There is a mountain in her arms

Jiang Yichen and his companion didn't dare to delay any longer this time and hurriedly caught the last bus back. It was already dark when they arrived in the town.

At this time, there was no ox cart returning to the village, and the two looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

"Grandpa, I said let's buy a bicycle. Don't you think it can be used in times like this?"

"You're right, we still have to buy one, but we don't dare to get the bicycle ticket! Oh? Oh no! We didn't even think about buying paper and pen today."

Perhaps because he had listened to Jiang Yicheng's nagging too much, Grandpa Jiang also felt that buying a bicycle was not a big deal this time. Just as he was thinking about where to get one, he suddenly slapped his thigh and shouted.

"Grandpa, there's no rush. We'll be there again in a few days anyway, so let's think about how we're going to deliver all this fruit!"

Jiang Yichen is not in a hurry about this. What needs to be solved now is the problem of delivery.

"That's right. More than 2,000 kilograms of fruit need to be packed in something, and transportation will be a problem when the time comes."

"Grandpa, how about this? Anyway, the goods can be delivered within half a month. We can make more large bamboo baskets in the next few days, and someone has to pick the fruits in the space. When the time comes, we can borrow the ox cart from my great-grandfather's house and drive the ox cart directly over. However, I'm afraid we have to come early and rent an empty room to store the goods for a while."

"That's it! I'll ask your uncle to get a few more letters of introduction, just in case."

"Well, Grandpa, have an apple! Replenish your energy. Next time we go out, we should prepare more food. We are still inexperienced and have no good plan this time."

"You are still a child, how can you think so comprehensively? I didn't expect that you are already very good in grandpa's eyes."

"Haha! Grandpa, if you praise me more, I can float to the sky."

"Bah! Stop talking nonsense! Let's get on with our journey!"

Grandpa Jiang looked at the sky nervously and pretended to scold her. He bit the apple with a crunching sound, and Jiang Yicheng also took one and started to eat it.

Normally it takes a little over an hour to get there by ox cart, and about two to three hours to walk.

Jiang Yicheng took a break along the way, mainly because he was tired. Although he ate an apple, it didn't fill him up.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in front of them, and Jiang Yichen stared ahead.

"Grandpa, there are people ahead, and there seems to be the sound of wheels."

"Walk a little further, who would go out this late?"

"Ok!"

Before Jiang Yicheng and the other person came closer, a tentative voice was heard.

"Second uncle?"

"Is it the second uncle?"

"Why does this voice sound like a mistress's?"

"Grandpa, you heard it right, it's him."

Grandpa Jiang didn’t quite hear it, but Jiang Yichen heard it and came back to life instantly.

"Uncle San, are you here to pick us up?"

"It's Cheng Cheng! Big brother, hurry up!"

"Uncle is here too?"

Ever since Jiang Yicheng taught him military boxing, Jiang Weitong had been trying to persuade her to omit the middle character "堂" (tang) in order to show his closeness to her. Later, he simply omitted it.

"Uncle, why did you come back so late? Auntie was so worried that Xiaosan and I came out to look for you."

"Well, it was almost dark when we came back. There was no bullock cart, so we had to walk back."

"Why don't you go find your second brother? He has a bicycle at home!"

Jiang Weitong didn't know about the quarrel between the second brother and his family last time, and Grandpa Jiang didn't say much, just saying that he didn't expect it.

"Let's go back quickly! We only ate a few fruits on the way, and we're both starving. Take these oranges back and eat them."

"No, leave it for Cheng Cheng to eat."

Jiang Weitong was about to take it, but was rejected by Jiang Weiguo, so he quickly withdrew his hand.

"I bought a lot. These are for you. Eat them if you want."

Grandpa Jiang put the baby into Jiang Weitong's arms and nodded to him.

"Then I'll eat it! Hiss! Big brother, it's delicious, and it's sweet!"

Jiang Weitong quickly opened one, ate a piece, and stuffed another piece into Jiang Weiguo's mouth.

“Uncle San, it still tastes a little sour, don’t exaggerate.”

"What orange is not sour? The sourness is already overwhelmed by the sweetness. Big brother, isn't it?"

"Yeah! It's really good, Uncle. It's worth buying."

“It’s also luck!”

When Jiang Yichen and his friends arrived home, Grandpa Jiang and his wife were waiting with Grandma Jiang, and An An had already fallen asleep.

"Second brother, why are you guys up so late? Look how worried my sister-in-law is."

"It's my fault. We ran out of ox carts when we came back, and we didn't meet Weiguo and his men until halfway. Old woman, is there anything to eat? We are so hungry that we can eat a cow."

Grandpa Jiang was busy explaining and even made jokes to ease the atmosphere.

