Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

No matter how slow the speed is, the distance is short.

We soon reached the south side of the village.

Walking along the path, you can see workers laying tiles on the roof.

This is the last step in the main construction of the house. After the tiles are installed, all that remains is to install windows, door frames, etc.

It's just finishing work, so don't waste too much time.

Some bricklayers have started to leave, and there are fewer workers on site.

"Is that your yard?"

Yu Chuntao looked from afar and saw a row of brand new red brick walls, which stood out against the ochre-colored surroundings.

The red brick and red tile wall with flying eaves is very majestic.

Not to mention Wangjiazhuang, she had never seen such a magnificent house in other places.

Suddenly I felt more unfamiliar with Yu Qiutang.

But she hid this feeling very well in her smile.

She knew that when she was not at home, she could do nothing about many things that happened at home.

When my brother said it, it was very calm.

It seemed as if everything was under his control, but in fact, no matter how mature he was, he was still just an eighteen-year-old boy.

If he didn't have the ability to hunt, it would be difficult for him to make a living by other means.

Not to mention building a house, it's really not easy to take care of Meimei and two children.

The more she thought about it, the more complicated her mood became, and her mind became a little wandering, until she saw her sister Chunmei and a young girl knitting sweaters at the door, and then she came to her senses.

At the door of the blacksmith shop, Yu Chunmei and Mi Yali heard the sound of a motorcycle and looked over here in surprise.

Yu Xiaowei and Yu Xiaoyun, who were playing inside, also ran out.

They are on summer vacation now, and they come here to adapt to the environment in advance.

Anyway, it's much better than staying in a troglodyte courtyard.

It's free here, the place is big, I help the adults with things, play with the puppies, study, and life isn't too easy.

Yu Chunmei and Mi Yali stood up together, still holding the wool in their hands. Yu Chunmei looked at Yu Chuntao, while Mi Yali was first surprised at the motorcycle, and then surprised that Yu Qiutang was riding a motorcycle.

He was even more surprised that someone could actually put his arm around Yu Qiutang's waist and sit in the back of his car.

What are you doing so intimately?

She was unhappy for a moment.

But soon, she realized that she was narrow-minded. The woman looked very similar to Sister Chunmei.

I immediately remembered that Yu Qiutang said he had three sisters, so this was undoubtedly one of them.

I suddenly felt ashamed of my previous thoughts.

"squeak!"

The motorcycle braked in front of them.

As soon as Yu Chuntao got off the car, Yu Chunmei excitedly came forward and hugged her waist, "Second sister, you are back. Why didn't you come back to see me earlier? I missed you so much."

She was originally very calm at home and in front of others, but when she saw her beloved second sister, Yu Chunmei couldn't help but show the temperament of a little girl and reveal her weak side.

Yu Chuntao patted her sister's head affectionately, "Hey, look at you, why do you look like a little girl? There are people watching you, aren't you afraid of being embarrassed?"

Yu Chunmei finally stood up again, with tears in her eyes. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and grinned, "No way, we are all family, there are no outsiders, who would laugh at me?"

When she said that, no one else cared, but Miali felt a little embarrassed.

Except for her, everyone else present was indeed a family member.

Yu Chuntao was so smart that she saw Miali's expression at a glance and remembered what Yu Qiutang said on the road, that there was a girl he liked and he was going to propose to her soon. She thought it must be this girl.

She smiled at Miali.

Miali quickly smiled back.

Both of them could see the kindness in each other's eyes, and the first impression was very good.

Yu Qiutang let the two sisters chat while he took off Yu Chuntao's backpack and asked Yu Xiaowei to take it in.

Then he called Mia Li to come over.

Mi Yali walked away while looking at Yu Chuntao. Seeing this, Yu Qiutang smiled and said, "You will get to know each other well after you get married. My second sister is very easy to get along with."

"It looks like... what's the meaning of passing the exam? Don't talk nonsense."

Although he was talking nonsense, he was not actually upset, just blushing with shyness.

The two of them moved behind the wall, facing south, avoiding the biting northwest wind and feeling quite warm under the sun.

"Lili, I've told my third aunt that I'll go propose marriage tomorrow. Do you think I should be careful about anything?"

Miyali rolled her eyes at him, "What do you mean? You still need me to give you advice on this matter? I sold myself to your Yu family, and I still have to jump into the car myself, right?"

