Chapter 93: Galloping on Horseback

"Grandma, let me roll the dough wrappers instead."

After wrapping three buns, Zhang Ping'an finally gave up; he simply couldn't pinch them together properly, and either the bun's knot ended up too thick.

"Hehehe, alright."

Zhang Ping'an watched as the bun wrapper spun in Grandma's hands and was finished in no time; unwilling to give up, he tried one more time, but the result was the same as before.

"Alright, Ping'an, this is women's work; it's fine if you don't learn it."

"Oh, alright then."

Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to focus on rolling the dough, though he couldn't make the wrapper spin with the rolling pin either, so he had to flip it by hand.

"Back in the day, your eldest uncle and the others were just like you, but later on, we were all so busy that we didn't have time to cook, so they slowly learned on their own."

Grandma was also amused by Zhang Ping'an's clumsy appearance, and she couldn't help but think of her four children when they were young; in the blink of an eye, thirty or forty years had passed, and her grandson was already nearly twenty.

Grandma told him many stories about his eldest uncle and the others when they were young, and the grandmother and grandson chatted as they wrapped, not even noticing it was already seven o'clock.

Grandpa, the eldest uncle, and the second uncle's family had all gotten up.

"Ping'an, up so early?"

"It's alright, I'm used to getting up early."

"Ping'an gets up even earlier than me; he helped me wrap a whole pile of buns. Unlike you lot, who only know how to sleep."

In truth, Zhang Ping'an felt that the eldest aunt and second aunt had indeed gotten up late; his grandmother was already over sixty, and having to get up early to busy herself with breakfast for the whole family was truly not easy.

"Alright, alright, it's not easy for everyone to gather here, so hurry up and wash your hands to get ready for breakfast, then go to work after you eat."

These people seemed accustomed to the old lady's nagging, and one by one, they responded with smiles.

Seeing this, Zhang Ping'an didn't have much to say; perhaps this was just the way their whole family got along.

It was also at this moment that Zhang Ping'an learned this was where his grandparents retired, and that his eldest and second uncles had other places to live.

Thinking about it, that made sense; when he arrived yesterday, although it wasn't exactly desolate, he rarely saw large villages or towns, just scattered households here and there.

Zhang Ping'an's parents hadn't gotten up yet; although they had his help over the previous ten days, it hadn't been easy for them either, and everyone didn't disturb them, knowing how exhausting this journey had been.

The little one, however, was awake and in much better spirits, so Zhang Ping'an carried him out, washed the little one's face, took care of his physiological needs, and only then went to prepare the Milk Powder.

"This is Xiao Xile; this little look of his is probably just like Ping'an when he was small, he'll be a handsome young man when he grows up."

The little one in Zhang Ping'an's arms held his bottle and suckled, his dark, round eyes looking at everyone with curiosity.

"Hahaha, this little guy is quite interesting. Come, let Grandpa hold you."

Dong Zhenxing reached out his hands to come forward and hold him, but the little one decisively turned his head and buried his face in Zhang Ping'an's chest.

"Hahaha, Dad, this little guy seems to be afraid of you."

"Ahem, eat first. Xile doesn't know you all yet; it's normal that he won't let you hold him. He'll be fine once he's familiar," Grandma said.

"Grandma is right, this little guy is a bit shy with strangers; even my Si Jie can't hold him if she hasn't seen him for a long time."

"Hehe, that's a good thing; he's smart, he won't let strangers get close."

After a while, the little one finally raised his head and secretly looked outside; seeing everyone laughing, his eyes also crinkled into crescent moons.

"This little guy is even secretly happy."

"Hahaha, interesting."

Zhang Ping'an didn't let holding the little one stop him from eating; he devoured ten large buns before patting his stomach in satisfaction.

During this time, the little one saw Zhang Ping'an eating with such gusto and wanted to reach out for some, so Zhang Ping'an tore off a piece of the dough without any filling for him, which made him incredibly happy.

After the meal, the eldest uncle and the others went to work, and Zhang Laohan and his wife finally woke up.

"Mom, Dad, hurry and wash up; there's food left for you in the pot."

"Alright."

