Early in the morning, Wen Fufu dragged her suitcase and hurried toward the station. In the original owner’s memories, the countryside where she lived was called Taohua Village, located in A Province. The place was surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters, with fresh air, and it was famous for producing water.
Thinking about the small house in the village from those memories, a warm feeling surged in Wen Fufu’s heart. She began to feel a sense of belonging in this world. It was a place filled with beautiful memories.
Wen Fufu managed to catch the train before departure. Because she was pregnant, she had been feeling increasingly sleepy. Even though she had gone to bed early the night before, drowsiness washed over her again. Helpless, she hugged her luggage, tilted her head against the back of the seat, and fell asleep.
After arriving in A Province, Wen Fufu walked out of the bustling train station hall. She found the bus heading to Taohua Village. Listening to the familiar local dialect spoken by the people around her, she felt an unconscious sense of calm settle in her heart.
Following the crowd, Wen Fufu finally arrived at Taohua Village. By then, it was already evening.
She dragged her suitcase along the village’s concrete road and took a deep breath. The air carried the fragrance of flowers.
With the gentle breeze blowing against her, Wen Fufu’s walking pace unconsciously slowed. The hometown was still the best. There were no towering buildings, no reinforced concrete—only the comfortable evening wind. The fatigue from her long journey disappeared at once.
Just then, a group of ducklings passed by her side, quacking as they waddled along with their adorable steps.
Wen Fufu stopped to observe them. Their clumsy movements made her laugh involuntarily. She pulled her suitcase along and followed behind them.
The last duckling in the group noticed someone following behind it. It raised its wings and began quacking loudly while speeding up and running to the front of the group. Its voice was extremely loud, as if warning its companions to be careful—there was a strange woman following them.
Wen Fufu frowned and stopped walking.
Did she really look that scary? Did they have to run so fast?
At that moment, a middle-aged woman came out from the fields. When she saw someone standing ahead, she let out a small sound of surprise.
She walked closer to Wen Fufu and first examined her from behind, muttering to herself that the person looked somewhat familiar.
Shen Xiulan walked around to the front. When she saw Wen Fufu’s face clearly, she cried out happily. She threw down the vegetable basket in her hand, grabbed Wen Fufu’s hand, and said excitedly,
“Little Fu, is that you? I didn’t recognize you wrong, right? It really is you, isn’t it?”
Wen Fufu looked completely confused and stammered, “Auntie, you know me?”
She suddenly became nervous. Had she been exposed the moment she returned to the village?
“You silly child, how could I not recognize you? I’m your Aunt Shen. Don’t you remember me?” Shen Xiulan did not find it strange that Wen Fufu didn’t recognize her. After all, Wen Fufu had left the village four years ago to study elsewhere. Four years was enough time for her to age quite a bit, so it was normal not to recognize someone immediately.
Wen Fufu quickly searched through her memories for that title.
Aunt Shen… Aunt Shen…
Ah, she remembered now. Shen Xiulan was the original owner’s mother’s close friend. She had watched the original owner grow up and had helped her a lot after her relatives passed away.
“Aunt Shen, of course I remember you. It’s just that I haven’t seen you for so long that I didn’t react right away,” Wen Fufu quickly replied.
“You child, your memory is worse than ours old folks.” Shen Xiulan waved her hand, completely unconcerned. “I also haven’t seen you for a long time. Ever since you left to attend university, you never came back. I even thought you might never return.”
“How could that be? This is my home. I will definitely come back. At that time I was busy studying and working, so I didn’t have time to return. It won’t be like that in the future.”
“It’s good that you came back. This is your root. People shouldn’t abandon their roots.”
Shen Xiulan pulled Wen Fufu closer and examined her from head to toe before sighing.
“You’ve gotten much thinner. You must have suffered a lot outside.”
“That’s not true at all. Studying isn’t hard. My body is still as strong as before.” Wen Fufu flexed imaginary muscles for her.
Shen Xiulan laughed.
“You’re still the same as before. You always endure things alone, hiding the bad parts and only showing the good side to everyone.”
Wen Fufu lowered her head and smiled without saying anything.
“It’s rare for you to come back. Come eat dinner at Aunt Shen’s house tonight. Your home hasn’t been lived in for a long time, and it’s too late to clean it now. Why not stay at my house tonight and go back tomorrow?”
“I’ll listen to you, Aunt Shen.”
Shen Xiulan gave off the feeling of a mother, which made Wen Fufu instinctively want to get close to her.
“This is your luggage, right? Aunt Shen will carry it for you.” Shen Xiulan grabbed the suitcase from her.
“Aunt Shen, I’ll carry it. It’s a bit heavy,” Wen Fufu said, trying to take it back.
Shen Xiulan turned sideways to block her.
“I’ve carried plenty of heavy things before. I can carry a whole sack of rice. Why would I be afraid your luggage is heavy?”
“Come on, follow me home. It’s getting dark.”
Shen Xiulan dragged the suitcase ahead while urging her along.
“Okay… let’s go home,” Wen Fufu said as she walked beside her.
Shen Xiulan’s home was a small Western-style building. She led Wen Fufu inside and shouted loudly toward the house.
“Tingting, come out quickly! Look who I brought back!”
Then she turned to Wen Fufu and asked, “Little Fu, do you still remember Tingting?”
When it came to Xiao Tingting, Wen Fufu remembered clearly. She had been the original owner’s childhood friend and was only one year younger. However, after the original owner went to university in another city, they had rarely kept in contact.
“Yes, I remember. I haven’t seen her for a long time,” Wen Fufu replied.
“Mom, who did you bring back?” A young girl walked out from the house. She had delicate features, wore her hair in a high ponytail, and was dressed in casual clothes.
When she clearly saw the person standing in the yard, she shouted in surprise. Then she opened her arms and ran over to hug Wen Fufu.
“Fufu-jie! You’re back! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I missed you so much!”
Wen Fufu hugged her back, finding it a little amusing. As expected of mother and daughter—their reactions upon seeing her were exactly the same.
“I just got back and didn’t have time to tell you. That’s why I came to see you now.”
“You have no idea. Ever since you went to university, I haven’t had any close friends in this village. Why didn’t you contact me after going outside? I thought you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I had to study and work at the same time, so I was very busy.”
Wen Fufu wasn’t lying. The original owner had spent nearly all her time earning tuition and living expenses while attending university.
Xiao Tingting released her and said, “I’m not really angry. Now that you’re back, I’m too happy.”
“Tingting, I knew you were the best.”
“Of course. We’re best friends.”
“Alright, stop standing around in the yard and come inside to talk,” Shen Xiulan said. “Tingting, where’s your father?”
“Dad went to Uncle’s house,” Xiao Tingting replied.
“Then he probably went to buy fish,” Shen Xiulan said. “Tingting, take Little Fu to the guest room. She’ll stay at our house tonight.”
“Yay! Fufu-jie, come upstairs with me. I’ll carry your luggage.”
Without giving Wen Fufu a chance to refuse, Xiao Tingting dragged the suitcase up the stairs. Wen Fufu smiled helplessly and followed behind her.