Chapter 144: Trip to Yunnan to Meet Zhu Lin (5,500 Monthly Votes Bonus)

Today was truly like a New Year for the Xu family, with their own raised old hen, plus cured pork and sausages brought by the Wei family.

But there were too many people, and the meal was nearly finished in one sitting; Old Wan could see the family’s hardship and barely ate any meat himself, letting the children have their fill first.

He was from Ya’an himself and knew most people there weren’t well-off—better off than only a few ethnic minority autonomous prefectures in all of Sichuan.

But with Wei Ming as a relative, as long as they didn’t cause trouble, better days lay ahead.

Wei Ming had planned to return to Rongcheng today to catch the train to Yunnan, but Old Wan talked him out of it.

Wei Ming didn’t want to trouble them again tomorrow, and Old Wan understood—he said, “I’m heading back to Ya’an anyway; I’ll come pick you up early tomorrow and take you to the station. Wei writer, today you should spend time with the elders.”

“Then we’re in your debt, Old Wan, but I need to ask one more favor.”

Moments later, Old Wan held up the camera: “Good, very good, hold it like that…”

With a click, the most complete family photo of the Wei and Xu families was taken—Long Xiaoyang had returned to the village to fetch his father during lunch.

So the photo included thirteen people: the old lady seated in the center, her two daughters beside her, Wei Ming and the younger generation standing behind, Wei Ming standing directly behind his grandmother due to his height.

After Old Wan left, Wei Ming and the others walked to their grandfather’s grave to tell him the good news that his second daughter had returned; this was also the original site of the village buried by the mudslide.

After paying respects to their grandfather, Xu Shufen and her elder sister helped the old lady home; Wei Ming and Wei Hong wanted to wander the hills—the children raised on flat plains were naturally curious about any uneven terrain.

So their eldest uncle sent Xu Yunyun and Long Xiaoyang with them, adding, “I once saw a giant panda around here.”

Wei Hong’s eyes lit up instantly.

Even without the uncle’s prompting, Long Xiaoyang didn’t want to leave his brother—he felt being near him rubbed off literary aura; as Old Wan put it, Wei Ming was the greatest teenage literary talent of the current era!

Though Long Xiaoyang had never read a single one of his writings or even heard of them, it didn’t diminish his admiration for his cousin—he admired him himself and dragged Yunyun along too.

“Yunyun, did you know? Officials in the city are reading Brother’s novels—he’s even met the Old Man himself.” It was clear Old Wan had told him about the Writers’ Congress, where Wei Ming had met nearly all of the nation’s top leaders.

“Oh, you mean that Old Man from Sichuan-Chongqing!” Xu Yunyun was stunned—her brother was even more impressive than she’d imagined; the image of the marriage prospect had dimmed considerably.

Listening to their unskilled flattery, Wei Ming interrupted: “How many years of school have you two completed?”

The question left them both embarrassed—Long Xiaoyang had finished elementary school; Xu Yunyun hadn’t finished fifth grade.

Wei Ming asked again: “What about Pingping and Fangfang? Are they still in school?”

“They’re still studying.”

Wei Ming sighed in relief: “They must keep going.”

Otherwise, how could they ever understand how amazing their brother is if they’ve never even read his novels?

“Don’t be discouraged—you may have left school, but you can study on your own. Society is also a great university; sometimes, you just need to step out.”

This struck a chord with Long Xiaoyang—he desperately wanted to leave the mountains, where he earned nothing and saw no hope.

Wei Ming was really speaking to Yunyun—step out, expand your horizon from a single village to an entire city, and you’ll realize the men you thought were decent are actually terrible; there are far better ones out there.

But she didn’t seem to hear it—she showed no interest in leaving, and after a while, she wandered back to circle around Xiao Hong, asking her to take photos.

The girl was genuinely a bit simple; Wei Ming truly worried about her going out alone.

They wandered the hills without seeing a giant panda, but spotted two golden snub-nosed monkeys—both future international Class I protected species—and many other small animals, some they couldn’t even name.

The biodiversity of wild animals here was indeed richer than in the plains; they heard snow leopards were sometimes seen too.

So before sunset, Wei Ming suggested heading home.

He didn’t want his family’s visit to burden his grandmother’s household, so on the way back, he asked Long Xiaoyang: “Is there anywhere in the village where you can buy meat—pork, lamb, or beef?”

Long Xiaoyang thought a moment: “What about venison?”

Wei Ming: “Venison?”

Half an hour later, Wei Ming’s group arrived at Long Xiaoyang’s village, where a hunter’s family had killed a water deer last year—a now Class II protected animal, a large deer that could grow up to 500 jin.

They’d planned to sell the meat to villagers, but no one had money; after several days, half remained unsold and they’d given up—until Wei Ming showed up.

Wei Ming picked and chose; Long Xiaoyang hacked wildly; in the end, they bought fifty jin of venison for forty yuan—cheaper than pork, though the taste wasn’t as good when stir-fried.

