dhibooks Chapter 372 Farmhouse
Chapter 372 Farmhouse
And so, the two of them spent another two days in Zhejiang Province, visiting Jiangxin Island in Wenzhou, Xiandu in Jinyun, Lishui, and Hengdian World Studios in Jinhua.
Shen Yuege was very excited to see the film crews shooting in Hengdian. She dragged Lu Ran to watch for more than half an hour and was almost grabbed by a crew member who mistook her for an extra.
"You're so good-looking, it's a shame you don't go into acting," the production assistant said.
Shen Yuege pointed at Lu Ran: "My husband won't allow it."
The stagehand glanced at Lu Ran, then at Shen Yuege, and tactfully left.
Lu Ran was overjoyed to be called "my husband," but pretended to be nonchalant: "Are you using me as a shield?"
"What's wrong? You're not happy about it?"
"Yes, I'd love to. I'd love to."
After entering Fujian Province from Zhejiang Province, the local characteristics immediately became apparent.
The most obvious difference is dialect.
When they were in Zhejiang Province, although the locals spoke with an accent, Lu Ran and Shen Yuege could understand about 70-80% of what they said.
Once inside Fujian Province, they were lucky if they could understand about 30% of what the locals said.
While eating fish balls at a small shop in Fuzhou, the proprietress asked them what condiments they wanted in Hokkien. The two looked at each other blankly, and finally the proprietress switched to Mandarin with a heavy accent and they were able to communicate successfully.
Shen Yuege laughed as soon as she stepped out of the store: "I didn't understand a single word she said."
"Me too. I only understood the words 'fish balls'."
"So what did you order?"
I pointed to what was in someone else's bowl and said I wanted the same thing.
Shen Yuege laughed uncontrollably: "Your trick works quite well."
However, the dialect issue generally does not affect the trip.
The tour guides at the scenic spots all speak Mandarin, the restaurant menus have pictures, and the hotel receptionists all speak standard Mandarin.
Aside from occasionally having a little trouble chatting with locals, there aren't any major problems.
After leaving Fuzhou, the two headed west and entered the western Fujian region.
The mountains here are higher and denser than those along the coast. The highway winds through the mountains, with dense bamboo and cedar forests on both sides. Occasionally, you can see a few earthen buildings with white walls and black tiles scattered in the valleys.
Lu Ran was driving, while Shen Yuege was filming a video on her phone.
"Why are you filming this?" Lu Ran asked.
"I'm sending TUTU (a type of scooter). My fans haven't seen me in a long time, and they're calling me a missing person."
"Don't your fans know you're out having fun?"
"I don't know. I just said I had some family matters to attend to and needed to rest for a while."
Lu Ran glanced at her: "You're just trying to gain followers."
"I call this protecting privacy. If I said my husband and I were on our honeymoon, those gossip accounts could make up a hundred-episode drama."
Lu Ran thought about it and felt that what she said made sense.
...
After entering western Fujian, the two's first stop was the Yongding Tulou in Longyan.
These earthen buildings are unique to Fujian Province. They are huge rammed earth buildings, either round or square, with diameters ranging from tens to hundreds of meters. Dozens or even hundreds of families live inside, all of whom share the same surname.
Shen Yuege stood in front of Chengqi Tower, looking up at the huge circular building, her mouth agape.
"This is huge! How long would it take to walk around it?"
"It is said that it takes five minutes to walk around the whole building." Lu Ran looked at the information board next to him. "Chengqi Building was built during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty. It has a diameter of 73 meters, four floors, and a four-ring structure. At its peak, it housed more than 80 households and more than 600 people."
"Over six hundred people living in one house? Wouldn't that be incredibly crowded?"
"It's not crowded. This building covers an area of over 5,000 square meters. Think about it, how big is your home? 500 square meters? Then it's fine."
...
Ignoring the size of the space, the two held hands and began to stroll around inside.
The Tulou has a concentric circle structure. The outermost circle contains the kitchen and living room, the middle circle contains the storage room, and the innermost circle contains the ancestral hall.
The building also has a well, a mill, and a school; it basically has everything a small community should have.
Shen Yuege walked around the building and chatted with an elderly woman who lived there.
