Chapter 1208: Deep Mountain Village

"Not at all. When he was found, he had almost lost his life. He even said he would never go traveling again, and never go into the deep mountains again," the old village chief said with a chuckle. "But for those of us who have lived in the mountains since we were small, if you made us leave here, we really wouldn't know how to live."

"If you ask me, it's just a difference in lifestyle. If he had gotten used to staying in this place, I believe he wouldn't want to leave either."

"He... just left by himself?" Zhou Meng's eyes turned slightly red; the things she had firmly believed in before collapsed in this instant.

She really didn't know how to describe her current mood. Her mind was a mess, and she really didn't know what to do.

"That's right, young lady, what's wrong with you?" The old village chief saw that her expression was a bit off and couldn't help but ask with concern.

"It's nothing, thank you, old village chief." Zhou Meng hurriedly wiped away her tears and managed a forced smile.

"Haha, it's fine as long as you're okay. If you need anything, just call me. Our people have lived here for generations, and it's rare for guests to come by. If you have any matters, just call me directly; I'm not afraid of trouble."

The old village chief said with a chuckle, and then he turned and left.

After the old village chief left, Zhou Meng's tears could no longer be held back and fell; she slumped over the table and sobbed softly.

Chen Yu stood to the side helplessly. This situation wasn't actually a big problem; she would be fine after crying for a while.

After a good while, Zhou Meng's condition improved, and Chen Yu took out a few tissues and handed them to her.

Zhou Meng took the tissues and whispered a thank you.

"No need to thank me. Actually, you had been mentally prepared for this for a long time, right?" Chen Yu said.

"Yes, I had been mentally prepared for a long time, but when the truth was truly laid out before my eyes, I found I couldn't quite accept it." Zhou Meng wiped away her tears.

"Young person, sometimes it's normal to be hurt by feelings. When you are older, you will discover that the person you shed tears for wasn't actually worth it," Chen Yu said with a smile.

"You aren't very old yourself, are you?" Zhou Meng raised her head to look at Chen Yu. "Why do you speak in such an old-fashioned way, as if you were very old?"

"Ha, a bit older than you, but I have experienced many things," Chen Yu said with a faint smile. "And there are many things that are difficult for you to understand."

"Then tell me, what things are difficult for me to understand?" Zhou Meng raised her head and asked.

This girl had a relatively good personality; she had just been crying very sadly, and now she was fine again.

Chen Yu quite liked this kind of personality. He smiled and said, "I won't talk about my affairs. If I really started telling you, I'm afraid three days and three nights wouldn't be enough to finish."

"He actually really left me behind and didn't care," Zhou Meng gritted her teeth. "I thought he would come back to save me."

"Wake up. Given your situation at the time, no one could have imagined you would be able to hold on and survive," Chen Yu said.

"And for an ordinary person, he had escaped death by a hair's breadth this time. Expecting him to return to that mountain forest full of towering trees to throw his life away is impossible."

Zhou Meng covered her face. Thinking of the sweet nothings her boyfriend used to say to her, she felt a pang of heartache.

"But he really didn't care about me. Not to mention that I am his girlfriend, even if I were a passerby, you couldn't just watch someone die without helping, right?" Zhou Meng said.

"Not everyone has a heart of great righteousness," Chen Yu said. "In the face of life and death, most people will choose life."

"Perhaps it is because I placed too much hope in him." Zhou Meng sighed slightly, then her spirits lifted, and she forced herself to buck up. "Forget it, let's just treat it as a thing of the past. We won't see each other again in the future."

"That's the spirit. Let's go, let's go see the village. The customs here seem quite nice," Chen Yu said.

"Okay." Zhou Meng nodded and went out with Chen Yu.

The village was currently in the hunting season. Before winter, all the young and strong men went into the village to hunt and then store food for the entire winter.

"Old sir, why is everyone in the village slaughtering livestock?" Zhou Meng was a city person and hadn't seen such things, so she couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Young lady, just passing through, right?" The old man smiled. "In a few more months, the heavy snow will seal the mountains, so we need to store enough food before the mountains are sealed."

"These wild boars were all caught in the mountains. Everyone dries them uniformly and makes them into cured meat for easy preservation," the old man said.

"Can I take a look?" Zhou Meng said curiously.

"Of course you can. If you want to learn, I'll teach you," the old man smiled.

One could see a wild boar being lifted out of a large pot; the hair on this wild boar had been scalded clean.

The wild boar, weighing over two hundred jin, was lifted out by several people using iron hooks and then placed on a large table to be butchered.

These wild boars usually moved about in the mountains, ate natural food, and had plenty of exercise, so the meat was very firm.

One could see the fatty and lean wild boar meat being sliced into strips, then soaked in homemade rice wine, sprinkled with spices and salt, smoked, and air-dried.

The technique for making cured meat in this place was very unique, preserving very ancient methods. The cured meat made this way was easy to store and tasted very fragrant.

Zhou Meng was a girl with a very strong sense of curiosity. She felt it was novel after watching for a while, so she started doing it herself.

And the people here patiently taught her. In the blink of an eye, several hours passed, and by this time, the sky had already turned dark.

Chen Yu and Zhou Meng were called to a simple wooden house to eat.

The people here were very united. Every family sent young and strong men to hunt, and then the items obtained were distributed uniformly. Especially during this hunting period, everyone ate together.

The wild boar meat from the mountains, combined with wild mushrooms, tasted especially fragrant.

And besides meat, there were dried mountain vegetables, and the flavors were all quite good, which made Zhou Meng, who had never experienced life in the big mountains, very happy.

As for her boyfriend, he had long since been cast to the back of her mind.

After the meal, a bonfire party began.

Singing folk songs and drinking homemade rice wine made Chen Yu wonder if he had arrived at some tourist attraction.

Zhou Meng herself was the kind of carefree girl who, once she started having fun, threw her sorrow to the back of her mind.

After holding hands with the local girls and playing wildly for half a day, she was finally tired. She ran to Chen Yu's side and sat down, her face slightly flushed: "Chen Yu, I..."

"What's wrong?" Chen Yu saw her hesitant look and couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Zhou Meng blushed, finally managing to squeeze out this sentence.

"The toilet is over there, or just behind the woods, solve it wherever," Chen Yu smiled.

"Hey, I'm scared." Zhou Meng looked at Chen Yu pitifully. "Accompany me, will you?"

"Aren't you afraid I'll peek?" Chen Yu couldn't help but be startled.

"You shouldn't be that bored. You're a doctor, after all; you wouldn't be interested in the human body, right?" Zhou Meng said, feeling a bit uncertain. "Besides, I only know you. If I don't call you, who would I call?"