"This dam is so long. Looking at it all the way, the rippling water, it's truly boundless beautiful scenery."
Chen Liming gazed at the river dam along the village, with the Willow River in front and patches of farmland behind.
At this time of year, it was still bare. If it were spring, with lush green seedlings, that would be truly beautiful, truly uplifting.
The irrigation channels of Shenjia Brigade were basically completed. Not only Shenjia Brigade, but all the brigades along the river in the entire commune had also built irrigation channels one after another.
Today, everyone did not carry earth to the riverbank. After years of reinforcement, the riverbank was already very firm. If these irrigation channels were finished, they could release fish fry to raise rice-flower fish when the early rice was planted next year.
Not only that, but irrigation water would be much more convenient in the future.
Living by the Willow River, floods were terrifying, but when floods didn't occur, it was much happier than living on the mountains. On the mountains, one could only rely on the heavens for food, but by the river, this river water nourished them.
"Brother-in-law, the name of our Shenjiaba comes from this dam. It's been here for hundreds of years."
"Look at these poplars and willows; they are all decades old. These were planted when the country was founded. As these trees grew, this dam became stronger."
"If it weren't for this dam protecting us, our village would have been washed away by the Willow River countless times."
Shen Futang introduced it to Chen Liming. Liu Chunmei watched Chen Liming and Qin Lifen, a couple, looking around with fresh curiosity, finding it somewhat incomprehensible.
Aren't their in-laws from the city? Why do they seem like they've never seen the world? It's just a broken earthen dam, and they've stepped on it countless times. What's so strange about it?
Could this Shenjiaba compare to the city?
She had heard from her own daughter that Jinling was nothing like Qinghe City. It was a big city where electric trams ran on the roads.
The last time she went to Qinghe City, she already felt it was very big. Jinling was many times larger than Qinghe City. Just thinking about it, Liu Chunmei felt it must be extremely prosperous.
In her eyes, this Shenjiaba was just a pile of mud.
"This dam is excellent, diverting the river and protecting the land."
"Once I marched away, the willows were swaying. Now I come to think, the snow and rain are falling."
"It's not the right time to come this time. If you came in spring, with willow branches drooping, new buds emerging along this embankment, the river surface shimmering, and endless green rice fields behind you."
"What great rivers and mountains could be better than this."
Chen Liming had already imagined the scene in his mind; it was intoxicating.
Chen Yang listened to his literary father start to express his emotions and found it both amusing and helpless.
His father only had a junior high school education, but apart from work, he enjoyed reading books and newspapers in his free time, so he liked to consider himself a scholar, a literary enthusiast in his old age.
He rarely came out and was confined to the factory year after year, rarely seeing such expansive scenery, making him inevitably emotional.
Chen Yang understood all of this very well.
He felt the same way when he first came to Shenjiaba.
It was the time when the rice was ripe, and the golden rice fields and the surging river water all impacted his soul.
At that time, Chen Yang, like his father, was full of poetic feelings, thinking that the countryside was indeed a wonderful place.
However, his dream was shattered within two weeks.
He happened to be there during the rice harvest. After a day of harvesting rice, with his back to the earth and his face to the sky, Chen Yang couldn't straighten his back that night.
His skin, cut by the rice awns, stung intensely when the water stimulated it during his shower that evening, feeling like countless ants were gnawing at his flesh.
On the very first day, he, Zheng Weiguo, and Liu Maosheng were exhausted.
They were already tired and sleepy, but that night, countless mosquitoes buzzed incessantly as if lifting them, making them almost deaf. Their entire bodies were covered in bites.
They were half dead from exhaustion during the day and couldn't rest well at night.
Before dawn the next day, they were pulled to continue harvesting rice.
They had to seize the good weather to quickly collect the rice, then dry it, and store it in the granary. The weather in July and August was as unpredictable as a child's face.
Farmers worked hard for half a year, all for this one harvest, and no one could be careless. No one paid attention to Chen Yang and the other three educated youths.
Thus, Chen Yang's initial beautiful experience of the countryside was utterly shattered as soon as he arrived.
This was reality.
Just as Mr. Qian said, marriage is like a besieged city. Those inside want to get out, and those outside want to get in. Although he was talking about marriage, this saying reflected more than just marriage; it reflected reality.
The father-in-law led them around Shenjiaba, and then took Chen Yang's father to a spot he considered ideal for fishing, and they both cast their lines, ready to start fishing.
Seeing that they had come to the fields, Liu Chunmei took the two little ones to search for some wild vegetables in the fields. Qin Lifen followed.
However, at this time of year, there weren't many wild vegetables in the fields. Even if they found some occasionally, after searching for a long time, they couldn't gather enough for two dishes.
Chen Yang watched his harmonious parents, holding his wife as they sat on the dam. It truly had a certain charm.
It would be even better at dusk, with the setting sun, the long evening glow filling the entire sky, reflecting on the shimmering river surface. That kind of scenery would be absolutely incomparable.
"Perhaps everyone likes the rising sun, but I like the sunset."
"Do you want to know why?"
This was the first thing Chen Yang asked Shen Xue on their first date. At that time, they were also on this river embankment, with a sky full of fiery red clouds, a sky Chen Yang had never seen in Jinling.
"Because the sunset is to set off the evening glow, to welcome the starry night sky, and to make tomorrow more worth anticipating."
"Meeting you gave me better anticipation for tomorrow."
With these two sentences, Shen Xue fell in love with this young man from the city.
Even though he was a grown man who lay around resting after two days of work and couldn't compare to her in labor.
However, the words that came out of his mouth were so beautiful.
She swore that those two sentences were truly the most beautiful words she had ever heard in her life.
"Got a bite, got a bite."
Just as the couple was immersed in the sweet memories of their first love, Chen Liming jumped up from the ground and grabbed his fishing rod.
The hook was pulled out of the water, and a pitiful fish the size of a palm was caught. Chen Liming was overjoyed.
It had only been less than five minutes, and he already had a catch. This was immense luck for an angler, a great start. He was sure he'd have a bountiful catch today.
Seeing Chen Liming catch a fish, Shen Futang felt miserable. He had fished for two days before and hadn't even caught a small fish the size of a palm. He had only managed to save face in front of his grandson by using a fish his son-in-law had given him.
And now, his brother-in-law cast his line and caught one immediately. Wasn't this slapping him in the face?