The old lady is 87 years old. She is still sharp of hearing and sight, and although her Mandarin has a heavy accent, she can still understand it.
She said she had lived in this building for eighty-seven years and had never left since she was born.
Shen Yuege asked her if she didn't want to go out and see the world.
The old lady said, "Why go out? We have everything here."
After leaving the Tulou, Shen Yuege remained silent for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Lu Ran asked.
"It's nothing. It's just that the old lady has lived her whole life in a big circle and has never gone out, but she seems very happy."
"Just be happy. It doesn't matter where you are."
Shen Yuege glanced at him: "Sometimes you can be quite philosophical when you talk."
"I call this living life with clarity."
After leaving the Tulou, the two went to Dongshan Island in Zhangzhou.
This is a small island by the sea; you have to take a ferry to get there.
The island's beaches are white, and the seawater is blue-green, similar to islands in Southeast Asia.
Shen Yuege took off her shoes and ran on the beach, leaving a trail of footprints in the sand.
The waves washed away her footprints, so she ran back and made new ones.
Lu Ran stood beside her and watched her, thinking that she was acting like a child today.
"Why aren't you running around?" Shen Yuege shouted at him.
"Why should I run? It's not like I've never seen the sea before."
"That's different. The sea over Shanghai is yellow, but here it's blue. Come quickly."
Unable to resist her calls, Lu Ran took off his shoes and ran over.
The two ran a lap on the beach, panting heavily, and sat down to rest on the rocks.
The sea breeze carries a salty smell.
Shen Yuege's hair was blown all over the place by the wind, but she didn't care. She just left it loose and squinted at the distant horizon.
"Lu Ran".
"Um?"
"What's on the other side of the sea?"
"Wanwan".
"I mean further away."
"Pacific Ocean."
"What about further away?"
"The Americas".
Shen Yuege turned to look at him: "Can't you use your imagination?"
"There's still more sea beyond the sea. What do you want to hear? That gods live at the end of the sea? Those are just fairy tales."
Shen Yuege sighed: "You're just a straight man."
"I have never denied it."
The two spent a day on Dongshan Island, eating seafood, watching the sunset, and staying overnight at a guesthouse by the sea.
The next morning, we continued our journey towards northern Fujian.
It takes a long mountain road to travel from western Fujian to northern Fujian.
The road was narrow and had many curves, so Lu Ran drove very slowly, averaging less than 50 kilometers per hour.
Shen Yuege sat in the passenger seat, holding a Fujian Province travel guide in her hand, flipping through the pages one by one.
"There's an ancient village ahead called Xiamei Village, which is said to be the starting point of the Ancient Tea Horse Road during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Would you like to go take a look?"
"Go ahead. We're not in a rush anyway."
The two turned onto a side road and drove for more than twenty minutes until they arrived at Xiamei Village.
The village is small, with only a few dozen households, scattered along both banks of a stream.
The stream was very clear, and you could see the pebbles and small fish swimming around at the bottom.
At the entrance of the village, there are several large camphor trees with canopies that block out the sun. Under the trees, several old men are playing chess.
Shen Yuege chatted with an old man for a few minutes. The old man said that the village has existed since the Song Dynasty, more than 800 years ago. Most of the houses in the village are still original from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and have not been renovated.
"It hasn't been renovated in over 800 years? Wouldn't it collapse?" Shen Yuege asked Lu Ran in a low voice.
"When they say there was no renovation, they mean the structure wasn't significantly altered, not that it wasn't repaired at all. Why do you believe everything they say?"
"oh."
The two of them strolled around the village, looked at a few old houses, drank a cup of rock tea made by the locals, and bought two packets of tea.
The woman selling tea said that the tea was grown and processed by her own family, and it couldn't be bought elsewhere.
Shen Yuege believed her and paid the money.
Lu Ran thought the tea tasted just so-so, but seeing that Shen Yuege liked it, he didn't say anything.
It was almost dark when we left Xiamei Village.
Lu Ran originally wanted to drive a little further and stop at the next county town, but Shen Yuege saw a farmhouse by the roadside with a sign that read "Accommodation and Meals" and said, "Let's stay here tonight."
"Are you comfortable staying in a farmhouse?" Lu Ran asked.
"What's there to be uncomfortable about living here? I'm not some delicate young lady."
