Chapter 1279: Climbing the Mountain
The Wang Family brought out their best food to entertain their guests.
Jiang Xinyu felt quite touched. It’s not about making them spend a lot, but about feeling valued.
"Xiao Long brother, thank you for taking care of my family and keeping your family from living together."
Guo Caifeng smiled and said, "Everyone in the village says we’ve gotten a great deal. We even have a house to live in."
"Sister-in-law, I’m really sorry for making you endure others’ comments."
"What’s the big deal? Xinyu, don’t worry about it. In a few days, the two kids will come back and sleep with my folks, and we can enjoy a few days of peace and quiet."
Jiang Xinyu knew they were saying this to put her at ease. Her heart was filled with gratitude.
There hasn’t been snow this year, and the weather is bone-chillingly cold. Han Xiangjun looked at Dashan. "Xiao Wei, shall we go up the mountain to check things out?"
"Alright, let’s go have a look. The three older ones will definitely follow."
"We’re just going for a stroll, and it’s nice to take the kids along. Let’s ask Xiao Jiang if she wants to come."
"I bet Shi Xian won’t agree."
"Let’s give it a try." That little guy is really a troublemaker.
The two younger ones were growing sleepy as Director Wei coughed and entered the room.
"Xinyu, Old Han wants to take the kids up the mountain. Do you want to come along?"
Jiang Xinyu looked at Shi Xian, who was half-asleep, and felt tempted. She had climbed the mountain many times when she first came here.
"Alright, go ahead and make preparations."
"Xinyu, enjoy yourself, the kids will be fine with me." Wang Ailing wasn’t in a hurry to leave.
In fact, Xiangting also wanted to go, so she went to find Chen Guoliang.
Chen Guoliang agreed, but Liangyu couldn’t be taken along. Fuqing also persuaded Wang Xiaolong to join, so the group heading up the mountain was quite large.
Jiang Xinyu held Feifei’s hand and walked at the back. "Mom, did you use to go up the mountain too?"
"Yes, back then, without the mountain yams, we probably couldn’t have made it."
Wang Xiaolong laughed as well, "Indeed, Xinyu, you were so brave back then. When I went up the mountain with you to dig for yams, I wondered how long you had been wandering around the mountain to find food.
I was quite scared. But over the past few years, I’ve been going to the yam field myself. I planted some, got used to eating them, and found them tasty."
"Xiao Long brother, actually there are many ways to eat yams, I’ll tell my aunt and sister-in-law when we get back. Eating more yams is good for uncle and aunt’s health."
"Yes, I’ll definitely plant more each year, you should take some when you go back. We have plenty in the cellar at home."
"Okay, we’ll make yam cakes when we get back."
The group didn’t find anything on the mountain; many people had come up in pairs after autumn. There was hardly any firewood on the sides of the frequently traversed paths.
"Xinyu, have you spotted any large animals?" Han Xiangjun asked.
Jiang Xinyu shook her head, "No, I haven’t found any. To be honest, even rabbits are rarely seen.
But I haven’t ventured into the deep mountains, I’m too timid."
"Haha, shall we try today?"
"No, the kids are with us. Let’s just wander around and go home." Wei Kaiyun immediately objected.
The kids, although complaining internally, knew their objections wouldn’t matter.
The girls don’t have enough endurance; in the back, Jiang Xinyu was with the two little ones.
"Mom, why did you go up the mountain back then? I didn’t find anything to eat along the way."
"At that time, I was gathering leaves and chopping branches; winter was terribly cold.
The yams were a chance discovery; otherwise, there really wasn’t much to eat on this mountain."
"Not as rich as the resources over in the Northeast."
"Indeed, the trees are plentiful there too. Look at this mountain, there are only sparse trees here."
"I guess they’ve all been chopped down."
Jiang Xinyu nodded; a few years ago, there were still many trees. Honestly, we should advocate that for every tree they cut, they must plant one, otherwise there’ll be nothing left after a few years.
Wang Xiaolong led the way in front, and they arrived at the yam field.
"With time, this place can yield a lot."
"Exactly, this year, our four in the family managed to harvest over a thousand pounds."
"Do we want to go further in?" Wang Xiaolong asked.
Wei Kaiyun checked the time, "We should head back now, it’s already past three. Going down will take over an hour. It’s not safe in the dark."
Xiangting and Fuqing were a bit disappointed, but the three older ones didn’t mind. They’ve seen much more on other trips, so they weren’t too disappointed.
On the way down, the four men began collecting the branches they had gathered along the path.
Jiang Xinyu reached the small valley where she woke up after crossing over, remembering she first awoke here.
"Mom?"
"It’s nothing, this is where I often gathered leaves."
"Mom, do we want to have a look?"
Jiang Xinyu shook her head, "No." To be honest, she felt a bit afraid of this place; since returning, she felt anxious.
The four men each carried a bundle of firewood, so the trip wasn’t wasted.
Back home, Sun Ermei hurriedly prepared sugar water for them.
"Xinyu, Zhou Lihong came by looking for you."
"Xinyu, do you have a good relationship with her?" Guo Caifeng asked.
"It’s alright. Back then, I secretly gave the three siblings some yams."
"You gave them food too, didn’t you?" Sun Ermei asked.
"Yes, the tragedy shouldn’t affect family; what could they have done wrong? Moreover, their mom took away all the food and money, they were always one step from starvation.
In fact, Zhou Lihong is much better than Kong Mengjie."
Liang Caifeng nodded, "Yes, Zhou Lihong is a hardworking person, the three siblings never shirking their tasks. They’re diligent, so these years have been fairly good for them.
Xinyu, Zhou Lihong asks about you every year, seems she’s grateful."
"Sister-in-law, how are Zhou Lihong and Kong Dehong doing?"
"They’re doing okay, Kong Dehong listens well, especially to Zhou Lihong.
I heard they never argue."
"That’s good, maybe Kong Dehong is the only decent one in the Kong Family." Jiang Xinyu felt a strong dislike towards Boss Kong and Kong Derong.
"Hopefully. It’s not that no match was introduced to Zhou Lihong, but she insisted on settling her sister and brother’s matters first.
What man would want such a big responsibility? So it’s been dragging."
"Sister-in-law, I’m quite curious, why did Kong Zhongyou agree?"
Guo Caifeng gave a knowing smile and whispered in Jiang Xinyu’s ear, "I heard from Xiao Long’s wife that Kong Demin’s wife, Zheng Xiuxiang, often tried to climb into Kong Dehong’s bed. One night, he was so scared he shouted out loud. I heard he was sleeping with his parents, too frightened to sleep alone."