When Qin Sheng was an undergraduate, on every long vacation, he would go back to the Zhongnan Mountains to visit his grandpa. He usually stayed for two days, enjoying the quietness here, and then went to the Lins’ house. At that time, where Grandpa lived was his home.
This small village in the Zhongnan Mountains was not Qin Sheng’s home, but he had some special emotional connection with this place. His friends in Xi’an were either best friends in junior and senior high, or childhood peers in this small village.
This village was not large. There were hundreds of families living here. This place was located between the Zhongnan Mountains and Xi’an city. It was a rather rich area. Most people here lived in two-floored houses, or even more luxurious mansions. Some of them did business or worked as officials in Xi’an. Some developed agritainment at the foot of the Zhongnan Mountains. They had particularly increased turnover in the summer. And some others developed their business of planting grapes and their relative productions. The Spring Festival was coming, so people working in the city all came back to their home village to gather with their families. Quite a lot of cars were parked in front of the houses beside the gates, which were finely decorated.
Huzi told almost everybody that Qin Sheng was back. People were all curious about Qin Sheng’s current situation since he was known for his excellence during his childhood. So before they arrived at Huzi’s house, a lot of villagers and Qin Sheng’s childhood peers had gathered there.
Huzi parked the car and got out. A villager couldn’t wait to ask, “Huzi, where is Qin Sheng? Don’t f*cking lie to us.”
Huzi pointed to the Benz following behind and said proudly, “Third Uncle, no matter what you’re thinking about, just forget it. Do you still want Qin Sheng to be your son-in-law? It has been many years.”
“How dare you, brat? Are you kidding me?” The man had a simple and honest look. He laughed out loud, showing his yellowish teeth. He was not angry. These villagers often kidded or teased each other and, sometimes, gossiped for fun.
Another young man said, “Huzi, let him go. Tell us more about Qin Sheng. I haven’t seen him in many years. I was beaten by him a lot when we were kids.”
At this time, the Benz arrived and stopped. Huzi pointed to the car and said, “There he is. You know, he’s really successful now. He has a Benz and his own driver. Hmph, look at you.”
They heard Huzi’s words and then looked at the car, showing different reactions. Some were surprised, some amazed, and some jealous. They all went forward to see Qin Sheng.
“Hmm, so many people. Qin Sheng, you’re really popular in this village.” Qin Ran couldn’t help roasting him.
Qin Sheng didn’t expect that so many people would come. He said proudly, “Of course. I used to be the most handsome man in the village. A lot of people talked to Grandpa about a marriage for me.”
“I should have known this earlier. Are you greatly bragging?” Qin Ran giggled. She didn’t believe Qin Sheng, knowing that he was kidding with her. But she rather liked chatting with Qin Sheng this way, like all other normal sisters and brothers.
When the car stopped, Qin Sheng and Qin Ran got out of it slowly. They all experienced a lot in their life, especially Qin Ran. She had seen all kinds of scenes before, so this was not too much for her.
Some villagers recognized Qin Sheng the moment he got out of the car. They were excited and shouted out, “Qin Sheng! It’s Qin Sheng! He’s back!”
Others also got to recognize Qin Sheng. It was only about five years since Qin Sheng had left, so his appearance didn’t change so much. All the people here were eager to greet him. Qin Sheng was a little bit embarrassed about the feeling of being a superstar.
Qin Sheng was familiar with these villagers. He still remembered all of them. It seemed that he went back to his childhood. Qin Sheng greeted everybody. “Hi, Third Uncle, Fourth Auntie, Sixth Brother, Uncle Li. Uncle Wang, are your legs all right?”
The atmosphere there was extremely lively. It seemed that there was going to be a wedding. All the villagers smiled with happiness and enthusiasm.
Qin Ran got out of the car after Qin Sheng, and attracted all the attention. People were all tremendously amazed since nobody had met such a beautiful young lady like Qin Ran. They stared at her and talked.
Some just said loudly, “Qin Sheng, your girlfriend’s brilliant. You’re really good.”
Having been considered to be Qin Sheng’s girlfriend for a second time, Qin Ran just smiled and got used to this. Huzi explained for Qin Sheng, “Don’t talk f*cking nonsense. This is Qin Sheng’s sister.”
People heard it but only a few of them believed Huzi. It was known to all that Qin Sheng didn’t have any sisters. Maybe they were hiding something.
“OK, let’s stop here. It is cold outside. Come to my house. We can talk in a warm place later,” Huzi’s parents, who also stood in the crowd, suggested. They seemed to believe that Qin Sheng’s arrival was an honor for their family.
Then they swarmed into Huzi’s house, filling the room immediately. It was said that more people were on their way over here.
