Chapter 376

It was a bit chilly in the mountains.

The wind was cool.

But those in love were not afraid of the cold.

Xiao Qi, wrapped in her mother Sheng Juanhua's large cotton jacket, sat on the roof terrace with Li Weijin.

Why not wrap in her father Su Youfu's jacket? Because Su Youfu was short, and his clothes were small, while Sheng Juanhua was taller and sturdier, with a larger cotton jacket.

This large cotton jacket was purchased during their wedding and considered a big item, costing over 200 yuan. Even now in Gumula Village, it was considered valuable.

Despite wearing an old floral cotton jacket, Li Weijin looked handsome and stylish, as if setting the latest fashion trend. If he walked around Fashion Week, he might even influence some fashion trends.

His crew cut hair also looked dashing. Although he wore a thick Lei Feng-style cap at the moment, exposing only his face made him appear even more attractive!!

In the evenings, the temperature in the village dropped drastically, often resulting in frost in the mornings.

Sitting around a stove, eating watermelon summed up the climate of Gumula Village.

The two sat on the rooftop, enjoying the cool breeze, gazing at the starry sky and the small crescent moon, feeling shy and embarrassed.

They didn't know what they talked about, but their palms felt warm, not cold at all.

Meanwhile, Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu were filled with mixed emotions.

Their daughter was dating while still in school. But then again, she was already 18 years old, and in the village, most 18-year-old girls already had two or three children before getting officially married.

As for the young man, the couple found him too good-looking and felt pity for him. He seemed to come from a very affluent family, with a sense of being well-bred and not having to do any manual labor. However, he was polite and well-behaved, eager to help out at their home despite not knowing how to do anything... always curious... with a wonderful personality. The couple didn't feel any sense of superiority from him.

Many city folks who came to the village carried an air of superiority, or became arrogant if they had a bit of money. The most obvious example was Xiao Qi's uncle, who behaved that way.

But this young man showed no such attitude, not only towards their family but also towards others, even treating ragged old men with mud on their pants with courtesy and respect.

How to put it? He had exceptional manners and breeding.

Something the couple couldn't achieve themselves. Their daughter used to be rough around the edges, but after attending university, she improved a lot. It was a different feeling, Xiao Qi became more composed, and the couple felt intimidated when she adopted a serious demeanor. Yet Xiao Qi no longer felt as distant from the villagers as before, interacting with them in a friendly manner.

They didn't know if she learned this from the young man. In any case, this young man had excellent family upbringing. The couple had never encountered such an admirable and flawless young person. The only issue was that he was pursuing their daughter, leaving them with a sense of unease.

The young man was too outstanding. When Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu discreetly inquired about his family background, they felt even more lost after hearing the details. What kind of family did he come from? Did they own a mine?

With their humble circumstances, could they match up to his family?

The couple tossed and turned, unable to sleep. They felt that if considering only their daughter as an individual, she was indeed a good match, as she was exceptional in every way. But in terms of family background, they were holding her back, dragging her down from the mountaintop to the cliff's edge.

Xiao Qi and Li Weijin gazed at the stars, chatted about all sorts of random topics, then each put on earphones and listened to a Spanish language course together. Unbelievably, they sat on the rooftop, braving the wind and starry sky, huddled together on a pile of straw, studying Spanish in the cold for half the night.

Afterwards, they went to sleep separately.

The musty smell in the room was a bit strong, but Li Weijin was exhausted and slept soundly until morning without any dreams.

Xiao Qi also slept quite well, though she felt a bit strange in her heart, a sense of joy, as if smiling in her dreams.

The next morning, Xiao Qi woke up early and took Li Weijin to hike in the mountains and dig for bamboo shoots.

Xiao Qi aimed to walk 30,000 steps daily, but running around the village would make people think she was crazy. It was better to wander in the mountains, both achieving her step goal and gathering delicious food.

Li Weijin was thrilled to be in the mountains, like an eager puppy seeing the world for the first time, digging excitedly in the soil.

He even got excited about digging up a bamboo root and wanted to take it home.

Xiao Qi: ...As long as you're happy.

After wandering in the mountains for a while, they didn't dig up many bamboo shoots, only five, but they collected two bamboo roots, a bunch of wildflowers, and a pocketful of unknown wild fruit. They returned home feeling delighted with their haul.

Upon arriving, Li Weijin felt extremely hungry and ate three boiled eggs prepared by Xiao Qi's mother, finding the simple boiled eggs unexpectedly delicious...

Then it was time for a bath and a change of clothes.

Carrying the bathwater himself.

