RNP Chapter 270 Zhuxi Village Through the Lens
Chapter 270 Zhuxi Village Through the Lens
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Yan got up. He quietly washed up, changed his clothes, and sat on the threshold of the main room, listening to the sounds of the village gradually waking up.
Around six o'clock, a noise came from the kitchen. Lin Yan got up and went over, and saw Aunt Xi Mei lighting a fire in front of the stove, the orange-red flames reflecting on her face.
"Good morning, Auntie." Lin Yan walked over, took out twenty yuan and twenty jin of national grain coupons that he had prepared in advance from his pocket, and stuffed them into his auntie's hand without saying a word. "Auntie, I came in a hurry and didn't bring any food. This is for food expenses for the next few days. If you don't accept it, I'll feel bad and will have to find another place to stay."
Auntie Ximei was stunned when the money was stuffed into her hand. She instinctively tried to push it back, saying, "Oh dear, this won't do, you're a guest..."
Lin Yan deliberately put on a stern face and said half-jokingly, "Auntie, our newspaper has rules that we don't take a single needle or thread from the public. If you don't accept it, I won't be able to write this report."
Seeing his resolute attitude, Auntie Ximei could only awkwardly put the money and notes into her pocket, muttering, "This...this is too much, there's no need for so much..." She quickly brought Lin Yan a small bamboo stool, "Come on, Comrade Lin, sit here, don't stand."
Lin Yan took the stool and sat down by the stove. Aunt Xi Mei added firewood to the stove while looking him up and down with curiosity in her eyes: "Little Lin, how old are you this year?"
"I'm seventeen," Lin Yan replied with a smile.
"Seventeen?!" Auntie Ximei exclaimed in surprise, her voice rising as she stopped holding the fire tongs. "Wow! How can you be so tall at seventeen? You're probably taller than our door! No wonder you're a young man from the capital, you're so handsome, look at your fair skin, your eyebrows and eyes are so beautiful..." She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said with the gossip typical of village aunties, "Tell me, have you found a boyfriend in the city yet? I know several pretty girls..."
Lin Yan was caught off guard by the barrage of questions, his ears burning slightly. He quickly stood up and said, "Auntie, um... I'm going out for a walk. The air is nice in the morning!" He then prepared to slip away.
Auntie Ximei giggled behind him, her voice booming, "Oh dear, Comrade Lin, don't be shy! What's there for a young man to be afraid of looking ugly about!"
Lin Yan practically fled the kitchen, still able to hear his aunt Xi Mei's hearty laughter behind him. The cool morning air rushed towards him, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief, smiled helplessly, and slowly walked along the village path.
As dawn broke and the thin mist in the mountains had not yet dissipated, Zhuxi Village was shrouded in a hazy, misty atmosphere.
Lin Yan walked down the damp stone path. The village was built against the mountain, with terraced fields spreading out from the front and back of each household, like a brocade of yellow and green draped over the mountain. The early rice stalks drooped heavily, already a golden yellow; the late rice seedlings had only been planted recently, still showing a tender green.
It was only a little past six in the morning, and many villagers were already busy in the fields. Barefoot, they waded through the muddy water, bending down to pry open the drains on the side of the paddy fields. The murky water gushed out, flowing down the winding irrigation ditches to the next terraced field. Almost every drain had a long, thin bamboo basket inserted into it—the water flowed through, but loaches and small fish were all caught inside, splashing and thrashing their tails.
"Young man, you're up early!" Uncle Xiao, who was checking the fish trap, straightened up and greeted him with a smile. The fish trap in his hand was already half full of fish.
"Good morning, Uncle! This method is really ingenious!" Lin Yan praised sincerely.
"It's a traditional method passed down from our ancestors," Uncle Xiao said, picking up a plump loach. "I'll have Sister-in-law Xi add a dish for you at noon—pan-fried loach. It'll go perfectly with rice!"
Lin Yan's heart skipped a beat, and he turned around and quickly returned to Captain Xiao's house. Aunt Xi Mei was washing vegetables by the well in the yard. When she saw him return, she was about to greet him, but she saw that he had already gone back into the room and picked up his camera.
"Auntie, I'm going to take another stroll in the fields!"
He returned to the edge of the terraced fields and chose a high spot to stand. Through the viewfinder—a thin mist, like a veil, drifted over the mountains, and the terraced fields shimmered in the morning light, dotted with farmers working diligently, like musical notes dancing on the earth. The bamboo baskets, the straw hats drying on the ridges, the old oxen slowly chewing on the grass by the ridges… all of this together created a vivid and vibrant picture.
He adjusted the focus and gently pressed the shutter.
"Click—"
The crisp click of the shutter startled a few sparrows on the ridge of the field, capturing this vivid morning moment.
For the next two days, Shuicheng became Lin Yan's little shadow. The boy was shy at first, always keeping a few steps away, until Lin Yan hung the camera around his neck and taught him how to frame a shot, at which point he finally grinned and laughed.
On the first day, cameras were still a rarity.
On the threshing ground in the early morning, several old men were sweeping the cement floor inch by inch with bamboo brooms. Lin Yan had just raised his camera when the broomping stopped. The old men stood up straight, stiff and reserved, like frozen sculptures.
"Please continue scanning, just pretend I'm not here," Lin Yan quickly waved his hand.
Third Grandfather coughed and said, "Comrades from Beijing, what's there to show off our old faces..." Even as he said that, he secretly rolled up his trouser legs and let them fall down.
Turning to the old locust tree at the village entrance, the rhythmic "snap-snap" of sickles being sharpened echoed throughout the village. The shirtless men, seeing the camera, awkwardly turned away. Xiao Ronggen, who was repairing a threshing machine, chuckled and tried to smooth things over: "The reporter's going to put our story in the paper! Behave yourselves!"
That's what they said, but the atmosphere remained stiff. Lin Yan tactfully put away his camera and squatted down to help a man pour water onto a millstone. Cool water splashed up, and the man's tense shoulders finally relaxed.
The next day, the estrangement slowly melted away.
As Lin Yangang stepped into the threshing ground, his third great-grandfather called out in a booming voice, "Young man, from which angle should we take the picture today?" He deliberately swung his broom forcefully, kicking up a cloud of dust. Several old women nearby burst into laughter, "This old thief, he's even learned to pose!"
The area under the big locust tree was even more lively. Uncle Li, who was sharpening knives, called out from afar, "Reporter Lin, you have to give me a close-up today!" He demonstrated the knives sharpening technique and insisted that Lin Yan try it himself. As soon as Lin Yan clumsily grasped the handle, everyone around burst into laughter—this scene was captured by Shui Sheng, who had secretly followed them.
Sunlight streamed across the terraced fields, the rice swaying gently in the wind. When Lin Yan raised his camera, no one flinched. In the viewfinder, the villagers continued their work, occasionally glancing up at him with simple, honest smiles.
"Click—"
When they finished work in the evening, Auntie Xi specially steamed rice cakes and brought them to Lin Yan's house: "Shuisheng's grandfather said that the harvest will start tomorrow, and he wants you to go to the fields to take a picture."
Lin Yan took the warm rice cake. "Okay, Auntie! I'll definitely take a good picture of Uncle Xiao!"