Song Tan's Notes

Yuncheng is an ordinary, third-tier city. Like most cities, it has a large shopping mall that can be found all over the country.

However, the mall was launched during a real estate downturn, and the cooperation with local developers was not very pleasant, so the project was not even able to attract tenants by the time it was completed.

In the huge shopping mall, you can hardly find more than two genuine brand names. Instead, there are some unknown small-town brands crammed together, which inexplicably lowers the overall quality of the mall.

Qin Yun and Yunfeng walked around inside and only picked out chain sports brands to buy equipment for the children.

The villagers felt that life was peaceful and idyllic, and that Lu Chuan was truly living a good life by staying there. But after coming to the city, they felt it was backward and inconvenient, and the strong sense of alienation left them speechless, not even knowing where to begin complaining.

As they drove away, the group looked at the stalls set up outside by various restaurants in the sweltering heat, selling stews, stir-fries, and fast food due to the poor business. They couldn't help but sigh.

Is it really comfortable to live here?

Lu Chuan, however, remained calm: "It depends on each person's preferences. I don't particularly enjoy making friends, so I'm quite comfortable here. But if it were you, you probably wouldn't stay long before feeling stifled."

Qin Yun, in particular, always had friends and acquaintances, always joining in the hustle and bustle; he couldn't stand such a peaceful life.

Yunfeng sighed, "If it weren't for the children, we would really like to live a good life in the countryside. Let's wait until the children are older."

Lu Chuan glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "The phrase 'later' means a very long time coming—Yunfeng, relax when you need to. People don't die of old age; they just die suddenly."

"You too, don't chase after those illusory social classes and exhaust yourselves."

His sudden remark left the three people present speechless with astonishment.

After a moment, He Kuang sighed: "That makes sense. We've worked hard for half our lives, and others have already left us far behind... But, alas, I can't just let go of my child's future all at once."

Everyone put aside this practical topic, while Lu Chuan parked his car in front of the fishing tackle shop:

"Weren't you planning to stay here for half a month? Does your family all like fishing?"

Wow! This topic is much more appealing than the previous ones. Men, after all, only have a few hobbies.

Everyone got off the bus: "How come we forgot our fishing rods when we set off... let's buy some!"

In the end, it was the big spender Lu Chuan who paid the bill.

The three families had nine fishing rods. Once they returned home, these rods could be delivered to Zhang Yanping's guesthouse to supply the guests, making the best use of them.

Lu Chuan also bought a few more fish traps and two fishing nets.

Qin Yun leaned closer to take a look: "I remember we already had two fish traps, didn't we? Why are we buying more?"

Lu Chuan glanced at him and said, "Even if those two cages are full, I'm afraid it won't be enough for you to eat."

He chuckled and said, "That's really true! Yunfeng, you absolutely have to try the braised pork belly with eel, the crispy fried loach, the milky white crucian carp soup, and the braised small white fish with pickled cabbage..."

He hadn't even finished listing the dishes when his mouth was already watering.

Lu Chuan added, "Not only that, but with so many people this time, the ranch has a great harvest. If we don't want to sleep at night, we can have a barbecue in the middle of the night. Grilled crucian carp and grass carp are also delicious."

Yunfeng's mouth watered instantly: "I know, Song Tan's wine is exceptionally good, isn't it?"

Lu Chuan glanced at him: "You can't hold your liquor, so you should just drink regular beer. I'm afraid you'll pass out after one glass of that beer, then what's the point of eating?"

However, it's worth noting down the details, because there's not much raw liquor left at home, but there's still some of the baijiu that Boss Chang carefully blended, which isn't as potent.

Do you have crayfish?

Qin Yun asked again.

Lu Chuan thought about Song Sancheng's crayfish and crabs, which were still small and delicate with tender shells, and shook his head: "They were just put out, they can't be eaten yet, we have to wait another two months."

When people casually ask where they can't get crayfish, they say that the best place to eat crayfish is at Old Song's!

In a flurry of activity, they started making arrangements again: "Should we buy an oven? And what about alcohol...?"

Everyone was filled with anticipation and happily preparing to head home, but when they opened their phones, they found a video of He Tuoluo sent by Qin Yun's wife in the group chat.

