country bumpkin

Chapter 31 Going to the City

The Lantern Festival follows the Spring Festival.

On the Lantern Festival, the moon is full, relatives and friends gather for reunion, happiness and joy are always with us, good fortune brings peace, flowers bring good luck, and wealth flows in forever.

Today is the Lantern Festival. In the courtyard, Yunya is happily eating round glutinous rice balls from her little wooden bowl. Her tiny mouth is stuffed full, making her look like an adorable little squirrel.

Lunch consisted of glutinous rice balls, and Mu Shuyun prepared a table full of delicious dishes for dinner. Yunya only ate two glutinous rice balls, leaving all her stomach empty for the other dishes.

Kong Xiufang sat at the dining table, rubbing her bulging belly as she chatted with Mu Shuyun.

“Mom, I’ll go to the city tomorrow! I’ll visit my sisters’ homes first, and then slowly look for a job. What do you think?” Kong Xiufang said.

Mu Shuyun smiled and said, "Okay, but I was thinking that it's not too late for you to look for a job after it gets warmer. It's still very cold now. Why don't you stay at your sister's house for a few days and see if there's anything you can do to help? You can look for a job when it gets warmer."

Kong Xiufang nodded excitedly, "Great! Great! I was just thinking of going to the city to have a good look around."

Mu Shuyun finished cleaning up the dishes and went to prepare food for her three daughters. Although all three daughters were married and lived in the city, she was still worried that they wouldn't eat well at their in-laws' homes.

All three daughters love the sweet potato rice from their hometown. There's practically no farming in the city; only the villages on the outskirts have some small plots of land. So, these children, born and raised here, really miss the food from their hometown.

Mu Shuyun carefully packed the dried sweet potatoes into bags. These were for human consumption, so they were naturally treated differently from the sweet potatoes used for pig feed.

During the autumn harvest, large, round, and plump sweet potatoes were selected. First, the sweet potatoes were washed clean, then large sewn cloth bags were laid out on the ground, and the sliced ​​sweet potatoes were laid out to dry. Once dry, they were placed in baskets, covered, and sealed to prevent rodents and insects from damaging them.

Making sweet potato chips for human consumption is much more troublesome than making them for pig feed. Yunya often sneaks a bite of the pig feed while it's cooking, simply because the cooked sweet potato chips are sticky, chewy, and have a very tempting sweet aroma.

Mu Shuyun also prepared some other delicious food, including dried purslane, dried plum beans, and dried radish. She planned to have Kong Xiufang take them to her daughters tomorrow.

In addition, she also planned to have Kong Xiufang stay for a while longer to help take care of her granddaughter and grandson.

As Mu Shuyun busied herself, she imagined how happy her daughters would be to receive the food, and a smile of contentment appeared on her face.

The next morning, after breakfast, Kong Xiufang prepared to leave. Her second brother had gone to the market to sell tofu and couldn't take her to the station. The station wasn't far, and walking there empty-handed wasn't tiring at all, but carrying things was a bit much.

Second sister-in-law Zhou Caiyun had nothing to do at home, so she also went to see her younger sister off. She and Mu Shuyun each carried a large cloth bag. Kong Xiufang carried a small cloth bag, and Yunya followed behind them, all going to the station to see Kong Xiufang off.

Yunya chattered incessantly the whole way, reluctant to see her aunt leave. So she kept clinging to her aunt.

Kong Xiufang patted her head and said, "Little Yun, when Auntie earns money, I'll buy you delicious food and pretty hair accessories, okay?"

Yunya laughed happily.

"Okay, okay! When are you coming back, Auntie?" Yunya looked at her suspiciously.

Kong Xiufang "…………"

Mu Shuyun smiled at Yunya, "You haven't even left yet, and you're already thinking about your aunt coming back? Do you miss your aunt's things, or do you miss your aunt as a person?"

Yun Ya's thoughts were seen through, and she laughed and acted cheekily, "Hey... I want them all, I want them all."

