xue Xiaozhuang,' a name that easily sparked curiosity—why was it called 'Xiaozhuang' or 'Little Village'?
Really, there was another village called 'Xue Dazhuang' or 'Big Village' to the east of Xue Xiaozhuang.
Once inside the village, after walking a bit further, Jiang Ning released his Divine Sense, spotting a household.
He said, "I'll leave these things at your neighbor's doorstep, then wait for you in town."
Hearing this, Xue Yuantong suddenly remembered that she was visiting her neighbors, not her own home, and it seemed a bit inappropriate to bring Jiang Ning along.
What would she say to her neighbors when they asked about Jiang Ning?
Xue Yuantong made up her mind: "Come with me. I won't stay for lunch; we'll eat in town. There's a delicious spicy hotpot place by the middle school gate; I'll treat you."
Jiang Ning asked, "Are you sure you won't stay?"
Xue Yuantong affirmed resolutely, "No need!"
Jiang Ning, carrying the milk and fruit, stopped in front of her family home.
Xue Yuantong struggled to carry the gifts to the door of her neighbor's house, repeatedly reminding Jiang Ning:
"Don't run off, make sure to wait for me to come back, okay~"
Jiang Ning replied, "Yeah, go ahead."
Xue Yuantong looked back every three steps, reluctantly entering the neighbor's house.
Jiang Ning's Divine Sense spread out, enveloping Xue Yuantong.
He did not wait in place but strolled around the village. When villagers saw him, a stranger, they gave him more than a passing glance but did not approach to speak.
Jiang Ning walked up to a water ditch near the village; the ditch was oval-shaped and about twenty meters in diameter, with the water nearly dried up.
Two children were wading barefoot at the bottom of the ditch, catching fish—a little boy and a little girl.
He watched them with great interest.
The little girl groped for a while and caught a hideous toad, which startled her so much that she instinctively threw it away.
With not much water left in the ditch, the girl kept coming up empty-handed while fishing, which irritated her into saying:
"Let's get the water out; I refuse to believe we can't catch any fish then."
With that said, the two children started to empty the ditch with their basins.