Pang Fu charged toward Ma Sanye on her short little legs, gazing at him with wide, eager eyes, her silly expression showing not a trace of fear.
Ma Sanye was far from having a kindly or gentle appearance—even his own grandchildren would tremble at the sight of him.
Fourth Brother Fu reached out to stop her, but his hand fell short. The corner of his mouth twitched—this reckless little girl.
Ma Sanye laughed heartily: “This little one certainly has guts. Here, take this to share with your brothers and sisters. It’s from your Grandma Hao.”
He then turned to the Fu Family: “Aunt Hao is my elder sister-in-law. They arrived home yesterday and told us about what happened on the train.
When they heard our brigade would be getting a new family, they guessed it might be you and urged me to come fetch you in the middle of the night.”
The Fu Family had anticipated this, but they feigned surprise: “What a coincidence!”
Ma Sanye didn’t suspect a thing, as the Fu Family themselves wouldn’t have known where they’d be assigned.
“Indeed, it’s a coincidence. So, rest assured—once you arrive at the Gouzi Brigade, no one will dare to mess with you.”
Old Master Fu quickly replied: “Then we must first thank the brigade leader for your care.”
Ma Sanye said: “No need for formalities, Old Master. My sister-in-law mentioned you’re a few years older than me. If you don’t mind, I’ll call you Brother Fu, and you can call me Third Brother Ma.”
“Third Brother Ma.”
Fourth Brother Fu and his brothers promptly addressed him as Third Uncle Ma.
The little ones of Pang Fu’s generation also obediently called him Grandpa Ma San.
Ma Sanye laughed joyfully: “I wasn’t deliberately giving you a hard time earlier. You see, that Wang Youwei is full of schemes, always looking to take advantage. If we hadn’t hurried, he might have caught up.
Besides, the road into our village is treacherous. The stretch we just walked was relatively wide, but what’s ahead is narrow and steep. If we don’t pick up the pace now, you might not keep up, and we could end up not reaching home before dark.
Walking at night is even more dangerous for you, and there are wild beasts in the mountains.”
Old Master Fu quickly responded: “We understand. It’s just that we’re sorry to have troubled you to set out before dawn—it must have been quite risky.”
Ma Sanye chuckled: “It’s nothing. We’re used to it; nothing will happen.
If you’re rested, let’s set off. The mountain path is tough, so we’ll take it slow.”
“Alright.”
Once in the mountains, Pang Fu was like a fish returned to the sea. She refused to be carried or held by the hand, instead running along the narrow path on her short little legs, her footsteps pattering away. The Fu Family was terrified, fearing she might trip.
The road here was truly perilous—a path less than one person wide, built along the mountainside, with either sheer cliffs or steep slopes on either side. It was nerve-wracking even during the day, let alone at night.
“Fufu, slow down!” Fourth Brother Fu chased after her, gritting his teeth, his legs trembling.
Pang Fu giggled as she ran ahead on her short legs: “Hurry up!Her little voice was full of provocation.
Fourth Brother Fu took a deep breath: “Then wait for Father!”
“Won’t wait, won’t wait!” The mischievous little ball made a face at Fourth Brother Fu and ran even faster.
Fourth Brother Fu patted his chest—it’s fine, she’s my own flesh and blood.
Qingqing Yin shot Fourth Brother Fu a disdainful glance—so useless: “Baby, wait for Mother.”
Pang Fu’s short legs paused, and she turned to run back: “Baby hold hand!” She took Qingqing Yin’s hand, and they ran together.
Qingqing Yin trotted along behind, mother and daughter running happily hand in hand, full of affection.
Fourth Brother Fu watched, feeling a pang in his heart—truly his own daughter, his own wife.
Ma Sanye roared with laughter: “Little brother, since you’ll be living here long-term, you’ll have to toughen up those legs. All our paths here are like this.”
Fourth Brother Fu gave an awkward laugh. When he turned and saw Fu Laoda, who was even weaker than him, his mood instantly brightened.
“Big brother, you can’t go on like this. Look, even our parents are walking more steadily than you.”
Fu Laoda wiped his sweat, too preoccupied to speak, his mind entirely focused on his feet.
Third Master Fu snorted. Little Lao Si could only bully the eldest brother.
But the mountain was truly high, and the slopes were genuinely steep.
Looking out, the rolling green mountains stretched one after another. Though autumn had arrived, they remained lush and verdant.
Clouds and mist drifted halfway up the mountain, hazy and indistinct, making the scenery exceptionally beautiful.
The air in the mountains was fresh, without a trace of smog.
