After returning from Shili Mountain, Wu Chun did not go to sleep right away. He opened the closet door and took out the newspaper from the village chief’s house that he had brought back that day about the landslide five years ago.
Wu Chun sat on the bed with his back to the wall, leaving only a dim lamp at the head of the bed.
The news here is too isolated.
Wu Chun read through several newspapers, but only one gave a more detailed explanation of the landslide that happened five years ago. However, it was only a few sentences long: Due to a rare heavy rain and the lack of vegetation protection on the mountain, the disaster occurred.
Wu Chun looked at the newspapers in front of him and couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
How should he proceed?
Even Wu Chun had no idea if he could persuade the village chief to help him.
“Why isn’t Chun Chun asleep yet?”
Wu Chun’s hand shook, and he turned his head to see his grandfather leaning against the door with a palm leaf fan in his hand.
“Is it hot?”
Wu Chun shook his head.
“Your condition is truly unique. Your mother even called during the day and said not to worry about the electricity bill. But to see you like this, not sweating on such a hot day, is quite amazing.” Grandpa pushed the mosquito net inside and sat down on the side of the bed.
Wu Chun gently touched his chest, felt the constant coolness emanating from there, and couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly.
“Why aren’t you asleep, Grandpa?”
“I noticed your light was still on, so I came over to check. What are you reading?”
“Oh, it’s a newspaper, an article about the landslide that happened this year.” Wu Chun knew that his grandfather couldn’t read, so he explained in detail, “I wanted to get a more detailed understanding.
“Reading the newspaper won’t help you.”
“Hmm?” Wu Chun looked confused.
To his surprise, Grandpa started to laugh. “Oh, Chun Chun, my dear Chun Chun, those who write those newspapers haven’t experienced it personally. We, who have seen it firsthand, have the right to speak out. And yet, here you are, ignoring this valuable resource and sitting there studying the newspaper.”
That’s true…
Wuchun scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed. Because of Xu Shi Yao’s reasons, Wu Chun had always thought that it would be better to keep his grandfather out of it. So, no matter what the matter was, Wu Chun instinctively avoided involving his grandfather.
“Grandpa, what do you think about this landslide?”
“Natural and human disasters.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s it.”
Wu Chun was at a loss for words for a moment. How should he say it? This was the answer he was expecting, but at the same time, he wasn’t expecting it. “Didn’t you investigate the cause?”
“It’s a natural disaster,” Grandfather said, gently swaying the folding fan in his hand. He let out a sigh and continued with a slightly resigned tone. “Wu Chun, the people who live here are different from where you come from. Some of them have not seen what lies beyond the mountains for generations. They can barely read, let alone be educated. After the disaster happened this year, everyone chalked it up to a natural disaster. They always felt that if such a disaster was fated to happen, there was no way to escape it. Like you said, they might think it was the lack of vegetation on the mountainside that caused the landslide. But deep in their hearts, that sense of ‘fate’ would make them believe that if it was fated, even with trees, it would still happen.”
Wu Chun looked at Grandpa with a complex expression in his eyes. His lips moved, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.
“Some people may only experience a heavy rainstorm once in several generations. Most people still hope that it won’t happen again. They want to put down their axes, but they also need to eat,” Grandfather explained.
“But aren’t there any trees in the village besides the ones on the mountain?” Wu Chun asked hastily.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
This confusion had been bothering Wu Chun for a long time. The scarcity in Shili Village was not trees; almost every household had one or two trees in front of their doors. However, only the trees on Shili Mountain were destroyed. No matter how strictly they were banned, it seemed futile.
“Vliis mtliv, atfgf jgf agffr lc batfg qijmfr, yea atf agffr bc Vtlil Zbecajlc vbc’a yfibcu ab jcsbcf lc atlr nliijuf. Pa’r ijaf; ub ab riffq.”
…
Qe Jtec yjgfis rifqa atja cluta. Coafg Xgjcvqj ifoa, tf qea atf ijwq bc tlr qliibk, ijlv tlr tfjv bc tlr jgw, jcv ofii lcab vffq atbeuta.
The trees on Shili Mountain don’t belong to anyone here.
The trees on the mountain were planted and financed by the people above, so of course they don’t feel bad when they are destroyed.
There are always people who have such thoughts. After the trees are cut down, they will come and plant new ones. But it’s different when it’s their own. The trees they have personally planted need to be carefully nurtured from seedlings, and before they grow to a certain size, no one is willing to destroy them.
Wu Chun remembered seeing some trees wrapped in straw by the roadside when he came here one winter.
At night, Wu Chun sighed deeply.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Wu Chun arrived at the village chief’s house, but he unexpectedly saw a woman who looked familiar to him.
“Wu Chun Ah.” The village chief saw him, smiled, and said, “This is Grandma Wang’s daughter-in-law.”
Xu Shi Yao’s mother?
