Chapter 34: The Story of Xie Yuanyuan

Among the friends who came out of the orphanage, one studied Traditional Chinese Medicine and became a master in the modern era, even being placed under state protection. He had given her a few small prescriptions, among which was one for treating chapped skin; she could search for it and make some.

Mo Yunshen stood obediently to one side; whenever he saw a place that needed help, he didn't need anyone to tell him, and he would take action immediately.

In the kitchen with three people, there was no panic; instead, it was very quiet.

Not ten minutes later, Huzi and Xiaoshitou arrived together.

"Yun Shen, you're already here? We were planning to call Beibei and go find you together." Huzi shouted loudly, handing the large bowl he was carrying to An Yinan.

"The soybean paste my grandma made is so fragrant, she told me to bring it to Fairy Sister." Huzi scratched his head and gave a silly grin, looking a bit simple and honest.

Xiaoshitou was very small, even shorter than Beibei, and he took three eggs out of his pocket. "An Jie, my mom told me to bring these."

In the village, the main men of the house might go out to eat, but that was rare.

However, children were never formally invited; for one thing, every family had children, and if it happened to be mealtime, they would just sit down and have a bite, and sensible children would even avoid mealtimes.

Another reason was that families weren't wealthy, and the dishes in any house were much the same, so there was no difference between eating at someone else's house or one's own.

This time, Xiaoshitou's mother had specifically asked Aunt Li if she should let the child go. Aunt Li spoke of Huzi's changes; Huzi would be in the first grade next year, and before, he had even said he would go straight to earning Work Points and didn't want to go to school, but now that he played with An Xiangbei, he spent more time reading, and although he was still mischievous at home, he was much easier to discipline and could listen to reason.

Once Xiaoshitou's mother heard this, she also felt the changes in her own child, so she discussed it with Aunt Li and let Xiaoshitou bring three eggs.

Mo Yunshen saw them bring gifts, touched his pocket, looked at An Yinan, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, three little guests, you can come to the table." An Yinan smiled and brought the last dish, candied sweet potatoes, to the table.

She left the meal for Xie Yuanyuan and herself separate; this was the children's world, and she didn't want to participate in it. They had their own world, free of interests and disputes, and if she stayed, it would only make Xiao Yunshen feel constrained.

An Yinan brought the Steamed Buns and mung bean soup to the table; she had put some rock sugar in the mung bean soup, so it tasted sweet and could be served as a drink.

"The dishes are ready, little guests, enjoy your meal. Sister is going to find Sister Xie to eat." An Yinan carried her food and left.

Xie Yuanyuan was sitting at the table, rubbing her poor little stomach; she could smell it but couldn't eat it—it was too pitiful.

"Nan Nan, you're finally here, I'm starving to death." Xie Yuanyuan took two bowls, picked up a Steamed Bun without ceremony, and started eating.

An Yinan smiled. "Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you."

"What is this? It's so fragrant, and sweet too." Xie Yuanyuan picked up a pumpkin ball with her chopsticks.

An Yinan smiled. "My godmother sent it, I don't know what it is either."

It wasn't that she wouldn't say, but this thing didn't exist yet; she could eat it, but she couldn't be asked about it—it wouldn't stand up to scrutiny.

After the two finished their meal, they drank the mung bean soup and then lay down on the kang, fully clothed.

"Yuanyuan, can you tell me now why you came to the countryside?"

Xie Yuanyuan lay flat, looking at the ceiling; she had never lived in a room full of newspapers before, nor had she ever heated a kang or worked in the fields, but now she had experienced it all, and she didn't know how much longer she would have to do it.

"Following someone, sounds stupid, right?" Xie Yuanyuan thought of the shadow in her heart; perhaps she was following her own heart.

An Yinan thought through everyone at the Educated Youth Station and couldn't think of such a person.

"Didn't find him?"

"Mm, it seems he hasn't come back yet." Ever since Xie Yuanyuan arrived at Quanshui Village, she hadn't seen that person. Later, she asked the Scorekeeper, and the person had asked for leave and hadn't returned; he hadn't even made it back for the emergency harvest.

An Yinan didn't answer, but Xie Yuanyuan sighed and continued, "He is my neighbor. Our parents are good friends. When our mothers were pregnant, they arranged a marriage for us. If we were both boys, we would be brothers; if both girls, sisters; and if one boy and one girl, they would be betrothed."

"But, he ran away." Xie Yuanyuan's voice was a bit choked, tears fell from the corners of her eyes, and her mouth pouted slightly.

"His family had an accident, and he was arranged by his aunt to go to the countryside. He disappeared, told me not to look for him again, and told me to forget him." Xie Yuanyuan lay on the kang and began to wail.

"I can't forget, Nan Nan, I can't forget him."

An Yinan patted her back without speaking. It was hard to imagine that this girl had such a heavy burden in her heart, and it was hard to imagine that this optimistic and cheerful girl would have such a day of bitter crying.

A full half-hour passed before Xie Yuanyuan stopped crying. Her eyes were red and swollen, and the quilt was soaked with tears. "I just wanted to ask him what he was thinking. If he has forgotten, I will return to the City and be the one-and-only Xie Yuanyuan."

"Mm, such a silent departure is hard for anyone to bear. It's good to ask." An Yinan felt that the man was probably afraid that Yuanyuan would suffer; after all, they were once social equals, but now they were worlds apart. Perhaps he was feeling inferior. Having not met the person in question, she didn't know which it was.

The specific matters could only be decided by the parties involved. As Yuanyuan's friend, she could only offer company and comfort.

It wasn't until An Xiangbei came to knock on the door that An Yinan carried the washed bowls and chopsticks back.

Huzi and Xiaoshitou had already left, and Mo Yunshen was helping An Xiangbei tidy up.

"Leave it, Sister will clean it up in a moment." An Yinan smiled; she had a very good impression of Mo Yunshen.

Mo Yunshen thought for a moment, then reached into his pocket, took out a small wooden carving, and handed it to An Yinan. "An Jie, I made this myself, for you."

The small wooden carving was a little rabbit. One of the rabbit's ears was standing up while the other was lying down, and its eyes were exceptionally spirited; the rabbit looked as if it were about to jump.

"I love it, thank you." An Yinan truly couldn't put it down; the tiny wooden carving was lifelike.

Yun Shen also smiled. He had been afraid that An Jie would dislike it, but he hadn't seen that in An Jie's eyes, so it was clear that An Jie really liked it.

"I can carve other things too, I'll make them for An Jie in the future." Mo Yunshen didn't talk much, but he wasn't hard to communicate with. Having someone like the things he made gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

An Yinan smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Mo Yunshen left, and when he returned to the Cowshed, his little mouth was still curved upward.

Mo Kun saw his son walking over and could see he had had a very happy day.

"So happy?" Peng Yanling and Mo Kun looked at each other, and both of them had a hint of a smile.

Mo Yunshen nodded. "An Jie really liked the little rabbit I carved."