Song Jiang thought for a while and said, "Maybe it's because this place gives people a feeling of paradise."
Bai Shaofei nodded and said, "Then have you ever thought that the reason why Taohuawu gives people a feeling of paradise... is that it is isolated from the world? What if it was turned into a tourist attraction with an endless stream of tourists all day long? Attraction, is it still the Taohuawu you like?"
When Village Chief Wu returned to the health center again, he saw Bai Shaofei chatting happily with Song Jiang and his group, so he walked in with a gloomy face and said, "Dinner is ready. Come with me! Shaofei... …You’re coming along too.”
Then Song Jiang and Fu Yinrong were taken to a private house. Several women in the village were busy doing something around a long wooden table. When they saw Song Jiang and his group, they all ran back. inside the house.
Village Chief Wu looked at Song Jiang and the others and said, "The place in the house is too small to accommodate so many people. The weather is quite warm now, so everyone can sit outside and eat!"
When Zhou Shiwu heard this, he quickly smiled and said, "Uncle Wu, you are too polite. We came here rashly, and we are really disturbing you."
Village Chief Wu hummed and said, "The conditions in the village are limited, so don't think the food is shabby. Just sit down and eat."
Even though Village Chief Wu always talks as if someone owes him money, it can be seen from the food he arranged for the table that the other person is probably just cold-faced and warm-hearted... And don't look at the table. These are ordinary farm food, but given Taohuawu's economic conditions, this should be considered a warm welcome.
Song Jiang understood that there was no need to be falsely polite when dealing with such a person, so he smiled and picked up a corn and said, "Then I won't be polite. To be honest, my stomach was already growling when I was drinking tea just now."
Seeing that Song Jiang had stretched out his hand, the others stopped holding it and started eating with their chopsticks... City dwellers like them who usually eat too much seasoning, it tastes good to eat such unprocessed ingredients coldly.
As Song Jiang was eating, he found that the women before were holding the door open and secretly looking at strangers like them, so Song Jiang greeted them with a smile and said, "Come and eat together!"
Unexpectedly, Village Chief Wu said coldly, "Everyone go inside! Don't be so unruly!"
After hearing this, the women immediately did not dare to stay any longer, and they all turned around and ran back to the house. Song Jiang suddenly looked embarrassed, wondering if he had said something wrong.
When Bai Shaofei saw it, he quickly explained, "Our rule in Taohuawu is that when guests come to the house, the women must open another table..."
"How can we still have such rules after all these years?!" A female colleague of Fu Yinrong muttered in a low voice.
When Fu Yinrong heard this, he quickly kicked the female colleague to tell her not to talk nonsense... Although Song Jiang and the others thought this was a bad habit left over from feudal society, they were guests in other people's homes after all, and the food was delicious. I'll treat you to a drink, but you can't just find trouble after a full stomach, right? !
After dinner, Village Chief Wu arranged for Bai Shaofei to take Song Jiang and others around the village at dawn. He also said that they should go back to the house to sleep after dark... and stop wandering around.
On the way, Deng Kai didn't forget the women hiding in the house to eat, so he asked Bai Shaofei curiously, "Are they members of Uncle Wu's family?"
Bai Shaofei nodded and said, "Well, they are my aunt, sister-in-law and two younger sisters..."
Song Jiang heard Bai Shaofei mention his sister-in-law, but he didn't see his eldest brother at the dinner table, so he casually asked, "Where is your eldest brother? Why didn't you see him at the table just now and come to eat with us?!"
After hearing this, Bai Shaofei looked at himself and said, "My eldest brother is the eldest son of my fourth uncle. He went out to make a living ten years ago, and his whereabouts are unknown since then. He still does not know whether he is alive or dead..."
"Ah...? I'm sorry." Song Jiang quickly apologized to him after hearing this.
Bai Shaofei waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter, after all, this happened ten years ago... When I was working hard outside, I also tried to inquire about the whereabouts of my eldest brother, but unfortunately I never heard anything."
Fu Yinrong on the side couldn't help but sigh after hearing this, "It's really not easy for your sister-in-law..."
Bai Shaofei nodded and said, "Who says it's not the case? My fourth uncle once advised my eldest sister-in-law to remarry someone else, but she refused to say anything and insisted on waiting for my eldest brother to come back."
At this time, everyone passed by a private house. A little boy was squatting on the ground playing marbles. Fu Yinrong originally wanted to go over and tease him, but the child's mother ran out of the house when she saw them from a distance, and then looked panicked. took the child back to the house...
This move of the child's mother confused everyone, and Bai Shaofei smiled and explained, "I'm sorry, everyone, don't blame them... Ever since my eldest brother disappeared and I came back sick, they have regarded the outside world as... We are afraid of scourges, and everyone wants to live a good life, but if we break the peaceful life in order to live a good life, the price is too high."
Seeing the fear in the mother's eyes, Zhou Shiwu said helplessly, "That being said, these children must learn to read and write. Otherwise, when they have to go out one day, they won't know anything, and Is the outside world completely out of touch?”
"Don't worry about this. I have been teaching them cultural classes in the past few years. The children who learn the fastest have reached the high school level. Even if I can no longer teach them in a few years, there will be other children to take their place. I teach them how to read and write..." Bai Shaofei said calmly.
After a group of people walked around the village, they didn't find anything special. Except for the villagers who stayed away as soon as they saw them, the rest was no different from ordinary villages...
Unexpectedly, while walking, Bai Shaofei suddenly looked up at the sky and said, "The sun is setting, let's go back and rest!"
After hearing this, Fu Yinrong glanced at the sun that had just turned to the west and said, "It's still early, right? Do people in the village usually go to bed so early?"
Bai Shaofei nodded and said, "We don't have electricity here, so the villagers still adhere to the old living habit of working from sunrise to sunset, which has never changed in decades..."
Although Song Jiang and the others didn't want to rest so early, this was their living habit after all, and it was hard for them to change it as soon as they came. Besides, there really weren't any entertainment activities here. What could they do if they didn't sleep after dark? !
Then the group followed Bai Shaofei back to the health center. There were limited beds, and Deng Kai showed his selfless and humble spirit and gave them all to Fu Yinrong and her colleagues, so the five of them could only sleep in an empty room. The floor was laid.
(End of chapter)
