Dawn appeared in the sky, and then the sounds of chickens, dogs, and children chirping were heard entering the cabin.
Hutao woke up in a daze. Because there were no windows, the room was a little dark, but when she opened the door, she saw half of the sun shining on the mountain opposite.
Ling Yechen was still sleeping, and there was no movement.
Hutao didn't call him, she got up and packed her things and went to the village chief's house.
The village chief's family had gotten up early. His eldest son had already driven a group of sheep out, and even the youngest child was already up and running around the yard.
The village chief's wife took her to the river in front of the house to wash up, and then sat by the firepit to start today's breakfast.
Breakfast is very simple, including scones, roasted potatoes, and a bowl of tea.
I have eaten this kind of meal with walnuts, it is the most common farm snack.
A few people were eating breakfast while chatting about the families of the students who were going to go during the day.
Ling Yechen didn't get up until the walnuts were almost finished.
After getting up, he packed his things and put them in the car before returning to the village chief's house.
I didn’t sleep well last night. I barely fell asleep in the first half of the night, and I barely managed to fall asleep in the second half of the night.
Like Walnut, he still went to the river in front of the house to wash himself.
This was the first time he had done such a thing. He never knew that there could be no bathroom or sink here, so he washed himself in the river outside.
The water is very cold, as cold as ice water in winter.
A handful of cold water was slapped on the face, and the whole person became sober.
By the time he entered the room, Hutao was almost finishing breakfast.
The village chief stood up enthusiastically, poured him tea and handed him chopsticks.
There are a few dusty cakes in the basin next to the fire pit.
There are also a few roasted dark potatoes beside the firepit.
There is also a plate of sauerkraut next to it, and then a pot of tea.
Apart from sauerkraut and tea, Ling Yechen didn't know what the cakes in front of him were, nor what the potatoes beside the fire pit were.
He has seen a lot of things that he cannot accept since yesterday, and now he is not surprised when he sees the dusty cake.
I just picked up a piece of cake, looked at it left and right, studied it and asked Hutao: "What is this?"
Then he took out another potato and asked, "What is this?"
Before Hutao could answer, the village chief had already introduced him.
"This cake is made of flour. The difference is that it is baked directly into the ashes of the fire pit. It is delicious.
These are potatoes, and they are cooked directly in the fire."
When Ling Yechen heard that it was burned directly in the ashes, he was a little afraid to eat it. He looked at the food in front of him and still couldn't eat it. His explanation was: "I don't have the habit of eating breakfast."
The village chief didn't force himself, but Ling Yeshen only drank a little boiled water.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the two said goodbye to the village chief's house and began their work here.
According to the route map given by the village chief, they are going to the student's home ten kilometers away today.
I heard that there are five families there, and their children all study in a school near the village chief's home, traveling more than ten kilometers back and forth every day.
It's summer vacation right now, so there's no one in the school.
What troubles Ling Yechen the most is that there is no way to drive there. You have to take a small road, and you have to return today. There is no place to stay there.
Ling Yechen avoided Hutao and called his mother, saying that he would return directly. Regardless of these nonsense, he was really fed up with the environment here. It felt like a slum, and everything made him unable to adapt.
His mother was very cheerful and said: "As long as your conscience is acceptable, you can choose whatever you want." Then she hung up the phone.
Although he has a bad temper, he is well-educated, so after coming here, although he hated everything here in his heart, he held it back and did not show it on his face.
Now he knows that if he regrets going back now, he will have to leave the little girl here alone for many days. Thinking of what happened last night, he can't help himself.
So he was extremely silent, but he didn't say anything like "I want to leave."
I just silently sent the car to the village chief's house, fearing that it would be smashed by others, so I could take the things inside.
After sending the car, I dug through the trunk and took out several food items and put them into my carry-on backpack.
Then the two of them went out. The village chief also explained a lot of precautions before going out.
Including being careful about encountering venomous snakes on the road and biting dogs in the village, they were also told to remember to bring raincoats in case it rained on the road.
The two walked on a flat road for a while, and soon reached the foot of the mountain. They had to follow the mountain range and go deep into the ravine.
This is a basin, surrounded by mountains and a plain in the middle. People live at the foot of the mountains, and the plains in the middle are covered with grassland, used for grazing or cultivating land.
There are very few crops grown in the plains, which are all contiguous grasslands, so almost all the people here make a living by grazing.
There are cattle, sheep, and pigs everywhere on the grassland, and
Villagers grazing.
Just after arriving at the foot of the mountain, already a few kilometers away from the village chief's home, Ling Yeshen found a shady place to stop, then took out a pack of biscuits from his bag and ate it.
He stood instead of sitting.
"Are you hungry? Didn't you say you're not used to eating breakfast?" Hutao asked with a smile.
Ling Yechen was also honest and said directly: "That's dirty."
She laughed, a bit mockingly. It seemed that he was not used to it at all, but just didn't want to eat the breakfast at the village chief's house.
Hutao looked at him eating the compressed biscuits and couldn't stand it. He said: "You didn't eat well last night, and you didn't eat well this morning. If the village chief knew that you disliked his food so much, he would definitely be sad.
After all, their family is really warm and enthusiastic in taking care of us."
Ling Yechen didn't reply to her, but looked at her and said, "Do you want some cookies?"
Hutao shook his head and said, "You go ahead and eat it, and get on your way after eating."
Later, the two of them really kept walking, and only Ling Yeshen occasionally asked: "What is this? What is that?"
Hutao was really speechless. There were many strange flowers and plants in the mountains. He seemed like an idiot and had never seen anything. Then this taciturn man started his ten thousand whys.
This kind of him really subverted the image of him that was gentle and silent in her mind for the past two days.
After walking for three hours, the two of them walked out of the mountain, and finally a small village appeared in front of them.
Hutao roughly counted it, and found that it was very similar to the village described by the village chief. There were five families connected together in a small basin.
There are many cattle and sheep running on the grassland.
Hutao stretched out his hands, lifted his sore feet, and said excitedly: "We're finally here. Let's have something to eat and rest before going home to visit."
The two reached a consensus and each took out the food and started eating.
What Ling Yechen took out were compressed biscuits. He didn't understand why his mother put so many compressed biscuits. It was clean, but he couldn't bear to eat them all the time. He stopped eating after one bite.
.
Hutao looked at his movements and asked: "Aren't you hungry? It doesn't taste good?"
Ling Yechen said nothing and drank the water from the cup.
Hutao took out the pancakes and pickles baked for her by the village chief's wife this morning and ate them.
This kind of cake is really delicious and can be eaten cold. It tastes even better with pickles.
Seeing how delicious the walnuts were, Ling Yeshen asked curiously: "Is this really so delicious?" He didn't believe it.
Hutao nodded and said: "It's really delicious, but I know you think it's dirty, so I won't share it with you."
Ling Yechen was speechless, he didn't expect her to say such things.
She brought two loaves, and after finishing one, she put the other away, ready to eat again when she was hungry.