Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

The following day, a torrential downpour hit the Shuangling Mountain area. Rainwater from the east and west ridges, carrying mud and sand, converged into a muddy stream in the central valley, meandering down the Shuangling Creek.

If viewed from above, this stream neatly divides the prime farmland at the foot of the mountain in two, serving as both the natural boundary between Qinjiazhuang and Laojiapo, and the dividing river that the two villages have fought over for generations.

In the early years, the two villages built an earthen dam on the upper reaches of the stream for convenient travel. However, the culvert at the bottom of the dam was too narrow and would become silted up almost every flood season. If it was not cleared in time, it could very likely cause the earthen dam to collapse.

Qinjiazhuang and Laojiapo are backed by Shuangling Mountain, and their high altitude and upstream location mean they are not worried. However, Shuangling Village, which belongs to the same brigade, is in a precarious situation. This village is located downstream, and if the earthen dam collapses, it will be the first to be affected.

Of course, Shuangling Village also has the advantage of being a latecomer. As a new village located next to the national highway, its transportation is far more convenient than that of Qinjiazhuang and Laojiapo. Moreover, the village committee of the administrative village is located here, and every village committee has always regarded summer flood prevention as the top priority.

After the start of the hottest period of summer this year, rainfall surged, and village officials worked in three shifts, remaining on the dam until the flash floods receded before finally leaving their posts. Looking across the Shuangling administrative village, there was nothing more important than guarding the dam and clearing silt.

With the torrential rain continuing, Yue Chuan was stuck at home and unable to go to the back mountain to harvest walnuts. Bored, he took out the "Selected Poems of Pushkin" that Ai Min had given him.

Those magnificent and melancholic verses surged in the young man's chest, and in a daze, he felt as if he had become a fighter raising a flag and shouting, and even his recitation carried the sharpness of swords and horses.

"I have built a non-human monument for myself."

On the path people take to get there

The grass stopped growing

It raised its unyielding head.

Towering atop the Alexander Column…

Yue Chuan was engrossed in the magnificent spirit of the poem when he suddenly felt a heavy pat on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw his cousin hiding behind him, his face flushed from trying not to laugh.

"Chuan'er, are you chanting scriptures? Why do you look like you're about to fight someone?! Hahaha... So funny..."

Seeing his cousin clutching his stomach and laughing, Yue Chuan's ears turned bright red. "Fine, you dare make fun of me? You're not leaving until you say something to me!"

As he spoke, his fingers reached for his cousin's lower back. Qin Shoufeng hated being tickled, so after struggling for a moment, he started playfully fighting back.

"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. I came here to talk to you about something!" Qin Shoufeng waved his hand to signal him to stop, then his playful smile faded. "Seriously, I'm going to the county town tomorrow. My older sister signed me up for tutoring classes, saying she wants me to learn the first-year high school curriculum in advance."

"Hmm? There are still two months before school starts, why don't you stay home and play a few more days?"

Although he didn't expect his cousin to be able to carry all the walnuts back from the back mountain, Yue Chuan was caught off guard when his cousin gave up after only one day.

"I want to play too! But my dad said he went through a lot of trouble to get me into this high school, and he said if I don't listen and don't study hard, he won't support my education anymore," Qin Shoufeng explained with a hint of helplessness.

Seeing that his cousin was in a bad mood, Yue Chuan quickly comforted him, "Uncle was just trying to scare you! Everyone knows you're the family's 'golden egg,' and they're counting on you to get into university and bring them honor!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shoufeng frowned even more deeply. After a moment of silence, he said with a hint of apology, "Chuan'er, I'm sorry about this. I was planning to help you finish picking all the walnuts, but this happened. You won't blame me, will you?"

"No!" Yue Chuan answered readily, then smiled and said, "Anyway, there aren't many trees. Besides, aren't there Grandma and Grandpa? I can store the walnuts there first, and then move them home little by little. You can go without worry!"

"You're a master at work, but I'm just afraid... afraid you'll run into that crazy woman again!" Qin Shoufeng scratched the back of his head. "I figured out what happened yesterday; she definitely treats you like her own son! I think you'd better be careful!"

What Qin Shoufeng could see, Yue Chuan knew perfectly well—that crazy woman was after him, giving him nightmares last night. Yue Chuan wasn't afraid of the crazy woman, but he had a reason to go. His cousin could simply walk away to the city for tutoring, but what could he do but grit his teeth and push forward?