Lu Ran parked the car in front of the farmhouse, and the two of them got out and went inside.
The farmhouse is a three-story self-built house. The first floor has a living room and kitchen, while the second and third floors have guest rooms.
The yard is quite large, with several pomelo trees planted there, and a few bright yellow pomelos hanging on the trees, but no one has picked them.
A woman in her fifties came out of the house, her apron and hands covered in flour, looking like she was cooking.
The woman's surname was Chen, and her given name was Chen Xiulan. She had a round, slightly plump face, and her eyes narrowed into slits when she smiled. Her voice was very loud.
"Do you need accommodation? How many people are in your group?"
"Two people. A married couple," Lu Ran said.
Aunt Chen looked them up and down: "Honeymoon?"
Lu Ran was taken aback: "How did you figure that out?"
"I've seen more couples in my life than you've eaten salt. The distance between you two when you stand together is different from other couples."
Shen Yuege felt a little embarrassed by what she said and moved closer to Lu Ran.
Aunt Chen smiled: "I knew it. Come, come, come in and sit down. There's a double room upstairs with a mountain view from the window, and you can hear birds chirping in the morning. Let me tidy you up."
"How much per night?" Lu Ran asked.
Aunt Chen waved her hand: "Why would you charge for a honeymoon? It's free. It's not easy for you young people to travel. When I was young, I also wanted to travel, but I didn't have the money. Later, when I had the money, my husband passed away. You have a good time and don't waste your money."
Lu Ran and Shen Yuege exchanged a glance.
"That won't do, you have to pay," Lu Ran said.
"I said no, and that's final. If you bring up money again, I won't let you stay here anymore." Aunt Chen's tone was firm, not just polite pretense; she genuinely didn't intend to accept any money.
The two had no choice but to give in to her.
Aunt Chen cleaned up the innermost room on the second floor, changed all the sheets and blankets, and placed two pomelos she grew herself on the pillow, saying they could be used as air fresheners.
Shen Yuege went into the room and took a look. She thought it was quite clean. Although it wasn't as luxurious as a five-star hotel, it had a homey feel to it.
"Smell it." She held a pomelo in front of Lu Ran's nose.
Lu Ran took a sniff and noticed a faint, pleasant fragrance, which was indeed much better than those chemical air fresheners.
The two of them put their things in the room and went downstairs to prepare for dinner.
Aunt Chen was busy in the kitchen, the spatula flying and the range hood whirring.
She poked her head out and called to them, "Please have a seat, it'll be ready soon. There's not much food, but the eggs are from our own chickens, the vegetables are from the backyard, and the fish are from the stream in front. It's all good stuff, you can't get this in the city."
The two sat in the living room waiting. The living room was simply furnished with an old-fashioned wooden sofa, a coffee table, an old television, and a framed photo on the wall containing a black and white photograph of a middle-aged man holding a little boy, both of them smiling happily.
Lu Ran guessed that the middle-aged man was probably Aunt Chen's husband, and the little boy was her son.
The aroma wafting from the kitchen grew stronger and stronger, carrying the scents of scallions, soy sauce, and a faint smell of firewood.
Shen Yuege took a deep breath: "It smells so good."
"It really smells good. It smells better than those restaurants in Shanghai that cost 500 yuan per person."
"Of course. Restaurants use gas stoves, while people use wood-fired stoves. Food cooked on a wood-fired stove can never compare to food cooked on a gas stove."
You can never find food with such a down-to-earth, authentic feel in big cities.
Aunt Chen came out of the kitchen carrying the dishes.
The first dish was stir-fried free-range chicken. The chicken pieces were cut into medium-sized pieces, glistening with oil, and sprinkled with chopped green onions and red chili peppers. It looked so delicious that it made your mouth water.
The second dish was steamed river fish. The fish wasn't big, about the length of a palm. There were a few cuts on its body, and a few slices of ginger and scallions were stuffed inside. It was steamed just right, and the fish meat was white and tender, falling apart easily when picked up with chopsticks.
The third dish was stir-fried greens with garlic, the leaves were bright green and the garlic aroma was strong.
In addition, there was a pot of pork rib and radish soup. The pork ribs were from local pigs, and the radishes were white radishes picked from the backyard. The soup was stewed until it was milky white, with a few drops of oil floating on top.
