Chapter 28: Reality Bites

The bullock cart slowly passed through the village. This was the first time Cao Xiangnan had left the Cao family’s compound since coming to this world, and he saw what the village looked like.

With low, dilapidated houses on both sides of the road, the village looked even more backward than he had imagined. He sat on the bullock cart, looking at the people he encountered on the road. They were also looking at him. The faces of these people were filled with the traces of life’s hardships. They were sallow and thin, and most of the clothes they wore had patches.

It wasn’t difficult to distinguish between the men and ge’r. The ge’r’s figures were mostly relatively weak and slender, while the men’s figures were tall. So Qi Wanfeng’s tall stature was relatively rare among the ge’r, but he preferred his Qi Wanfeng like that.

Thinking that this person was by his side at this moment, and hadn’t abandoned him like his former parents and the people from the Cao family had done, Cao Xiangnan felt something indescribable in his heart – gratitude and appreciation. He reached out and grabbed Qi Wanfeng’s hand, holding it tightly in his hand. He thought that he would treat this person well for the rest of his life.

“Hmm?” Qi Wanfeng didn’t know why her husband grabbed her hand and wouldn’t let go. Being looked at like this by her husband made her feel a bit embarrassed, and she shifted her gaze away, her ears slightly red.

Cao Gang drove the cart seriously in front, while the family of three sat together in the back. An’an looked at the outside world with curiosity in his eyes. This child was usually locked up in the Cao family’s compound and rarely had time to come out here.

The villagers had all heard about what happened in the Cao family’s compound. They saw Cao Silang’s family of three sitting on the bullock cart, knowing that they were leaving the Cao family’s compound to move elsewhere. The people gathered in groups of twos and threes, talking and pointing their fingers in the direction of the bullock cart, probably still discussing the Cao family’s compound.

The bullock cart went along the way, out of the village.

The Cao family’s old house was a short distance past the end of Caojia Village. Originally, several families lived here, but now they had all moved elsewhere, so there weren’t many people living here anymore.

The bullock cart passed through, surrounded by fields of crops. The spring breeze blew, and the green was moving with the wind.

“Brother Cao Gang, it’s here,” Qi Wanfeng said.

Cao Gang pulled the rope, and the ox stopped in front of the small courtyard.

“Husband, we’re here,” Qi Wanfeng said to her husband, touching the head of the child who was hugging her.

Before coming, Cao Xiangnan had mentally prepared himself that the old house would be old, but when he arrived here and saw the dilapidated house in front of him that was fundamentally uninhabitable, he was still defeated by this reality.

Often, ideals are beautiful, but reality bites.

Beyond the house was a bamboo forest, and not far beyond that was a large mountain. The farthest mountain towered into the clouds, surrounded by white clouds. Cao Xiangnan raised his head and looked up at the mountain at a 135-degree angle, and finally silently withdrew his gaze.

Cao Gang got out of the bullock cart and reached out to take Qi Wanfeng’s hand, and then picked up the child. He also saw this house that was fundamentally uninhabitable and couldn’t help but frown. He said, “I’ll go in and take a look.”

“Brother Cao Gang, I’ll go in with you and take a look,” Qi Wanfeng said.

Qi Wanfeng followed Cao Gang in together. At this time, he could only sit on the bullock cart and wait, unable to do anything. Cao Xiangnan’s mood was extremely depressed.

The Cao family’s old house was a mud brick house, with several rooms in a row. But because it had been uninhabited for a long time, one wall had fallen down on the east side, and another wall had fallen down on the west side. The thatch on the roof was broken, and it was fundamentally uninhabitable.

The good thing was that this piece of land was very large. He had the land deed for the old house and the land deeds for the three mu of land in his pocket. He had asked his father for these land deeds. Thinking of the constipated look on his amo, Chen Zhu’s, face, and the painful way she took out these things to give to him from the house, Cao Xiangnan’s mood could be good for several days.

But at this moment, he still had to face reality. Seeing the appearance of the house, he couldn’t even smile.

When Cao Gang and Qi Wanfeng came out, their heads were covered in cobwebs and dust. It seemed that the situation inside wasn’t good. Cao Gang came out, saw Cao Silang, who had a broken leg, sitting on the bullock cart, and looked at Qi Wanfeng again, knowing that this family now depended on Qi Wanfeng, this ge’r. He heard his Bailian say that Qi Wanfeng was pregnant, so he probably couldn’t let her do heavy work. He said, “I happen to be free today. I’ll drive the bullock cart back first, and then come back to help you build a room. I’ll build the house before sunset, so you’ll have a place to live.”

“Then I’ll trouble Brother Cao Gang. Xiangnan thanks Brother Cao Gang here first.” Cao Xiangnan didn’t refuse, knowing that if no one helped, he couldn’t do anything now and could only rely on Qi Wanfeng alone. If everything fell on Qi Wanfeng’s shoulders, he was afraid that it would crush Qi Wanfeng’s body.

Now he would solve the immediate problem first, and then he would think of a way for the rest.

After taking all the things off the bullock cart, he conveniently carried Cao Xiangnan, who was on the cart, down.

“I’ll drive the bullock cart back to the others. You wait here for a while.” Cao Gang got on the bullock cart nimbly and drove the bullock cart away.

