Chapter Eighty-Eight [Wang Chuyi] (A Chapter of Ten Thousand Words!)
By the time the car drove into the village, it was already evening, and the sky was growing a bit dark.
Children were running around with firecrackers in their hands, playing and laughing. The small shop at the village entrance had already hung up lanterns for the New Year, giving off a festive atmosphere. The piles of New Year’s goods stacked outside the shop looked like small mountains.
Just after the car passed the village entrance, another electric tricycle came around the corner. Sitting on the frame and holding the handlebars was Old Niu from the village, wearing a woolen hat and a thick cotton coat. A half side of pork was placed on the tricycle.
Chen Yan recognized the man as his old lady’s mahjong buddy, and immediately asked the driver to stop, then opened the car door and greeted him, "Master Niu."
"Hmm? Xiaoyan is back?" Old Niu squinted and recognized him, smiling, "Are you on winter break?"
"Master Niu, you keep forgetting, I’ve already graduated."
Old Niu glanced at the business car behind Chen Yan and nodded, "Oh, you’re back for the New Year? That’s good, that’s good. Come back and light a few incense sticks for your grandma, and bow a few more times."
He pointed to the pork on his tricycle, "Li Quezi’s family slaughtered a pig yesterday, they couldn’t finish it all, so they sold me half. Have you bought the New Year’s meat for your family yet? If not, come to my place later and I’ll cut you a leg."
"Great, Master Niu, if we need meat, we’ll come knocking on your door," Chen Yan said with a laugh.
Old Niu waved and slowly drove away on his tricycle.
Chen Yan got back in the car, seeing Lu Sisi’s curious look, he smiled and said, "Too bad we got back late. If we came back yesterday, we could have had some freshly slaughtered pork."
Lu Sisi looked a bit horrified, "Slaughtering a pig? I... I can’t bear to watch."
Gu Qingyi, however, lifted her head, her eyes showing a trace of curiosity and interest, "Slaughtering a pig? Are they still doing it? Can we still see it?"
"There should be more than just Li Quezi’s family raising pigs in the village. I’ll ask around, and if there are any, I’ll take you to watch."
Gu Qingyi thought for a moment and shook her head, "Watching is boring, can we try it ourselves?"
Chen Yan rolled his eyes, not wanting to engage with this consort mother any further.
The car drove into the village, and the house left by his grandmother was near the western end of the village. Less than fifty meters away was another neighbor.
But it was heard that the children of this family were in the city for the New Year, having taken their parents to the city for the holiday, leaving the house dark and empty.
That’s fine... Chen Yan sighed, at least it’s quiet, with no neighbors to bother him.
He directed the driver to back the car into the yard; then the driver got out and helped unload the luggage and the pile of New Year’s goods. Chen Yan paid the driver through his mobile platform on the spot and handed the driver a pack of cigarettes.
"Thank you, sir. Drive safely on your way back, and Happy New Year."
The driver was quite happy, even adding Chen Yan on WeChat, telling him to contact him directly when he returned to Jinling, so no need to go through the platform and he could give Chen Yan a discount.
— Without the platform’s commission, even with the discount, the driver could actually earn more.
Seeing the driver off, Chen Yan looked at the familiar self-built rural house before him, feeling an indescribable mix of emotions.
In the past, whenever he came back, his grandmother’s familiar figure would be sitting in the main room. Now, though the light was on in that room, it looked cold and deserted, making his heart fill with complex feelings.
There was no sense of harm, just some nostalgia for his grandmother.
Yeah, nothing to be sad about.
Grandma is gone, but not truly gone~
For a moment, the two well-known identities of the village’s Divine Woman Mrs. Huang and Domain Ghost Race Venerable Ancestor overlapped in Chen Yan’s mind, making it hard to distinguish between the two.
Bringing Gu Qingyi and Lu Sisi into the main room, where the wind was strong and cold outside, he shut the door.
Gu Qingyi remained composed, but Lu Sisi, a bit cold, stomped her feet, probably never having been to such a rural place before, her wide eyes looking around curiously.
Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, "You guys wait here, I’ll get the stove going, otherwise, we won’t even have hot water tonight."
"I’ll join you," Gu Qingyi said firmly. Lu Sisi didn’t speak but stood next to Chen Yan, indicating her intent to help.
In the kitchen, the stove was naturally cold, but the woodpile in the backyard still had some leftover firewood and charcoal. Chen Yan checked the woodpile, finding it dry and not damp.
Lu Sisi, a city girl, had never seen a stove. She bravely volunteered to help, but stuffed the firewood in too full, causing the fire to fail to light, and ended up inhaling smoke, which made her face turn red in frustration.
Chen Yan laughed, patted her and told her to step aside, then carefully pulled out some of the firewood and slowly lit the fire step-by-step.
Lu Sisi watched enthusiastically, whispering, "Chen Yan, did you do this work since you were a kid?"
"Yeah, sometimes I even had to go up the mountain to chop firewood."
"Ah! Going up the mountain to chop firewood?" Lu Sisi’s eyes widened, "That must have been very tough?"
"Yeah, sometimes I even met wolves!" Chen Yan exaggerated.
Actually, he was just teasing Lu Sisi.
Nowadays, except for very remote areas, villages near the eastern regions of Dragon Country don’t really chop firewood anymore—it’s all about environmental protection. Besides, in many places, even mountains are leased out, where would you go to chop firewood?