Chapter 58: Quiet Village

  A group of people arrived at a somewhat remote village with an ancient and rustic feel, where everywhere were walls made of earth and stone, houses mostly built from large mountain rocks, dozens of households, each with tall chimneys, now at dusk, golden light shining down, wisps of smoke rising, bringing a different kind of quiet harmony.

  This is Tang Guangbo's old home, but now he doesn't live here. The whole family has moved to the county town, but there is still an old house here. Chu Ping and his party are going to stay there!

  "I'm so tired! This place is also too remote!" Dormitory Guo Yu, carrying three large travel bags on his back, looked bitter and complained aloud.

  Tang Guangbo burst out laughing, "This won't do, when I was a kid, I ran back and forth countless times, this physique of mine was trained just like that!"

  Tang Guangbo's words instantly triggered a burst of boos!

  Chu Ping stood still, gazing out at the mountain village behind which lay a dense forest of tall trees that stretched up the slope in an unbroken line, forming a continuous chain of hills. The trees were lush and verdant, towering above like guardian deities of this mountain region, their luxuriant branches weaving together to form a vast canopy that even the sun's rays could not penetrate.

  "Look at you, Chu Ping, so thin and frail, walking such a long distance without even breaking a sweat or getting tired. What's the point of being so tall and strong!" Tang Guangbo teased Guo Yu with a smile.

  Kuo Yu is the tallest one in Chu Ping dormitory, 1.8 meters tall, slightly fat, weighing over 200 pounds, and also likes to play basketball, which is considered strong in modern society.

  "Huh, Xiao Ping, it's not visible at all. You've got three big bags on your back and you're not even sweating!" The people around heard Tang Guangbo's words and shifted their attention to Chu Ping, seeing that his face wasn't red, he wasn't panting, and his breathing was still steady as usual. Especially in the scorching summer heat, he didn't even break a sweat.

  "That's different," Chu Ping smiled slightly, "Fat people can withstand cold, thin people can withstand drought."

  One sentence suddenly brought another burst of laughter.

  Entering the village, the narrow village road is filled with flying domestic fowl, big dogs foraging in the corners of walls, and old men and women sitting at their doorsteps, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, looking exceptionally peaceful.

  "Arriving here, I feel like I've returned to ancient times, it's truly a paradise on earth!" A girl sighed in admiration, her face filled with a hint of intoxication.

  "Yes, yes, no factory roads, no noise pollution, it's simply a place isolated from the world!" The speaker was Ruan Qiuhua, who also participated this time.

  "We're almost there, my old home. I haven't been back for a long time either. It's always been my grandparents who helped with the harvest, and only during Chinese New Year would our family occasionally come back for a visit." Tang Guangbo pointed to a house not far ahead and said loudly.

  Twelve people hurried over, walked for half an hour on the mountain road, heard that they could finally rest their feet, and were all excited and eager to sit down immediately.

  Tang Guangbo's old home, the courtyard is quite spacious and quiet, without any high walls, just some mountain rocks piled up to separate from the road, and a few houses that are slightly dilapidated but can still block the wind and rain. In this sweltering summer, it's actually better than many people living in high-rise buildings.

  Inside the house, it was quite clean. The five rooms, with three of them connected together, were for living and sleeping. Each room had a wooden bed, which didn't have any dust on it, obviously someone cleaned regularly.

  "Everyone take out the things in their luggage and spread them on the bed. Three big beds were moved together, all for girls to live in. Boys cleaned up the floor, laid a layer of mats, and slept on the ground." Wang Huaqiang was indeed the dormitory leader, loudly calling out instructions.

  A group of people opened the cloth package, mostly containing food and clothing. Each person brought a quilt, but Tang Guangbo's home had several mats that could be laid on the bed to sleep.

  The cool mat is very comfortable to lie on.

  "Everyone must be hungry, I'll go see if there's anything to eat at my grandfather's place." Tang Guangbo said loudly and rushed out the door to the neighboring yard.

  "No need to rush, if all else fails we can just make it ourselves!" Ruan Qiuhua shouted from behind, but Tang Guangbo was gone in an instant, disappearing around the corner.

  It turned out that the dinner was sent by Old Master Tang, who heard that his grandson had brought a group of classmates to play. The old couple were very happy and came over to chat for a while during dinner, with smiles all over their aged faces.

  As an old man, I see a group of children and they all like me.

  After dinner, a group of people were so tired that they fell asleep wherever they lay. Some slept on beds and others on the ground, all lying down.