Dong Dani only felt sore all over, but Zhang Laohan was fine; having worked hard all his life, his physical condition was quite good, and he had recovered seven or eight-tenths after one night.

Now the sky was bright, and when Zhang Ping'an went out to look, the sky was clear for ten thousand miles.

"Ping'an, the weather is nice today; I'll take you around the neighborhood to get familiar with it. I don't know why, but I have extra energy today," Grandpa said.

"Deal."

"Do you know how to ride a horse?"

"Uh, no."

"Hahaha, let's go, I'll teach you, it's very simple."

Grandpa led Zhang Ping'an behind the house; Grandpa's house occupied quite a large area, probably three or four mu of land in total.

"Neigh—" As they got closer, Zhang Ping'an realized it was a stable, and there were three horses inside, two large and one small.

"Ping'an, these two were bought by me some years ago, and the smaller one was born to them last year. We rely on them wherever we go," the three horses all affectionately rubbed their heads against Grandpa.

"Grandpa, can you take care of them all by yourself?"

"It's still fine for now, but I'm afraid it'll be hard in a few years. It's been a while since I took them out for a run; I'll take all three out for a trot today."

Zhang Ping'an also stepped forward to try and touch them; at first, they were a bit resistant, but after snorting, they leaned in, especially the foal, which even nudged Zhang Ping'an with its head.

"Hahaha, Ping'an, this little guy has an affinity with you. In this house, only your grandma and I can get close; others can only touch them when they're feeding them."

Grandpa then put on two saddles and handed the male horse to Zhang Ping'an; there was no need to worry about the foal, as it would follow on its own.

Besides, the one-year-old foal couldn't be ridden yet; you have to wait until they are four or five years old for their bones to fully form before they can start carrying weight.

"Ping'an, here, lead it out first."

"Alright."

Afterwards, Grandpa explained the techniques of horse riding to Zhang Ping'an.

"Want to try? Run it slowly in the courtyard now and see."

"Mm."

Zhang Ping'an had never ridden a horse in either of his two lives, though he had ridden cows and donkeys when he was a child in his previous life; however, he wasn't unfamiliar with horse riding, as he had watched plenty of short videos in his previous life, so he stepped on the stirrup and swung himself up.

Zhang Ping'an followed what his grandfather had taught him, slowly urging the horse forward; it was a bit awkward at first, but his current body had top-tier coordination and balance, so he adapted very quickly.

"Gee, gee, gee," he went from a slow walk to a light trot, but the courtyard was too small to really let the horse run.

"Whoa~"

"Good lad, you've mastered it on the first try. Come on, let's go out for a run. Gee!" Although his grandfather was nearly seventy, his movements were still extraordinary, and he vaulted onto his horse as well.

Hearing the commotion, his grandmother came out to take a look and saw the grandfather and grandson galloping past; usually, they would hitch up a cart and go for a stroll in the cart, but today, she figured he just wanted to show off since his grandson had come over—an old man acting like a child.

"That old man, how old is he and he's still riding horses."

"Mother, Father he..."

"It's fine, let him ride; he won't be able to for many more years anyway."

His grandmother shook her head; she knew her husband's health well. He was still sturdy now, but she feared that after seventy, it would be difficult for him to ride a horse even if he wanted to.

Outside the courtyard, there was a stretch of emerald green, and the two of them galloped wildly. Twenty minutes later, Zhang Ping'an slowly came to a stop; it wasn't that he was tired, but rather he was worried that his grandfather's body wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Hahaha, refreshing! It's been a long time since I've had such a good time."

"Neigh!" The horse also snorted in a very fitting manner.

"Grandfather, are you alright?"

"Hahaha, I'm doing better than ever." Dong Zhenxing was only slightly out of breath, but he was truly happy.

"Ping'an, this area used to be a Gobi desert. Your grandmother and I started reclaiming the land even before we retired, planting it bit by bit to create what you see today. As more people moved here later on, the green space gradually expanded."

"Grandfather, you and Grandmother are both amazing."

Zhang Ping'an knew that turning a Gobi wasteland into the green grassland of today was not something that could be accomplished in a year or two; it took ten or even several decades, especially given the arduous conditions of those years.