The three adults burst into laughter. Yunya joined in the laughter, giggling innocently.

The villagers passing by looked at the mentally challenged child standing at the bus stop, imitating a duck's quack, with blank expressions. They wondered to themselves, "Whose mentally challenged child has been let out?"

After waiting for a long time, a minibus finally came slowly driving by.

Mu Shuyun waved, the driver stopped the car, and Kong Xiufang got in, dragging a large cloth bag in each hand. A small cloth bag was slung over her shoulder.

The ticket seller saw this and quickly came over to help, lifting the cloth bag onto the bus. The large cloth bag wasn't very heavy, but Kong Xiufang had never done heavy work before, so she struggled to lift it.

After getting into the car, Yunya waved goodbye to her mother and second sister-in-law, and then waved goodbye to them as well.

The driver closed the car door, stepped on the gas, and the car slowly started moving.

On the bus, Kong Xiufang was both excited and thrilled. She had always wanted to visit the city, and now she could finally do so.

The car moved slowly forward, and everyone on board was silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Halfway there, the ticket seller came to collect the money. It cost 4 yuan per person. Kong Xiufang paid the money, and the ticket seller handed her a ticket. She took it and didn't say anything more.

A middle-aged man with dark skin and an honest appearance sat next to Kong Xiufang. He struck up a conversation with her, "Young lady, are you going to the city to stay with relatives?" Kong Xiufang smiled and replied, "Sort of, I'm looking for a job. What about you, brother?" The man scratched his head sheepishly, "I'm also going to the city to work. You can't earn much money in the countryside. I heard there are more opportunities in the city."

After chatting for a while, Kong Xiufang learned that the man's name was Li Dalong, that he had two children, and that he had to come to the city to find work in order to support his family.

As the vehicle continued its journey, Kong Xiufang gazed through the window at her hometown gradually receding into the distance, her heart filled with anticipation.

She knew that the road ahead might not be easy, but she was prepared to face all difficulties.

After a three-hour journey, they finally arrived at their stop. The ticket seller helped Kong Xiufang carry her cloth bag off the bus, and after thanking her, she prepared to leave.

She thought for a moment and decided to go to her older sister's house first, since her house was closer to the station. Otherwise, how would she manage carrying so many things?

She was carrying two heavy bags, so she had no choice but to swing them on her back. With a small bag slung over her arm, she slowly walked toward her older sister's house.

Kong Xiujuan is helping her mother-in-law clear the dishes. Gao Qinglian is busy wrapping large steamed buns. Some diners have finished eating and left, leaving the dishes and chopsticks scattered haphazardly on the table, with soup stains spilled everywhere.

After tidying up the table, Kong Xiujuan went inside to check on the children. Sun Limei was playing with her younger brother, Sun Guoqiang. She was shaking a rattle-drum, making a thumping sound. Sun Guoqiang was laughing heartily at his sister's antics.

Seeing that the children were having fun, Kong Xiujuan was relieved. Her eldest daughter was very good at taking care of children and had been a great help to her.

She turned and went out to help her mother-in-law sell food. Her father-in-law, Sun Youcai, was collecting the money.

She has to come and help out for a while every day when there are many people. She can't be here all the time; the child is too young, and it's not safe for him to be unsupervised.

She didn't get paid for helping out because they hadn't separated their households yet. So, Sun Zitao still had to hand over a portion of his wages.

Kong Xiujuan told Sun Zitao to secretly keep some money, otherwise her mother-in-law wouldn't be kind enough to give her any money if she needed it urgently.

Kong Xiufang walked along, stopping and starting, taking half an hour to cover a distance that would normally take ten minutes. Finally, she saw her elder sister's storefront.

She saw her older sister from a distance and called out, "Big sister, big sister..."

Everyone looked over at the sound and saw a beautiful young woman, looking travel-worn, carrying two large bags and a small bag slung over her arm, calling out in their direction.

A customer stared intently in the direction of the girl and shouted, "Look, there's a beautiful woman!"