Departure, to the Fishing Village

It had been a long time since she had heard from Xiaoyi. She had promised to contact him more often, but she almost forgot her promise.

When she got home, Xiaoguo was focused on reading the letter in her hand. She didn’t even notice that Zhuang Zhuang had sneaked out of the kitchen and was standing behind her.

“Mother, what are you looking at?”

Zhuang Zhuang wiped his mouth and stood behind her.

Xiaoguo took a deep breath. The rich fragrance of meat was floating in the air. She sniffed carefully but did not expose him. After all, she had to give her little man some face.

“A letter from Xiaoyi.”

“From Xiaoyi?”

“From Xiaoyi!”

Xiaoguo imitated Zhuang Zhuang’s tone and showed him the letter.

As soon as Zhuang Zhuang heard Xiaoyi’s name, he wanted to open it and take a look. However, Xiaoguo refused to give it to him. No matter how hard he tried, she simply refused to hand it over.

“Mother, give it to me…”

“I can give it to you, but you have to wash your hands first.”

Zhuang Zhuang hid his greasy hands in embarrassment and looked at Xiaoguo with a flushed face.

His mother had returned too quickly, that’s why he hadn’t had time to remove the evidence of him stealing food.

He looked at Xiaoguo shyly and shuffled towards the water point. He was extremely shy, seemingly afraid that Xiaoguo would give him a dressing down.

Xiaoguo turned her head and snickered. Then she looked at Zhuang Zhuang, who was washing his hands.

After he was done washing his hands, she watched him wipe them dry. Then, she handed him the letter.

“Go read it.”

“I love you…”

Zhuang Zhuang chuckled and ran back into the house with the envelope.

Xiaoguo saw his back view as he ran out. On his clean clothes, there was a pair of greasy finger marks on his buttocks.

She could imagine how frantic Zhuang Zhuang must have looked earlier. She must have frightened him when she entered the house. Having no time to wash his hands, he just wiped his hands on his back.

At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang, who had just run in, suddenly ran out again with a letter in his hand.

“Mother, this is for you from Xiaoyi.”

With that, he handed the letter to her. After she took it, he turned around and went back into the room.

Just moments ago, when he was opening the letter, he realized that there were two letters inside. One was addressed to Zhuang Zhuang, and the other to Xiaoguo.

He did not open the letters. Instead, he quickly handed it to Xiaoguo.

Although he hoped that his mother would only love him and was unwilling to share her love, he could accept it if it was Xiaoyi.

Xiaoguo did not enter the house. Instead, she found a step in the courtyard and sat down.

Feeling a little expectant, she opened the envelope. The first thing she saw was a simple greeting and an account of what he had been doing recently. Most importantly, the letter was filled with his thoughts for Xiaoguo.

Ever since Xiaoyi told Xiaoguo his innermost thoughts when they separated the last time, he was finally able to open up about his thoughts and concern for her.

As there was no face-to-face contact, he was even more enthusiastic in the letter. He said a lot of things that he was usually embarrassed to say.

As Xiaoguo read the letter, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and snicker.

She didn’t know where this kid had learned so many flowery words. He was actually quite good at it.

After reading the letter, Xiaoguo folded it neatly and kept it in her arms. She thought happily to herself that since she was so deeply missed by the other party, she should start writing now. She was going to write a long essay and send it back to Xiaoyi.

Coincidentally, when she sends Zhuang Zhuang off tomorrow, she could drop the letter off at the courier station.

When she returned to the house to get a brush and paper, she happened to see Zhuang Zhuang lying on the bed with a happy expression. His legs were swinging back and forth. It was obvious that he was in an extremely good mood.

“Zhuang Zhuang, you can write your reply after you are done reading the letter. We will send it out tomorrow.”

Xiaoguo couldn’t bear to disturb his thoughts at this moment, but she still reminded him softly.

