005: I'll come back tomorrow night to keep you company and chat with you again
Chief Zheng Shuang was indeed very simple when he first entered the mountain. Thinking of his own early days in the mountains, Zheng Shuang's heart felt warm. After turning a corner, Zheng Shuang saw his wooden house under the moonlight, and there happened to be an empty clearing beside the small road, with a large stone in the middle of the clearing. He sat down and slowly recalled the scenes after entering the mountain.
Zheng Shuang slept well after entering the mountain and woke up when it was almost time for dinner. The village chief, Wang, said, "Teacher Zheng, wash your face and go upstairs to take a look at the view. We'll call you down when it's time for dinner." Zheng Shuang climbed upstairs and saw a round log supporting the window. As he walked to the window, he was greeted by layers of mountains, with colorful clouds floating between them. The evening scenery had captivated him. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the villagers' wooden houses were scattered among the mountains, surrounded by lush trees with dense foliage. Just as Zheng Shuang was indulging in the natural beauty of the mountain village scene, Village Chief Wang called him down to eat dinner.
Dinner was more sumptuous than lunch, with not only cured meat but also a delicious soup and several green vegetables. The village chief said that he had specially ordered someone to dig up a winter mouse, which lived in the dense grass all year round, dug holes in the grass, and tasted good. You try some of the soup first. Zheng Shuang took a sip of the soup, feeling refreshed from mouth to heart, and suddenly felt like she was floating on air.
As Zheng Shuang savored the sweet flavor of the soup, a clear and melodious singing voice like a bell came from outside the door. Following the sound of the song, a bright and beautiful scenery jumped into Zheng Shuang's eyes. Zheng Shuang's eyes were fixed in place. He had never expected that in such a deep mountain and old forest, there would be such a lively and beautiful girl!
The girl came in and saw the dishes on the table, smiled and said: "Good teacher!" Zheng Shuang was surprised how she knew he was a teacher. The girl saw his doubts, smiled again and said: "Of course, the guest who comes at the beginning of school is a teacher. Besides, this winter mulberry mouse soup, ordinary guests are hard to have the fortune to enjoy it."
The girl said so, Zheng Shuang remembered some mountain rules that the school district leader had told him a few days ago, and an old teacher had told him about the magical story of Jiuping Ridge - simmering for nine nights! The old teacher even laughed at the time and said that if you can enjoy the treatment of "simmering for nine nights" in Jiuping Ridge, then life is worth it!
Zheng Shuang thought, when he first heard the three words "nine nights", since it was supposed to be enjoyable, why did they say "endure"? After hearing the story, he finally understood that the last three nights of the nine nights were meant to drink Wang's specially made "true manipulation water". It is said that this is a kind of water specifically used to protect girls' chastity. If a man has had sex within 24 hours and drinks this water, he will definitely die without warning, but if a man who has not had sex drinks this water, it can prevent illness. The most beautiful girl in Jiuping Ridge accompanies him for nine nights without moving his heart, of course, that's "enduring".
Zheng Shuang didn't believe that such a thing really existed after hearing the story of "Enduring Nine Nights". The old teacher said it was just a legend. However, when Zheng Shuang saw this girl, his desire to experience "Enduring Nine Nights" emerged. Although he knew it was very difficult and even dangerous to endure nine nights, he yearned for it. Even if it meant sacrificing his life, he hoped to receive the highest honor of "Enduring Nine Nights".
The girl explained why she was called Teacher Zheng Shuang, and then enthusiastically stretched out her hand to smile at Zheng Shuang: "My name is Ying Xue, you can call me Xue Er." Her cleverness and boldness surprised Zheng Shuang. For a moment, Zheng Shuang didn't even stretch out his hand in response. Snow's generosity made Zheng Shuang unbelievable that she was a mountain woman!
At dinner time, Xue Er accompanied Zheng Shuang to drink two cups of wine and then had dinner. Zheng Shuang drank a lot of wine with Village Chief Wang and talked about many things related to their school. It turned out that their school was very difficult to retain teachers because the transportation was inconvenient, the mountain village was poor, and not even one private teacher from outside the village was willing to stay here. After drinking wine, Zheng Shuang's passion rose, saying: "If the leader lets me teach here for a year, I might fall in love with this place and teach here for a lifetime!" Village Chief Wang heard him say this and happily talked about the interesting things in the mountain village. Zheng Shuang and Village Chief Wang chatted very happily! When it was time to sleep, Village Chief Wang said: "Let Xue Er accompany you to chat until 3 am tonight!" As soon as Zheng Shuang heard this, his heart started beating rapidly. He knew that once Village Chief Wang said this, he had no choice but to start accepting the long-awaited test - in other words, tonight was the first night of staying up for nine nights!
