Forbidden Land – CH 103

The path up the mountain was pitch black, with no streetlights or lights from other houses. Luckily, Chen Rong had thought of everything and had Zhang Chao bring a flashlight. The two chatted as they climbed.

Halfway up, the path split into two, one going downhill and the other uphill. Chen Rong checked the time and said, “It’s only 7:30. Should we go to my uncle’s house first? Maybe my grandfather is there.”

Zhang Chao replied, “You’re the local big shot here. Whatever you say goes; I can only go with you.”

Chen Rong smiled and led Zhang Chao down the path. After walking for five minutes, a house appeared ahead, its lights on, a precious sight in the dark mountains.

Chen Rong pointed and said, “This is my uncle’s house.”

Zhang Chao looked and saw a large house ahead, an old-fashioned sloping roof, two stories high, at least 300 square meters in total. He laughed. “Your uncle’s house is really big! So much space—how many people live there? If this were in Hangzhou, they’d be rich!”

Chen Rong replied, “You have such limited experience. In our mountain village, no matter how many people live there, every house is this big. My grandfather lives alone, and his house is this big too. Land on the mountain is free, so naturally they build bigger houses.”

About 50 meters from the house, two local dogs ran out, barking loudly at them. Soon, a man came out of the house and looked at Chen Rong.

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Chen Rong recognized him and called out in their local dialect, “Uncle, it’s me, Chen Rong!” Zhang Chao, though not fully understanding their dialect, could grasp the general idea.

The middle-aged man was very excited to see Chen Rong and quickly told the two dogs to go inside. Then, a woman and a child of about 10 years old came out. When they approached, the uncle and aunt looked at Zhang Chao, nodded, smiled warmly at him, then quickly pulled Chen Rong aside and began speaking to her in their local dialect.

Zhang Chao greeted them in Mandarin, calling them “Uncle, Aunt,” and they responded with enthusiastic smiles.

Watching Chen Rong chat with them, Zhang Chao walked to the house and patted the exterior, which appeared to be made of yellow mud. Although the mud looked cracked, the house was actually exceptionally sturdy. These rural houses were built with a mixture of mud, incense ash, and straw—a three-part mortar—plus stones and wood. They wouldn’t collapse for hundreds of years, even stronger than reinforced concrete houses in the city.

After chatting for a while, the aunt offered them brown sugar water and invited them inside to sit. Chen Rong said, “We aren’t going in. Is Grandpa up there? We’ll go up early.”

Her uncle shook his head. “Your grandpa went to the village down the mountain to perform a seven-day memorial service. He won’t be back for another two days. Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

Chen Rong smiled and shook her head, saying, “No need, I’ll just go to Grandpa’s house, settle in, and stay there.”

After inviting them several times and declining several times, her uncle finally had no choice but to offer to take them up the road.

Chen Rong smiled and said, “I haven’t forgotten the way; no need to be so polite.”

Then, Chen Rong asked Zhang Chao to bring out the wine and cigarettes for her uncle, gave the snacks to the children, and took out a thousand yuan from her bag, insisting on giving it to her uncle.

After saying their goodbyes, Chen Rong and Zhang Chao took the key to her grandfather’s home from her uncle. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, her uncle seemed to suddenly remember something and ran over, saying, “Chen Rong, why don’t you stay here tonight?” Then, he pulled Chen Rong aside and whispered something to her.

Chen Rong’s expression seemed to change slightly, but in the end, she shook her head and said something like, “It’s okay,” before turning and walking away with Zhang Chao.

On the way, Zhang Chao said, “No one’s home at your grandpa’s. Why don’t you stay at your uncle’s? We won’t even have anything to eat.”

Chen Rong laughed. “I’ll cook. What are you worried about? It won’t starve you. My uncle and aunt have to go out to work during the day, and the kids stay home on weekends, so there’s a lot to do. You aren’t afraid of bothering others, but I am. I prefer to do things myself.”

Zhang Chao thought about it and realized she made sense. Relatives were relatives, but staying at someone else’s house was indeed quite inconvenient. He recalled what had just happened and couldn’t help but ask, “What did your uncle say to you at the end? You seemed a little off.”

Chen Rong’s eyes flickered, and she said, “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. It’s just some small thing in the countryside. It’s useless for you to know.”

Zhang Chao said, “Just tell me! I hate it when people don’t tell me.”

Chen Rong smiled and said, “If you’re so eager to know, I’ll tell you when we get back, not now!”

Zhang Chao shook his head helplessly.