"Yes, yes, yes. I'll heat it up for you right away."

Grandma Jiang wiped the tears from her eyes and went to the kitchen to work.

"I'm going to help!"

Grandma Jiang was about to follow in, but was stopped by Grandpa Jiang.

"Brother and sister-in-law, it's so late, you should go home and rest early. There are children at home! We can talk about it tomorrow. I just happen to have something good to tell you."

"Weiguo, take your parents home! Be careful on the road."

"Hey!"

Grandpa Jiang and Jiang Yichen saw them off, closed the gate, and collapsed on the chairs.

Grandma Jiang quickly ordered two bowls of shredded pork noodles and brought out a plate of pickles.

The two of them picked up their bowls and started to eat voraciously. Grandma Jiang felt distressed and kept shouting: Eat slowly, eat slowly, there is more in the pot.

After eating such a big bowl of noodles, Jiang Yichen felt full, but she still didn't want to get up and move around because she had walked too much today.

Grandpa Jiang ate two bowls of food before stopping. He also leaned back in his chair to rest comfortably.

Grandma Jiang quickly collected the dishes and asked them why they came back so late today.

Grandpa Jiang briefly talked about what happened today, but did not mention helping others. At the end, he also talked about their plans for when they return.

"I think we can buy the bamboo baskets directly in the village. We should hurry up and pick all the fruits in the next few days. We should try to send them over as soon as possible to avoid any changes."

"Grandma, don't worry about that. We signed the contract."

"What contract?"

Grandma Jiang didn't quite understand, so Grandpa Jiang explained the meaning to her.

"Studying is still more important, Chengcheng, you have to study hard."

Jiang Yichen was too tired today, so he didn't care about the old couple. He looked at An An who was sleeping soundly, washed up simply, and went to bed.

In the evening, Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Jiang mentioned the job quota, and she had no objection. The two families had always been on good terms, and her son had been away for the past few years thanks to their care, so giving him a job opportunity was nothing.

This is because she knew that they had earned more than 500 yuan today, and had an order worth about 800 or 900 yuan, so she suddenly felt rich.

The next day, Jiang Yichen felt a dull pain in his calves, so he stayed in bed for a while longer.

When I got up, my family had already had breakfast. An An was very energetic and his grandmother was holding him and watching the rooster.

I saw her get up and walk towards me with a smile on her face.

"There's an egg custard in the pot for you, and two vegetable buns."

"I'll get it right away. Why don't you see Grandpa?"

"He had breakfast and went out to collect the bamboo baskets. He should be back soon."

Grandma Jiang held An An and talked to Jiang Yichen in a casual manner. An An watched Jiang Yichen eat with longing eyes and kept looking in her direction. Her little look made the two of them laugh.

After breakfast, Jiang Yichen held An An and played with him for a while. Her grandfather came back carrying a large pile of bamboo baskets.

"I have already sent the medicine. Chi Yuan asked when you will start studying?"

"Let's start today! I'll pick fruit with you guys during the day, and then I'll go over in the afternoon."

"Well! Today I went to the relatively poor families in the village and collected more than ten bamboo baskets. I felt that this was not enough, so I asked them to make them and then I would collect them."

"It's probably going to take a lot of time to compile this, right? Let's find a few more."

"Well, this one is simple, but slow. I can only make two in a day."

"Let's do this for now. We still have time. We can think of other solutions later."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

Seeing An An start to yawn, Grandma Jiang came over and coaxed him to sleep.

Jiang Yichen suddenly remembered that they had not yet looked at the things that Afang had given them. Just as she took out the backpack, she heard footsteps at the door.

"Second brother, you said something good yesterday, and I couldn't sleep well all night because of it."

Great grandfather and great grandmother came to visit.

"Where's the mistress?"

"School has just started, and he has nothing to do at home. He picks up the kids every day. He should be almost home by now! Why are you asking about him all of a sudden?"

"We went to the county yesterday to help someone, and they gave me a temporary job. I plan to give it to him. Does he want to go?"

"Uncle, this is really great. Why don't you want such a good thing? It's better than digging for food in the fields."

Grandma Jiang was overjoyed and even a little excited.

"It's just that the salary for temporary workers is not high, only 18.5 a month. But if you work for a long time, you should have the opportunity to become a regular employee."

"That's fine! We can barely save a few dollars a month! Where is this job?"

Grandma Jiang was very interested and wanted to ask more clearly.

"It's the county's textile factory, but we have to wait half a month."

"A temporary worker will be paid about 300 yuan. We will give you half first, and he will pay you the other half slowly after he gets paid."

Grandpa Jiang didn't want to refuse. Since his second brother wasn't going, he might as well let them have a good deal.

