Wutumeiren Township

"Master, Wutumeiren Township, we're here." Chen Mengchuan looked at the familiar place getting closer.

"Got it~~"

Zhao Wanyu looked at the desolate surroundings and asked, "Are we there yet?"

"Almost there," Chen Mengchuan nodded.

After the car took a big turn and crossed a canal bridge, it slowly came to a stop.

Chen Mengchuan slung his bag over his shoulder, dragged a large bag of supplies bought from the vocational school, and got out of the car.

Zhao Wanyu also stumbled along, dragging her large bag, and followed him out. All she could see were a few scattered buildings and figures by the roadside near where they parked. The other side of the road was completely desolate.

"What was this place called again?" Zhao Wanyu asked, trying to sound calm.

"Wutumeiren Township," Chen Mengchuan said, putting down the large bag in his hand and looking at the houses to the north.

"You watch the bags here, I'm going to find someone," Chen Mengchuan instructed.

Although Zhao Wanyu was flustered, she obediently replied "Mm" and stood by the roadside.

Finding a nearby courtyard with its gate wide open, Chen Mengchuan walked in.

"Villager, are you home?"

"Who is it?" an old man emerged from the house.

"Uncle, I'm delivering some things to Balagetu, and it looks a bit far. Could I borrow a vehicle from you to help me send them off?" Chen Mengchuan said with a smile, offering a cigarette and lighting it for him.

"Balagetu? That's a good dozen miles. What are you delivering, kid?" the old man asked, taking a puff of the cigarette.

"Some notebooks and pens for the children, and art supplies. There are a lot of notebooks, they're heavy, and they're all by the roadside," Chen Mengchuan explained with a smile.

"Sure, you wait here, I'll have my son help you," the old man said with a grin.

"Uncle, how much should I pay?"

The old man waved his hand and smiled, "Pay what? Do I charge you for giving the kids notebooks and pens?"

"Of course not," Chen Mengchuan replied with a smile.

"Then what am I going to charge you for? Just wait," the old man said before returning inside. A moment later, a young man in a fur jacket emerged from the house, tying his belt as he walked.

"Brother, get in, I'll take you," the young man agilely climbed onto the tractor in the yard, pulled the starter handle, and started the engine in two tries.

The tractor wasn't large. Chen Mengchuan climbed into the back and put down his backpack and handbag.

After driving out of the yard to the roadside, Chen Mengchuan said to Zhao Wanyu, "I'm heading into the mountains, are you coming?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Zhao Wanyu replied.

"Miss, you're very beautiful. Are you from the city?" the young man jumped off the tractor and helped Zhao Wanyu move the large bag by her side and all her luggage into the back of the tractor.

Chen Mengchuan also struggled to lift the large bag into the back of the vehicle.

"Brother, let me," the young man helped Chen Mengchuan, and together they heaved the bag up.

They both stood in the back of the tractor, and it rumbled off, quickly turning onto a dirt road heading southeast.

The tractor wasn't slow. After driving for half an hour, they entered a village of a few dozen households and stopped by the roadside.

"Brother, we're here," the young man turned off the engine, walked to the back of the tractor, and helped unload the supplies.

Chen Mengchuan pulled out a 100 yuan bill and handed it to him. "Here, take this."

The young man's eyes lingered on the 100 yuan, but he shook his head. "My father will break my legs if he finds out."

"Take it. Help me carry this bag inside, and consider it your wages, alright?" Chen Mengchuan smiled. The more desolate the place, the simpler the people's hearts.

"Brother, I'll carry it in for you. I don't dare to take your wages." With that, he picked up the bag, slung it over his shoulder, and walked towards the village.

Chen Mengchuan shouldered his backpack and followed. Zhao Wanyu, though still a little scared of the mountain village, gritted her teeth and followed behind Chen Mengchuan.

As they entered the village, more of Chen Mengchuan's memories began to resurface.

The three of them arrived outside the gate of a large courtyard. A big wooden sign hung on the gate, bearing the six characters "Balagetu Primary School."

The gate was open. Chen Mengchuan stood outside, momentarily dazed. After taking a deep breath, he walked in. The young man carrying the large bag and Zhao Wanyu followed him inside.

Seeing visitors arrive, a young woman inside the school building stopped her lesson and came out.

"Hello."

She had short black hair, a slender build, and tanned skin. Her warm smile was accompanied by a pair of determined eyes.

Chen Mengchuan was momentarily stunned, as if he had traveled through time and space to see her again, his gaze filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"Hello, I am Ayase Sonoko, a teacher at Balagetu Primary School. It's a pleasure to meet you," Ayase Sonoko bowed 90 degrees to the three of them.

"Teacher Sonoko, they're here to deliver notebooks and pens," the young man said, placing the large bag from his shoulder down.

"Are you from the Island Nation?" Zhao Wanyu asked, wide-eyed, shaking Ayase Sonoko's hand. She clearly found it hard to believe that a young woman from the Island Nation would be teaching in such a remote mountain village.

Ayase Sonoko smiled and nodded at Zhao Wanyu, her gaze falling on the silent Chen Mengchuan.

"I am Ayase Sonoko, please take care of me."

A slender hand reached out in front of him, causing Chen Mengchuan's two sets of memories to merge.

"I am Chen Mengchuan, please take care of me..." Countless messy thoughts, good and bad, happy and unhappy, flashed through Chen Mengchuan's mind. He looked a bit dazed.

Although somewhat surprised by the man's emotions and expression, Ayase Sonoko was still very happy. The bag contained many notebooks and pens, as well as large sheets of paper, paints, and brushes.

"Everyone, please wait a moment!" Ayase Sonoko said happily to the three of them, then ran back into the classroom and said something to the dozen or so children inside.

Afterward, the dozen or so children rushed out in a rush, forming a neat line from tallest to shortest. They walked up to Chen Mengchuan and Zhao Wanyu one by one.

"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie!" After saying this, he bowed deeply to Chen Mengchuan.

"Thank you!" Chen Mengchuan's eyes welled up, and he also bowed deeply to him.

Zhao Wanyu immediately returned the bow.

"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie!" They bowed.

"Thank you!" They bowed.

"..."

"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie~" When the 3-year-old child at the very end bowed to the two of them in a childish voice, Zhao Wanyu was already crying uncontrollably.

"Thank you!" Chen Mengchuan returned a proper bow.

"Everyone, open them up and see what gifts these two uncles and aunties brought for you!" Ayase Sonoko said happily to the children!

"Ooh~~!" A cheer erupted from the children in the yard.

Looking at Ayase Sonoko, who was smiling like a camellia, and the group of children who were as happy as if it were New Year's, Chen Mengchuan felt his heart fill up.

Zhao Wanyu, looking at Chen Mengchuan, Ayase Sonoko, and the group of children, remembered Chen Mengchuan's words on the plane: "Someone very important to me."

Who was it? Was it Ayase Sonoko? But they clearly didn't seem to know each other.

As noon approached, at Ayase Sonoko's strong insistence, all three of them stayed and ate lunch with the children.

The children brought their own lunches. The meals for the four adults were shared by villagers who had heard the news.

Ordinary aluminum lunchboxes, with not much diced preserved meat and white rice, steamed buns, dried pickles, stir-fried pickled radish with eggs, and wild vegetable soup.

Chen Mengchuan ate quietly.

"Auntie, eat this." A little boy ran over and put a piece of preserved meat into Zhao Wanyu's lunchbox.

"Auntie, take mine too..."

"Auntie, don't cry..."

"Don't cry, Auntie, eat this..."

As Zhao Wanyu ate, tears kept falling.

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