Chapter 5

Xiao Hu was a native of H Province.

This was one of the reasons why Chen Demao felt at ease asking him to send his daughter back.

About half an hour before the train arrived at Pingtou Station, he had already taken care of all the preparations.

Chen Nongmo had not been sitting idly either; she had helped with the packing as well.

“Don’t bother packing the big coat, there’s heating on the train, so you won’t feel cold. But when you get off, you’ll know what it feels like. The weather here is different from N City, in winter it’s at least ten degrees colder.” Seeing the girl folding the army coat like a blanket, Xiao Hu quickly reached out to stop her.

Chen Nongmo nodded and draped the coat over her shoulders, then turned to check if anything had been left behind.

She was well aware of what the climate in H Province was like; folding the coat was just a habit she had.

In fact, compared to the winter in the south, she, who was afraid of the cold, preferred the north. In the winter, without air conditioning or heaters, the kang bed was a real lifesaver.

“Don’t worry too much, it’s only cold outside here. Most people have kang beds inside their houses, and it’s warmer than in the south…” Worried that the girl might be scared, Xiao Hu began to explain all the wonderful things about his hometown.

Time passed quickly as he enthusiastically shared these details.

When the conductor grabbed the loudspeaker and announced the arrival at Pingtou Station, not only did Chen Nongmo feel relieved, but even Xiao Hu, who had top-notch physical strength, let out a sigh of relief. He happily carried two large suitcases, squeezing through the crowd, walking with nimble steps.

Chen Nongmo, meanwhile, was holding a small bundle, closely following behind him.

As her feet touched the ground, Chen Nongmo instinctively looked around.

Perhaps it was because the heating on the train had been so intense, but despite the snowy, icy landscape, she didn’t feel cold at all. On the contrary, it was so beautiful that it was almost unreal.

Pingtou Station was a large station with many people getting off the train. At a glance, it was filled with travelers, but there were few like them who got off through the train door. Most people chose to climb through the windows instead.

A few days had passed, and Chen Nongmo, who had been making an effort to absorb the information of this era, was now able to roughly identify these people.

For instance, the young people, who were in groups, full of energy and looking around, were the Educated Youths who had come down the mountains to offer support.

On the other hand, those with blank expressions and meek movements were the “bad elements” who were about to be sent for re-education through labor.

Upon thinking of this, she pressed her lips together, shifted her gaze away, and instead took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air.

“Yuyu, over here, I can see your Mom Qiuhua.”

Chen Nongmo immediately tucked away the emotions stirred by the snowy, dreamlike scene, and jogged to catch up with the man ahead, her gaze following the direction he had pointed.

And then she froze.

Last night, she had already learned from Xiao Hu that after remarrying, Mom Qiuhua had given birth to four sons: the eldest was 19, followed by a 17-year-old, and then a pair of 15-year-old twins, just a few months older than her.

In her understanding, a 19-year-old was still a young man.

A young man should be slim and tall, or perhaps even a bit sallow and dark from lack of food and clothing. This was the typical appearance of most people in this era.

But… what was going on with the two “little mountains” moving quickly towards her from several meters away?

Before she could recover from her shock, the “little mountains” were already right in front of her.

The tallest of them, easily standing at nearly 1.9 meters, was a dark-skinned “little mountain.”

He looked at the Little Sister, whose face was barely visible except for her eyes, and flashed a friendly, bright smile, showing off a row of white teeth. His deep voice greeted her, “Finally, you’re here, Brother Xiao Hu. So, this is Little Sister? I’m Cao Liu, you can call me Second Brother.”

Second Brother?

His surname was Cao?

Did that mean he was from Mom Qiuhua’s side?

So, this was Mom Qiuhua’s second son, who was only 19?

His facial features were quite handsome, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, fitting the description of a good-looking young man.

But… in this time of scarce resources, for someone to grow this tall and strong, it somewhat surpassed her understanding.

Despite her inner surprise, Chen Nongmo didn’t show any signs of discomfort on her face.

She took a step back, tilted her head up with effort, and softly called out to Cao Liu, who was clearly trying to show her goodwill, “Second Brother.”