"You don't need that much, just give me a hundred dollars! It was given to me by someone else anyway."

Grandpa Jiang was afraid that they would ask further questions, so he wanted to end the topic lightly.

"If you don't want me, I'll sell it to someone else!"

"Yes! His uncle, we are shamelessly taking advantage of you."

Grandma Jiang was afraid that Grandpa would say something against her, so she grabbed his arm and changed the subject.

"Okay, that's it. By the way, I got a job in the county collecting bamboo baskets. If you're interested, you can weave them. I charge 10 cents for two."

"Yes, yes. Old man, I'll help you get it, too. Just consider it as money to buy snacks for your grandson. Anyway, you don't do anything serious every day, just chat everywhere."

"You..., I didn't say I wouldn't do that."

Grandpa Jiang felt a little embarrassed after hearing what he said. He wanted to talk about work, but was brushed aside.

"Okay then. I won't keep you here. I also need to go up the mountain to cut bamboo."

Grandpa Jiang dismissed them with a few words. He was afraid that if they asked more questions, he wouldn't know what to say.

Jiang Yichen took them into the space and specially made a rocking bed and hung it between two fruit trees.

The three of them spent the whole day picking fruits in the space. At around four or five in the afternoon, Jiang Yichen went to the cowshed to study, and the old couple took a break.

They worked like this for more than a week, and Grandpa Jiang estimated that they had picked about 5,000 kilograms, so they stopped.

The most important thing is that the warehouse is full, and even the food has all been moved to the row of sleeping rooms.

"I'll settle the bill for the bamboo baskets later, and I'll have them weave them when I need them."

"By the way, get the letter of introduction back. Let's all go to the county tomorrow! An An doesn't have much milk powder left. Let's buy more this time. It's a rare opportunity to go there."

Jiang Yichen pinched An An's little chubby face and helped him wipe the saliva from the corner of his mouth.

"That's just right!"

The family went to bed early in the evening, and went to town at dawn the next day in Grandpa Jiang San's ox cart.

Previously, they had planned to borrow the ox cart from their great-grandfather's house, but then they thought that they would need to use the ox cart to pick up and drop off their children, and that they might have to stay overnight in the county town, so there would be no place to park the ox cart at night, so they gave up the idea.

Because he left home early and the shuttle bus had not arrived yet, Jiang Yichen bought ten big meat buns when he passed by a state-owned restaurant.

She handed two to each of her grandparents, and she held An An in her arms without eating because she was afraid of getting nauseous like last time, and wondered if it would be better if she didn't eat so she wouldn't vomit.

There were not many people on the first bus. Grandpa Jiang paid thirty cents and the three of them sat together.

Grandma Jiang held An An and sat inside, Grandpa Jiang was outside, and Jiang Yichen sat in front of them by the window.

I don’t know if it was a psychological effect or because there was no unpleasant smell on this train, but she didn’t get carsick this time.

While Jiang Yichen was eating buns, Grandpa Jiang took the opportunity to ask the driver about the house.

"I'm afraid we'll have to go to residential areas. The country doesn't allow the sale of houses right now, and there are few people renting houses."

"Well! Let's go!"

They bought a map specifically when they came last time. Now Grandpa Jiang opened the map and pointed to a community not far from the textile factory.

"Let's go check this place out first. We can save some energy if we are close."

"Let's start from there, grandma, are you tired? How about I take you inside to rest."

"Not tired, I've never been to the county before! It's a good opportunity to broaden my horizons."

Grandma Jiang's words dispelled the unconscious impatience in their hearts.

"Okay! Let's take a leisurely stroll and rest when we get tired."

They took Grandma Jiang around to look around and paid attention to the surrounding environment. Before they knew it, they arrived at the community on the map.

"It seems like all the houses here are occupied. I'm afraid it will be difficult to find them."

Grandpa Jiang was a little worried. He saw many figures walking outside the house or hearing voices coming from outside.

"No hurry, let's go inside and take a look."

They walked slowly and looked around, and just as they were about to turn a little boy rushed over.

Seeing that there was no time to stop, Jiang Yichen hurriedly grabbed his arm with one hand and pulled the clothes on his chest with the other.

She let him go only after she saw that he had steadied himself. An old lady was chasing him with a broom behind her.

"Xiao Fei, are you okay? I saw you and asked you not to run, but you insisted on running."

"Grandma, I'm fine. It was this sister who caught me."

"Thank you, my grandson is so naughty. Hey! You are not from our neighborhood? Why haven't I seen you before?"

The old lady was still thanking him one second ago, and the next second she saw An An in Jiang Yicheng and Grandma Jiang's arms. She hugged her grandson tightly with a wary look in her eyes.

Could it be a human trafficker?