“I don’t plan on staying.”
Xiao Shan watched Shuang Hua’s hands gripping the shovel, her knuckles starkly prominent from the exertion. Her hands, chapped and cracked from frostbite, looked like an old woman’s.
He felt a pang of unease, his thoughts drifting to her mother, a woman who never raised her voice but had the ferocity to plunge into the river.
That night, he’d heard the honest Uncle Man Yi weeping all night long.
“Shuang Hua, your husband…”
“He died. Our child died of illness when he was five. They wouldn’t take us in, so I returned to Baiyang Village. It’s thanks to Brother Da Ming’s protection that he’s the village head now. He’s the one who drove away my maternal aunt when she came to cause trouble.”
Xiao Da Ming, his childhood playmate. It seemed he was doing a decent job as village head.
“Brother Shan Zi, do you know how my father died?”
Wasn’t he drowned in the flood?
Xiao Shan felt as though many things were different from what he’d imagined.
How much more about this Baiyang Village did he not know?
“My father…” Shuang Hua choked back a sob. “On the day the flood came, he put me on the big locust tree, then took his knife to the village head’s house. The village head’s family and his wife’s brother, who used to bully my mother, didn’t escape. My father… he never came back either.”
“He was honest his entire life, and in the end, he was brave for my mother. Even though he left me and let me be bullied by my aunt, I never blamed him. He was a good husband, and a good father.”
Shuang Hua lowered her head, her tears falling onto the gravel.
Indeed, everyone in this world had their own hardships.
…
When Ling Yao and Hu Zi arrived at the carriage, they saw several people gathered around, seemingly up to something.
Were they stealing?
“Uncle Da Ming, Uncle Chang Sheng—” Hu Zi called out to the men.
“Hu Zi? Oh my, who is this!”
Several men approached, all dressed in worn cotton clothes, some patched in places. They looked at Ling Yao with surprise.
“This is Uncle Xiao Shan’s daughter.”
Ling Yao thought, Fine, I’ll be his daughter for a couple of days. She was his ancestor anyway, so she wasn’t losing out.
“Xiao, Xiao Shan? Which Xiao Shan? Is it… Shan Zi? Shan Zi is back?”
Xiao Da Ming’s bewilderment turned into immense joy.
Over the years, villagers had returned one by one, and he had done his best to help each of them, cherishing them dearly. But his good friend Xiao Shan had never returned. He had thought…
“Hu Zi, where is your Uncle Xiao Shan? Is this his carriage?”
As expected, his brother was formidable. He seemed to be doing well out there; the carriage looked very sturdy.
He wouldn’t be leaving again this time, would he?
Ling Yao found the excitement of these people difficult to understand. Didn’t Xiao Shan say he didn’t have much affection for this village? Why was everyone so thrilled to see him return?
“You’re Shan Zi’s daughter? You’ve grown up so beautifully. I’m your Uncle Da Ming.”
“Uh, Uncle Da Ming,” Ling Yao called out, feeling a sense of “humiliation.”
“I’m your Uncle Chang Sheng.”
“I’m your Uncle Si Fang.”
Ling Yao: “……Hello, uncles.”
“Hahaha, what a good, obedient little girl. I never expected Shan Zi to raise such a beautiful daughter. She must take after her mother!”
“Of course. With Shan Zi’s build, he’s probably grown a lot over the years. If she took after Shan Zi, wouldn’t she be terrifying?”
Ling Yao realized these must be the same ones who used to compare their peeing distance with Xiao Shan.
Ling Yao climbed onto the carriage and took out a paper-wrapped package. The aroma of roast chicken wafted out. Although it had cooled down, she didn’t care; she needed to fill her stomach first.
Da Ming and the others fell silent. Hu Zi’s eyes widened, and he swallowed.
Ling Yao tore off a chicken leg and handed it to him.
“No, no, this is very expensive.”
He knew. When he was young and ignorant, he’d wanted to eat it. His mother had emptied all her money, and they still couldn’t afford one. They were even chased away, and his mother had secretly wiped away tears. After that, he never dared to ask for it again.
“Eat it quickly, or it’ll get colder,” Ling Yao pushed it into his hand.
Although the Great Jing had no war, it would take time to restore the people’s livelihood, especially in these remote villages. They were truly too poor.
Someone should let that person come down and see what kind of lives the people of Great Jing were living.
Xiao Da Ming coughed dryly. “Let’s go, we’ll go find Shan Zi.”
They walked together. Hu Zi, swallowing his saliva, ate the chicken skin bit by bit, unwilling to eat the rest.
Xiao Shan unearthed an iron box from the ground and was walking toward them with Shuang Hua. At a glance, he saw a group of people approaching, and Ling Yao was among them, holding a chicken and gnawing on it as she walked.
What kind of appetite did this girl have? Why was she so hungry? Eating cold food in such cold weather, wasn’t she afraid of a stomachache!
He quickened his pace and called out to Ling Yao, “Eat it after it’s heated. Be careful not to chill your stomach.”
“Shan Zi!” Xiao Da Ming shouted.
Shan Zi was truly different from them. His demeanor was like a general in the opera, commanding respect.
He had truly prospered!
“Da Ming?” Xiao Shan looked at them in surprise, recognizing them one by one: “Chang Sheng, Si Fang.”
It was strange. He hadn’t remembered the people and events in Baiyang Village for many years. Upon returning this time, seeing his former playmates, even though they had changed in appearance, he recognized them immediately.
“You can still recognize us? We thought you wouldn’t recognize your brothers after prospering out there.”
“You’ve finally returned. Your brothers often spoke of you over the years.”
“We knew you were better than others since you were a child. It’s true.”
The men chatted enthusiastically.
Ling Yao continued to gnaw on the roast chicken, having already eaten nearly half of it.
Hu Zi quietly walked over to Shuang Hua, holding out a chicken leg. “Mother, you eat. It’s delicious.”
Shuang Hua’s eyes welled up with tears again.
Xiao Shan exchanged a few words with the others, then frowned at the gluttonous Ling Yao.
This was too unusual.
How could such a small stomach eat so much? Was she perhaps ill?
“Does your stomach feel uncomfortable?” He wiped the oil from the corner of her mouth.
Ling Yao shook her head. She was almost finished with the chicken.
Everyone marveled at how much the little girl could eat.
Although she hadn’t inherited Shan Zi’s looks, she had inherited his appetite. An ordinary family couldn’t afford to raise her.
“Ah Shan, come stay at my place tonight. We brothers will have a good get-together.”
Xiao Shan hadn’t planned to linger in the village. But given the current situation, it seemed unlikely he could leave immediately. Besides, he hadn’t visited his sister’s grave to clean it.
But this little girl…
“Alright, prepare a room. This girl hasn’t been feeling well lately, so I’ll be staying with her at night.”