Zhuang Zhuang smiled and nodded. He replied in a childish voice, “Oh, I will do that…”

Xiaoguo smiled and closed the door for him. She took the brush and paper to another room.

—-

Time passed quickly. The hot season had completely passed. At this moment, one could vaguely feel coolness in the air.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, an annual celebratory festival. Last year, Xiaoguo, Ruyi, and the others spent the festival at home. However in this year, two accidents occurred during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xiaoguo, who had just sent Zhuang Zhuang off, was about to go home when she was influenced by the lively atmosphere around the area. Without realizing it, she had gone a few rounds around the market and ended up buying a lot of delicious food.

When she got home, the donkey cart was already filled with snacks.

Just as she was lamenting about having bought too much, she suddenly realized that there was an unfamiliar carriage outside her house.

The sounds of the donkey cart woke the man waiting at the door. He quickly got out of the carriage.

“Madam.”

“You…” Xiaoguo tried to identify the man and she said in surprise, “Are you from the fishing village?”

As she had only met him once, Xiaoguo wasn’t quite sure.

“Madam, I was the one who sent you back the last time.”

The man nodded, confirming Xiaoguo’s guess.

Seeing him appear, Xiaoguo subconsciously had a bad feeling.

When the man saw Xiaoguo, he looked troubled. He said hesitantly, “Madam, the village chief sent me to look for you.”

At the mention of the village chief, Xiaoguo frowned. He definitely wouldn’t look for her if there was nothing. Something must have happened to Zhao Yuyan.

“Is it…”

The man nodded in understanding. It was difficult to broach the subject. Death was a topic that people always avoided.

Xiaoguo’s heart skipped a beat when she saw his expression. She had a bad feeling about it.

After a while, the man said, “The mother and daughter from the Zhao family, whom you have left in the fishing village, are not doing well. Yesterday evening, Zhao Yuyan’s health took a turn for the worse. The old village chief asked Doctor Yu from the village to check on her. He said that she was dying, so he quickly asked me to come look for you.”

Although Xiaoguo was mentally prepared, she was still a little stunned. It took her a while to react. She hurriedly said, “Then let’s go back quickly.”

“Aye, okay!”

The man did not hesitate and quickly invited her into the carriage.

Xiaoguo had just raised her foot when she suddenly remembered that she still had something to do. She couldn’t just leave like this. What would happen to the animals at home?

“Wait a moment. I need someone to watch over my home. I’ll get help from someone first before we leave.”

With that, Xiaoguo ran to the entrance of the Yang residence.

After knocking on the door, Yang Jia came to open it. Xiaoguo was really thankful that Yang Jia was at home.

“Yang Jia, help me guard the door for the day.”

Noticing that she seemed very anxious, Yang Jia nodded in agreement without asking why.

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law.”

“I’ll give you the house key. The donkey cart is still outside.”

“Sure, I’ll bring it back now.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s a small matter. There’s no need to thank me.”

Yang Jia smiled and took the key. He closed the door and followed behind her.

Xiaoguo was very glad that there was a lot of grass at home, so Yang Jia didn’t have to go out and cut the grass.

She had been troubling him a lot recently. When this matter was over, she had to thank him properly.

After saying goodbye to Yang Jia, Xiaoguo turned around and got into the carriage.

Yang Jia maneuvered the donkey cart to make way. After the carriage left, he opened the door and went in.

He tethered the donkey and fed it grass and water. He also fed all the poultry in the house. After making sure that nothing was left out, he locked the door and left.

After Xiaoguo got into the carriage, she couldn’t stop sighing. She really didn’t like goodbyes.

Although being mentally prepared in advance helped to alleviate some of the shock, it did not alleviate her sadness at all.

The hard life of a woman was coming to an end. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Since Zhao Yuyan’s situation had gotten worse yesterday evening, it would be night time when Xiaoguo arrived. She wondered if she would get to see Zhao Yuyan for the last time.

“I hope I can see her. I have to see her…”