Cao Liu’s smile grew even more genuine. “Hey!”

“Little Sister, I’m your Third Brother.” Seeing that his Second Brother had easily gained Little Sister’s approval, the second eldest, Chen Huai, who was slightly shorter and less imposing, quickly introduced himself.

Chen Nongmo responded, “Hello, Third Brother.”

“Hey! Finally, our family has a girl! But Little Sister, why are you so thin? Haven’t you been eating enough meat? Also, are all southern people so small? I—oh!” Chen Huai, who was clearly a talkative and friendly person, couldn’t help but keep rambling once he had been acknowledged as Third Brother.

But he had barely finished a few words when someone sharply smacked the back of his head.

Following that, a clear, crisp female voice rang out, “What nonsense are you talking? Your Little Sister is only 15; she’ll still grow taller. Besides, being petite is beautiful, what do you know?”

As the voice finished, Chen Nongmo’s gaze shifted, and two more figures appeared before her.

A tall, middle-aged woman was walking alongside a much more imposing, burly middle-aged man, who seemed to be guarding her.

Cao Qiuhua, the woman, was quite tall, around 1.75 meters. Even the bulky, thick coat she wore couldn’t conceal her slender figure.

She was four years older than Chen Demao, who was 49 this year, though she looked a few years younger than her actual age. With thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a high nose bridge, it was clear that the two brothers from the Chen family had inherited their good looks from her.

Her expression was somewhat serious, and it was evident she wasn’t someone who smiled often.

However, Chen Nongmo could sense from the other’s gentle gaze that she was welcome here.

It wasn’t until this moment, seeing her attitude in person, that Chen Nongmo finally breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that what her parents and Xiao Hu had told her was indeed true.

So, she raised a smile, using the address her parents had instructed her to use, and despite the awkwardness, she greeted her in return: “Mom Qiuhua, Un- Dad Zong.”

In her heart, Chen Nongmo would have preferred to call them Uncle and Aunt, but her parents had said it wasn’t appropriate. Calling them “Big Mom” or something similar would have felt even stranger.

Chen Zong, the man Cao Qiuhua later married, was a quiet, reserved person. However, he was very welcoming to the guest in his home, knowing how much his wife had longed to have a daughter.

Now that her wish had been fulfilled and his wife was happy, he was happy too.

So, even though he wasn’t good with words, he still made an effort to offer a faint smile to the girl.

Then, he handed her a small bundle, his deep voice rumbling as he spoke, “Yuyu, are you hungry? Your Mom Qiuhua bought these little pastries. Try them.”

Chen Nongmo took the package without hesitation, smiling at the woman who was subtly observing her, and cheerfully thanked her, “Thank you, Dad Zong, thank you, Mom Qiuhua.”

Seeing this, Cao Qiuhua felt a warm sense of happiness.

She knew about the girl’s past and had worried about her for quite some time.

Now, seeing her not only poised but also pleasant in character, all the concerns she had been holding onto eased, and she finally believed what Ji Mo and Demao had said over the phone.

The girl had reacted to the outside world before. Otherwise, there was no way she could have adjusted so quickly to seem no different from anyone else.

Thinking of this, her gaze softened even further. She raised her hand and gently patted the girl’s head. “What’s there to thank for? I’m your Mom Qiuhua. No need to be so polite.”

As she spoke, Cao Qiuhua’s expression faltered as she realized, only after the fact, that her tone had been a bit too harsh.

Having been used to scolding her rowdy sons, she had forgotten for a moment that the person in front of her was a delicate girl.

After a few seconds of awkwardness, to show she had already been gentle, she turned and slapped her son’s head with a loud “smack.” Furrowing her brows, she scolded him, “What are you standing there for, you fool? Can’t you see Xiao Hu is carrying everything? Go help him with the luggage! And take the package from Little Sister—how is she going to eat if you don’t help her carry it?”

Xiao Hu: “…”

Finally, she noticed him.

Cao Liu and Chen Huai had long been accustomed to their mother’s fiery temper. Laughing and joking, they reached out to take over some of the luggage.

It was Chen Nongmo, however, who froze for a few seconds before breaking into a genuinely warm smile.

