The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 8 Hills and Pastures

When we got back to Yunmiao Village, it was already past 7 p.m., and it was almost dark.

Yang Muye got off the bus at the village entrance and waved goodbye to Xie Siping and his wife, as well as Xiao Ayuan, who had already had a good sleep.

Since cars can't get into Yunmiao Village, Xie Siping had to park his car in the open space in front of the village committee.

After getting off the bus, Xie Siping walked ahead carrying gifts for his father, mother, and Xie Zhiyao, while Chen Lanzhi carried little Ayuan behind him.

"Watch your step," Xie Siping warned.

The stone-paved roads in the village are uneven, and you can easily trip over them, especially when walking at night.

"Okay, it's not like it's the first time I've come."

Chen Lanzhi hugged A Yuan tightly, and after taking a few steps, she suddenly asked, "Siping, did Deyuan and his wife really go to Shenzhen to make their way in the world at Muye's urging?"

“Back then, the village was poor, and the meager harvest from the fields could barely support a family. Many of us in that generation wanted to go out to work, but we couldn’t bear to leave our children. Only Muye was different; he never needed to be taken care of by adults and wasn’t clingy. Seeing how sensible he was, Deyuan and his wife went out to work.”

Xie Siping sighed.

Actually, when Yang Muye's father went to venture into Shenzhen, he asked him to go with him, saying that they could look after each other while they were away.

Xie Zhiyao cried and rolled on the ground, refusing to let him and his mother go.

If she had hardened her heart and left her child in Shenzhen, perhaps Ayao's mother wouldn't have gotten sick and would still be alive and well.

Of course, Xie Siping would not say these things to Chen Lanzhi's face.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Chen Lanzhi also talked to Xie Siping about what would happen if she could choose her life again.

However, she wasn't referring to Xie Siping or herself.

"If Deyuan and his wife hadn't gone to Shenzhen, what would their family be like now?"

“Just look at Muye’s uncle, Deqing. His wife ran off with a businessman from out of town because she thought he was poor. He became despondent and a lazy bum that everyone in the village looked down on.”

"Is Deqing's wife very pretty?" Chen Lanzhi couldn't help but ask.

She wasn't pretty enough to be lured away by a boss from out of town.

"No matter how pretty she is, she's not as pretty as Mother Muye. Deyuan and Mother Muye met at the March 3rd Song Festival. At that time, Mother Muye was a well-known beauty in Jinhua, and Deyuan was a famous handsome man in the surrounding villages. If the two of them weren't good-looking, they wouldn't have been able to have a baby like Muye. Back when Ayao was still in his mother's belly, my father and Grandpa Yang made an agreement that if it was a boy and a girl, they would arrange a marriage between the children."

Xie Siping shook his head. The conversation had drifted to the children, so he quickly brought the topic back: "Anyone who grows flowers knows that barren land can't produce beautiful flowers. If Deyuan and his wife hadn't gone to Shenzhen to work hard, their family would probably have fallen apart long ago."

Chen Lanzhi nodded knowingly, and was about to say something when a flashlight beam shone from ahead.

Xie Zhiyao was worried that the road would be difficult to travel at night, so he came to pick them up with a flashlight.

"Why did you guys just come?"

Xie Zhiyao stepped forward, but instead of helping Xie Siping carry his things, he took his three-year-old brother, A Yuan, from Chen Lanzhi's arms.

After teasing Xiao Ayuan for a while, Xie Zhiyao said, "Grandpa Yang, Uncle Deqing, and Muye are already waiting at home. Hurry up."

The Yang and Xie families were old friends, and they would exchange gifts and visit each other during festivals. It was perfectly normal for them to have a meal together.

Upon hearing that Yang Muyi had already arrived ahead of them, Xie Siping immediately nodded and said, "Alright, let's hurry back then."

-

The next day at noon, Xie Siping brought his wife and children home, and the news that he was going to hold a banquet for Xie Zhiyao to celebrate his graduation spread throughout Yunmiao Village.

All of this is thanks to Yang Muyi and Aberdeqing.

The two families had dinner together last night, but today Yang Deqing "spoiled" the whole thing to a group of grandmothers and aunties under the big tree at the village entrance.

Aunt Gui couldn't stand Deqing's smugness about knowing things in advance, so she deliberately asked, "Deqing, Muye's university admission notice arrived several days earlier than Ayao's. Now Ayao is going to hold a celebration for her graduation. Is Muye still going to hold a celebration?"