"You're not a pig..."

"You are really good at talking."

Mi Yali pushed him gently, but Yu Qiutang took the opportunity to grab her hand. She pulled it but failed to pull it back, so she had to look around and turned her back to Yu Qiutang.

"Actually, there's nothing special to worry about. My parents don't have high requirements, and they won't ask for too much in the betrothal gift. Besides, you're not someone who's short of money, so you don't have to worry... As for the rest, it seems that there's nothing else. Anyway, I can't think of anything else."

"That's good."

Yu Qiutang sighed.

"Why are you sighing? You seem very tired?" Miyali was a little unhappy. "Is the burden of proposing marriage so heavy?"

"No, no, that's not the case," Yu Qiutang explained quickly, "It's not about this."

"Why?" Miali asked.

"Why..." Yu Qiutang wanted to say, but was suddenly stunned. Why? He couldn't really say it, but he just felt a sense of fatigue inexplicably.

After thinking for a while, he could only say casually: "Maybe I'm too tired recently. I always feel that there are too many things to do and I can't solve them in a short time."

Mi Yali looked at Yu Qiutang and felt that he was indeed a little tired. A wave of tenderness surged from her heart. She gently placed her other hand on the back of Yu Qiutang's hand, "If there are many things to do, just do them slowly. Anyway, the sky will not fall. Don't put too much burden on yourself, okay?"

His wife's gentle words made Yu Qiutang feel like a thirsty traveler walking in the desert who drank a stream of cool spring water. He felt comfortable from inside to outside, and he nodded.

Gently held Miali in his arms.

Miali's shoulders trembled a little, but she didn't struggle and just leaned against him gently.

"Lili..."

"Ok?"

"If I say that my requirements for life are very simple, just simple food and simple meals, and I can live like this with you forever, I will be satisfied, do you believe me?"

Miali pondered for a moment and smiled slightly.

"It sounds lame, but I like it."

"That's good."

The sun is warm and cozy.
.
The two people over there were chatting, the two brothers and sisters over here were studying motorcycles, and the two sisters were sitting on the kang and chatting.

Yu Chuntao soon discovered that her sister was now much more cheerful and outgoing. She was totally different from before.

This is almost similar to Yu Qiutang.

She had also noticed just now that the two children's personalities had changed a lot.

It turned out that before she got married, these people were very introverted. Perhaps constrained by their father's high-pressure policy, the children in the family were shrouded in a dark cloud and found it difficult to truly express their inner thoughts.

Almost everyone lives with a mask of sadness on their face.

Now.

One by one, it was like taking off a mask, revealing their true appearance.

I just realized that my sister also has a lively side.

"It's all Tangtang. If it weren't for him, how could I be so free now?"

When talking about the changes, Yu Chunmei naturally gave all the praise to Yu Qiutang without reservation.

The same is true.

That's what she thought in her heart.

The six months since she left home were the happiest six months of her life...

No, in fact, she had more happiness than all the people she grew up with combined. Even though her mother was still alive at that time, she didn't feel much maternal love.

After hearing this, Yu Chuntao sighed again, "I never thought that Tangtang would be so successful."

"Yes, the key is that he is successful, but at heart he is still an honest and upright person. He is willing to take care of me and the two children, and he doesn't think we are a burden.

If I were an ordinary brother, who would care about a disabled person like me?

After all, we don’t have the same mother. Even if we have the same father, my father has that kind of personality…”

"Don't talk nonsense. So what if we don't have the same mother? We have been close to Tangtang and Chunsheng since we were young. We are brothers. Now Chunsheng..."

When Yu Chuntao mentioned Yu Chunsheng, she suddenly felt a little sad. "I don't know whether Brother Chunsheng is alive or dead. After so many years, the child has grown up. If he is alive, he should come back to visit."

Yu Chunmei shook her head. "It must be a bad thing. He had a hard time at home in the past few years, so it's not easy for him to live outside. Otherwise, why doesn't he go home? Xiaowei and Yunyun are already so old."

"Maybe."

Yu Chuntao said helplessly, "The old man is like this anyway. Good people don't live long. Brother Chunsheng is such a good person, but he still ends up like this..."

Suddenly, she stopped talking in time and turned her worry into joy. "Look, why are we talking about this? Since these sad things have happened, let's just treat them as the past."

Yu Chunmei also smiled and nodded.