His heart skipped a beat, but seeing that the other party didn't send any other messages urging him or showing any anxiety, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At that moment, I clicked on the video with a strange sense of tragedy. The first thing I saw was a black and white lightning bolt moving forward quickly, and then with a leap, it pressed the familiar, sturdy child down onto the edge of the field.

Moreover: ...

Everyone:...

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone in the car was laughing wildly, and Qin Yun even slapped his thigh: "This is the caretaker Lu Chuan found for your He Tuoluo, right?! Oh my god! He's so responsible!"

Yunfeng opened two more videos, and sighed deeply, "If I had known dogs could take care of children, why didn't you just get a beagle?"

Lu Chuan, who was driving, didn't see the video, but he couldn't help but laugh. He even offered his opinion:

"Is it a bit monotonous to only have a dog and no cat? How about getting a tuxedo cat too?"

Moreover, his face was pale: "Then you might as well kill me to liven things up."

"My son, I'm not bragging, is worth 10 beagles and 10 cow cats."

But when you click on the video again, you'll find that he spent the entire afternoon running around on the mountain—

He ran, but was stopped by Xiao Shi.

While climbing a tree, Xiao Shi grabbed his pants and pulled them down, exposing his buttocks.

He tried to crawl into the bushes, but Xiao Shi pulled his shoes out.

Finally, it huddled in a corner, only carefully peeking out to breathe, when Xiao Shi stuck out his big tongue and licked its head and face, drooling everywhere, making it a pitiful sight.

The child's face looked as if it had been coated with wax, wet and shiny.

Moreover, his face was blank, and he thought to himself, "His son is really pitiful."

But my hands wouldn't obey me, clicking and saving video after video. Finally, I saw a photo posted in the group chat by Qin Yun's wife—

It was He Tuoluo curled up on a recliner at the entrance of the canteen on the mountain, fast asleep.

Although her clothes were disheveled and her face had only been briefly washed with water, her sleeping face... how much she resembled an angel!

Moreover, I was almost moved to tears!
"How wonderful dogs are!"

The family of six adults managed to keep the child from running out of energy, and Little Eleven got it done right away!

Moreover, he excitedly patted the back of the chair in front of him:
"Lu Chuan, let's find a bigger pet store to stop at later. I'm going to buy some gifts for our Bao'er too!"

Lu Chuan wouldn't refuse. He had been to the city many times before, and without even looking at the navigation, he parked his car in front of a pet shop that Song Tan frequented.

Not only that, everyone jumped off the bus and went on a shopping spree at the pet store, buying everything from collars, bells, and hair clips to various toys...

Before the boss could even greet Lu Chuan, he was overwhelmed by the overwhelming wealth and grinned from ear to ear.

Moreover, he is a man who is good at managing a household. After buying so much, he also picked out a few brand-new large dog harnesses and asked the shop owner to give them to him as a gift.

This is a brand-name item from the store, and it's not cheap.

But since so many have been sold today, the boss naturally agreed.

only……

He kindly advised, "It's not that I'm reluctant to part with it, but if you really have a large dog, you can't really hold it with this kind of harness leash."

He pointed to the row hanging next to him: "For large dogs, the kind that can be put directly around their necks with a collar is actually the most suitable."

Big dogs are different from small dogs. When a small dog wants to run and sprint, an adult can easily hold it back with one hand. Therefore, you should choose a more comfortable chest harness to prevent excessive force from strangling its neck.

However, if a large adult dog wants to sprint, most people really can't hold it back, and it's very likely that the person will be thrown off balance.

Therefore, this single-loop design looks uncomfortable, and it is indeed uncomfortable when tightened. This is the only way to control the dog as efficiently and effortlessly as possible.

The owner meant well, but looking at the row of dog leashes, he said resentfully, "These are only suitable for my dog..."

boss:……

"Is it a particularly expensive breed, and has a very docile temperament? Great! Since you were brought here by Mr. Lu and have spent so much, this whole row is complimentary!"

"We also have some new frisbees in our store. Feel free to throw them out and let your little one fetch them. We'll give you one for free!"

After he finished speaking so enthusiastically, for some reason, all the other men in the shop, except for the gentleman who paid, couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

The boss was bewildered.

……

The four grown men shopped without restraint, and on the way back, Lu Chuan's car was packed full.

Fortunately, they bought everything they needed, and with their vacation going smoothly and no worries about food or clothing, everyone was incredibly happy.