It seemed that the future… might be much better than she had imagined.

Seeing the girl smile, Cao Qiuhua’s expression softened even more. She reached out and pulled Chen Nongmo closer. “Come on, it’s really cold here. Let’s go home. Your Chen Jun and Chen Yi are both waiting to come pick you up, but I told them to stay home and get the meal ready. When we get back, you’ll be able to eat plenty of meat. It’s fresh! Your Dad Zong went hunting in the mountains yesterday and got a roe deer. It’s a lot, you can have as much as you want!”

Chen Nongmo couldn’t help but laugh. Actually, she wasn’t all that thin; it was just that her frame was small.

“Thanks…” She started to speak, but when she met the woman’s disapproving gaze, she smiled again, holding the pastries in her hands. “Alright, Mom Qiuhua, I’ll try my best to eat the meat.”

“Yuyu is a good girl!” Cao Qiuhua smiled in return.

Chen Nongmo: “…”

---

Shanshun Village covered a large area.

The environment was quite nice, with mountains at the back and water nearby, making the land fertile.

The downside was that the population wasn’t large, a result of the human disaster that had occurred over twenty years ago, which had left lasting effects that the village still hadn’t fully recovered from.

There were two sides to everything, though. Because the population was much smaller than in neighboring villages, the people in Shanshun were extremely united.

At the same time, they were also very insular.

Chen Nongmo didn’t really count as an outsider. Her father, Chen Demao, was a native of Shanshun Village.

Most of the people in the village shared the surname Chen. It was said that their family tree could be traced back to the early Ming Dynasty.

At that time, two merchant brothers with the surname Chen passed through Shanshun Village. They met some girls they liked, and since they had no permanent home, the two brothers decided to settle there.

After hundreds of years, the descendants of those two brothers had grown into a large village.

So, when you really think about it, everyone was a relative.

Chen Nongmo was a true relative, part of the Chen family by blood. However, her arrival still attracted a lot of attention from the villagers.

After several transfers by car, traveling for seven or eight hours, she finally arrived at Shanshun Village. As soon as the news spread, she was surrounded by villagers at the village entrance.

The villagers crowded around her, talking among themselves with curiosity, as though they were looking at some rare species:

“So, this is Demao’s daughter? Why is she so thin? Her face is smaller than my palm. Didn’t they say people in the cities get rationed food and live better than us country folk?”

“Uncle San, that’s not quite right. Even with the rationed food, some city people live worse than us. At least we can eat meat more freely.”

“Why worry about her being thin? I’m your Aunt Chunhua. Your father and my husband are only five degrees of kinship apart. When you come to my house, there’ll be plenty of meat for you.”

“Ha! Chunhua, I see what you’re up to. You’re probably admiring how the girl looks and want to take her home to raise her, huh? Does Qiu Hua’s family lack meat?”

“Hahaha… You figured it out! But it’s not my fault! I’ve lived this long, and it’s the first time I’ve seen such a pretty girl. Her little face is as soft and tender as egg whites! She’s way prettier than those Educated Youths from the city at the village’s edge.”

With that, everyone burst into laughter.

Cao Qiuhua was proud to see her daughter admired by the villagers.

However, after the long journey, Chen Nongmo was exhausted. All she wanted now was to get home, take a hot bath, eat a good meal, and sleep soundly.

Seeing that the villagers seemed to have no intention of stopping their chatter anytime soon, she put on a serious face and hurried them along. “Alright, alright! My child’s been traveling for days. Whatever you have to say, let her rest first. We’ll talk later. We’re going now.”

With those words, Cao Qiuhua didn’t care about the villagers’ continued curiosity and pulled the girl away.

Chen Nongmo was indeed very tired. Honestly, after several days of traveling, her frail body—though she used to be able to handle three jobs a day—could hardly bear the exhaustion of nearly a week of nonstop activity.

She was really, really tired!

So, following Cao Qiuhua’s gesture, she said goodbye to everyone, then took a few steps. Once she was sure the villagers weren’t following, Cao Qiuhua turned to her again and asked, “Our house is at the village’s end, another couple of miles away. Are you sure you don’t want your brothers to carry you?”

“…No need!”