"Brother, you don't need to worry too much about me. Uncle Aimin told me that when Geda has time, he'll accompany me to the back mountain!"

"Really!" Qin Shoufeng grinned, gesturing an exaggerated shape in the air with his hand. "With this 'knot' (a magical barrier), we won't be afraid even if we encounter a big black bear, hahaha!"

After saying that, the two brothers chuckled...

A day later, the weather finally cleared up, but the mountain road was still muddy and difficult to navigate. It seemed that Yue Chuan's money-making plan would have to remain on hold. Rather than staying at home and suffering from heat rash, he decided to go out for a walk. So, he picked up a bowl of leftover food and headed to Geda's house.

Perhaps it smelled a familiar scent, Ah Huang sniffed and crawled out of the dog kennel, the iron chain clattering against the iron door frame.

Seeing Ah Huang kick its hind legs, preparing to pounce on him, Yue Chuan quickly poured the "dog food" into the slit trough, and dodged to the side. "Old dog, your feet are covered in mud, don't get my clothes dirty...hehehe..."

To express his dissatisfaction, Ah Huang snorted twice and turned to run towards the feeding trough.

Seeing the dog happily munching away, Yue Chuan's mood inexplicably improved. He casually removed the leather collar from the dog's neck and picked up a broom handle to scratch the dog's back.

Ah Huang is very protective of its food and hates it when others disturb its meal. But Yue Chuan deliberately chose this moment to harass the dog, making Ah Huang bar its teeth in anger. And Yue Chuan? He just kept laughing. In the midst of their playful antics, all the unpleasant things in the back mountain seemed to have vanished like clouds in the wind, and he didn't feel so upset anymore.

As Yue Chuan was playing with Ah Huang, a shout came from the sheepfold next door. Yue Chuan ran over and saw Qin Yunhai yelling at the lump on the "A-frame ladder": "Hey! You're such a blockhead! I told you to move the asbestos tile a little to the east, but you moved it to the west! Get down here, and see how I fix this!"

This was Qin Geda's first time waterproofing the sheep pen roof, and he had no idea how to place the asbestos tiles. Just as he was scratching his head in frustration, he suddenly felt the ladder wobbling—Qin Yunhai had already climbed up the ladder.

"The corrugated tiles should follow the rainwater's path!" The old shepherd gestured with his knotted fingers towards the ceiling, "This piece overlaps that piece, like fish scales!"

Under Qin Yunhai's patient guidance, Geda finally mastered the installation technique. At this moment, he put all his strength into inserting the new tile into the gap and pushed it in, thus blocking the hole in the ceiling.

He had learned the method, but his hands were covered in burrs and glass fibers, making him itch so badly that he kept shaking his hands and yelling.

"Alright, alright, I'll go down and take care of it for you right away." Qin Yunhai stepped down the ladder, found a roll of transparent tape, tore off a piece and stuck it on the lumpy palm, then suddenly peeled it off, and the asbestos fibers that were difficult to see with the naked eye were immediately brought out.

Geda babbled on and on to Qin Yunhai for a while, it was unclear whether he was thanking him or cursing the damn asbestos tiles, he looked just like a child who had made a mistake and was being scolded.

Yue Chuan felt a surge of warmth and was about to speak when Qin Yunhai interrupted, "What are you doing standing there? Have you picked all the walnuts on the back hill?"

The two houses are right next to each other, and although the old man is over seventy, he knows everything perfectly well.

"There are still two tree branches tall enough to grow tall..." Yue Chuan rubbed his hands together, hunching his neck. "The green walnuts are so heavy, they've all been piled up at Shoufeng's grandma's house. I'll go carry them when I have time."

"With your skinny arms, how long would it have taken you to carry all these walnuts back? Here's what we'll do: let Geda go with you tomorrow, and you two try to bring them all back in one go."

Qin Yunhai spoke casually, yet he was solving a major problem for Yuechuan.

"Thank you, Second Master!" Yue Chuan's heart instantly brightened. He was tongue-tied and racked his brains to come up with some nice things to say to the Second Master, but unexpectedly, he made the other party unhappy.

"Don't bother with all this nonsense! If you really make money, just remember to treat Geda to something good to eat." Qin Yunhai looked at Geda beside him and slowly put his hands behind his back.

"Okay!"

Yue Chuan readily agreed. Right now, he was secretly delighted. With Geda's help, moving walnuts would be a piece of cake.