Heidan held a wolf-tooth necklace in his hand, its teeth arranged in a pattern from large to small. Hanging at the very bottom was the most beautiful tooth of them all.
Each tooth had been polished until it was smooth and white, gleaming with a jade-like texture, yet the entire necklace retained a wild, untamed beauty.
“Do you like it?” Song Wei asked.
“I love it, I absolutely love it!” Heidan nodded vigorously, all traces of his earlier tears gone. He eagerly put the necklace on.
Soon, Heidan’s attention was captured by the newly arrived wolf pups. Five fluffy little wolves, one of them snow-white and exceptionally beautiful!
After such a long train ride, even Song Wei and Lin Zhen felt somewhat exhausted.
The two of them brought chairs and sat under a tree in the yard, closing their eyes for a short rest.
Song Wei said, “One of these days, let’s get a couple of recliners. We can plant a grapevine in the yard, set up a trellis, and grow some roses along the wall. We should also renovate the house completely…”
As she spoke, Lin Zhen began to envision it too, and his heart warmed at the thought.
“Alright, I’ll look for some good grapevine seedlings.”
In Song Wei’s words, she was planning their little home.
Just as they were resting, the village chief and Aunt Xinghua arrived, carrying a large watermelon.
“Song Zhiqing, Lin Zhen.”
The two immediately stood up and looked over.
“Come, come, try the watermelon we grew. It’s incredibly sweet—we’re sure you’ll love it.”
The village chief and Aunt Xinghua both wore beaming smiles.
Fuwa and Lewa had also followed their grandparents over for a visit.
When they saw the five wolf pups at Lin Zhen’s house, they squealed with delight and ran over.
Heidan immediately began showing off his wolf-tooth necklace to his friends, making the two children green with envy.
The four adults sat around a table under the tree, accompanied by the chirping of insects and birds. The surface of the chilled watermelon glistened with droplets of water.
Aunt Xinghua said, “We cooled this in the well this morning. It’s perfectly chilled.”
Lin Zhen said, “I’ll get a knife to cut it.”
The round, plump watermelon was sliced open, revealing its enticing red flesh that made everyone’s mouths water.
On a day like this, eating a slice of watermelon was pure bliss.
The three children also ran over, each happily munching on a piece of watermelon.
“A lot has happened in our village in the month you’ve been away,” Aunt Xinghua said, pulling Song Wei aside to share the latest news.
“Shuanzi’s grandmother passed away, but it was a peaceful departure—she left with a smile on her face. Also, did you know our village got two spots for Worker-Peasant-Soldier University this year?”
Song Wei nodded. “Liu Linlin mentioned it to me when we returned.”
Aunt Xinghua continued, “Who would’ve thought that Luo Zhiqing could be so heartless? That child was born sickly—after all, it was nearly two months premature. Luckily, Old Ji managed to save the baby, but it’ll need careful nurturing. Even when it grows up, it’ll probably be frail. But who knew its own father would be so cruel? The poor thing didn’t even have a chance to grow up before it passed.”
Song Wei asked curiously, “Wang Xiaohua is quite healthy, right? Why did she have a premature birth?”
Speaking of this, Aunt Xinghua’s expression turned disdainful: “It’s all because of that scoundrel Luo Yecheng. After Xiaohua got pregnant, that man didn’t lift a finger—everything inside and outside the house was done by Xiaohua alone. She was exhausted, which led to the premature birth.”
Song Wei also felt contempt. That dog Luo Yecheng was no man at all.
“Who would have thought he’d smother his own daughter to death just for that university spot?”
“None of us knew at first—not even Xiaohua knew her daughter had been smothered. Since the baby was born sickly, everyone assumed she died of illness. It wasn’t until Luo nearly killed that educated youth and was taken in by the police that this came out during interrogation.”
“When the police came to the village chief’s house to explain what happened, Wang Xiaohua went insane on the spot—crying and screaming. If Luo Yecheng had been there, she probably would’ve hacked him to death.”
Aunt Xinghua sighed: “But who can she blame? She brought this on herself. She had to go and fall for someone like that and cause such a shameful scandal.”
“She chose that man herself, so now she has to swallow the bitterness. It’s just a pity for the child. But perhaps it’s for the best—with a father like that, even if she had survived, she would’ve needed expensive care. Old Ji said she would’ve required costly treatments to stay alive. How could a rural family like ours afford that? She would’ve suffered alive.”
“Enough about him—he’s bad luck. Let’s talk about our watermelons instead. Our entire brigade owes you thanks for this. The first batch of watermelons has already been sold, and workers from all the major factories are scrambling to buy them. The next batch is already pre-ordered.”
“And then there’s the rice—oh, thank goodness we listened to you back then! Did you see it on your way back? The rice fields are heavy with grain.”
“The commune leaders have already come to inspect it. The other brigades are green with envy! Our brigade will definitely rank first this year!”
As she talked about these things, Aunt Xinghua’s face lit up with joy. The village chief’s smile never faded either.
“Hahaha, we’ll be harvesting the watermelons in a couple of days. You should come and see.”
“Sure.”
Song Wei was thoroughly encrossed in the gossip. After finishing the watermelon, Lin Zhen offered to have them stay for dinner, but they declined. It felt too awkward to eat at their place on the very first day back.
In the end, they only accepted some beef jerky from them.
“Why give us such valuable stuff? Keep it for yourselves.”
“It’s not valuable. The beef was free, and we still have plenty.”
“Don’t think we’re ignorant—since when is beef free?”
“Really.”
Song Wei said with a hint of pride, “It’s from a wild yak on the grassland. I hunted it myself.”
Aunt Xinghua’s eyes widened in shock: “What? There are wild cows?”
She wondered if she had heard wrong.
Then again, they’d only ever seen wild boars and goats in their local mountains—never wild cattle.
The village chief said, “If there are wild pigs and goats, why couldn’t there be wild cattle? We’ve just never seen them.”
With limited exposure, they truly couldn’t imagine it.
Song Wei explained, “I took photos. That wild yak weighed six or seven hundred kilograms—plenty of meat. On the grassland, whoever hunts a wild animal gets to keep it.”
Aunt Xinghua was amazed: “Good heavens, such a thing exists! How did you manage to hunt such a huge cow?”
Suddenly, they were in no hurry to leave. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity as they eagerly listened to stories about the grassland.
“Do you have photos? Show Auntie—I want to see it too!”
The grassland? A rural woman like her had never even heard of it, let alone seen it.
Song Wei said, “The photos haven’t been developed yet. I’ll show you once they’re ready. There are plenty of animals on the grassland—not just yaks, but also rock sheep that climb cliffs, and herds of horses.”
“I came across a horse herd. The lead black horse was tamed and followed me for a while, but we set it free when we returned…”
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