At the beginning, this dilapidated and leaky medium-sized bus was driving on the national highway. Although the road was full of gaps and it was still a cement road, the ride was relatively stable. However, as soon as the driver, Uncle Zhao, turned the steering wheel, he got off the gravel road next to him.
The half-buried weathered rocks on the gravel road bumped the car so high that Chen Zhe felt that his whole body was flying up, his butt was off the seat, and his head almost hit the roof of the car.
What kind of broken path is this?
As a teenager who grew up in the city, Chen Zhe had never traveled this kind of road in a car in his life. As he swayed left and right, he felt the food in his stomach began to rise as he was not prone to motion sickness.
Shen Rongrong next to him had gotten used to it and still looked normal, but he couldn't stand it anymore.
"This road..." As soon as he opened his mouth, he gritted his upper teeth and his lower teeth. When he closed his mouth, he almost bit his tongue.
Chen Zhe quickly shut up, otherwise he would bite his tongue and commit suicide here. Shen Rongrong smiled and said: "It is said that the country will build roads after the year, and things will get better here."
That's good, there are fewer such ways now.
The road was not far and the car was not fast. It still took about forty minutes to walk. When we got off the bus, we saw an abandoned private gas station on the side of the road.
Shen Rongrong and Chen Zhe got out of the car, Uncle Zhao stuck his head out the window and waved, and the minibus drove away.
Chen Zhe got out of the car, and his body was still shaking. He got used to the shaking of the car, but when he got to the ground, he started to feel uncomfortable again. The car just shook left and right and still didn't fall apart. It was really good quality.
"Would you like a sip of water?" Shen Rongrong took out half a bottle of water from her bag and handed it over, with bright eyes and a hopeful smile.
Chen Zhe looked at it and frowned and asked, "Have you ever drank this water?"
Shen Rongrong blushed: "I'm sorry..."
It was indeed impolite to give the water you drank to others, but Chen Zhe immediately grabbed the water with a smile on his face: "I just like the water you drank,"
He grabbed the water and poured it into his mouth for a few sips, and then returned the water bottle to Shen Rongrong. Shen Rongrong took the water bottle back, her face as red as a flower, as if painted with rouge.
The two of them carried their bags, and Shen Rongrong led the way, continuing to walk along the gravel road.
Only then did Chen Zhe realize that the road just now was quite good.
There are also "cement roads" in the countryside, roads made of water and mud, truly one step at a time.
It had just rained in the countryside and the roads were dirty. You had to walk on dry areas, otherwise your feet would sink. Shen Rongrong had experience, and Chen Zhe stepped on the places she walked along the way.
Shen Rongrong has graceful curves, and it is a pleasure to look at her back.
The sun is gradually rising, and the weeping willow trees planted on both sides of the road are thick, blocking the sun and not feeling the sun. On both sides are endless fields. The wheat seedlings have grown so high that they can even have calves, and the corn is about one meter high. .
This kind of lazy and comfortable pastoral scenery is also a kind of enjoyment to look at.
In addition to corn, wheat, and soybeans, Chen Zhe had already seen a few farmers hoeing weeds with hoes.
He asked Shen Rongrong in astonishment: "It's not even six o'clock yet, and they are already working in the fields. It's really hard enough."
Shen Rongrong smiled softly, held her white fingers in front of her eyes and looked into the distance: "Yes, actually speaking of hard work, farmers are the hardest. Some people get up early in the morning to work in the dew, and don't go home until dark at night. , I’m so tired that I’m going to get sick when I get old,”
Her eyes were soft, as if she was remembering the time when she would go to the fields at two o'clock in the morning to do farm work for a few hours, then go home to cook and then go to get out of class. She had to continue working after class, which was extremely hard.
Nowadays, the so-called hard work of the work-study program is not worth mentioning.
Chen Zhe nodded: "Now that I think about it, those celebrities complain about being tired during filming, but they are far behind compared to them,"
Never feel that you are working hard and no one is working harder than you.
Shen Rongrong smiled and nodded: "They work hard, but they can't make much money. They are very tired, but the imported food is cheaper and of better quality. It has impacted the local farmers' market. There are not many people anymore." If you are willing to farm, there are many people who go out to work outside your home fields.”
"Why is their food so good and cheap?" Chen Zhe asked casually.
Shen Rongrong lowered her head and said softly: "The technology is advanced."
Chen Zhe nodded and said nothing.
For Chen Zhe, everything here is very new, while Shen Rongrong was born and raised here, and the two of them spent a lot of time chatting.
Most of the foreign farmers are wealthy farmers. A lot of land is used for machine work, and the technology is advanced and efficient.
What we have here.
A family has one-third of an acre of land and only earns tens of thousands of dollars a year. Who can use millions of dollars of machinery? In fact, great progress has been made in the past few years. Many people have bought small tractors to sow and plant seeds. You don’t have to worry too much about harvesting, it can be considered semi-mechanized, but some farm work still needs to be done manually. For example, if you use a machine for weeding, it will damage the roots. The machine always enters the field, compacting the ground and not utilizing plant growth. I had no choice but to still work by hand.