Wu Chun was suddenly taken aback as he looked at the woman standing in front of him. She appeared to be around forty years old, with eyes that bore some resemblance to Xu Shi Yao but also had certain differences.
Wu Chun stared at the woman, and she also looked at him with a curious expression.
“Hello, Auntie.” Wu Chun was the first to break the ice.
However, he hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from the woman. It was as if she suddenly remembered something and looked at Wu Chun with a sudden realization.
“You are Qian Qian’s son? You’ve grown up so much! Come here, let Auntie have a look at you.”
Qian Qian is the nickname of Wu Chun’s mother.
When Wu Chun was stopped by the woman, he didn’t quite understand what was happening.
“This is great. You have become a talented young man. I guess you don’t remember me. Over the years, your mother and I have had little time together. You’ll be 18 this year, right?”
Wu Chun nodded and answered obediently, “Yes, Auntie.”
“That’s great,” the woman said as she straightened Wu Chun’s collar. “When your mother was pregnant with you, my son was only five years old. We always jokingly said that if you were a girl, we would arrange a betrothal with my son, Yao Yao. But you turned out to be a boy. Before you were three, Yao Yao would come and play with you every time you visited Grandpa’s house. The two of you were very close back then. If only my Yao Yao…”
The woman’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. After a moment, she managed to force a smile on her face. “How is your grandfather?”
“My grandfather is fine,” Wu Chun said obediently.
“That’s good,” the woman said, patting Wu Chun’s head affectionately. “Eighteen years old, that’s wonderful.”
Wu Chun almost escaped from the village chief’s house. As the village chief escorted him to the front door, Wu Chun took the opportunity to express his thoughts.
The village chief didn’t immediately express his opinion but suggested that Wu Chun come back tonight.
After leaving the village chief’s house for a while, Wu Chun felt that his heartbeat hadn’t calmed down. He didn’t know why, but when he learned that the woman was Xu Shi Yao’s mother, Wu Chun wasn’t sure how to react.
Wu Chun did not dare to say another word and avoided looking into the woman’s enthusiastic eyes. Especially when she mentioned Xu Shi Yao, Wu Chun almost couldn’t resist blurting out, “Xu Shi Yao is still alive.”
Xu Shi Yao was already dead; that was an established fact.
Even though Wu Chun knew about the other person’s existence.
However, Wu Chun didn’t expect that he actually had a connection with Xu Shi Yao. Luckily, he was a boy; otherwise, he would have been betrothed before he was even born.
But as Wu Chun thought about it carefully, being betrothed to someone like Xu Shi Yao didn’t seem like a bad thing. After all, he was not only talented but also handsome. With this thought, Wu Chun couldn’t help but smile inadvertently.
“Why do I find this amusing?” Wu Chun reacted and tapped the back of his head with his right hand, blaming himself. “I knew I was just daydreaming.”
…
It had become a habit for Wu Chun to fetch a bucket of water for Grandma Wang every day, even when Xu Shi Yao’s mother was around.
As soon as Wu Chun pushed open the wooden door of Aunt Wang’s house, he saw Grandma Wang and Xu Shi Yao’s mother talking about something in the courtyard. When Grandma Wang saw Wu Chun, she stood up excitedly and pointed at Wu Chun, saying, “You lied to me! Yao Yao is right here.”
Wu Chun stood awkwardly at the door, not knowing what to say for a moment.
“Yao Yao, come over here.” Grandma Wang waved at Wu Chun.
Wu Chun had just walked over when the old woman pulled him to her side.
“Your mother said you didn’t come today.”
The atmosphere was so awkward that Wu Chun could not find the words to describe it. Seeing the shock and confusion in Xu Shi Yao’s mother’s eyes, Wu Chun pursed his lips, still unsure of what to say.
“Grandma, I’ll fetch some water for you.”
After saying that, Wu Chun grabbed the water bucket and rushed out to avoid the embarrassing situation for now.
Every time Wu Chun fetched water, he had to go to the well in front of the village. Since he didn’t know how to use a shoulder stick, he could only tie a rope to the handle of the water bucket and throw it into the well. After filling it halfway with water, he would pull the bucket out with the rope.
However, this time, just as Wu Chun was about to pull the bucket out, a pair of hands grabbed the rope from him.
“Ah… Auntie,” Wu Chun said, looking at the person standing next to him in surprise.
“Let me do it. After all, you rarely do this kind of work.”
After saying that, Wu Chun saw the other person swing the water bucket into the well twice. When the bucket was lifted out, it was already filled with water.
“The old lady is treating you like her grandson again. Don’t mind her; she only has one grandson.”
“Auntie, don’t you…”
“My husband and I have been very busy all these years. We didn’t dare to relax, and we didn’t dare to have a second child. Every time I see other people’s children, my heart feels so uneasy. I can’t even think of having a second child.
