Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 162 - 4: The Truth from Five Years Ago

Chapter 162: Chapter 4: The Truth from Five Years Ago

As a city dweller, Zhuo Feng was used to office life, and lacking regular exercise, she found herself struggling after the long journey to the Southwest Mountain Area, though initially she didn’t feel it.

Once she mounted the bicycle, her legs and feet were so sore it was as if she was breathing heavily through her nose, resembling an ox that had been pulling a plow all day.

Fortunately, Xiao Xian, riding ahead, wasn’t going fast, seemingly waiting for her on purpose.

Zhuo Feng gritted her teeth and pedaled hard, finally making it around the entire hillside. After turning the bend where the terrain sloped downwards, the bicycle wheels spun rapidly.

The farmlands on both sides looked like waves of green, and when the wind blew, the fragrance of the rice flowers burrowed into her nose, carrying the pure scent of nature.

The cool mountain breeze lifted the short hair by Zhuo Feng’s ears, obstructing her sight.

When she brushed away the hair blocking her view, the scenery in front of her had transformed from endless green mountains to a shimmering large lake.

The wind from the other side of the mountain carried the delightful sounds of the Miao Village’s reed and bamboo music, rippling like the water’s surface, layer by layer reaching one’s ears.

"How beautiful," Zhuo Feng, only twenty-six this year, felt for the first time the glamorous city life lose its allure since her university days and two years of working.

"When you just asked that, I thought you were like those others, here for camping in the mountains," Xiao Xian referred to those occasional hikers seen around Ge Village.

As they spoke, Zhuo Feng bent down to pick up several empty glass bottles and plastic bags, placing them in her bicycle basket. Those city campers descend the mountains without taking their trash.

For some reason, after she did this, she felt that Xiao Xian’s gaze towards her softened a lot.

A kindred spirit, Xiao Xian silently exclaimed in her heart. She also collected bottles and jars by the White Dragon Pond during her free time, initially discarding them casually as she used to do at Yunteng Sect.

However, after Granny Zhao mentioned a few times that these bottles and jars could be sold for money, asking Xiao Xian to give them to her to save up for a good coffin,

Yezi secretly learned about this and mocked Granny Zhao for being so old yet still so keen on petty gains, wondering if her coffin would be made of gold.

"Eh, why are there two bridges over the lake?" Zhuo Feng hung the bag of collected trash on the front of the bike, admiring the scenery when she noticed two bridges spanning over the pond.

One was an ancient-looking chain bridge, which could barely accommodate two people walking abreast, and the other was a sturdy concrete bridge with a fresh, light blue color, seemingly not very old.

"The chain bridge has been in use for a long time, but it’s too narrow for vehicles. The village and the community pooled money to build a new bridge so adults could feel safe about children going to school at the temple. But after the new bridge was built, everyone grew attached to the old chain bridge and couldn’t bear to demolish it, so it was preserved as a memorial," Xiao Xian explained that the stone bridge was completed before last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. With that bridge, even standard trucks could drive up.

As they spoke, several schoolchildren returning home appeared on the bridge, greeting Xiao Xian. Those going to school during summer break were often students with poor grades, effectively a form of supplementary learning.

Seeing the children with their backpacks, some frowning as they recited poems taught by Master Shan Yin, Zhuo Feng asked, "I see your village isn’t very populous; do you still have a school?" According to the usual educational planning in mountainous areas, a certain population threshold must be met before a local school can be established.

One important reason Zhuo Feng was uneasy about leaving Xiao Xian in the mountain village was education. Before visiting, Zhuo Feng even imagined Xiao Xian speaking unintelligible Mandarin with a heavy accent. Fortunately, upon meeting, Zhuo Feng found Xiao Xian’s speech not inferior to a Beijing accent.

Xiao Xian clearly explained everything about Master Shan Yin and his temple school, increasing Zhuo Feng’s skepticism about the teaching quality in the mountain temple school. Having a monk as a teacher, Zhuo Feng worried that Xiao Xian might adopt some feudalistic superstitious thoughts, which cast a gloom over her.

As the evening sky turned a blushing red, Xiao Xian, seeing it was getting late, began pushing her bike, heading home with Zhuo Feng.

Throughout the journey, Zhuo Feng hesitated whether to recount her and Zhu Shijun’s earlier conversation to Xiao Xian. Halfway through, her straightforward nature took over, and she couldn’t help but ask, "Xiao Xian, have you seriously considered what your aunt mentioned earlier? The villagers in Ge Village are nice, but staying here, you won’t receive a good education, nor will you see the wonders of the outside world." Zhuo Feng wasn’t sure if Xiao Xian understood her words, considering she was only ten years old.