At eleven in the morning, Meng Jingwei boarded a train and left Lancheng, returning to her hometown of Zhutang Town before four in the afternoon.
She wanted to surprise her parents, so she didn't tell them.
Back in town, looking at the familiar surroundings, Meng Jingwei felt happy. Even the air of her hometown smelled sweet to her.
With her backpack on, she walked from the town to a secluded village. From a distance, she saw her adoptive mother, Du Juan, holding a basket of vegetables, standing by the pigsty wall and feeding the pigs.
This familiar scene, which she hadn't experienced for a long time, made Meng Jingwei chuckle. She tiptoed towards Du Juan and then shouted loudly from behind her, "Mom!"
Startled by her call, Du Juan dropped the basket of vegetables onto the pigsty platform, which then fell into the pen.
Turning around, she finally realized that the person standing behind her was Meng Jingwei.
Du Juan's face lit up with joy. "Oh, daughter, is it really you? Why did you come back without telling Mom? I could have picked you up from town by bike."
"Hahaha, Mom, it's so close, I don't need you to pick me up."
Meng Jingwei hugged Du Juan tightly. "Mom, I missed you so much. Do you and Dad miss me at home?"
Du Juan smiled kindly and nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. Your dad always talks about you."
Du Juan released Meng Jingwei, holding her hand and scrutinizing her from head to toe. "It's only been two or three months, why have you become so thin?"
She reached out and poked Meng Jingwei's forehead. "You little rascal, you didn't even let me know you were coming back. Mom could have stewed some meat for you. Now that you're back, there isn't even a decent dish at home."
As she spoke, Du Juan called out into the yard, "Old Meng? Old Meng? Come out and see, our daughter is back."
"What? Daughter is back?"
Hearing Du Juan's voice, Meng Tianhua immediately came out of the yard and saw that Meng Jingwei had indeed returned.
For a moment, his face, weathered by time, broke into a smile. "Oh, my daughter is back, Dad misses you so much."
"Dad? Are you feeling better?"
Meng Jingwei walked up to Meng Tianhua and hugged him, making pleasantries.
Meanwhile, Du Juan remembered the vegetable basket that had fallen into the pigsty. She looked back into the pen and saw the pigs gnawing on the basket.
"Hmph, get away from there."
She opened the pigsty door, yelled at the pigs, picked up the basket, and walked out of the pen.
Coming up to Meng Jingwei, she shook the basket, its bamboo weave bitten through, and chided her, "Look at the mess you've made, you little rascal. This is a new basket."
Du Juan reached out and slapped Meng Jingwei's backside. "You spendthrift."
"Hehehe, Mom, it hurts."
Meng Jingwei clutched her backside, feigning pain.
This made Du Juan extremely worried. "Does it hurt a lot? Mom didn't even use much force."
"Haha, I'm just teasing you."
Meng Jingwei grinned, her mood exceptionally good, and linked her arms around both of them as they walked into the yard.
Sitting in the small courtyard, Meng Jingwei chatted with Meng Tianhua. Du Juan went to the refrigerator, found a chicken, and took it to the kitchen to stew meat for Meng Jingwei.
After chatting for a while, Meng Jingwei glanced at the slightly damaged vegetable basket and asked Meng Tianhua, "Dad, this was the basket my master gave you, right?"
"Yes, your master sent it over just the day before yesterday."
"That's perfect. I haven't seen my master in a long time. I'll take the basket to him to fix, and also invite him over for dinner at our place."
"That's fine, go quickly. Your master misses you a lot."
"Okay. I'll go now."
Meng Jingwei returned home, rummaged through her backpack, pulled out something good, and along with the vegetable basket, headed straight for her master's house.
Her master, Lao Chen, was an outsider. He had come to Zhutang Town twenty to thirty years ago and had been living at the foot of the mountain behind their house, secluded from the world.
"Chen" was likely his surname, but no one knew his full name, including Meng Jingwei.
Meng Jingwei ascended the mountain, walking along the mountain path. Lush green grass grew on both sides of the path, adorned with colorful flowers swaying in the wind. Against the backdrop of the azure sky, the scenery was picturesque.
As she reached the foot of the mountain, Meng Jingwei intended to surprise her master. However, he was already sitting by the river, leisurely fishing.
"You ungrateful little thing, you still remember to visit your master?"
Old Chen, with his temples white and a long beard, and his thick, white hair reaching his neck, let it hang loosely. He wore a loose, dark gray coarse linen robe and handmade cloth shoes.
He exuded an air of an immortal, giving off the aura of a hidden master, his unconventional appearance adding a touch of mystery.
"Old man, long time no see."
Meng Jingwei walked over, sat directly on the ground next to Old Chen, tilted her head to look at him, grinned slyly, and then grabbed his beard, tugging it gently. "Oh my, the disciple has been gone for half a year, and master's beard has grown so long."
"Get away from here. My beard finally grew long, and you're back. Don't touch my beard."
Old Chen glared at Meng Jingwei, flicked her hand away, freeing his beard from the clutches. "What are you doing here? You came to see this old man empty-handed. Go on, go far away, don't spoil my fishing mood."
He put on a show of disdain, but his eyes betrayed his undisguised joy.
"You really want me to leave?"
Meng Jingwei raised an eyebrow, and the other hand hidden behind her back slowly came forward, revealing a bottle of white wine.
She looked at the wine bottle and couldn't help but smack her lips. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Alas, such a good bottle of wine, with no one to share it with, I can only enjoy it alone."
Old Chen's eyes darted sideways, and upon seeing the bottle of wine in Meng Jingwei's hand, he felt his fishing rod was no longer appealing.
He immediately put down his rod and reached out to snatch the wine.
Meng Jingwei, quick-handed, moved her hand back, evading Old Chen's grasp.
Old Chen raised an eyebrow at Meng Jingwei, a smile spreading across his weathered face. Then, Meng Jingwei performed a front flip, directly leaping behind Meng Jingwei to try and grab the wine.
Meng Jingwei, quick-witted, turned around to dodge Old Chen.
"You little brat, don't you know I'm an old man? Didn't your teachers teach you to respect the elderly and cherish the young?"
"Master, you're so right. I'm still a child, how can you bear to bully me?"
"Then give me the wine!"
"No!"
Meng Jingwei hid the wine bottle behind her back, stuck out her tongue at Old Chen, and smiled playfully.
Old Chen knitted his brows. A gust of fist wind instantly struck out. Meng Jingwei immediately stopped smiling and even slightly shifted her body, striking Old Chen's chest with her right elbow.
He raised his hand to block, kicked, and attacked the lower body.
Meng Jingwei performed a backflip, evading his moves, and then a mid-air side kick, directly aimed at Old Chen's head. However, Old Chen stood still as she kicked.
Just as her foot was about to connect, he caught her ankle with his bare hand, effortlessly deflecting the force of the flying kick.
He held Meng Jingwei's ankle and pulled back. Caught off guard, Meng Jingwei leaned forward, splitting into a 'one-word' split.