Siheyuan's Journey Through the Ages

Chapter 37: Wildness of Northeastern Countryside

"I see. We collected a lot of trees this time. I planned it according to the garden layout. The various creatures will not harm each other. Except for the wild boars, which still need to be fed, the other animals can be self-sufficient in the breeding area according to the current scale."

Ma Qing looked at the hawthorn trees, persimmon trees, mountain mangroves, schisandra trees, walnut trees, hazelnut trees, etc. in the breeding area and said, "These trees have fruits, supply them to me first, and I can't let these things harm me."

"Why don't you be more ambitious? You're just staring at food all day. There are fruit trees in the fruit area. You don't have to worry about anything."

"I'm just trying to improve my life. This is all I want these days. What else can I do? Business, politics, military service, all of these are dangerous."

"Forget it, you should just be a waste."

A flock of birds flew through Ma Qing's mind, and he continued, "I told you to set aside a medicine planting area in this breeding area, so go ahead and do it."

"Don't worry, I've planted all the ginseng, codonopsis, ganoderma, polygonum multiflorum, rehmannia root, and gastrodia elata that you collected in the mountains. I really don't understand what you want these things for."

"You don't understand. When I have more grain in the future and make wine, I will find a recipe to soak these things." Ma Qing smiled.

"You are only 15 years old, why are you so anxious?" Xiao Qi said in a sarcastic tone.

"..."

"Okay, catch me a fish and fillet it. I'll go pick some green onions. I want to eat boiled fish fillets."

Soon, Ma Qing boiled a pot of water on the induction cooker, picked up the thin fish fillets brought by the housekeeper with chopsticks, dipped them in the boiling water for 7 seconds, dipped them in the seasoning dish of chopped green onions and soy sauce, and put them in his mouth.

Ma Qing closed his eyes and carefully felt the tenderness and crispness of the fish meat. The past time flew through his mind. There should be no one in this world who understood the meaning of the word "as if in another world" better than him.

It was another weekend, and Ma Qing's aunt's family finally had a day off. After discussing it, they decided to go to his uncle's family home for a visit. His uncle's family was from Longtan Mountain, and his parents were from Majiagou Village at the foot of Longtan Mountain.

My uncle's father was named Huang Yuntian. He was the village party secretary of Majiagou Village. He joined the party's work in his early years and was busy traveling between the white mountains and black waters. After liberation, he refused the arrangement in the city and returned home to become a village party secretary, leading his fellow villagers to continue the revolution, but this time the revolution was for the construction of a new China.

Along the way, my uncle Huang Dapeng excitedly told the legendary stories of his father's past, and his pride was almost overflowing.

Ma Qing and her aunt's family first took a half-hour car ride and then walked for another half an hour before they reached Majiagou Village, which caused the two children to complain continuously.

Huang Dapeng's hometown is similar to most farmhouses. Three houses form a semi-square shape, with an open space in front of the house and a small vegetable garden behind the house. It doesn't look very different. It is just a typical farmhouse.

Huang Dapeng rushed into the courtyard excitedly, shouting, "Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, I'm back, where are you?"

Then an old lady came out of the house with a rural woman and two children. "Peng'er, you're back, my dear grandson." The old lady passed by her son and hugged Huang Tian and Huang Di in her arms, and they were so adorable that the two children kept looking to their father for help.

Huang Dapeng pretended not to see it and asked, "Where are my father and elder brother? Why can't I see them?"

"Of course your father and brother are working these days. Do you think they are as idle as you?" Huang Dapeng's mother is actually quite good at confronting people.

Everyone exchanged pleasantries, mainly introducing the newcomer Ma Qing. The aunt asked her eldest daughter-in-law to take out her mountain products, such as pecans, peanuts, and wild grapes. As the saying goes, "live by the mountain, eat by the mountain", it seems that life is still ok.

Ma Qing looked around. The house was spacious and bright, and it was clean and bright everywhere. It seemed that Huang Dapeng's family were all hardworking. In fact, at that time, most of the rural areas had much better conditions than the city, except for the lack of electricity. No wonder many recruited workers returned to their hometowns after only a few months of work in recent years. Life in the city could not compare to the carefree life in their own rural areas.

The four children quickly became friends and kept stuffing wild grapes into their mouths. The sweet and sour taste made their little faces smile and frown, causing the adults to laugh at them.

Ma Qing looked at the four children playing together and lamented the joke of history. Who could have imagined that a few decades later, the lives of rural children and urban children would be so different, and the power of modernization would ruthlessly tear them apart, leaving a huge gap in between.

Huang Tian and Huang Di, who had just been complaining about being tired from walking, now shouted that they wanted to go to the creek to catch fish and shrimps. Ma Qing naturally took on the responsibility of protecting the child, and under the leadership of Huang Tian and Huang Di's two cousins, they ran to the creek near the village to play.

For rural children, playing fishing is indeed very happy. Of course, the fishing mentioned here is not the fishing we have today, but another kind of hobby.

The two cousins ​​were obviously experts in this area. They took Ma Qing, Huang Tian and Huang Di to a low-lying river section with a gentle current and many river bends and ponds. The children took the small baskets they brought with them, sometimes moving stones, sometimes using the baskets to scrape water, and from time to time they let out an exclamation or a cheerful laugh.

Ma Qing just stood quietly by with an auntie smile on his face. Going to the river to catch fish was totally uninteresting to Ma Qing. Even playing in the water had become a shadow for him. But this did not prevent him from standing by and feeling the joy of his childhood.

Children always have endless energy. After playing in the water by the river, they ran up the mountain. Ma Qing had no objection. Since they were already here, he might as well let his robot search again to see if there was anything else that could be collected. For example, these wild grapes would be a good choice.

When the little guys were too tired to go back, Ma Qing expressed his satisfaction and once again expanded the width and thickness of Ma Qing's small square table, announcing to the world that northern China was in his hands.

By the time the children got home, Huang Dapeng's father Huang Yuntian and elder brother Huang Daying had also arrived home. The men in the family sat together. Ma Qing hurried forward to greet them. Naturally, everyone had a great time, and both the host and the guests were happy.

Ma Qing looked over and saw that at first glance Mr. Huang looked like an authentic old farmer, with deep wrinkles on his bronze face and two big hands that were like small palm-leaf fans, covered with calluses. But if you look at him for a while longer, you will find that this old man has a firm gaze and exudes a spirit from his whole body. The word "perseverance" seems to be specially prepared for him.

The eldest son of the Huang family seems to be quite ordinary, and we can only describe him with compliments such as kind, honest, and simple.

Ma Qing found a stool outside the restaurant and sat down, listening to the pre-meal conversation between Huang Jia'er and his son.

(End of this chapter)