  It was only eight o'clock in the evening, and the sky had just turned completely dark. The starlight shone like diamonds, illuminating the courtyard with a bright glow. A cool mountain breeze blew in, driving away the heat of the day. Inside the house, several candles were lit, casting a warm, flickering light that added to the ambiance.

  Although the crowd was tired, they were extremely excited in spirit, lying on a cool mat, breathing in the pure air, feeling the cool breeze, and talking in low voices.

  These children who have grown up in the city since childhood, where have they seen such scenery? Mountain rocks and houses, cool breeze at night, candlelight illumination, the sense of novelty in their hearts is self-evident.

  Even if it's Chu Ping, he has lived in the countryside since childhood, but that is already a very modern farm, where is this kind of mountain scenery?

  "Hey, Chuping, are you interested in going out for a walk?" Ruan Qiuhua leaned over and asked softly.

  "Alright, I was thinking the same thing." Chu Ping got up from the ground, although he hadn't shed his ordinary human habit of sleeping, his need for sleep had clearly decreased a lot. Now that he was full of energy and had just arrived at a new place, he was in high spirits and agreed readily.

  "Hey, you two going out late at night, don't run into mountain spirits or ghosts!" The people around them all started teasing!

  "Go ahead and play, a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!" Chu Ping laughed and scolded, Ruan Qiuhua's face turned red, but she didn't say anything.

  Two people walked out of the yard, gazing up at the starry sky, where everything was bright and clear. Occasionally, a few barks from dogs and chirps from chickens added to the stillness. The winding path crisscrossed, covered with small stones that crackled underfoot, sounding like walking on snow in the quiet of the night, calming the mind.

  Outside, there are still many people enjoying the cool breeze, old and young, half-reclining on long chairs, contentedly.

  "This place, it really makes one feel at peace. If I could spend my whole life like this, it wouldn't be bad either." Ruan Qiuhua said, looking at those elderly people with white hair.

  "Yes, the world is bustling with people fighting for power and profit. Where can one find peace like this?" Chu Ping looked at these people, living in a secluded mountain village, unlike those in big cities who were obsessed with fame, wealth, and nobility. Suddenly, he thought of the girl named Xu Jing whom he met on the train two months ago, discussing the impermanence of all things, and had a slight epiphany.

  "Impermanence is the true constant in the world. In all circumstances, be at peace with whatever you encounter. Cultivate both compassion and wisdom to understand the true meaning of life. To seek the true meaning, look within your heart; to attain it, you must have insight. To gain insight, observe impermanence. By observing impermanence, you will develop a compassionate heart; by understanding impermanence, you will know that gains and losses are empty. Let go of ego attachment, and you will attain the true self; knowing the true self, you will understand no-self..."

  At this point, Chu Ping smiled and said, "The Wuxiang Temple emphasizes handprint cultivation. The left hand is long and still, it's the hand of compassion, crossing over foolish and stubborn sentient beings. The right hand is always moving, it's the hand of wisdom, crossing over those with superior roots and sharp faculties. This is called 'compassion and wisdom in dual operation'. When both hands are clasped together, this is the Dharma seal, cutting off the afflictions and confusions of greed, anger, ignorance, doubt, and arrogance. If it's like that at that time, then this nine-character Dharma seal can be considered to have reached great accomplishment!"

  Ruan Qiuhua saw a smile on Chu Ping's face and asked, "What are you smiling at?"

  Chu Ping chuckled and said, "Nothing much, just suddenly thought of some things!"

  Ruan Qiuhua rolled her eyes, "Believe you? You must be kidding!" She raised her head and suddenly saw a slender figure in the distance, walking alone under the starlight. The figure was elegant and quiet, with hair that fell to her shoulders, reflecting the starlight like a ripple of water. In this environment, she looked ethereal and dreamy, as if floating and dancing.

  "Hey, look at that girl." Ruan Qiuhua nudged Chu Ping's arm and said in a low voice.

  Chu Ping raised her eyes to look, the starlight was like water, the beauty was enchanting, and a flash of dizziness also flashed in her heart. Suddenly, she felt that the girl's back figure was quite familiar, and she said aloud, "Let's go and take a closer look."

  Ruan Qiuhua's eyes revealed a hint of slyness, "A mountain village wild store, not afraid to meet female ghosts and fox spirits, really reckless!"

  Chu Ping smiled strangely, "A virtuous and beautiful girl, a gentleman's delight, is gone, gone."

  The two of them hurried forward, and the girl heard footsteps behind her, turned around, saw the two of them, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. After taking a closer look at the two of them, she blurted out, "It's you!"

  Chu Ping looked clearly at the other's face and was also surprised in her heart. She involuntarily spoke out, "It's you!"