Chapter 46: Farewell to the Small Mountain Village

Chapter 46: Farewell to the Small Mountain Village

The rural night was always so still that even the slightest sound stood out. Fu Zhengtu was a light sleeper, and after years of sleeping alone, Su Taotao's restlessness was affecting him.

He closed his eyes and reached out, pulling the soft and warm body onto himself.

Without warning, Su Taotao found herself turned around, her head nestled against Fu Zhengtu's warm neck, while his hand gently patted her back. His voice, warm and slightly raspy, like raindrops on a jade plate, murmured in her ear, "Go to sleep."

Su Taotao gave up struggling, closed her eyes, and rested her cheek against his neck. "I can't sleep," she mumbled.

"Don't talk, close your eyes, and count along with the rhythm of my hand," Fu Zhengtu said.

With his other hand, he picked up a palm-leaf fan and gently fanned her.

Tomorrow, traveling with two children would be tiring. She couldn't be tired tonight; she needed adequate sleep. Otherwise, he wouldn’t mind using another aid to help her relax and sleep.

Whether it was the soothing quality of his voice or the gentle breeze from the fan, Su Taotao soon felt her eyelids grow heavy. Before she could count to a hundred, she drifted off to sleep.

Listening to her steady breathing, Fu Zhengtu knew she had fallen asleep. Yet, his hand didn't stop. After about ten minutes, certain that she was deeply asleep, he carefully turned her over to rest comfortably on the pillow.

As soon as Su Taotao touched the pillow, she wrinkled her nose, reached out, grabbed Fu Zhengtu's arm, and hugged him, one leg crossing over his body. She mumbled, "Sleep..."

In the soft moonlight, Su Taotao’s porcelain-white foot curled around his leg, her delicate toes like polished ivory, more translucent than the white pieces on a chessboard.

Fu Zhengtu hadn’t paid much attention to women before, but he knew not every woman was as exquisitely crafted as his wife, every part of her meticulously shaped by the heavens, perfect in every way.

Zhou Linglan had mentioned that by deliberately keeping a low profile, Su Taotao had avoided a lot of trouble. But in doing so, she must have faced a lot of hardship over the past three years.

Fu Zhengtu held her and gently fanned with the palm-leaf fan, trying to recall the moment he first saw her, but it remained blurry in his memory. Perhaps he had been too young and impetuous back then to appreciate her beauty and goodness. Even after marrying her, he hadn’t truly placed her in his heart.

This time, everyone had changed. Regardless, he had decided to treat her well from now on.

Back then, Zhou Linglan had pointed out that if not for the rural relocation program, a city girl like her would never have ended up in a place like this. She deserved to be cherished more.

As he thought about how she had directed him earlier, acting both playful and demanding, Fu Zhengtu absentmindedly stroked her arm. She really was a delicate and pampered city girl, through and through.

Fu Zhengtu had no idea when he had fallen asleep, his mind in chaos all night with Su Taotao stirring up a storm inside.

When he woke up, she was still clinging to him like a koala, her limbs wrapped around him.

Su Taotao stirred awake, still half-dozing, and asked groggily, "What time is it?"

Fu Zhengtu glanced at his watch. "Six o'clock."

Su Taotao rubbed her face against the pillow. "What time do we leave?"

Fu Zhengtu, not having slept well, reached out and pinched his aching temples. "We don't need to leave so early for G City. Our train is at ten at night. If you want to stay in the city, we can leave after breakfast. If not, we'll leave after lunch."

Su Taotao sat up and stretched. "I'll prepare some dry rations and ask the children for their opinions when they wake up."

Over the past few days, Fu Zhengtu noticed that Su Taotao believed in and practiced fairness. Whether it was Fu Yuanhang or Chenchen, she always placed them on an equal footing, never using her adult status to overpower them, and always sought their opinions before making decisions.

But she wasn't indulgent. For tasks they could manage, she generally had them complete themselves. Even though Chenchen was very young, tasks like washing his face, putting on shoes, and packing his little schoolbag, Su Taotao had him do independently.

Having such a mother, Chenchen must be very happy.

Chenchen was really happy, even though his younger uncle had pulled him out of bed early in the morning, he wasn’t mad at him.

Generally, children Chenchen’s age might forget things you told them the night before after a sleep.

But not Chenchen. He remembered clearly that today he was going on a long trip with his parents and his younger uncle. As soon as he got up, he put on the new clothes his grandmother had made for him and slung the little backpack his grandmother had prepared over his shoulder.

Zhou Linglan wasn’t working again today. Early in the morning, she waited for her youngest son and her eldest grandson to wake up. While making mugwort rice cakes in the kitchen with Su Taotao, she kept an ear out, occasionally running to the door of their room to listen and see if they had woken up yet.