Sheng Juanhua noticed that the young man lacked the strength of her daughter and couldn't carry a full bucket of water in one go, needing to make two trips... She remembered her daughter effortlessly lifting a full bucket with one hand yesterday.

After Xiao Qi finished bathing, a neighboring child came to inform her: "Sister Xiao Qi, you have a phone call."

Xiao Qi was puzzled since she had a mobile phone, though the signal was poor. Who would call her neighbor's phone?

It turned out to be a call from her high school class monitor, saying that since many classmates were on vacation from university, they wanted to gather before the new year since they had nothing else to do.

The class monitor explained that she couldn't reach Xiao Qi's phone, so she called her neighbor's number instead. It was likely because Xiao Qi went into the mountains with her phone in the morning, where there was no signal, though the village still had intermittent mobile coverage.

Xiao Qi had planned to send Li Weijin back to the city after lunch, worried that he might get constipated if he stayed any longer o(╯□╰)o.

But the opportunity to meet her classmates, many of whom had gotten into good universities, to learn about their experiences sounded intriguing. So she agreed to attend. "Great, you can bring a guest. The address is the newly opened Yaduo Music Restaurant near the municipal government, not far from our No.1 Middle School. Let's meet at 6 PM tonight."

The class monitor politely hung up.

After lunch, Li Weijin wanted to stay another day, but he didn't want to overstay his welcome since he had come under the pretext of installing a signal tower. With the tower set up, the mountain would now have signal coverage, so he wouldn't be completely out of touch. He bid his farewells.

Xiao Qi mentioned attending her classmates' gathering that evening and returning the next day.

Her parents felt a pang in their hearts.

"After the gathering, go visit your aunt. She keeps asking about you. You can stay at her place," Sheng Juanhua suggested.

As experienced parents, they feared their daughter might act impulsively.

Last night, the couple had kept watch at the staircase, listening to their daughter chattering with the young man, but they couldn't understand a single word, unsure what language they were speaking.

Su Youfu quickly added, "Yes, go to your aunt's place. I'll let her know."

However, as Li Weijin was leaving, Sheng Juanhua prepared a box of dried bamboo shoots and a box of dried mushrooms for him.

These were specialties of Gumula Village. The dried bamboo shoots were made by boiling freshly dug spring bamboo shoots for a whole day and night, then smoking them on wood shavings for five to six days. The dried mushrooms were various wild mushrooms from deep in the mountains, which the villagers could identify as edible or poisonous. They could fetch a good price of several hundred yuan per jin (500g) outside the village. Most villagers didn't consume them but sold them instead.

"Take these two boxes back and let your parents try them, a taste of something fresh. And the gift you brought for your uncle and aunt, we appreciate the gesture, but it's too valuable for us to accept. Please take it back with you."

Xiao Qi: ...Every time she heard her parents refer to Li Weijin as "Little Li," she felt a bit uneasy, as if they were addressing a driver or some other person of lower status.

For the first time, Li Weijin heard Xiao Qi's way of addressing him, and he was stunned for a few moments before he realized that Xiao Qi was calling him.

"No need, this is what my parents asked me to give to you uncle and auntie. If you don't accept it, I won't feel comfortable taking your gift either." Originally still reluctant to bid farewell, he quite enjoyed the village and felt it was a particularly fun place. But because of this insistence on giving a gift, he became embarrassed. Li Weijin carried the bamboo shoots and mushrooms away, feeling awkward.

Xiao Qi had no choice but to follow along.

They left behind Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu staring at the box full of what looked like little bugs, helpless expressions on their faces.

When the young man brought it over yesterday, Sheng Juanhua didn't pay much attention, thinking it looked like some health product, and the box wasn't very big. Then they chatted a bit during the meal, and she got the impression that this young man's family seemed exceptionally wealthy.

It was only last night when the couple opened the package that they saw it was labeled "cordyceps," which they had heard of. The cordyceps were quite large, like worms, each one as long as a finger.

Sheng Juanhua was perplexed, so this morning when her daughter and the young man went up the mountain, she called Mrs. Liang, who she knew was the most knowledgeable among her acquaintances.

"Cordyceps as long as a finger? Oh my, sister-in-law, that's incredible, not easy to come by. They're sold by the gram, and let me tell you, that grade would cost at least 200 to 300 yuan per gram, possibly 400 to 500 yuan if the quality is good."

After hanging up, Sheng Juanhua felt dizzy.

She looked back at the cordyceps package—it must have been two pounds!

Even at 200 yuan per gram, two pounds is a thousand grams, so that's 200,000 yuan?!

Who gives gifts like that?!