Taking a bath can be so carefree
Zhai Wang returned home, lay on the bed, and couldn't help but think of the scene when he entered the mountain at the age of seventeen. (The word "chuagn" is not allowed to appear again, and will be replaced with "that thing" from now on, which is a very flexible term that can replace many words, relying on the reader's imagination.)
The village chief is not a mountain dweller, his home is located on the open flat land at the foot of the mountain. Before entering the mountain, the village chief had heard the saying "the mountain road has eighteen bends, seeing houses and crying while walking".
That day, Zheng San set out early in the morning and walked until almost noon before vaguely seeing a wooden house in the mountains. Who knew that after turning a small bend, the wooden house disappeared from view again. Tired and hot, under a big tree beside the mountain path was a smooth stone, so Zheng San sat down to rest his feet.
Zheng Shuang had just sat down when a man's singing voice floated in with the wind: "Yo yo ai, yo yo ai, yo yo ai, yo yo ai, yo yo o ai, yo yo o ai". Looking in the direction of the floating song, however, no one was seen.
At this time, a crisp female voice floated from another direction "With your right hand on the edge of your mouth, you can shout out the sun."
Zheng Shuang looked in the direction of the female voice, but still didn't see anyone. He narrowed his eyes and listened to the duet:
(Male) Yo yo yi, yo yo yi, yo yo o yi, yo yo o yi.
With my left hand holding up the basket, I can carry Mount Yao on my back.
Yo yo yi, yo yo yi, yo yo o yi, yo yo o yi.
(Female) My heart is filled with love, my eyes are full of expectation.
Ah, Brother Yao's song is floating gently, waiting for Sister's mountain song to come over!
(Male) Ah, Brother Yao's song is floating gently, waiting for Sister's mountain song to come...
(Female) With a gentle wave of the flower scarf, I can bring the colorful clouds over;
(Male) Yo yo yi, yo yo yi, yo yo yi, yo yo yi
(Female) The earrings jingled softly, and I can bring the Yao River water out.
(Male) Yo yo yi, yo yo yi, yo yo yi, yo yo yi...
(Female) Ah, Sister Yao's song is sitting on the mountain ridge, waiting quietly for Brother's song to come over...
The singing voices drifted further and further away. Zheng Shuang looked up at the floating clouds above his head, wondering if his choice was correct.
Zheng Shuang's home was not in the county town, but it was also in a flat and fertile rural area. Due to a coincidence of opportunities, he had just graduated from high school when the town was recruiting private teachers.
Zheng Shuang had dug soil, cut crops and trampled on a threshing machine at home with his parents. He knew the hard work of farming, so he took part in the private teacher examination. Having just graduated from school, his knowledge was still fresh, and he didn't want to farm, so he studied hard before the exam and did very well.
During the assessment, the leader asked, "This time we recruited three private teachers to go to the mountains to teach. We plan to send you to work at Jiupingling Primary School, which is the most remote place. Are you willing?" Zheng Shuang thought at that moment, a teacher's whip is lighter than a plow handle and a hoe handle. So he agreed readily.
School has started, and the leader asked him if he wanted to find a villager in the town to send a message to let them send someone to pick him up on the road. Zheng Shuang was young and vigorous, saying no need.
Zheng Shuang thought that it was just a few books and a quilt anyway. But who knew, after going up the mountain road, except for hearing a couple's singing voices, he hadn't even met a single person.
Zheng Shuang arrived at Jiuping Ridge Primary School at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. In fact, it was not a school at all, but just a dilapidated small wooden house. If it weren't for the five words "Jiuping Ridge Primary School" written on the door frame, no one would have thought of a school.
Maybe it was because of the simplicity of the wooden house, or maybe it was because of the rustic innocence of the mountain people, but not only were there no door gods on the door, it wasn't even closed. Zheng Shuang walked in and put down her luggage, plopping herself down on a stool with a sigh of relief. She had finally arrived, and let out a long breath.
At this time, a gentle mountain breeze blew over, cool and refreshing, as if a beautiful girl had stroked Zheng Shuang's neck with her delicate hands. Zheng Shuang felt so comfortable. Just sitting down for a while, a little kid poked his head out to look at him and asked: "I saw someone enter our school, are you our teacher?"
Zheng Shuang waved at him and said, "I'm the new teacher who just transferred here. Come in, I'll ask you something." But the child turned around and ran away, shouting as he went, "The teacher is here! The teacher has entered the school!"
Before long, the mountain people came from their respective homes. Perhaps due to the scattered residence of the mountain people, the arrivals were always a few minutes apart.
Everyone who saw Zheng Shuang kept passionately "complaining" to him for not telling them, so they could pick him up on their way down the mountain. Amidst the complaints, Zheng Shuang's simple luggage was quickly snatched up by them and carried to the village branch secretary's home, which was closer to school.
In fact, at that time, the village branch secretary was also called Zhai Wang, and the mountain people were used to calling him Zhai Wang. At that time, the surname of Zhai Wang was Wang, and everyone affectionately called him Zhai Wang Wang.
The enthusiasm of the village chief and the mountain people made Zheng Shuang's fatigue disappear instantly. The villagers here are very simple, they use gourds to hold wine, and use firewood to roast the wax meat that is dark and transparent as a dish to entertain Zheng Shuang. Only the village chief Wang accompanied Zheng Shuang to drink a bowl of wine for lunch, because everyone had already eaten lunch.
The village chief said, "Walking is tiring, let's have some wine to sleep well." After lunch, the village chief's wife arranged for Zheng Shuang to take a bath and change clothes.
"Zhang Wang said: 'Teacher Zheng, after taking a bath, you must get a good rest and sleep.'"
The wife of the village chief took Zheng Shuang to the bathroom. The bamboo pipe from the mountain cliff brought in a gurgling stream, its sound like pearls falling on a jade plate, or rain hitting banana leaves, and also like the sound of a guqin being played in the soft breeze.
On the floor, there were bamboo blocks, extremely clean. On the left side of the water vat and on the right side of the large stove, stood a large barrel about five feet long, three feet wide and three feet high, with an oval shape. The fire in the large stove was very gentle, and the water in the barrel was only warm.
The king's wife said, "This is the Pongtang bath you've heard of. If it were winter, I would have the fire in the stove burning fiercely, and the water in the Pongtang would be steaming hot. It's not necessary to use such hot water in summer, but it's still very comfortable. Just take your time washing away the fatigue of today." After instructing him, she left the bathroom.
Zheng Shuang climbed up the edge of the bathtub, propped himself up with both hands, and did a forward roll into the tub. The warm water covered his entire body. Zheng Shuang sat or lay down, sometimes leaning forward or backward, he hadn't thought that taking a bath inside could be so carefree. Only after washing until he was refreshed did Zheng Shuang put on clean clothes and walk out of the bathroom.
As soon as he came out of the bathroom, Wang Wang forced him to sleep and rest. Although it was a hot summer day, the wooden house was still very cool. Perhaps he was really tired, Zheng Shuang lay down and fell asleep.
The village chief thought about his first day entering the mountain and couldn't help but sigh: how simple these mountain people are! In fact, he himself was also very simple back then.