Before Deqing could speak, an auntie next to him joked, "Agui, you should ask Grandpa Yang about this. How dare Deqing ask and say anything? What do you think?"

Everyone laughed.

Grandma Xie, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore. She put down her needlework and scolded, "Don't make jokes like that. Deqing and his wife are getting a divorce. Muye may not say it on the surface, but I don't know how sad he is inside."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Zhiyao walked over from the village's stone-paved road.

"Grandma, I'm going to town to find Muye."

Xie Zhiyao passed by and greeted Grandma Xie.

Unexpectedly, a group of grandmothers and aunties stopped him and asked him about the graduation banquet.

That wasn't all; someone even tried to introduce Xie Zhiyao to their relative's daughter, saying she was also studying at a university in Yanjing and only a year older than Xie Zhiyao. Xie Zhiyao couldn't handle it any longer and quickly made a getaway, using the excuse that Yang Muyi was still waiting for him in town.

When he arrived at the internet cafe in town, Yang Muyi had already set up the computer for him, and it was right next to him.

There was also a bottle of nutritional drink on the table.

Xie Zhiyao pulled out a chair and was about to sit down when he inadvertently noticed that Yang Muye's computer screen displayed a game he had never seen before.

The game's background is a green meadow with rolling hills in the distance, and seven slots below, resembling a fence.

The top part is a bunch of square cards that look like playing cards. Three identical squares will be eliminated when placed in the slots.

To use a card in the next layer, you need to place a card from the previous layer into the slot.

Xie Zhiyao watched Yang Muye play for a few rounds, but he couldn't clear the level even once. He then glanced at the number of levels.

Only the second level, what game is this difficult?

Seeing that Yang Muye had failed again in his new game, Xie Zhiyao finally couldn't help but ask what game it was, as he also wanted to try it out.

"This game is still in internal testing. I'm using a developer account, so if you want to play it, you can only play it on my machine."

Yang Muye stood up and switched seats with Xie Zhiyao.

Xie Zhiyao put on his headphones and started playing.

The background music was also an unfamiliar melody, but it was quite catchy.

Unbeknownst to him, Xie Zhiyao had already become immersed in it.

On the computer next door, Yang Muye logged into the school's intranet.

As soon as I logged on, I received several in-system messages, all from Ma Qiushan.

After reading the message and seeing that Ma Qiushan was also online, Yang Muye typed and sent a private message to him.

"I've played the game, and it basically achieved the effect I wanted. The art and music designers deserve a bonus!"

Ma Qiushan replied instantly: "Of course, I went to great lengths to ask friends for help, the production is absolutely top-notch, especially the music, which is an original composition."

These words seemed like he was taking credit, but Yang Muye didn't see it that way.

"So?" he typed.

“I’ve already spent all 100,000 yuan you gave me,” Ma Qiushan replied.

"Oh," Yang Muye replied casually.

Ma Qiushan immediately panicked, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed a line of text.

"What I mean is, I even used up all the money that I was supposed to get."

Wasn't this to save time? So Ma Qiushan contacted a few of his junior classmates to develop the game together.

Although he did most of the programming work by himself.

But if you ask someone for help, you have to pay them.

"How much?" Yang Muye asked.

"Not much, only about 30,000 yuan."

As soon as the message from Maqiu Mountain was sent, Yang Muye replied:

"Okay, I'll transfer the money to you later."

“No, no, you misunderstood me. I meant to…” Ma Qiushan hesitated for a few seconds after typing this, then deleted it and typed it again.

After going back and forth several times, I finally mustered up the courage to speak my true thoughts.

"I think this game has a lot of potential; it's much better than my idiom puzzle game."

"You've been dawdling for so long just to tell me this?" Yang Muye's reply was as fast as ever, and without any mercy.

As Ma Qiushan was pondering how to bring it up with Yang Muye, a message came in.

"You're not thinking of using this game to enter in the programming competition on Renren.com, are you?"

Ma Qiushan's eyes lit up, and he quickly typed a reply: "You only guessed half right. I want to partner with you. You provide the funding and ideas, and I'll be responsible for the technology and execution. I've even thought of a name for the team: Shanye (山野), which combines hills and pastures. Doesn't that sound poetic?"

(End of this chapter)