Because of its strong gamey smell, it was better suited for skewers; in his past life, Wei Ming had eaten venison skewers—though those came from regulated, farmed deer.

The Xu family might have little else, but chili peppers were plentiful—because his grandmother suffered from rheumatism, every meal included chilies. Wei Ming crushed the chilies with salt into a seasoning paste; Long Xiaoyang carved bamboo into skewers; Xiao Hong and Yunyun handled marinating and threading the meat; that night’s meal would be grilled skewers!

The two children were ecstatic—they’d eaten chicken and pork at lunch, and now they’d have meat again for dinner—what kind of heavenly life was this!

But Xu Cunmao expressed concern to Xu Shufen: “Won’t Xiao Ming be too extravagant? We can eat simply—your sister-in-law’s pickles are excellent.”

Old Wei pulled out the baijiu and told his brother-in-law: “Don’t worry about that kid—he spends, but he earns. Come on, call over your brother-in-law; let them start grilling, and we’ll have a drink.”

Soon, the aroma of grilled meat spread through the courtyard; many villagers pretended to pass by just to glance—everyone could see the Xu family’s hard times were over.

Wei Ming tasted the first skewer—perfectly seasoned, tender, spicy and fragrant, intensely stimulating the palate—then carried it to the elders.

Soon after, he trained Long Xiaoyang and handed him the prestigious grilling station, then joined the elders to eat.

During this time, the eldest uncle asked Wei Ming’s opinion on the marriage prospect.

Xu Cunmao now knew his second daughter’s most capable relative was this nephew—someone whose abilities surpassed their wildest imagination—so major decisions had to be discussed with him; his opinion could even sway their choices.

Wei Ming sipped his wine, then shook his head: “Marriage is a major matter—it’s not just about a man and a woman, but the entire family behind them. I’ve heard what the boy’s mother was like from Auntie; she was terrible. Even if she acted well after we arrived, that wasn’t her true self—pretense lasts only a moment, but life together lasts a lifetime.”

Hearing Wei Ming speak so seriously, Xu Cunmao frowned into deep thought.

!

Because the eldest uncle’s home had limited space, after dinner Wei Ming would sleep at his aunt’s house in the neighboring village.

Before leaving, Xu Shufen pulled Wei Ming aside for a private word.

“Xiao Ming, I want to talk to you about something—your father agrees, now it’s just your opinion we need.”

“Mom, go ahead.”

Xu Shufen: “I want to take your grandmother to live with us for a while—her rheumatism is serious, and here it rains constantly; the dampness is too heavy.”

It was true—Ya’an had over two hundred rainy days a year, sometimes nearly three hundred.

Wei Ming remembered from his past life that when they came to find relatives, his grandmother had already passed away—she’d slipped while gathering mushrooms on the mountain due to her rheumatic legs, triggering other illnesses.

Wei Ming said directly: “That’s a good idea—I fully support it. You two haven’t seen each other in twenty years; this is a chance to make up for lost time.”

He knew his mother worried about expenses—he’d leave them extra money.

Xu Shufen was deeply moved; now she just had to convince her mother—after all, it was a completely foreign world to her.

Wei Ming had considered this too—his grandmother would be uncomfortable in Gouzitun without speaking the language, so he suggested: “Why not let Yunyun go too? She can care for Grandma and keep her company when you’re away.”

It was a good idea—it could also free Yunyun from that marriage prospect. Xu Shufen worried: “Won’t it be too heavy a burden on you?”

Two more mouths meant grain had to be bought with money—using grain coupons at inflated prices.

Wei Ming laughed: “My animation script is almost finished—I’ll earn over a thousand yuan soon; I won’t be short on cash. Don’t worry about this, Mom!”

After speaking, Wei Ming and Long Xiaoyang carried the kerosene lamp back to the neighboring village.

They had to walk a short stretch of mountain path; Xiaoyang dreamed of tomorrow’s first long journey.

“Brother, we’re taking the train! I’ve never ridden a train before! I…”

As he spoke, Wei Ming stopped him, pointing ahead: “What’s that standing in the middle of the road?”

Long Xiaoyang saw a hazy human shape ahead and felt a chill—late at night, who was playing ghost?

Wei Ming shouted—the shadow moved, shifting from standing to crouching, then sprinting toward the nearby forest.

Wei Ming chased after it, shining the kerosene lamp’s weak light—and swore: “It’s a giant panda!”

Too bad—it was dark, he couldn’t see clearly, and he didn’t even get to say a word; they’d met so briefly.

The next morning, after breakfast at his aunt’s house, Wei Ming, Long Xiaoyang, and the eldest uncle met Old Wan and the Jeep at the Dagou Village Party branch.

The three men boarded a train bound for Yunnan at noon.

Little Aunt, I’m coming!

Zhu Lin, I’m coming!

…

(400,000 words! Need monthly votes—readers are too awesome!)

(End of Chapter)