The sky was high and the clouds were vast, the weather was pleasant and the sun was shining.
The spring breeze blew across the freshly tilled land, lingering amongst the tender yellow willow catkins, bringing with it the unique scent of spring.
Xia Cheng raised his hand and wiped the fine sweat from his brow. "Mom, it seems Sixth Uncle didn't lie."
He was the young man Xia Deyaot had met at the village entrance.
Initially, he had come to pick toon sprouts with a half-believing attitude. Then, he heard the broadcast from the loudspeaker and saw the continuous stream of people heading towards the toon forest, finally confirming that Xia Deyaot had not deceived him.
Recalling the forty-eight yuan per jin for toon sprouts mentioned on the loudspeaker, Xia Cheng was filled with energy, wishing he had more hands to pick several hundred jin a day.
"Oh my, so many people have arrived!"
The old couple with white hair were Xia Cheng's parents.
The couple were old and not in good health, so they could only use sickles to cut the toon sprouts from the higher branches along with the leaves, and then meticulously pick through them on the woven bags spread on the ground.
"Son, hurry up. I see everyone in the village has come."
"Let's spread out a bit, don't let others come over to join the fun."
The old man was cunning. He helped his frail wife up, then dragged the woven bag and moved aside.
He looked around, keeping a moderate distance from his son.
If anyone wanted to come here, they would be disappointed.
As the news spread, the surroundings gradually became livelier.
Less than ten meters away from Xia Cheng, there was a woman in her thirties with a child. Her hands moved like dancing butterflies, so fast that it was impossible to see clearly.
Her bamboo basket was soon filled with a thick layer of tender toon sprouts, and they were of good quality, with no old leaves or stems.
Further away, several groups of people were arguing and cursing each other for territory, spewing all sorts of vulgarities.
Occasionally, there were bursts of laughter and attempts at mediation, but no one dared to stop picking.
Toon sprouts at forty-eight yuan per jin were practically like picking up money.
If they missed this great opportunity, who knew if there would be a second one?
"Son, what are you doing? Don't stop!"
The old man hadn't noticed at first. Seeing Xia Cheng plucking at the branches, standing still, he called out with frustration, "My son, what are you doing? Don't stop!"
"Oh!" Xia Cheng snapped back to reality, his face flushing with embarrassment. He quickly continued to pick the toon sprouts, thinking to himself, "She must have heard, right?"
"How embarrassing!"
"What must she be thinking?"
The woman closest to him was named Jin Mengxiang, an outsider in Xiajiagou.
Her father was a barefoot doctor sent from the county health bureau back then. He later married a woman in Xiajiagou and settled down.
Compared to others, the Jin family was a little better off, but not by much.
In her youth, Jin Mengxiang was Xia Cheng's dream goddess.
Unfortunately, not only was she beautiful, but she also had excellent academic performance.
After graduating from junior high, Xia Cheng, like most of his peers, went to work in the big city. Jin Mengxiang went to the county to attend high school, and thus the two gradually drifted apart.
Now that his parents' health was deteriorating, Xia Cheng had to return home to take care of them. He unexpectedly discovered that Jin Mengxiang was also in the village.
The goddess of his youth was already married, but her beauty remained undiminished, easily stirring Xia Cheng's heart.
Later, he learned that after graduating from high school, Jin Mengxiang did not go to college but married a rich boss from another province.
After that, because her husband was having affairs and openly kept mistresses, Jin Mengxiang, in a fit of anger, divorced him and returned to her hometown with her child.
Knowing all this, Xia Cheng often tossed and turned in bed at night, unable to sleep. He was thirty-two years old and still unmarried, a fact that had caused his parents to sigh countless times.
Xia Cheng vaguely felt that all of this was arranged by fate, and what he had lost, Heaven was now sending back to him.
Therefore, even with toon sprouts at forty-eight yuan per jin, it couldn't calm his restless heart.
Xia Cheng picked toon sprouts while glancing towards Jin Mengxiang.
"Qingqing, can you go home and get Mama a bag?"
Jin Mengxiang's bamboo basket was quickly filled. She had left in a hurry and forgotten to bring a woven bag.
Now there were people all around, and she was afraid that if she left, her spot would be taken by someone else. Thus, she had to ask her five-year-old daughter to go back.
"Mmm-hmm." The naive child looked up at her mother, nodded heavily, and replied in a childish voice.
"I have one here!" Opportunity had arrived, and Xia Cheng couldn't miss it.
Widows were often the subject of gossip. Jin Mengxiang usually kept to herself and rarely went out.
Xia Cheng was shy and not eloquent. Even if they occasionally met, Jin Mengxiang would avoid him from afar, at most nodding in greeting.
Now that such a good opportunity presented itself, how could Xia Cheng let it pass? He quickly ran to his parents, got two clean woven bags, and rushed over.
"Thank you." Facing the grinning Xia Cheng, Jin Mengxiang appeared quite reserved.
She took the bags and nodded in thanks.
Xia Cheng had a lot he wanted to say, but...
"Why are you here too?"
"How have you been all these years?"
"Hello, do you still remember me?"
The words in his mind were rooted in his throat, refusing to come out. His lips trembled, but no sound was made.
"You go ahead and work, I'm going back." Xia Cheng walked back dejectedly, wishing he could slap himself hard.
Unreliable!
Useless!
Deserves to be single!
Xia Cheng cursed himself in a low voice, tears welling up in his eyes.
Seeing this, the old couple's faces were filled with disappointment and helplessness.
Xia Cheng felt a hundred emotions, none of them pleasant.
He felt like there was a pot of boiling, chaotic porridge in his brain, becoming thicker and thicker, even turning into paste long ago.
After an unknown period of time.
Xia Cheng secretly turned his head to look, only to find that Jin Mengxiang was gone.
He felt a sense of loss. Although he felt a little lighter, his heart was filled with disappointment and an unspeakable bitterness.
"Hey, Jin, you dare to steal my toon sprouts, are you looking for a beating!"
"These toon sprouts by the big ditch are ownerless. I've been picking them here all along, how did they become yours?"
The clamor of two women's voices came from not far away.
In an instant, Xia Cheng recognized Jin Mengxiang's wronged voice among them.
"You're not from our Xiajiagou, why are you picking toon sprouts here?"
"Everyone, don't you agree?"
"Jin Mengxiang is stealing toon sprouts!"
The unreasonable, sharp voices were incessant.
"Mom, Dad, I'm going to take a look." Xia Cheng informed his parents and dashed towards Jin Mengxiang.
"Son, don't cause trouble, don't get into a fight!"
"Don't get into any more trouble!"
The old couple shouted urgently, afraid that something might happen to their son.
"Got it!" Xia Cheng answered without looking back.