The few of them talked as they walked. After walking for about an hour, they finally returned to Dingjiagou Village, where He Mei's family was located. If they had been a little later, they would have had to walk at night.
Although the sky had just turned dark, the village was already silent. Other than the occasional child's cry from the house, the entire village was like an empty city. If this was the village where Yin Yong's hometown was located, the dogs would have barked and rushed out when they heard the commotion. Then, all the dogs in the village would bark together. If they met a thief with a weak heart, they would probably have a heart attack. However, the situation in this village was very different. However, this was not strange. If people could not eat their fill, who would have surplus food to feed their dogs?
"Xiao Mei, do the people in the village rest so early?”Yin Yong couldn't help but ask as he walked past the pitch-black houses.
"Big Brother Yin doesn't know, but our village is very poor. We have to save money on lamp oil, so everyone eats early at night. They usually eat before dark and go to bed to sleep after dark.”
Yin Yong raised his wrist to look at his watch and realized that it was only seven o'clock. There were still about twelve hours until tomorrow morning…At this moment, Yin Yong couldn't help but have an indescribable feeling in his heart. Everyone knew that time was precious and they couldn't do anything in one or two seconds, but the villagers spent half of their time sleeping…And this was summer. If it was winter, this time would only be longer! However, Yin Yong had no right to criticize the villagers. Were they willing to do this? Obviously not, but under the pressure of reality, they had no choice! It could be said that a dog and an oil lamp had made Yin Yong deeply understand the difficult living environment that most of his compatriots faced in this era.
Under He Mei's lead, they soon arrived at He Mei's house, which was located in the west of the village. The He family's house was as dark as the other villagers 'houses. The courtyard door made of cornstalks was not closed (in fact, it could not be closed at all. Even if it was closed, it would not be able to prevent thieves. Of course, the premise was that the thieves had to take a fancy to He Mei's house).
"Father, mother, are you asleep?”He Mei shouted as soon as she entered the courtyard.
"The dog is back…There's food left for you in the pot. Go eat and sleep early!”The one who spoke was He Mei's father.
"Father, there are guests at home. Get up and help entertain them…"
" Oh, who is it…" He Mei's father responded and said,""Old woman, get up quickly. There are guests at home!”
" I know..." He Mei's mother replied.
Yin Yong felt a little embarrassed and quickly pulled He Mei back."Xiao Mei, don't let uncle and aunt get up. Just find a place for us to lie down!”
He Mei pushed Yin Yong's hand away and said,""Big Brother Yin, what about this? You haven't eaten yet. If you want to rest, you have to eat first! However, Big Brother Yin, please don't take it to heart. Our family is very poor and we don't have anything good to entertain you!”
"Then I'll have to trouble Uncle and Auntie!" Yin Yong couldn't refuse.”
"What trouble? Although we mountain people are poor, we are the best guests. If others find out that our family has guests and that our parents are lying in bed, they will be poked in the back by others!”As she spoke, He Mei pushed open the door of the central room and said," Big Brother Yin, wait a moment. I'll go and light up the stove…"
" Don't bother, I have a lighter..." Yin Yong said as he took out the legendary Zippo lighter from his pocket that was sold at a street stall for 30 RMB. Before he came to this world, he was too embarrassed to use this lighter in public. He couldn't afford to lose face. However, in this village, this counterfeit was truly a high-end and luxury product.
Although this Zippo was a knockoff, it was still very safe to use. In the darkness, there was a " dang " sound. Yin Yong had pushed open the lid. A series of sparks flashed, and the small hall was immediately lit up by the flames.
He Mei looked at the burning lighter in Yin Yong's hand in surprise and praised,"Big Brother Yin, this lighter is awesome…"
" Haha, it's alright…" Yin Yong said a little embarrassedly,""I brought this back from America. I only have one with me. Otherwise, I would have given you one!”
"Such a good thing, even if Big Brother Yin gave it to me, I wouldn't dare to accept it. I'm afraid that thieves will remember it!”As He Mei spoke, she took a plate from the wooden table in the middle of the hall. There was half a plate of kerosene in the plate.
Yin Yong lit up the short wick with a lighter and closed the lid. He Mei felt embarrassed because the light from his so-called oil lamp was not as bright as Yin Yong's lighter. The moment he closed the lid, the room suddenly became much dimmer.
He Mei used the faint light to pull a stool for Yin Yong. She wiped it with her sleeve and said," Big Brother Yin, quickly sit down and rest for a while…"
Yin Yong nodded and sat down. Under the dim light, Yin Yong realized that the stool and the table in front of him seemed to be made by himself. The legs of the stool and the table were made by chiseling a few holes on a few two-inch thick gum trees. There was still dark green bark on them.
He Mei went to find a stool for Zhao Fei and the others. Zhao Fei quickly said," Don't bother, we'll do it ourselves..." With that, the eight guards stepped forward and sat down on their stools.
