The result of a busy day is that Chujiu’s bamboo basket is filled with all kinds of delicacies he loves.
It turns out that Xiaoyu's reputation in Fengwang Village is so high that everyone in the village calls her the leader of the village.
I silently thought in my heart that I would set aside part of my income in the future to take care of my uncle's village and Grandma Jian Shu's village.
For ordinary college students, fifty yuan is neither much nor much. It is just a week's living expenses for nearly half of the students in the school. It is a different matter for people like Zhiyong who come from a well-off family.
But for the residents in the village, fifty yuan is almost their annual harvest.
I once asked Chujiu why they didn't want to leave the mountain.
Chujiu answered me that they were born and raised here, this is their roots and their souls, and life outside may not be suitable for them.
Indeed, apart from money, people in the village seem to have more happiness than outside.
Of course, there are also many younger generations who have changed their thinking. They are actually willing to send the next generation out of the mountains to receive education and culture from outside.
Especially after Xiaoyu arrived in Fengwangzhai, the younger generation's thoughts became even stronger.
Although there is a huge language communication barrier, they are still very happy to hear Xiaoyu talk about everything outside.
I saw a family today. After receiving the fifty yuan handed over by Xiaoyu, the whole person collapsed instantly. He held Xiaoyu's hand. If we hadn't stopped him, he would have knelt in front of Xiaoyu.
Chujiu translated for me with a serious look on his face. With this fifty yuan, plus the dozens of yuan he had saved at home, he could finally send his two little ones to study in a small town in Xiaoshan.
Most families in the village only have a small piece of land. When the harvest is good, they can keep enough food for the whole year, and then carry the rest down the mountain and sell it to the supply and marketing cooperative in the town.
Most of the villagers rely on hunting and collecting some Chinese medicinal materials to exchange for daily necessities at the foot of the mountain. This is not much different from Chujiu and his village.
I was able to study at the foot of the mountain since I was a child, thanks to my uncle who was very knowledgeable.
As for the villagers the day before yesterday, although they were not so exaggerated, they were full of gratitude to Xiao Yu and Grandma Jian Shu.
Especially the older villagers made a strange move towards Xiao Yu. They put their thumbs on their foreheads and made a gesture similar to bowing towards Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu returned the favor with the same gesture.
Chujiu proudly told me that this was the highest etiquette in the village. They treated Xiao Yu as the village master and had already identified Xiao Yu as their future village master.
I asked Chujiu whether he also enjoyed such a high honor in Tuhai Village. After all, he was also my uncle's designated successor.
Chu Jiu suddenly had a droopy face, and everyone in Zhai Zhaili would ask him if he would abandon everyone in the future.
However, Chujiu was only sad for a moment and grabbed Xiaoyu's arm. There will be sister Xiaoyu in the future.
It took me a long time to realize what Chujiu meant. After Xiaoyu merged with the Gu King Insect, his identity was naturally the talker of all the villages. Since he managed so many villages, he didn't care to help Chujiu take care of Tuhai Village anyway.
There are not many people in the village.
If I use this melon in my head to learn English, I will be ranked first in the school.
Xiaoyu looked at Chujiu with disdain. She wanted to do good things, but even if she became the talker, she would not let Chujiu feel so comfortable. She actually wanted to be the shopkeeper.
"Oh, why did Sister Xiaoyu become my sister-in-law?"
Xiaoyu, who was originally very strong-willed, once again heard Chujiu calling her sister-in-law, lowering her head and making a sound as quiet as a mosquito. It was not impossible for her to take care of the village. After all, the two villages were not far away.
Almost every household would bring something to thank us, whether it was herbs from a certain age or fresh game. It was always the most valuable thing in their house and they would ask us if we needed it.
According to my opinion, Chujiu should not take other people's things, even though they are just some ingredients. After all, the people in the village are not rich.
On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, a few households would take some ingredients and throw them into bamboo baskets.
Xiaoyu is also unorganized and sometimes helps Chujiu choose some ingredients.
Chujiu told me that this is the wish of the people in the village. If you don't take any of it, people will think that you treat yourself as an outsider.
On the contrary, they will feel even more uncomfortable, so they just pick something that is not in short supply at home, even if Grandma Jian Shu comes, she will take it.
As expected, we, the villagers who took other people's things, were happier than those who didn't, and warmly invited us to be our guests when we had time.
Chujiu patted her chest and promised the villagers who didn't take anything from them that they would definitely come and pick up the food after the food was finished in the past two days. The villagers then smiled and let us go to another house.
"Oh, Chujiu, you are better than grandma. When grandma goes to visit, the bamboo basket has never been so full."
After the sun went down, we finally returned to Grandma Jian Shu’s stilted building.
Grandma Jian Shu's face lit up with joy as she looked at the basket full of ingredients. This was a sign of Xiao Yu's recognition in the village.
Grandma Jian Shu and Xiao Yu were cooking. The table was full and even more abundant than during the Chinese New Year.
After dinner, Grandma Jian Shu took us for a walk in the stockade. We walked around the stockade and finally made sure that every household had been taken care of and no one was missing.
Grandma Jian Shu used to go to bed early, so Xiaoyu, Chujiu and I couldn't sleep for a while, so we slipped out and played by the lake for a long time again.
"Tomorrow we will go see Lanyan after breakfast. Guoguo, take the remaining instant noodles and biscuits in your backpack. He will definitely be extremely happy when he sees the whole box of drinks I brought him."
After Chujiu finished talking about her plans for the next day, Xiaoyu asked Chujiu to leave a bottle of drink and a pack of instant noodles for her.
"Sister, didn't you tell me this was junk food before? You never eat it."
Xiao Yu smiled and kept it there, occasionally wanting to take a look at the city.
I felt sad for a while and held Xiaoyu's hand tightly. I just hoped that she could return to normal as soon as possible and at least be able to freely enter and leave the village and the city.
This night in Xiaoyu's room, I no longer felt nervous and uneasy like the previous day. After seeing Xiaoyu lying on the bed, I also lay down immediately.
"Oh, man!"
Xiaoyu chuckled softly, with an incomprehensible tone. I couldn't figure it out all night long.
As soon as it dawned, Xiaoyu and I were urged to get up and have breakfast.
Chujiu even diligently helped us get some water for washing. He couldn't wait to see Lan Yan's excitement when he saw him.
After breakfast, Grandma Jian Shu told us to pay attention to our safety, then picked up the bamboo basket and went out to collect herbs.
On the ninth day of the lunar month, he broke off a bamboo pole behind the stilted building, held it in his hand and waved it a few times before he was willing to carry the bamboo basket and go out.
"With this bamboo pole, I won't be afraid of encountering Lanyan's trap."