Chapter 84 - 084 Local Customs and Culture

Words : 1449 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Listening to Wang Shuqiu talk about her brother, Du Heng suddenly felt that the slight dissatisfaction he held towards her had quietly vanished. Love makes one blind! This phrase, with both commendatory and derogatory connotations, crept into his mind. Du Heng glanced back at Wang Shuqiu. She was still talking about what her brother was like during his episodes and the things he had done. However, Du Heng’s thoughts were not on that. Perhaps I’m ill, he thought. No matter how hard I try, I can’t recall that original dissatisfaction I had with Wang Shuqiu. Instead, my heart is shrouded in a faint mist I can’t wipe away, a mist that casts a gloom over it. What I crave deep down is a clean, pure love, without any concealment or deception. I should be angry and dissatisfied with Wang Shuqiu’s concealment and her urging me. But inexplicably, I also feel her reaction was understandable. Seeing Wang Shuqiu in his peripheral vision at that moment, a wave of tenderness washed over him. I should cherish and care for her, not hold onto dissatisfaction over such trivial things. Du Heng had never pondered what love truly was, nor had he gone online to learn from the experiences of dating experts—it simply wasn’t in his character. During their two-month relationship, his consistent feeling with Wang Shuqiu was comfort. They spent time together in a humble abode, chatting and gossiping. She enjoyed listening to stories about patients, and he enjoyed hearing about the bizarre things students had done. When the mood struck, they would link arms and stroll through the streets under the night sky. Everything was so natural, so harmonious; they never had disagreements over conversation topics or lifestyle habits. There were moments, either late at night when sleep eluded him or when he was alone, that he would feel their values, worldviews, and outlooks on life were incredibly aligned. At that moment, a thought quietly crossed his mind: Perhaps this is what most people call love. Du Heng didn’t interrupt Wang Shuqiu but listened intently while driving attentively. Du Heng drove much faster than Wang Shuqiu, quickly covering the provincial highway before turning onto the rural road. Wang Shuqiu’s home was also in the countryside, an area that had benefited from national policies. Although the road wasn’t paved all the way to their doorstep, the entire path was surfaced with cement. However, a significant problem was that the mountains near her home were higher, the roads steeper, and the bends more numerous and abrupt. Having never been here before, Du Heng drove with extreme caution on the uphill mountain road. There were also many motorcycles on this road, and he encountered several in a short time. Perhaps the locals were familiar with the road conditions, as they all drove extremely fast; with a WHOOSH, one would either overtake him or barely skim by his car. This made Du Heng even more apprehensive, causing him to drive even more carefully. A motorcycle had just zoomed past, carrying four people, none looking older than fifteen or sixteen. The thrill of speeding on the motorcycle made the teenagers laugh wildly. As they overtook Du Heng, they even waved frantically at his car. "Shuqiu," Du Heng asked, "doesn’t anyone manage things here? These motorcycles are going way too fast." "It’s fine," Wang Shuqiu replied. "They all ride like this. We’re used to it." Du Heng acknowledged with an "Oh." Although Zhonghu Town was also poor and nestled in the mountains, and only four or five hours away, it felt entirely different from this place. He had read in books the saying, "Customs vary every ten li, and differ every hundred li," but it had never truly resonated. Only by venturing out, seeing with his own eyes, and experiencing it firsthand did he grasp its meaning. When they reached a fork in the road, Wang Shuqiu gave Du Heng directions. Just after they rounded a bend, they saw two teenagers standing by the side of the curve, pointing downwards, laughing boisterously, and mocking something. Du Heng slowed down again, passing them cautiously. Only then did he realize that the motorcycle from earlier had crashed off the road and into the field below. Two teenagers had fallen with it, while the two by the roadside, who were laughing, must have jumped off in time to avoid the fall. Du Heng’s heart leaped. That drop from the road to the field below must be five or six meters. At that height, plus the motorcycle’s momentum, those who fell should be badly injured. A doctor’s sense of responsibility surged within Du Heng. He drove a few more meters to a safer spot past the bend, then immediately parked and ran over to check the situation. But what he saw next astonished him. The two teenagers who had fallen were unharmed. They were still laughing loudly at each other and even helping one another lift the motorcycle, which had landed some distance away, pushing it towards the edge of the field. Wang Shuqiu also got out of the car. She glanced at the scene, seemingly unfazed. "They’re fine," she said. "The ground below is soft; they won’t get hurt." Du Heng was also from the countryside, but he had rarely witnessed such a scene. As he started driving again, he couldn’t help but marvel at what he’d just seen. Wang Shuqiu’s home was quite remote, similar in location to Mubangou, nestled deep within the mountains. Moreover, the mountains here were somewhat different from those in Jinzhou. Jinzhou’s mountains consisted of a mix of white and black soil, predominantly white. But here, as far as the eye could see, there was only bare red earth, much of it exposed. However, due to this soil type, the local people not only cultivated conventional crops like wheat and potatoes but also grew medicinal herbs such as codonopsis and astragalus as a source of income. In recent years, the country had placed greater emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine, and the market for traditional Chinese medicine healthcare had expanded significantly. This made the cultivation of medicinal herbs a primary economic driver for the region. Du Heng had chatted with a Classmate who was in the traditional Chinese medicinal materials business. Some families in this area could earn two to three hundred thousand yuan a year cultivating astragalus and codonopsis. Furthermore, as the traditional Chinese medicine healthcare market expanded, the demand for medicinal ingredients grew daily, and the quantity cultivated here was far from sufficient. This Classmate had suggested Du Heng try planting some on his own family’s land, as a potential path out of poverty. Du Heng had his older brother try planting a small plot of land. However, after just one year, Du Heng had him dig it all up. Due to the soil quality, the medicinal herbs didn’t grow as quickly as required, their quality of appearance was significantly subpar, and, most importantly, they were severely affected by diseases. The codonopsis Du Heng had his older brother plant, when dug up, was covered in black spots, and some roots were even rotten. Du Heng’s first and only attempt at rural "entrepreneurship" thus fizzled out. Reflecting on this, Du Heng chuckled self-deprecatingly. Watching the people busy tilling the land and applying fertilizer on the hillsides, he drove steadily and slowly, soon arriving at Wang Shuqiu’s home. Wang Shuqiu’s house was a typical rural courtyard. The house itself looked old, built many years ago. It wasn’t one of the flat-roofed, single-story houses people commonly built themselves these days, but rather an old-fashioned house with wooden roof beams. Wang Shuqiu’s family hadn’t gone to the fields that day; they were all at home, waiting for Du Heng and her to arrive. Seeing Wang Shuqiu’s mother for the first time, Du Heng didn’t perceive her as a dominant woman. She was small-framed, with a genuine smile on her face that made one feel very comfortable. As for her father, he was much as Wang Shuqiu had described: a simple, honest farmer. When Du Heng entered, he merely smiled and said, "You’re here?!" What surprised Du Heng the most was Wang Shuqiu’s brother, Zhao Xinfang. He was a very fair-skinned, delicate-looking young man. Judging by his complexion, appearance, and attire, he didn’t look like a farmer at all. Moreover, he was warm and cheerful. Upon seeing Du Heng, he proactively introduced himself and directly called him "Brother-in-law." Du Heng was very pleased, yet the doubt that had been suppressed in his heart resurfaced. Wang Shuqiu’s brother is named Zhao Xinfang. In rural areas, a son not taking his father’s surname... that’s certainly something that makes you think.

Chapter 84 - 084 Local Customs and Culture

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