Little Lao Si had chosen a good place this time—at least any enemies wanting to harm them would have to run themselves ragged just to get here.
The rest of the Fu Family also quite liked the scenery, though they were equally intimidated by the perilous terrain.
Old Master Fu took a deep breath. In his youth, he had traveled far and wide, but this was his first time encountering such a place.
“Third Brother Ma, do you grow crops here?”
Ma Sanye replied, “Of course we do. We grow quite a lot.”
Fu Laoda asked, “But your area is all mountains. How do you plant?”
Ma Sanye laughed heartily, his laughter echoing through the mountain ranges. Perhaps because mountain folk traveled on foot, communicated by shouting, and relied on dogs for safety, almost everyone had a booming voice.
“We clear the land and plant. Our land isn’t like the plains, where it stretches out in vast, connected fields. Here, it’s scattered—a patch here, a patch there, one on the ridge, another below it. But we can grow grains, vegetables, and trees without any problem.”
Old Master Fu asked, “Is it dry land or paddy fields?”
“Both.”
“How many harvests a year?”
“One. But the soil doesn’t freeze in winter, so we can still plant winter crops. There’s plenty of work in winter too, unlike in the north where you can hibernate. You folks won’t get much rest from now on.”
The journey passed relatively quickly with the back-and-forth questions and answers, and the Fu Family gained a general understanding of their future home.
Pang Fu and Qingqing Yin had already run off and disappeared from sight. Fourth Brother Fu grew worried and wanted to chase after them, but the mother and daughter suddenly emerged from a nearby grove. Their clothes were torn in many places, their hair was a mess with leaves tangled in it, yet they were beaming with joy, their pockets stuffed with unknown wild fruits.
“Eat, fragrant!” Pang Fu raised a red fruit high with her chubby little hand.
Fourth Brother Fu looked at the colorful fruits, uncertain. “Are they edible?”
Ma Sanye glanced over. “Oh, these are wild mountain fruits that kids love. They’re just hard to find. The little one sure has good luck, finding so many. They’re edible, don’t worry.”
Fourth Brother Fu felt reassured. He first fed one to his daughter, then gave one to his wife, before distributing the rest to the others.
Turning back, he wiped the sweat from his chubby daughter’s face. “Fufu, are you tired? Do you want Daddy to carry you?”
“No,” Pang Fu stuffed a wild fruit into Fourth Brother Fu’s mouth, then ran off giggling with her mother.
Fourth Brother Fu had been quite cheerful, but one bite of the fruit left him questioning his life from the sourness. “Are they all this sour?”
He looked at the others, each of them eating with smiles and praising how sweet they were.
Fourth Brother Fu…
As the sun set, the group finally arrived.
“Hey, they’re here, they’re here!” A large crowd had gathered at the village entrance, waiting to see the commotion.
Their location was remote, and visitors were rare. The Fu Family, with so many members, was even more fascinating to the locals than monkeys.
At the forefront was Aunt Hao, craning her neck to peer through the crowd.
Finally spotting the listless little Pang Fu on Fourth Brother Fu’s back, she hurried forward to greet them.
“Oh my little darling, you must be exhausted, come let Grandma Hao hold you.”
That shout instantly perked Pang Fu right up.
Before her mind could even process it, her little hands were already reaching out toward Aunt Hao.
Aunt Hao took her into her arms, hugging and rubbing her cheeks, calling her “sweetheart” over and over.
Pang Fu, tickled by the affection, giggled and squirmed away.
After playing with the little one, Aunt Hao turned to speak with the Fu Family: “If I had known you were coming to our brigade, I would have waited for you all yesterday.”
Old Master Fu smiled and said, “What a coincidence indeed. Had we known earlier we were coming to your area, we would have surely troubled you, Sister Hao.”
Aunt Hao waved her hand dismissively. “What trouble is that? We’ll be neighbors for a long time to come. Settle in peacefully, I guarantee no one will dare cause any trouble.”
They paid no mind to the twisted rumors outsiders spread. Hao Chunhua judged people with her own eyes, not her ears—not by what others said. She felt the Fu Family was genuine; even a little child knew to save someone, so this family couldn’t be bad.
Besides, the dignified bearing of the Fu Family couldn’t be faked. Though Hao Chunhua was just a country woman, she had a sharp eye for character. Who knew what kind of petty person had spread such slander?
All that talk outside about them being utterly wicked and having done every evil deed—she hadn’t seen any of it, so she didn’t believe a word.
The other villagers weren’t yet familiar with the Fu Family and were still in a wait-and-see phase, keeping quiet and simply watching the scene unfold.