Chapter 977: She Could Finally Go Down the Mountain
To be honest, besides them, even Yan Huan had forgotten what today was.
She placed all the firewood that she had collected from outside. As the weather today was quite nice, she collected more firewood so that they could last longer.
The weather had gradually become warmer, thus the snow on the mountains was beginning to melt. The frostbite on Yan Huan’s hands was slowly recovering, and at least the swelling had begun to subside. It seemed that in just a day’s time, her fingers that had originally swollen terribly like little carrots had become much better. Now that the frostbite had mostly healed, her fingers gradually returned to their normal sizes. However, the remaining scars would not seem to disappear as easily, and the marks would inevitably remain. Nevertheless, with the passing of time, they too would fade. When the new year arrived, the scars would resurface. The cold would cause her great pain and itch, so much so that she wanted to cry.
When the second day of the second month arrived, a large crowd of people visited the saloon to cut their hair. On that day, Yan Huan did not have a moment’s rest, but she was able to earn a basketful of eggs from her tireless effort.
They would have two large baskets of eggs if they included the basket of eggs that Changsheng’s mother had kept all this while as well. If they brought them down the mountain to sell it, they could definitely earn quite a lot of money.
“I’ll come along with you.” Yan Huan placed her hand into her pocket, and found a 20 yuan note inside. When she cut the customers’ hair, all she could earn were chicken eggs. It would be much better if she could earn cash instead. However, few people in the village would pay money and would use chicken eggs to trade. Even though this barter system was quite peculiar, the villagers preferred to use chicken eggs as the currency because they did not have to keep them in their pockets.
“Are you sure that you want to go?” Changsheng asked doubtfully, “You will have to walk a lot to go down and back up the mountain.”
“That’s alright, I want to go down and have a look around.” Yan Huan raised her head and gave an elated smile. Naturally, she was looking forward to it, although she was quite nervous too.
She was worried that Changsheng would forbid it and told her that she could not go. If she could not go down the mountain, she would have to wait again. It would simply be another listless limbo that went on forever.
Changsheng thought for quite some time, before nodding his head and saying, “Alright, you need to get up earlier tomorrow morning if you want to come with us.”
“Thank you.” Yan Huan finally relaxed her fingers that were nervously grabbing the money in her pocket, as her palm was drenched in an anxious cold sweat. At long last, she could go down the mountain after spending nearly an entire year in the village. After having been nearly frozen to death in this godforsaken place, she could finally go down the mountain and begin to look for a way home.
As she lay on the heated floor, she did not feel cold at all. The cotton blanket had a natural fabric fragrance, and otherwise, there was no other unusual smell. When she slept there at night, she could easily fall into a deep sleep as it was warm and comfortable. She did not need to worry that the stove would extinguish or that someone would barge in in the middle of the night.
However, tonight, she could not fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning, afraid that she would miss the golden opportunity to go down the mountain if she slept too soundly. If that happened, she did not know how long she had to bitterly wait for that chance to arrive again.
She desperately wanted to go home, so much so that she was becoming insane.
On the second day, she had already woken up before the skies became bright. She changed into the new cotton clothes that Changsheng’s mother had prepared for her, and put on a new pair of shoes. However, she still felt that something was amiss, until she touched her face. As she ran her fingers across her cheeks, she could feel the rough creases on her face. She finally realized what was wrong with her.
It was her face…
However, she was unperturbed. After all, she had been beautiful and ugly before. Thus, at this point in time, this layer of skin-deep outer appearance was not significant anymore. There was no one or anything that was more important than her returning home. Still, even though she was not bothered by it, other people might not look at her disheveled appearance kindly. She was afraid that others would criticize and abhor her, or refuse to let her do anything when they saw her face, perhaps not even making a call.
She hastily looked around for a piece of cloth and covered her face with it, leaving only her eyes uncovered.
The skies were still dark, but she had already cooked the dishes under the light of an oil lamp. She had left a portion for Changsheng’s mother as well, as she was worried that his mother would not have anything to eat since they would be leaving very early.
“You got up really early.” Changsheng laughed teasingly and said, “Actually, there is no need to get up this early, since we have to wait for the sun to rise before going. The mountain roads are dark and dangerous, so we need to be careful.”
“I will.” Yan Huan lowered her head and ate, slightly shuffling her leg as she had her meal. Even though this leg of hers was a little crippled, it would not affect her gait. Just like her face, even though it seemed quite unsightly, it could still be of use.
After breakfast, Changsheng carried the large basket of chicken eggs on his shoulders, and prepared to lead Yan Huan down the mountain.
When they reached the edge of the village, Yan Huan realized the reason Changsheng agreed to bring her down the mountain. It turned out that not only that the male villagers were going down, but even some women and elderly folks were there too. No matter how bedraggled and crippled she was, she was definitely more able-bodied than an elderly person.
The mountain roads were not too difficult to travel on, as they were quite flat. The only trouble was that the journey down was very long. Even though they had departed at dawn, they still seemed to be only midway down the mountain when the sun was up high.
Perhaps, it would be noon when they reached the little town outside. Yan Huan hurriedly kept at the heels of the others without stopping for a rest. After all, she had been diligently collecting firewood during the winter and had trekked through the woods countless times. Thus, she had become more athletic and could handle the arduous journey down.
“Xiao Yan, you’re doing okay, right? Can you still walk?”
Changsheng worriedly asked Yan Huan, since he could see that she was still dragging one of her legs when she walked. It seemed pitiful and difficult for her. Is her leg really fine, even though it seems so crippled?
“I’m alright,” Yan Huan replied with a smile. Despite the exhausting journey, her face was not reddened and her breathing was still steady. Even though she appeared to have a crippled leg, she was actually much more at ease than the rest. After all, she had been in the army before, so walking was not a difficult task for her to do at all.
As expected, they reached the foot of the mountain around noon. However, Yan Huan could not help but feel a little disappointed as she thought that the village below would be more civilized. At the very least, they should have basic necessities such as telephones and computers. However, the village seemed painfully similar to the village on the mountain, shabby and dilapidated. The only redeeming quality was that there was electricity here.
Changsheng placed the basket on his back on the ground. Then, he sat down beside it and waited patiently for potential customers to buy the eggs. Yan Huan followed suit and sat down as well. Since she was not too familiar with the people or the place, she did not dare to venture about on her own.
Soon, the streets were filled with a sea of people. The villagers had swiftly found a spot to place the things that they brought to sell. However, people merely glanced and left, and very few people actually purchased items from them.