Chapter 14

• It went on for more than half an hour. During the last round, Zi Shu even felt like dying. How awkward it is now! How should I face him on Monday?
• The next day was another good day.
• The birds in the village had long been up to hunt for bugs to eat, but the sun was not yet out. The entire Dame Bather Village was still exuding the charm of spring dew, with the mountain behind the village covered in mist. The peach blossoms growing on the mountain in front of the village bloomed even more beautifully, as though it had been through the same experience Zi Shu had last night.
• Yang Yu left early in the morning, heading to the next village to look for that idiot. Of course, he kept everyone else in the dark about this matter, except for his elder cousin. Nobody else but Yuanxi knew where Yang Yu was going and what exactly was he doing this weekend. She had even come up with excuses to brush her parents off.
• With a small bamboo pole in his hand, Yang Yu went to borrow some old-fashioned clothes from the principal. His pocket was stuffed with a piece of cloth and a bunch of fake mustache he had prepared beforehand. With that, he climbed up the mountain.
• The village that idiot lived was situated on the East, but Yang Yu must first trek on the mountain road heading to the North, since there was only one road in the entire Dame Bather Village. Whether you were heading to the town or the next village, you must first climb the mountain road heading to the North to the top of the mountain, where you would come across a fork with pathways that would lead you to each respective destination. The main road led to the outside town, while the other smaller paths were either overgrown with weed, or were barely visible.
• With the map scrawled by his cousin in one hand, he fumbled along the road and asked for directions whenever he encountered any villager on his journey.
• The village that idiot lived was called the Pear Blossom Village and he must climbed two more mountains after reaching the top of the mountain at the North. Yang Yu almost pulled out his hair in agitation in this journey, as he stumbled into a dead end in his trekking. “What the hell?!” This was his pet phrase. Just look at her graffiti-like map! What on earth exactly is this drawing?
• He turned to look behind and was overcome with an urge to curse out loud. He could not even see the road behind him clearly now. How did he actually manage to come this far? Left with no other choice, Yang Yu could only determine his own direction and head to the East. The more he walked, the more he felt that the situation was not right. What the hell? I’ve become completely lost now!
• This mountain was unusually big and it was no joke losing your way in the deep mountain. Worries began to gnaw on Yang Yu. What if he could not find his way out? It was so dark and wild animals would often appear in this wild forest. This was not a joke! There might not be any tiger or lion, but he was sure there were many giant pythons or poisonous snakes here. Even a wild boar would charge toward him if it was provoked.
• “Where on earth is this Pear Blossom Village? Damn it, I don’t even see a single person, let alone an entire village or a single pear blossom!” Yang Yu’s mouth was parched and he was consumed with agitation. This trip was really onerous and demanding. He would make sure to ask for some rewards from his cousin when he returned.
• Just when Yang Yu was in a state of loss, he suddenly saw a village woman in front of him. At once, like a drowning person, he immediately grasped at the life-saving straw.
• “Sis, how should I go to the Pear Blossom Village?” Yang Yu called out as he jogged, in fear that he would scare this village woman away. He let out a sigh when he finally caught up to her. I can’t believe that even an ordinary village woman is so beautiful in this deep mountain.
• This village woman was completely bare-faced and plainly dressed, looking like she was only in her thirties. She was carrying a tree, one that was not too small. It looked like it weight about 80, if not 100 pounds.
• In this rural area, since it was difficult for cement or some other urban things to be transported back from the outside, many things were made of wood or bamboos, such as beds, wooden tables, bamboo chairs, and so on. The villages had their own specialized craftsmen.
• It was common to often see people carrying trees from the mountain to the village. It was tiring but there were other things that were even more tiring. In order to make a few quick bucks, some people carried trees to the town to sell them. Since there was no road for any car to pass through, they could only carry the trees themselves. To go to the town from the Dame Bather Village, the journey was dozens of miles long and you would have to trek across five mountains. You could only carry one tree each day, and the pay was only two bucks per tree. Yang Yu heard this from his father because that was how his parents raised him when he was still young, by carrying trees. No one could understand the sufferings of those year. Absolutely no one!
• “Pear Blossom Village? What a coincidence! I’m heading there to sell this tree too!” The woman stopped to rest, sounding very enthusiastic.
• She put the tree on a walking stick. Everyone who knew how to use a carrying pole knew very well that a shoulder pole would need to be equipped with a stick. When it was carried, the pole would be placed on the other shoulder, and in that way, both shoulders would share the load, reducing the burden on one shoulder. This was the reason the boys in the village were particularly short, as their height had all been weighed down by the load.