"Oh, by the way, I heard Tangtang say on the way that he was going to ask our third aunt to help propose marriage. Is it the girl we just saw?"

"Yes, her name is Lili, and she is from Mijiazhuang. I don't know how they knew each other before, but Lili's brother works here, and he is very down-to-earth, stable, and has a good temper..."

Yu Chuntao thought to herself, I only care about my brother's wife, why should I care about her brother.

"Tell me, what's that girl like?"

"Very good, sewing, tea and food are all very good, you have seen her appearance, she is handsome, well-mannered, has a good personality, is kind and considerate...

She feels similar to our eldest sister, but she is more cheerful than her, and everything else is almost exactly the same."

Yu Chuntao was very surprised and kept clicking her tongue, "She is said to be similar to our eldest sister. She is really a good girl. I just took a look at her and I thought she looked very kind. She is really beautiful and kind-hearted."

"Of course. I've always thought that our Tangtang has found a treasure. I heard from Lili that in the past few years, someone had been coming to her parents to propose marriage, but because her younger brother was still young, they didn't agree.

Otherwise, with such conditions, that man would have to accumulate blessings for several lifetimes to marry her. We are really lucky."

"Look at what you said, are we still far behind?"

Yu Chuntao briefly repeated what Yu Qiutang had told her about recent events to confirm whether they were true.

Yu Chunmei affirmed all of them.

And also add some details.

Yu Chuntao discovered that when Yu Qiutang spoke to her, he was obviously being reserved and modest.

"Very good, very good. Seeing that you are all well here, I feel relieved. I am in the mountains and can't worry about you. Sometimes when I think about you, I feel very anxious."

"Sister, how are you doing in the mountains? I heard people say that everything is inconvenient in the mountains. There is nothing to eat or drink, and people have to eat potatoes all year round?"

"Who did you listen to?"

"That's what everyone says."

"What an old almanac... The mountains are certainly not as good as our plains, but they are not that bad. What era is it now? It's not the Liulin Year. How can people still starve to death?"

"No, that's good. My brother-in-law is still a teacher?"

"That's right. He couldn't bear to leave his students. He said that without education, the children would never get out of the mountains. I said, they are young now and can't get out, but when they grow up and have longer legs, they will be able to get out, right?
Guess what he said?
He said, if you have no culture, your soul is in the mountains, and it will be useless no matter how far you go.

Don’t you think it’s strange?”

When Yu Chunmei heard her sister say this, she felt that this statement seemed a little familiar. After thinking about it carefully, she remembered that Yu Qiutang had said something similar.

It is said that people must have knowledge.

If you don’t have knowledge, even if you become rich, you can’t get out of your own world.

That's about the same idea.

"I don't know. I feel like what they say is very profound and I can't understand it. I don't have much education anyway, and I probably can't leave this place. Plus, my legs are so bad..."

Speaking of legs, Yu Chunmei remembered something and said with a smile, "Sister, Tangtang said that after the New Year, he would take me to see my legs."

"Look at your legs. Are your legs...anything good?" Yu Chuntao was very surprised.

"I guess... maybe. I don't know. Anyway, that's what Tangtang said. I said no, and it would cost a lot of money. But Tangtang said yes, and he also said I don't need to worry about the money."

When Yu Chunmei said this, she felt happy and sad at the same time.

The mood is a bit complicated.

Of course, she still wanted to get her legs treated, even if it would just make it a little easier so she could walk more naturally.

But I am also worried that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

I also feel sorry for Yu Qiutang spending money.

Very contradictory.

Yu Chuntao was even more shocked, thinking secretly that Yu Qiutang had really made it.

So promising.

It is unbelievable that we can achieve this level in just half a year.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard someone outside shouting, "Qiu Jiang, Qiu Tang, are you there?"

"Hey, it's Aunt Three!"

Yu Chuntao jumped off the kang and flew out the door.

Gao Meilan, dressed in warm clothes, was seen staggering towards me like a big brown bear.

Gao Meilan saw the motorcycle parked at the door from afar and was still wondering who was coming. When she saw Yu Chuntao, her brows immediately lit up with joy.

"Hey, isn't this our Taozi? Why are you back? Why don't you go to your Third Aunt's house? Did you marry into a rich family and forget about your Third Aunt?"

"I just can't remember." Yu Chuntao pulled Aunt San's arm and shook it back and forth. (End of this chapter)