Xue Er is the only daughter of Village Head Wang. Zheng Shuang's room for his noon nap is the guest room in the village head's home. The village head says it's inconvenient to live at school. Besides, living alone at school is too lonely. Although Zheng Shuang has a big heart, but in such a deep mountain, letting him live alone in that place where there are no houses for nearly half a mile around, he really is a little afraid of "ghosts knocking on the wall".
The village head brought Xue Er to Zheng Shuang's room and said, "Xue Er, don't be slow with the noble guest. You must accompany her until 3 am. Do you understand?" Xue Er blinked her eyes and mischievously said, "Dad, rest assured and go to sleep. I guarantee I'll complete the task!"
Xue Er sat opposite Zheng Shuang, smiling and saying, "Teacher, have some tea. I'll chat with you about our mountain village tonight. You won't fall asleep from lack of interest in our mountain village, will you?" Zheng Shuang hastily said, "No, no, absolutely not." Xue Er then started chatting with him about their mountain village.
Xue Er told Zheng Shuang about the customs of the mountain village. Then she said, "Many of these customs have changed, but listening to them will still be very beneficial for you when you're in the mountain village." For example, there's the custom of "examining guests". We people from the mountain village are the most particular about relationships and loyalty. However, if a guest can't pass the "examination", they won't be welcomed.
Zheng Shuang asked Xue Er how they used to "examine" guests. Xue Er smiled and said that when a guest enters the house, it's like entering an examination room. When the guest enters, we stand up and invite them to sit down. Xue Er stood up with a smile on her face and handed over a small stool, saying: "Ah, gentle and emotional mountain wind, you've actually brought me to this humble mountain hut! Please take a seat!"
Zheng Shuang couldn't help but laugh at Xue Er's performance. Xue Er said that if she followed the old customs, Zheng Shuang would have failed the first test just by laughing. She should have accepted the stool with both hands, thanked her, and sat down immediately. That way, they would be satisfied and treat her like one of their own. If she didn't accept the stool or chose another seat to sit down, or if she accepted the stool but blew on it or wiped it clean before sitting down, they wouldn't welcome her. Because that would mean she was treating them like outsiders, and they would quietly slip away through the back door.
Xue Er said that fortunately, they didn't use this custom to test Zheng Shuang anymore. If they did, not only would she not be able to drink winter mouse soup, but she wouldn't even be able to drink mountain spring water. Zheng Shuang asked Xue Er why they had changed this custom. Xue Er replied that the villagers' awareness had increased, and they realized that different people have different customs. If they thought someone was being disrespectful when they weren't, wouldn't that be unfair to them?
Xue Er said, "If you pass the first test, we'll happily fetch mountain spring water with a small bamboo tube and solemnly present it to you. You must quickly take it and drink it all in one gulp, then say, 'Thank you for the sweet and refreshing spring water.' At that time, we'll affectionately say, 'We're so sorry, treating you to plain water, but you don't mind, your heart is even purer than our mountain spring water!' Then, we'll help you sit on a special stool set aside for elders or honored guests, while chatting intimately with you and brewing oil tea. By then, you would have 'passed the two tests'." Xue Er couldn't help but chuckle as she said this. Her eloquence and humor made Zheng Shuang look at her in a new light. Zheng Shuang gazed at Xue Er's smiling face and asked, "Is that all? Just 'passing the two tests'? Are there more tests to come?"
Xue Er said, there is one last test. That is to see your attitude towards Yao Jia's oil tea. Zheng Shuang was just about to hear Xue Er tell him the last test, but Xue Er said, time's up, I'll come back tomorrow night to chat with you again, I should go back to my room to rest now. After finishing speaking, Xue Er playfully winked at Zheng Shuang and chuckled as she walked out the door, leaving Zheng Shuang standing there in a daze.