The only inconvenience is that every household has to do laundry—but this is something that Lu Chuan can't do:
"Summer clothes are thin, so whoever wears them should wash them by hand. Don't even mention installing a washing machine; we don't have that many water pipes in our house."

With so many people, the guesthouse already has one machine; if anyone wants to use it, they can use it to disinfect. But it's simply not feasible for every guesthouse to install one.

The three grown men didn't care about such things: "Why be so particular? Isn't it convenient to have express delivery? We can just buy all our underwear online at once."

With such a fruitful harvest, and with He Tuoluo sleeping peacefully, everyone happily headed home.

……

The He family was deeply grateful for He Tuoluo's slumber.

I was just afraid that the child would sleep too long and wouldn't settle down at night, so I only slept for a little over half an hour before I was reluctantly woken up.

Kids, by nature, recover their battery quickly.

He opened his eyes, washed up quickly, and was thinking about finding freedom in this mountain village when a familiar dog face suddenly appeared in front of him.

He Tuoluo's face turned bright red. After stammering for a while, he hesitated and said:

“My dad said I wanted to come here to enjoy the rural scenery, so I can’t always play with you.”

Then, without saying a word, he obediently fastened the straps again, put the rope back on, handed the other end to Xiao Shi, and walked down the mountain with a proud and steady stride.

There was no running, no shouting, no darting left or right—this was Qin Yun's wife recording a video on the side, leading two girls down the mountain as well, making the He family at the foot of the mountain extremely happy.

Owning a dog is great, owning a sheepdog is really great!

Oh dear, why don't they have a place big enough for a dog to take care of a child?
He Tuoluo rested, and Xiao Shi rested too. Its recovery ability was even stronger than the child's, and now it was full of energy again!

But the fun person in front of me wasn't cooperating much.

They don't run, they don't hide, they don't bleat anymore... Sheep won't bleat like that, they won't hide in all sorts of crevices, and they won't climb trees...

In short, herding lambs can be quite monotonous.

It let out a dejected groan and nudged the top's back with its head:

[Keep playing!]

But as soon as his teeth gently gripped the strap, He Tuoluo shuddered and quickly strode forward to avoid it.

Hmph! A real man doesn't say he's done playing anymore.

……

A group of grown men went to the city center to buy things, and it took them unexpectedly long.

Seeing that they were still on the road at 5 o'clock, Wulan glanced at the still bright and beautiful sunset outside, then looked at the group who had been sitting and playing cards for hours, and suggested:
"Some parts of the riverbank are no longer getting any sun. Shall we go pick some lotus flowers, lotus pods, and lotus leaves together?"

"That way, we might be able to have lotus leaf rice or lotus leaf sticky rice chicken tomorrow morning. If there's any left over, we can send it to the clinic at the village entrance, and they'll make us lotus leaf tea later, which is good for our health."

Okay!

Although the card players were a little reluctant to leave, they were there to enjoy a healthy lifestyle in the countryside.

Only three smokers hesitantly approached and asked:
"Did you really dry this tobacco yourself?"

They were too embarrassed to ask directly, so the conversation started in such a roundabout way.

Ulan paused for a moment, then smiled warmly, appearing very amiable:

"Yes, it's a pity that these were dried last year. We don't have any left at home now, just this little bit... But the cigarettes Tan Tan brought are also good cigarettes. If we want to smoke, we can smoke those."

That's the effect I wanted; otherwise, it's been so long since I've smelled smoke, it's quite unpleasant to suddenly smell it.

Damn!

Everyone sighed inwardly: it's good cigarettes, they can afford them. Although the packaging seemed slightly different, no one had the energy to look closely!
All I could think about were the cigarettes Ulan had rolled for them.

The flavor is so pure, so potent! It's fragrant, invigorating, and exhilarating; who would want to smoke then?
But look at that tiny pinch of tobacco they took out, and the few cigarettes they rolled for them—how could they possibly say anything more?
Seeing that Ulan had already opened the cigarettes and brought them over, everyone waved their hands dejectedly: "No more, no more, let's focus on health..."

"Yes, the scenery is beautiful. Let's breathe in some fresh air and then we'll stop smoking for now."

Ulan put away the cigarette pack, her smile remarkably calm.

The family members, however, looked at their loved ones with surprise, and secretly muttered to themselves:
It's like the sun has risen in the west... (End of Chapter)