The village of Kushan became increasingly busy. The villagers rented out all their greenhouses, fully dedicating themselves to the renovation and procurement affairs in the back mountain.
Only two people remained at home in each family to look after the house, while everyone else went into the mountain to work.
Those left behind to guard the homes pouted. Busy? Busy watching the scenery.
Don't assume they didn't know how beautiful the scenery in the back mountain was.
They knew every day from the exclamations of those returning from the mountain.
If it weren't for the fact that the mountain couldn't accommodate so many people, they wouldn't even leave at night.
When the snow blocked the mountain and the cable car stopped running, the villagers finally felt at ease to catch up on their delayed household chores.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, spring arrived again, with flowers blooming.
AFeng chose a cave on Laoyaozui for her restaurant. Zeng Jingliang felt that opening the Yuan Family Restaurant on the high Laoyaozui had a sense of being detached from the world and beautifully independent.
Then, the couple modified a cave to serve as their bedroom, and decided to make their new home on Laoyaozui.
Tian Jing and Ouyang Meihua were invited by AFeng to visit.
The two floors of the two caves on the east side were entirely occupied by the main hall, separated only by screens.
The cave on the west side was designed by the couple into a warm and cozy home.
The first floor had a living room and a bathroom, while the second floor housed the bedroom and study.
Additionally, a semi-open kitchen was built on the very tip of Laoyaozui, under the fake pine tree.
Through the glass, only Zeng Jingliang's preparation area was visible.
Both the red meat preparation and white meat preparation fell under Zeng Jingliang's domain.
For over thirty years abroad, he had used practicing his knife skills to soothe his longing.
Upon learning the reason behind Zeng Jingliang's knife skills being no less than AFeng's, Tian Jing could only express her admiration.
The entire platform of Laoyaozui was enclosed with wide and thick iron railings.
Several stone tables and stone stools were placed on both sides of the railings, with a parasol stuck in the middle of a stone table.
On the right side, the western side facing the hot spring valley, a long iron ladder was installed for people to ascend and descend.
After touring everything, Tian Jing had a question: "Who will be cooking that day?"
AFeng smiled, "It will be Aman. His culinary skills have also improved significantly."
Tian Jing laughed, saying that those attending the wedding banquet would have a treat, as it was a rare opportunity to have Doctor Yuan, whose hands were usually occupied with dispensing medicine and taking pulses, cook for everyone.
Descending from Laoyaozui, Tian Jing followed the direction of the pipes from the bathroom above, looking towards the northern end of the entire wooden building, where a public restroom was located.
Wouldn't it be too few? And the location was a bit far.
AFeng told her to turn and look towards the southern end.
Seeing that there was also a public restroom there, Tian Jing finally felt relieved. Restrooms in scenic spots could easily become overcrowded.
AFeng accompanied Tian Jing around, saying, "You always say you don't care about these things, yet you don't come up to give any suggestions."
Tian Jing smiled, "This is not within my scope of management. I only manage the seedling room. I trust Captain Li's capabilities."
"Hee hee hee," Ouyang Meihua covered her mouth and chuckled, "Captain Li's capabilities are known only to you."
Tian Jing was truly helpless with Ouyang Meihua, who would make suggestive remarks at the drop of a hat: "If you don't change your ways, how will you communicate when you have a daughter-in-law?"
"Daughter-in-law?" Ouyang Meihua scoffed, "I don't even know if they've been born yet. As for my two sons, I have no patience with them whatsoever."
"I can't control Yanyan anymore. Xiaoyu directly told me he won't get married before thirty."
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings," Tian Jing linked arms with her. "Let's go see the wooden building. Do you want to take a dip in the hot springs?"
Ouyang Meihua nodded. "Yes! If I don't take advantage of the time to soak now, and it becomes public later, I'll be very displeased."
The wooden building, vermilion in color, had a total of 34 rooms from south to north, divided into upper and lower floors.
The lower floor housed various shops and restaurants. Each room on the upper floor was a suite, which included a bathroom.
There were a total of 68 rooms on both floors. Each household in Kushan Village could contract one room.
Alternatively, two households could contract two adjacent rooms, operate them jointly, and take turns watching over them.