Fertilizer prices for land are rising every year, and it’s easy to harvest. But if we are exploited by second-hand traders and hit by imported grains, we won’t be able to make much money.
Farmers in many places still depend on the weather for their livelihood, but they are doomed if there is a drought or flood.
There is no other way but to spray pesticides like crazy. The environment is seriously polluted. Now the wild flowers, birds, fish and insects have basically disappeared.
After passing the farmland, Chen Zhe saw scattered grave circles and low scattered stone tablets not far from the field. Some grave mounds were well repaired and made of cement, while others were just small mounds with a board.
Those who have been there for so long no longer know who is buried inside.
Shen Rongrong was in a low mood and walked into the cemetery without saying a word.
Her mother's grave is the simplest kind of mound, a pile of oval black soil, with her mother's name written on the wooden board. There are no photos, overgrown with weeds, and a desolate and lonely feeling. Even Chen Zhe felt sad after seeing it. acid.
He looked back at Shen Rongrong, who was silent, and felt pity in his heart again.
Shen Rongrong walked to the grave and stood for a while: "Mom, come to see you, this is my friend Chen Zhe,"
Then, she stood there for a long time.
Chen Zhe didn't know what to say and followed him stupidly.
Shen Rongrong took out fruit snacks from her bag and placed them on them, lit some incense and took out paper money.
There are no procedures, and it’s not the Qingming Festival. It’s just that Shen Rongrong didn’t come during the Qingming Festival, so she will make up for it now.
Compared with etiquette after death, filial piety during life is the most important, and obviously she did it.
Chen Zhe squatted beside her, helped her burn all the paper money, and then suggested: "Let's tidy up Auntie's grave."
The two of them pulled out the weeds and tidied the grave. Chen Zhe's hands were covered with mud, and Shen Rongrong's eyes became gentler when she looked at him...
After Chen Zhe finished it: "When we have money, we will rebuild Auntie's tomb. It needs to be beautiful and grand, so that people in your village can see it."
Shen Rongrong was shocked and looked at him in disbelief: "What did you say?"
"It's nothing. I just want to help you rebuild this tomb. I want to bring back the beauty that it didn't have back then," Chen Zhe looked at the desolate tomb.
Shen Rongrong's eyes flashed, and the look in her eyes was heart-warming. Chen Zhe had saved her and helped her before, but never before had she been so excited and grateful.
"After making money, I will dig you out and bury you in a glorious state without relying on others."
Shen Rongrong wrote this sentence on the book. For a moment, she wondered if Chen Zhe had peeked at her book, but Chen Zhe's expression was natural, and he must have thought of it.
Shen Rongrong has only had one mother in her heart since she was a child. Chen Zhe didn't know that he had done so many things, but he didn't actually open Shen Rongrong's strong heart. However, this sentence made Shen Rongrong make up her mind.
Her eyes were red and she threw herself into Chen Zhe's arms, her soft body was trembling slightly, and Chen Zhe was dumbfounded.
She was actually crying.
Shen Rongrong has always given people a plain and gentle impression. Qin Xin can cry, Jiang Xiaoqiao can cry, but this Shen Rongrong never cries. In Chen Zhe's mind, he can't imagine what a crying Shen Rongrong looks like. She seemed to have given up the word crying.
When her mother passed away, she sat quietly in front of the grave for a whole day without eating, drinking, or crying. She never cried after that day.
But because of Chen Zhe's words, she actually cried.
Sometimes, the moment you cry, it is not pain, but relief.
Just for a moment, the cry of the strong and weak Shen Rongrong made Chen Zhe feel excited. His heart seemed to have been violently hit. An impulse surged up. He suddenly pulled Shen Rongrong to kneel in front of the grave: "I will I will take care of your daughter Shen Rongrong for all my life and never let her be bullied again. I only say one thing, if one day she cries sadly again, then that will be the day I die."
Shen Rongrong looked at him blankly: "In the future, can you help me bury my mother in glory again?"
"Let's pull the hook," Chen Zhe smiled and stretched out his little finger.
The two stood up together. Chen Zhe let out a long breath. Shen Rongrong wiped away her tears and sobbed as she told Chen Zhe everything about her and her mother, from childhood to adulthood, her mother's care and love, and her departure. The pain and unwillingness to leave.
Shen Rongrong hesitated: "Back then, my mother was injured while working in the fields..."
She was the only one who saw the scene when her mother died, and only she knew how her mother died.
Over the years, she had been depressed and never told anyone.
The relationship with Jiang Chen was extremely close, but he never uttered a single word.
After finishing speaking, she looked at Chen Zhe with guilt: "Tell me, did I kill my mother? Will she hate me?"
Chen Zhe shook his head: "The only thing parents in the world want is for their children to live well, so how could they hate you? It's a pity that you were too young at the time. If you were today, you would never do it... Just live well." "
Shen Rongrong raised her head and smiled: "Let's go, we have to go back to Jiangcheng today,"
The two of them returned along the original road. At around eight o'clock in the morning, they had caught up with Liu Wen and the others' bus back to Jiangcheng City.