Wu Chun noticed that the other person’s eyes were already slightly moist, and combined with what she had just said, he was at a loss for words.
“That… Auntie,” Wu Chun stumbled for a while, unable to come up with anything substantial. In the end, he uttered a vague statement: “Auntie, please take care of yourself. He wouldn’t want to see you like this.”
“It’s Auntie’s fault for losing control,” Xu Shi Yao’s mother said, hastily wiping away her tears. “Actually, it’s not surprising that the old lady made a mistake. You don’t resemble Shi Yao at all, but when I saw you today, I couldn’t help but feel traces of Shi Yao in you. It made me feel as if he had come back.
Torture.
This kind of interaction and conversation were truly torture for Wu Chun!
Wu Chun looked at Shili Mountain not far away and suddenly grabbed Xu Shiyao’s mother’s wrist and said, “Auntie, come with me.” He pulled Xu Shiyao’s mother away and ran towards Shili Mountain.
When they arrived at the bottom of the mountain, Wu Chun realized that he had acted impulsively this time.
What could he hope to gain by recklessly stopping someone?
“What happened, kid?”
Wu Chun furrowed his brow and racked his brain to come up with an excuse.
“I was planting some vegetables on the mountain. Auntie, can you help me take a look?”
As soon as he uttered this excuse, Wu Chun wanted to slap himself twice.
Fortunately, Xu Shiyao’s mother didn’t sense anything wrong and smiled and said, “Alright.” She took the lead and climbed up the mountain.
However, when they reached halfway up the mountain, Wu Chun saw the person in front of them suddenly stop. Then Wu Chun heard three words: “Who are you?”
Wu Chun’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be…
Taking a step forward, Wu Chun saw a strange person standing in front of the pine tree. He had a big belly and a bald spot on his head, and his hand was constantly touching and feeling the tree. They kept saying, “Good, very good.”
Wu Chun felt a sudden wave of disgust in his heart.
“Let go!”
With an angry roar, Wu Chun startled Xu Shiyao’s mother, causing her to take a step back.
The human also turned his head to look at him.
“Don’t go near that tree.” Wu Chun took a step forward, pulled the person aside, and said dominantly, “This tree is mine.”
As he spoke, Wu Chun even stretched out his arms to protect the pine tree behind him.
“Young man…”
“Are you going or not?” Wu Chun didn’t give him a chance to speak and drove him away immediately. “This tree has always been treasured in this village. If you touch it, you’re finished.”
Seeing Wu Chun’s attitude, the person didn’t want to continue the pointless argument and turned away from the place.
“What’s going on here?” Xu Shiyao’s mother came over with a smile. “Why are you fighting with someone over a tree?”
“Auntie, come here.” Wu Chun stepped aside and said excitedly, “Auntie, look at this tree. Doesn’t it look beautiful? I feel uncomfortable when that person touches it.”
“Don’t judge people by their appearance.”
Wu Chun pursed his lips and reluctantly agreed outwardly, but in his heart, he couldn’t help but disagree.
At this moment, Wu Chun truly resembled a well-behaved son as he stood next to Xu Shiyao’s mother and watched as her expression changed from indifference to being captivated by the tree.
“This tree…”
“isn’t it special?” Wu Chun asked.
“It is indeed special; it grows in a unique way. I never noticed it before.”
“Auntie, why don’t you hug it and see how it feels? It’s really special,” Wu Chun said cautiously, carefully watching the expression on her face.
After Wu Chun finished speaking, the other person hardly hesitated. Her hand gently caressed the smooth trunk, and her gaze was as if she were looking at her own child.
When the other person gently hugged the pine tree, Wu Chun’s eyes almost immediately welled up with tears.
Yi Zhi Mao Dou:
Tomorrow I’ll be packing; the day after that is the graduation ceremony; and the day after that I’ll be going home. So I might not be able to update for those three days. I apologise in advance, and as soon as I finish my busy schedule, I will resume the regular updates as before, every second day at 8 o’clock.
Congratulations for translator!!!!
Thank you for your translation 💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝
Mine are welling up 😭😭 the old ladies around me speak about some Putin shit but I’m about to cry BCS of a tree being hugged
»I can’t even think of having a second child.« ” is missing at the end
»It made me feel as if he had come back.« ” is missing at the end
».. Wu Chun saw the person in front of them suddenly stop.« of him
».. and suddenly grabbed Xu Shiyao’s mother’s wrist..« & »He pulled Xu Shiyao’s mother away and..« & »Fortunately, Xu Shiyao’s mother didn’t..« & ».. Wu Chun startled Xu Shiyao’s mother..« & »Xu Shiyao’s mother came over with a smile.« & ».. as he stood next to Xu Shiyao’s mother and watched..« All of them: Xu Shi Yao’s
OMG, XSY was molested O___O I just hope that that guy doesn’t plan to cut down that tree.
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)