After the three women had their tour, they went to soak in the hot springs.
Looking at the hot spring courtyard walls, which had the same appearance as the wooden building, Ouyang Meihua sighed, "The old rose walls were prettier. Stone walls are more natural."
Tian Jing shook her head, "In the future, there will be tourists of all sorts visiting. This ancient, traditional wooden building and its colors are what the general public can universally accept."
AFeng finally understood, "This place used to be Team Leader Tian's?"
Tian Jing quickly waved her hands, "No, no, no. The legend of Laoyaozui has existed for a long time. I came up out of curiosity and discovered the hot spring valley."
"The temperature here is high, so we secretly planted some crops. Later, during the reform and opening up, when land was contracted, we stopped planting here. When Li Zhengguo became captain, he planned to develop Kushan Village for hot spring tourism. All the greenhouses were prepared for this purpose."
AFeng smoothly changed the topic, "The temperature here is indeed quite high. This winter, we plan to store more food and not go down the mountain. We'll stay here to watch the snow."
"Then you must be careful about your safety," Tian Jing cautioned with concern. "A Guang said he saw wolves during the snowy days. I don't know if they will come this way. Be especially careful with raw meat."
She didn't want to interact with wild wolves again, wondering if the wolves A Guang saw were the same pack as Xiao Hei's. It was hard to let go after forming an emotional bond.
...
Zeng Jingliang and AFeng's wedding date was set for March 23rd.
Zeng Jingliang rented the village committee's Western-style building as the bride's residence.
Zeng Honglin and Han Shuzhen arrived a few days in advance.
The villagers were surprised to see Han Shuzhen, remarking on how much she resembled Tian Jing.
Ouyang Meihua's comment, "A niece resembles her paternal aunt," reminded the villagers of Tian Jing's new identity.
A person's life experience could be considered bizarre, reaching Tian Jing's level of hardship.
Meeting Han Shuzhen on the road, Tian Jing smiled faintly, "Little Aunt."
Han Shuzhen froze.
Tian Jing then called Zeng Honglin "Little Uncle-in-law" and left.
Zeng Honglin held his wife's hand, "This is for the best. The Han family has made efforts to connect with her. It's better than her disowning everyone."
Han Shuzhen nodded, "I understand. She did it intentionally, and calling me that was also intentional. She resents me for abandoning her."
Tian Jing thought, "You're overthinking it."
Zeng Honglin looked around, "Don't say things like that again in the future, or she won't even acknowledge the Han family."
The couple strolled around the village, chatting with the villagers.
The villagers had a good impression of them.
The day before the wedding, Zeng Jingchu and Zeng Jingrong finally arrived.
When the cousins found Tian Jing to be very peaceful, they regretted their decision to hide.
On the wedding day, AFeng emerged from the courtyard, met Zeng Jingliang, and then headed to the back mountain.
Zeng Honglin and Han Shuzhen then realized the wedding was in the mountains.
The couple was not happy. Their eldest son marrying into another family was already a compromise; why would he have to live in the mountains?
No one cared about the couple's feelings.
The villagers carried firecrackers, setting them off all the way to the entrance of the scenic spot in the back mountain.
To the villagers, it was a stylish and exquisite wooden carved scenic gate; to the couple, it was a crude and backward piece of wood.
The steps carved out by the villagers with their hard work seemed incredibly rough to them.
Even the cable car, in their eyes, was the difference between a car and an ox cart.
Listening to his parents' constant criticisms, Zeng Jingchu quickly intervened, "Father, Mother, Big Brother likes it. If you don't offer your blessings, do you intend to disown all your Zeng grandchildren?"
Zeng Honglin sighed deeply, "I thought that after having two sons, I wouldn't experience the helplessness of looking down on a son-in-law. Who knew... sigh!"
Han Shuzhen gently touched the corner of her eyes, "Your elder brother has never suffered hardship since he was young. Now, not only is he busy with household chores, but he also has to live in the mountains. I feel heartbroken."
Zeng Jingchu asked helplessly, "A fish is not a person; how can it know the joy of a fish?"
Just as he didn't understand the feelings between his father and mother.