At this moment, He Mei's parents walked out from a room on the left. When they saw that the small central room was actually filled with people, they couldn't help but be a little surprised and actually stopped in their tracks.
Yin Yong and the others hurriedly stood up and walked towards He Mei's parents.
"Uncle He, Auntie He, I'm really sorry to trouble you so late at night!”Yin Yong bowed slightly and said.
He Mei's parents were honest farmers. When they saw that everyone in the house was either rich or noble except for her family of three, they quickly waved their hands and said,""Ignorant mountain folk, I can't accept such a big bow from you masters…"
"Uncle He, Auntie He, there's no need to be like this. Please come over and sit!”Yin Yong stepped forward and held He Mei's father's hand, helping him to the wooden table. He said,"Uncle He, please sit down. If you're standing, we don't dare to sit down. Auntie, please come over and sit…"
"Father, mother, please take a seat!" He Mei said," This is the big brother I just recognized. He's a very nice person, unlike the old masters and rich people in the town and county. These are all big brother Yin's family members. This is Zhao Fei, big brother Zhao, Qian Jin, big brother Qian…"
He Mei's father didn't dare to take a seat and said,"Dog, what nonsense are you talking about? Our He family has never been a respectable person in eight lifetimes. These few masters are obviously noble people. How can you cling to them? Quickly come over and greet the masters!" He Mei's father had experienced many things. In his opinion, there were only two kinds of people in this world. One was rich, and the other was poor. The rich were in heaven, and the poor were on earth. It was impossible for the two kinds of people to cross paths. If there was, then the one who took the initiative must have some unspeakable goal. He had seen many people who kept their mouths shut in his life, and at this moment, he clearly regarded Yin Yong as one of those people!
Yin Yong quickly said," Uncle He, don't worry. I don't have any bad intentions. It's like this. A few servants and I have just returned from the United States and were preparing to return to Guan County's ancestral land to worship our ancestors. Unfortunately, we got lost in the mountains and happened to meet Xiao Mei. It was him who brought us out of the mountains. He is our great benefactor! How can I repay kindness with ingratitude? Seeing that it was already late, he thought of telling Xiao Mei that he hoped to stay at his uncle and aunt's house for the night and leave tomorrow!”
"That's right, Father, don't be so petty. Look at our house, and then look at Big Brother Yin and the others. A pair of other people's children (shoes, I don't know if the word 'child' in the dialect is this) is worth more than all of our belongings.”
He Mei's parents thought that it was true. This house was very fitting to say that it was empty. Even if they let others take it themselves, they would definitely find it dirty. However, they still did not sit down. Since you're already in our house, don't stand on ceremony. Sit wherever you want…Doggy, please take care of us…" After saying that, he turned to He Mei's mother and said,""Old woman, let's go and cook…"
"Uncle, Auntie, there's no need to trouble yourself…"
" It's alright, it's alright…" He Mei's father said repeatedly. After saying that, he stubbornly left with He Mei's mother.
After He Mei pulled Yin Yong to sit down, she realized that there was not even a glass of water on the table. She immediately said," Big Brother Yin, let's all do it. I'll go boil some water to quench everyone's thirst…"
" No need, we'll bring…" Before Yin Yong could finish his sentence, He Mei had already left the central room. Seeing this, he couldn't help but shake his head. It just so happened that there were no outsiders in the room, so he quickly took out his phone to contact Rui 'er. He took out 20 bottles of coke and 40 loaves of bread from her. Afraid that He Mei's family would suddenly come back and see this strange scene, he asked Rui' er to send the things to Zhao Fei and Qian Jin's luggage. After the transfer, He Mei's family didn't come over, so he stood up and left the central room. He walked towards a side house that was emitting flames in the west.
In this era, people in the countryside used firewood stoves. The fire had just been lit, and the entire kitchen was filled with thick smoke. He Mei's mother choked on the smoke from time to time and coughed.
Yin Yong covered his mouth and walked into the kitchen.""Uncle, Auntie, Xiao Mei, don't trouble yourselves…We brought some rations, so we'll just have to eat!”After saying that, she pulled He Mei's father's arm and dragged him out of the house.
He Mei's father said at this time," I'm sorry to make a joke out of you. We really don't have anything to entertain you. Fortunately, we're poor but we don't. Since you have dry food, let's boil a pot of water!"”
There's water too. Aunt, don't be busy. Let's go, let's go…Uncle and Aunt, we're already very grateful for taking us in. How can we let Uncle and Aunt work hard for us…" Seeing that He Mei's mother didn't get up from the stool in front of the stove, she said to He Mei in the kitchen,""Xiao Mei, quickly bring Auntie out. Didn't you say that Auntie's health wasn't good? This room is full of smoke. Don't ruin my health…"
When He Mei heard Yin Yong's words, she quickly went forward to hold her mother's hand and said,"Mother, don't be so busy, let's go…"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。