Siheyuan: The Temptation of the Mountains

Two months passed in a blink of an eye, and it was early winter and the weather turned cooler.

In the past two months, Lin Ze often rode his bicycle back to his grandfather's house at night, and every time he did so he would bring some rice, flour and fish for his grandparents.

When his grandparents asked him where the food came from, he said he exchanged it for fish from the Pigeon Market. His grandparents didn't suspect anything, but just told him to be careful.

After delivering food to his grandparents, Lin Ze had to go home before dark.

Lin Changgui and Liu Ying both knew that possessing a treasure was a crime, so they did not try to keep Lin Ze. They also hid the rice and flour in their bedroom, and locked the bedroom door when they went out, so that no one would know how fine their meals were.

Lin Changgui and Liu Ying were in much better spirits because of the food.

On this day, there was light snow falling from the sky, and Lin Ze noticed that there were fewer and fewer fish in the park.

In two months, he had harvested six thousand kilograms of cotton grown in his space.

At night, Lin Ze exchanged some cloth at the Pigeon Market.

In a secluded place, Lin Ze filled half a basket of cotton into the backpack. The next morning, he woke up Lin Zhengguo and Li Xiuzhen.

"Mom, when you have time, please make a cotton coat for Lin Hao and Sisi." Lin Ze poured the cloth and cotton in the backpack onto the kang in the bedroom.

"Xiao Ze, where did you buy this cotton?" Lin Zhengguo asked in surprise.

"I only got this much from the pigeon market, but it's enough to make a cotton-padded jacket for each of my family members."

"You are so bold, kid. That pigeon city..." Li Xiuzhen wanted to nag but was interrupted by Lin Zhengguo.

"This is not the first time that Xiaoze has gone to Pigeon City. You don't need to worry about him. We should be happy that he has this intention."

"Yes, of course I know I should be happy, but Xiaoze is only fifteen years old..."

Lin Ze smiled and said, "It's sixteen after the New Year."

Li Xiuzhen was stunned by his words and immediately lost her temper. She just sighed and said, "Sixteen is still a child..."

"Okay, stop nagging." Lin Zhengguo said, "Look at Lin Ze fishing and supplementing the family income. How is he like a child?"

Lin Ze smiled but said nothing.

There was no winter vacation, so Lin Hao went directly to the primary school affiliated to the steel rolling mill after getting up.

Lin Sisi was curled up in her parents' bed alone. Maybe she felt cold, so she woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes and saw Lin Ze, he said, "Big pigeon, hold me."

Lin Ze picked up the little girl, Lin Sisi pouted her lips and gave Lin Ze a kiss on the face.

Lin Ze happily took out a White Rabbit candy from his pocket, peeled off the candy wrapper and fed it to the little girl.

"Hehe, Sisi likes it the most, it's so cute."

Lin Zhengguo and Li Xiuzhen looked at this heartwarming scene and felt their hearts were sweeter than eating candy.

It’s noon in a blink of an eye.

"Dad, Mom, I want to go to the countryside and live with my grandfather for a while." Lin Ze said to Lin Zhengguo and Li Xiuzhen.

While eating lunch, Lin Zhengguo said hesitantly, "It's snowing today. It's not safe for you to ride a bike on the road."

On the day he bought the bicycle, Lin Ze rode it back to the courtyard. This bicycle was the first of its kind in the courtyard, and everyone in the courtyard envied it.

"Yes, Xiaoze, the road is not easy to walk on after the snow." Li Xiuzhen also agreed.

Lin Ze shook his head. "It's okay. It just snowed. I'll ride slowly."

Seeing that his son insisted, Lin Zhengguo didn't say anything more, but just reminded him to be careful on the road.

After lunch, Lin Ze pushed his bicycle out.

Along the way, the wind was biting cold and snowflakes were falling heavily.

Lin Ze didn't feel cold. He had only one thought in his mind, which was to hurry to his grandfather's house.

After riding for an unknown amount of time, Lin Ze finally saw the familiar village.

He sped up and drove towards his grandfather's house.

When they reached the muddy part of the road, Lin Ze put his bicycle into the space and walked into the village.

Lin Ze came to his grandfather's house and gently pushed open the gate. There was a thick layer of snow in the yard, and it made a "crunching" sound when he stepped on it.

"Grandpa, grandma, I'm here to see you!" Lin Ze shouted loudly.

When grandpa and grandma heard the sound, they came out of the house. When they saw Lin Ze, they smiled happily.

"My dear grandson, why are you here? It's so cold, come into the house and warm up." Liu Ying said, holding Lin Ze's hand.

Lin Ze walked into the house and put the backpack he brought on the table. Grandpa and grandma looked at these things with their eyes full of emotion.

"Grandpa and grandma, I exchanged some cotton in the Pigeon Market and brought some to you. You can make cotton-padded clothes or quilts." Lin Ze said.

"Good boy, you are thoughtful." Grandpa said, touching Lin Ze's head.

In the evening, Lin Ze had dinner with his grandparents. Although the food was simple, he ate it very happily.

After dinner, Lin Ze chatted with his grandparents for a while and then went to bed early.

Lying in the soft quilt made by Liu Yinggang, Lin Ze sighed comfortably, "This is the life I want."

The next morning, Lin Wen and Lin Wu came to find Lin Ze.

They heard the news that Lin Ze had returned, so they came to see him. The three of them hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they had a great time talking.

"Brother Ze, you don't know that ever since Boss Cai was strangled to death by a lake monster two months ago, no one dares to go fishing in the lake anymore!"

Lin Wen looked at the lake and said with fear, "Even the women in the village don't dare to go to the lake alone to wash clothes. They have to go to the lake in groups of two or three."

"Really?" Lin Ze raised his eyebrows slightly. The water monster in the lake was dead, and he was the only one who knew about it.

Lin Ze did not intend to tell everyone about this news.

Lin Ze changed the subject and mentioned that he went fishing in the city and exchanged the fish for a lot of goodies at the Pigeon Market.

He also gave Lin Wen and Lin Wu a handful of bulk sugar. The two were very surprised and praised Lin Ze's ability.

That afternoon, Lin Ze decided to go for a walk by the lake with his fishing rod.

Snowflakes were still floating in the sky, and the ground was covered with white. This was the time when the villagers had the most leisure.

Lin Ze came to the lake and found a suitable place to sit down.

He took out his fishing rod, put on the bait, and threw the hook into the lake. While waiting for the fish to bite, he thought about his life in the city.

Although there are more opportunities and challenges there, he prefers the tranquility and freedom here.

Suddenly, the fishing rod moved slightly. Lin Ze was delighted and quickly reeled in the rod.

A big fish jumped out of the water, splashing water. Lin Ze happily put the fish into the bucket and continued fishing.

Over the next period of time, he caught several fish and had a good harvest.

Just as he was about to pack up and go home, a strange sound was heard from the lake.

He looked up and saw ripples in the center of the lake, as if something was stirring the water underwater.

Lin Ze's heart tightened. Could there be other water monsters?

He decided to observe it for a while longer. As the ripples grew larger, a huge black shadow slowly emerged from the water.

Lin Ze looked closely and found that it was a giant turtle. Its shell was covered with moss and its limbs were strong and powerful.

The giant turtle glanced at Lin Ze, then slowly swam away and disappeared into the lake.

Lin Ze breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the giant turtle had no ill intentions.

He returned home with a bucket full of fish and shared his experience with his grandparents.