"That's enough, that's enough, we can't eat that much," Shen Yuege said.
Aunt Chen took off her apron: "Eat slowly, eat more. You city people have small appetites, you can't eat much in one meal, it worries me."
No sooner had he finished speaking than footsteps echoed in the courtyard.
It wasn't the sound of normal footsteps; it was the sound of someone dragging their feet, making a thumping, slapping sound on the ground.
The door was pushed open forcefully and slammed against the wall with a bang.
A young man walked in.
He looked to be under twenty, with dyed yellow hair and an afro, wearing a flashy jacket, a silver chain around his neck, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, ash falling all the way down the street, but he didn't seem to care.
When Aunt Chen saw this person, the smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable expression—a mixture of heartache, helplessness, and deep weariness.
"Xiaoming, you're back? Have you eaten?" She walked over, her voice much softer than before.
The blond-haired youth threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped on it: "I've already eaten. Leave me alone."
He didn't even glance at Aunt Chen when he said this, and walked straight through the living room upstairs.
As he passed the dining table, he glanced at Lu Ran and Shen Yuege, but didn't greet them or even nod. He went straight upstairs and slammed the door shut.
Lu Ran and Shen Yuege exchanged a glance. Shen Yuege's eyes were filled with questions, while Lu Ran shook his head slightly, meaning not to ask.
Aunt Chen stood in the living room for a while, sighed, and walked back to sit down at the dining table.
She poured herself a glass of water, took a sip, and remained silent for a long time.
Lu Ran and Shen Yuege didn't know what to say, so they lowered their heads and ate.
After a long while, Aunt Chen spoke up.
"That's my son, Chen Xiaoming. He just turned nineteen this year." Her voice was calm, but Lu Ran could hear the bitterness beneath that calm.
Shen Yuege put down her chopsticks and looked at Aunt Chen.
Aunt Chen continued, "He wasn't like this before. He had excellent grades in junior high, always ranking in the top three of his grade. The teachers all said he was a promising student and would have no problem getting into the best high school in the county. And he did get in, ranking in the top twenty in the county, and was placed in the honors class."
As she said this, her eyes reddened, but she didn't cry.
"He was doing okay in the first semester of his first year of high school, with above-average grades. But in the second semester, I don't know who he picked up, he started smoking, drinking, and spending time in internet cafes. His grades plummeted from above average to near the bottom of the class. When his teacher called me, he wouldn't listen when I confronted him, and if I got angry, he would slam the door and leave. His second year was even worse; he basically stopped going to class and spent all his time hanging out with shady characters. Now he's in his final year of high school, with only one semester left, and he's completely stopped going. He says studying is useless and meaningless."
Lu Ran looked at her, feeling a tightness in his chest.
"His father passed away early. When he was three years old, he fell off a construction site and couldn't be saved." Aunt Chen's voice began to tremble. "I raised him all by myself, farming, raising pigs, running this small restaurant, doing all kinds of work. I just wanted him to study hard, to have a bright future, and not to end up like me, stuck in this mountain valley for the rest of his life."
She picked up a tissue and wiped her eyes. "And what happened? It's turned out like this. I don't know what to do anymore. Talking to him won't get him to listen. Hitting him is futile; he's a head taller than me. If I leave him alone, what will become of him?"
Shen Yuege reached out and grasped Aunt Chen's hand without saying a word.
Aunt Chen took a deep breath and forced a smile: "I won't say anymore, you guys eat. The food won't taste good if it gets cold."
She stood up and went back to the kitchen.
Looking at her back, Lu Ran felt that her back was even more hunched than when she entered the room.
Shen Yuege looked at him with an indescribable expression in her eyes.
"Lu Ran," she whispered.
"Um?"
"Is there any way to help her?"
Lu Ran didn't answer immediately; his mind started racing.
A child who once had excellent grades but later went astray, a single mother, and a family filled with guilt and regret.
He had seen too many stories like this in his past life.
But this wasn't his area of expertise. He wasn't good at education, didn't understand psychology, and didn't know how to communicate with a rebellious teenager.
Besides writing songs, games, and scripts, he doesn't know anything else.
Oh right... write songs!
...