Qin Sheng and Qin Ran wanted to go downtown, but they couldn’t go now. Endless villagers and childhood peers came, and they all chatted with Qin Sheng excitedly. Some praised Qin Sheng’s success, admiring his progress thanks to studying at the top-ranked university. Some asked about Qin Sheng’s experiences these years and worried about him since he seemed to disappear. Some asked him about his job or business. Some also asked whether he had a girlfriend or was married. Some said something out of jealousy, especially those who looked down upon Qin Sheng and thought that they were better than him.
All kinds of topics with various purposes flooded toward Qin Sheng, who was used to these and good at dealing with those people since he grew up in such a complex environment.
Qin Ran was even more popular than Qin Sheng. After all, beautiful young ladies were people’s focus everywhere. She was willing to chat with the villagers and ask about Qin Sheng’s childhood. It was the best way for her to know deeper about Qin Sheng’s past. Since such a beautiful young lady was interested in a topic, those villagers almost rushed to the fore to tell her more and were extremely happy when Qin Ran giggled at the stories they told.
They stayed at Qin Sheng’s house for three hours and didn’t leave until they had to. They had a flight to Beijing tomorrow and had some other plans today.
Since people here had not seen Qin Sheng for a couple of years, they had countless things to say and questions to put to him. They were unwilling to let Qin Sheng leave. Some people said that Qin Sheng should spend the Spring Festival here. Some of his childhood peers said they wanted to hold a party for Qin Sheng.
Qin Sheng knew that these people were really good to him, but he had to go, for he was going to meet with Auntie Wang and Xin Xin. He explained to the villagers and expressed his apologies. Qin Ran did the same as him. Qin Sheng felt that some people’s attitudes changed by his leaving, perhaps thinking that he was a successful man now and didn’t want to spend time with them. But Qin Sheng didn’t bother to care about these people.
Huzi’s parents knew that Qin Sheng had to leave and said at least he should have dinner in their home.
Qin Sheng was willing to stay longer and chat more with them. But he had a tight schedule this time, so he had no choice but to refuse Huzi’s parents.
The others finally gave up on trying to persuade Qin Sheng to stay and saw the two of them off with disappointment.
At the gate, Qin Sheng held Huzi’s hands and said, “Huzi, I’m really busy this time. I hope people understand me. I’m not looking down upon anybody. I’ll stay in Xi’an for a long time next year. We’ll definitely meet then.”
“All right. Everybody will understand you. As for those who don’t, forget about them,” Huzi said thoughtfully.
Qin Sheng felt relieved and patted Huzi’s shoulder. “Huzi, I’ve given you my phone number. Keep in touch. You know, I was born and grew up here. I was helped by people here. So no matter where I go or what I become, I’ll never forget that I am rooted here. If anything happens in the village, call me. I’ll come to help.”
“Hahaha, of course. I’ll keep it in mind,” Huzi answered firmly.
Qin Sheng enjoined Huzi about something else and then said goodbye to the villagers. “Everybody, I’m sorry. I have to leave now. Please forgive me. I’ll come back to see you next year.”
Most villagers waved their arms and said goodbye to Qin Sheng kindly. Though some were unhappy with Qin Sheng, he didn’t care at all. Qin Ran looked at these and kept it all in her mind.
Qin Sheng and Qin Ran finally got in the car. They rolled down the window and waved farewell until the car turned to the highway.
Qin Sheng didn’t plan to go back to the village. This accidental meeting gave him complex feelings. His childhood peers had all changed a lot. Some experienced ups, some downs, and some both. They were finally shaped into totally different persons by the power of life.
They used to care about nothing, hunting bunnies on the mountain, fishing in the river, and playing hide-and-seek in the forest. But the sufferings given by life rotted their original innocence, making them sophisticated and numb. This route, however, was part of everyone’s life. As it was with Qin Sheng. He was not the innocent child anymore.
Qin Sheng had special emotional connections with this place and the people here. He finally led a smooth life now. If he went back to Xi’an, he would often come to visit the people here. He was born here. If he just disappeared, those villagers would gossip about his dead grandpa, for his grandson had become successful and forgotten his origin.
His grandpa in heaven might not care about this, but Qin Sheng did. His grandfather rested here. He had the responsibility to protect their family’s reputation.
“Don’t think too much. You can never satisfy everyone.” Qin Ran noticed that Qin Sheng’s mind was wandering, so she held his hand to comfort him. She thought that Qin Sheng felt uncomfortable because of some villagers’ harsh comments.
Qin Sheng’s mind then returned, but he just smiled and said, “I’m all right, sis. They didn’t mean it. I’ve gotten used to these since my childhood.”
“That’ll be fine.” Qin Ran felt quite relieved.
Qin Sheng smoothed his emotions and thoughts, putting himself in a good mental state. Now, he was going to do something really important.