Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Uncle?" Yue Chuan waved his hand in front of Ai Min's eyes. "Why aren't you answering my question?"

Aimin snapped out of his reverie, saw the worry on his nephew's face, forced a smile, and changed the subject: "Professor Meng gave me a packet of hardy chrysanthemum seeds. If you still have the energy, could you help me clear a patch of land and plant them?"

Aimin had no intention of revealing his secrets to his nephew, who was still a minor. He only mentioned the chrysanthemum experiment he was conducting with Professor Meng. Yuechuan's eyes lit up when he saw the half-bag of seeds. He knew what this half-bag of chrysanthemum seeds meant to his uncle, and he would be more than willing to help him if he had the chance.

At this moment, Yue Chuan didn't feel tired at all. He followed Ai Min around happily, helping his uncle unload farm tools and choosing places to reclaim wasteland. He was very busy.

Having grown up in the mountains, the uncle and nephew wielded their sickles with remarkable skill. Fortunately, the land had been cultivated by the villagers, making it level and free of weeds other than wild chrysanthemums, greatly reducing their workload.

Knowing that his nephew was still recovering, Aimin couldn't bear to let him work so hard. He took on all the heavy work of removing wild chrysanthemums and repairing the field ridges by himself, while Yuechuan was given some of the carrying work. The two rolled up their sleeves and worked hard. Before long, a small, flat experimental field of red soil appeared before their eyes.

Just a moment ago, Yue Chuan was sickly, but after doing a lot of farm work, he became energetic. Look, as he sows seeds, he tells Ai Min about trivial things, treating his uncle as an "emotional outlet."

"Uncle, after Teacher Zhou was hospitalized, Teacher Guo took over as the head of the Olympiad class. He's very responsible, but he always puts pressure on me, making me feel like a problem-solving machine. I wish you were my homeroom teacher!"

"Uncle, Qin Xiaohu's son Pipi is such a coward! I just saw him bullying Huang Er with a fire poker, and I chased him for ages, but I still couldn't catch him..."

"Uncle, could you explain to me again what you and Professor Meng told me the week before last? I still don't understand why the Soviet Union collapsed."

……

Strangely, even the usually taciturn Yue Chuan can be rambling on. Regardless of whether his uncle wanted to listen, Yue Chuan poured out all his worries.

Aimin rarely interrupted, only offering concise answers when his nephew asked a question. It proved that venting was the best remedy for pent-up emotions, and for the troubled youth, Yuechuan, his uncle was the perfect confidant.

"When I was in high school, the workload was heavy, and I would sometimes do stupid things when I was feeling down. Do you want to know how I relieve stress?" Seeing that his nephew had finished speaking, Aimin slammed his hoe on the ground and pointed to the top of Dongling Ridge.

"When I go home on weekends, I bring water and dry food and go to Dongling Temple to stretch my muscles and work up a sweat. Then I feel more energetic when I come back and do my homework!"

When others said this, Yue Chuan ignored it, but when his uncle said it, it became an inviolable rule.

Yue Chuan nodded in agreement, clearly taking his uncle's advice to heart. And so, the uncle and nephew chatted as they leveled the land, and by the time the chrysanthemum seeds were sown, a fiery red sunset painted the western sky.

"Chuan'er, I'll water the fields and cover them with plastic film later, then the work will be done. You've been busy all day, so you should go down the mountain early before the wind picks up, lest you catch a cold." Aimin wiped his sweat and tidied his hair, which had been ruffled by the mountain wind.

Yue Chuan pretended not to hear. He pursed his chapped lips and plopped down on the edge of the field. Even though he wasn't fully recovered, he couldn't miss the time he spent alone with his uncle; this little thought had never changed since he was a child.

"Uncle! Look! There's a bright sun in the west and a white moon hanging in the east. Hey! What an interesting day!"

The boy tapped his fingertips on either side of the sky. The golden sunset was commonplace, but the moon, appearing and disappearing in the void, seemed a bit out of place. It was like a translucent jade plate, its mere glimmer of light vying with the myriad rays of the sunset.

"Hmm, what a sight to see the sun and moon appearing together!" Aimin exclaimed, then suddenly frowned. He seemed to be recalling a legend from his hometown: if the sun and moon appeared at the same time, something bad was likely to happen.

"The sun and moon shine brightly, illuminating heaven and earth!"

Aimin silently recited this line of poetry from Dream of the Red Chamber. He suddenly realized why Cao Xueqin used it to reflect opposition. The sun and the moon hang high in the sky, and the two forces are competing with each other. What else could it be but a great struggle?

"Chuan'er, can you smell something? Is there some kind of burning?" Aimin sniffed, looking slightly nervous.

After the autumn harvest, villagers will pile up straw in the fields and burn it, which will not only add organic fertilizer to the fields but also help to resist pests. However, the villagers have long established rules that "burning" is limited to the farmland at the foot of the mountain. There must be no open flames on the ridge, because no one can bear the responsibility if a wildfire is started.

Yue Chuan was also somewhat flustered. He glanced at the farmland at the foot of the mountain but saw no open flames or thick smoke. He stood on tiptoe and looked around. The next second, he shouted in a trembling voice, "Uncle, look! Over at the cypress forest on Xiling, it looks like... white smoke is coming out!"

Aimin usually doesn't wear his glasses when working, and even squinting, he still couldn't see clearly what was happening over the cypress grove. "Don't be fooled by the cypress trees' evergreen appearance; when things really get heated, no one can wipe them out!"

Aimin's concerns were not unfounded. Cypress trees are rich in resin, and the forest is filled with thick layers of needles; if an open fire were to start, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Yue Chuan, as if struck by a sudden thought, slapped his forehead excitedly and exclaimed, "Uncle! Do you think Pi Pi might have started this fire? I saw that kid playing with a torch at noon!"

Upon hearing this, Aimin felt a chill run down his spine. He had previously heard from his nephew that Pipi had hidden in the mountains. Even if the fire in the cypress forest had nothing to do with the little devil, he still needed to confirm whether he was on the mountain. In this dry weather, if the fire really started, the little devil would be in big trouble.

"Regardless of how the fire started, we need to get the people on the ridge down immediately! Better safe than sorry!"

Aimin suddenly patted his nephew on the shoulder and instructed, "Chuan'er, go down the mountain and tell the village committee that the cypress forest is on fire! I'll go closer and check the situation!"

At this time, there were still many people on the east and west ridges, some doing farm work, some herding sheep... These villagers lacked a sense of crisis, and if something really happened, those with mobility issues would likely be in serious trouble. Under these circumstances, early warning was crucial.

"Uncle, you're not thinking of sending me away so you can put out the fire yourself, are you? Cypress Grove is Laojiapo's territory. Are we sure we want to get involved?" Yue Chuan asked suspiciously.

Aimin patted his nephew's head and said with a smile, "You! I really don't know if you're clever or stupid. If the fire starts, will you distinguish between the east ridge and the west ridge? Don't worry, I'll persuade the people on the mountain to leave first, and we'll retreat if things get bad."

Having said that, Aimin waved his hand, signaling his nephew to leave. Yuechuan wanted to say something more, but seeing his uncle's resolute attitude,

After much hesitation, I did as the other party said.