The bullock cart left, leaving their family of three facing this dilapidated house. Fortunately, there was a half-meter-high wall around the yard, so they didn’t have to worry about wild animals coming in at night. The yard was full of weeds. Qi Wanfeng looked at it and said, “Husband, I’ll clear these weeds. You watch An’an and don’t let him run around. I’m afraid there will be snakes and insects here.”

The two people’s gazes met. Cao Xiangnan met Qi Wanfeng’s clear eyes. As if he was infected by the smile on her face, the gloomy mood also dissipated a bit. He “hmm”ed and said, “Wanfeng, pay attention to yourself, and use a stick to drive them away. You take care of the nearby area first. We’re not in a hurry to do everything today. I’ll wait until my legs are better and then do the rest with you.”

“Okay,” Qi Wanfeng said, nodding with a smile on her face.

In the end, An’an, who had been sitting there for a long time, also became restless and insisted on running over to help her amo pull weeds. Cao Xiangnan sat there, watching Qi Wanfeng and the child. He felt inexplicably sad, and his eyes were a bit hot, almost tearing up. He sniffed, knowing that he had let Qi Wanfeng and the child down. He had to get his leg better quickly so he could help Qi Wanfeng and wouldn’t let her be so tired alone.

His gaze followed the person who was working, unblinking, his eyes full of this one person.

Every time Qi Wanfeng looked up, she found her husband looking at her. She couldn’t ignore that gaze, and it made her heart beat a little faster, and her cheeks blushed slightly as a result.

When Cao Gang returned, Sun Bailian also came with him, along with two other men, all of whom were from their Caojia Village. Sun Bailian saw Qi Wanfeng from afar and shouted, “Wanfeng, we’re here.”

“Bailian,” Qi Wanfeng straightened up and called out with a smile.

Sun Bailian was carrying a basket in her hand, which was filled with food. “I brought some food for you. Here are a few big mantou, which you can eat for lunch. Here are some vegetables and meat, which you can cook and eat at night.” He took them out one by one for Qi Wanfeng to see, and waved to her husband behind her, asking him to put the things down, saying, “I know you don’t have anything here. I have some useful things at home that I can give you.”

Cao Gang put down the big basket he was carrying on his back. It was filled with useful things, pots, bowls, everything, and a small bag of salt. “Bailian…” Qi Wanfeng’s eyes suddenly turned red.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t be like this. We’re good friends. If a friend is in trouble, shouldn’t I help?” Sun Bailian was fair-skinned and clean, a clean and beautiful person, and his personality was also straightforward, and he was loyal to his friends.

Seeing the person’s eyes turn red, Sun Bailian panicked. “Don’t shed tears,” he said.

“Puchi…” Seeing Sun Bailian like this, Qi Wanfeng laughed, a smile appearing on her face, but her eyes were still red, and she said, “Bailian, thank you.”

Sun Bailian waved her hand and glared at Qi Wanfeng, saying, “If you’re a friend, don’t be so polite with me.”

“Cao Silang, I’ve also come over to see if there’s anything I can help with. It’ll be faster if everyone works together.” With a simple and honest face was Cao Dapeng. He lived next to Cao Gang’s house, and his relationship with Cao Gang’s family was relatively good.

He had also heard about the Cao family’s compound, and he happened to be free today, so he came over together. He didn’t come empty-handed either. He brought a little white flour in his hand and handed it to Qi Wanfeng, saying, “There’s nothing good at home. I just happen to have some white flour, so I brought a little white flour over for you.”

“How could I, you were kind to help me and I already don’t know how to thank you. I cannot take this.” Qi Wanfeng knew that they didn’t usually eat white flour at home, only during festivals. And this was such a small bag containing several jin of good white flour, how could she be so embarrassed to accept.

“Take it.”

The two people pushed back and forth, and Sun Ji, with a playful smile on his face, said, “Wanfeng, just take it. If you keep pushing back and forth, it’ll be dark. I don’t have any food at home, and the hen just laid a few eggs, so I’ll bring you a few eggs.”

He handed over the basket in his hand. “You must not refuse, or they’ll be gone if they fall to the ground.”

“Wanfeng, take it.” Cao Xiangnan was sitting there, so it was inconvenient for him to get up. He could feel the kindness from these people. He kept every bit of goodness that others showed him in his heart. It wouldn’t be too late to repay them in the future. He said loudly, “Xiangnan thanks everyone here. Thank you very much.”

Qi Wanfeng could only accept the basket, and said, “Thank you.”

“What are you being so polite for? We’re all family.” Sun Ji was Sun Bailian’s cousin. The two people looked a bit similar. Sun Ji was also good-looking, always had a smile on his face, and was particularly good at talking. He was a person who was very popular in the village.

When there were more people, the work was particularly fast.

Qi Wanfeng and Sun Bailian, the two ge’r, did the light work of cleaning up the house outside, and Cao Gang and the other men were doing the work of repairing the roof. Everyone worked together. Cao Xiangnan, who had inconvenient legs, could only sit there and couldn’t do anything. Even his son could help with the work. He could only look up at the sky and sigh deeply in his heart.