Su Taotao carefully placed a piece of mugwort on the banana leaf and said with a smile, “Mom, if you really don’t want to leave, come with us.”

Zhou Linglan shook her head, “It’s not the time yet, maybe after some time.”

Su Taotao didn’t push her, and the first batch of mugwort rice cakes was almost ready to come out of the steamer.

The mugwort wasn’t as tender as it was in spring. Zhou Linglan had gone out early in the morning to pick it while there was still dew, using only the tips. Even though it was still tender, she blanched it briefly to remove any bitterness. Su Taotao set aside a plate for a cold salad to eat with porridge later.

Su Taotao made two flavors of mugwort rice cakes. One had a sweet filling of peanuts, sesame, and sugar, which the kids loved. The other was a savory preserved vegetable and minced pork filling that Su Taotao preferred.

Mugwort rice cakes don’t keep as well as baked cakes, which are generally preferred for long journeys. But mugwort rice cakes taste better than baked cakes and don’t need accompanying dishes, so they would be sufficient for a meal or two on the train.

Zhou Linglan also boiled all the eggs in the house, more than twenty of them. With these snacks, they were ready for any unexpected needs on the road.

When the first batch of mugwort rice cakes was ready, Zhou Linglan found a groggy Chenchen standing at the doorway. She hugged the little guy, rubbing his head and kissing his face, which confused him, and he wrinkled his little nose and backed away.

Fu Yuanhang returned after washing up, and Su Taotao gave him six mugwort rice cakes, three of each flavor, to say goodbye to Cao Guohua.

By the time all the mugwort rice cakes were out of the steamer, Fu Zhengtu had already loaded all the large items onto the car and had also taken a shower and changed his clothes.

This man was very particular about cleanliness, but not to the point of obsession, just very mindful of personal hygiene.

At breakfast, Su Taotao asked, “I heard from Chef Xu that there’s a zoo in the city. Do Yuanhang and Chenchen want to visit the zoo? If you want to go, we’ll leave after breakfast.”

To Su Taotao, malls and supply and marketing cooperatives were all the same, just places to buy things, but the zoo sounded much more interesting.

The two children had only been as far as the county seat, so they had no idea what a zoo was.

After Su Taotao explained it to them, they both said they wanted to go.

So, it was decided they would leave after breakfast and go to the zoo first.

After breakfast, Fu Zhengtu went to the local officials to get a travel document, and Su Taotao started to check for anything missing.

Zhou Linglan called Fu Yuanhang into the room. It was unclear what she said to him, but when he came out, both of them had red eyes.

Zhou Linglan thought she could hold back, but when the car started and she saw Su Taotao leading the two younger ones waving goodbye, her tears still fell.

She cried at the door, while Fu Yuanhang and Chenchen cried in the car.

Fu Yuanhang’s eyes were red, and he kept his head down to hide his tears.

Chenchen, who was unusually perceptive, could tell the difference between this farewell wave and the usual wave when they went to the county seat and came back. He probably knew he wouldn’t see his grandmother for a long time and cried out for her.

Su Taotao had never seen Chenchen cry so hard before, and her heart ached. Several times, she wanted to ask Fu Zhengtu to stop the car, turn back, and bring Zhou Linglan with them.

In fact, Su Taotao vaguely knew why Zhou Linglan didn’t want to go. At least for the next few years, she wouldn’t leave this place. The reason she gave was one part of it, but there was a deeper reason Zhou Linglan couldn’t express.

Even if Su Taotao knew, she didn’t dare to say or ask.

Even Su Taotao herself found it hard to break free from the restrictions placed on women during this time, and she had to follow societal expectations.

Su Taotao believes it’s only right for parents to raise their own children, and they have no obligation to focus on their grandchildren unless they are willing and find joy in it. Otherwise, she hopes the older folks can have their own space and time to live the life they want.

It is her and Fu Zhengtu’s responsibility to raise Chenchen, not Zhou Linglan’s.

Su Taotao let the child rest his head on her chest, gently stroking his back:

"Chenchen, don’t cry. We’ll come back to visit Grandma during the Spring Festival. Look, Dad, Mom, and Uncle are all with you. If you’re happy, Grandma will be happy too."

Su Taotao pointed at the scenery outside the window to distract Chenchen, and gradually, the little guy calmed down.

They had already driven quite a distance, and as Su Taotao turned around, Zhou Linglan was still standing at the gate of the yard, waving as she watched their car drive away.

Unbeknownst to Zhou Linglan, Guohua Cao stood silently at the corner of the alley behind her, watching her every move.

Goodbye, little mountain village.

Goodbye, Qinglian Commune, the place where they had spent so many years. It felt like leaving a piece of their hearts behind.