The moon hung high in the sky.
Specks of starlight fell upon the lively crowd in the village, as if joining the villagers in their merriment.
The villagers sang loudly, their voices echoing through the village.
"Even though I don't understand the lyrics, it still sounds beautiful, like floating in the long river of history," Cui Mantong said with a smile, looking at the villagers.
"Mhm, it sounds very nice," Fang Miaomiao said, holding the little one's hand, her gaze fixed on the bonfire.
"Miaomiao, do you want some wine? I'll go get some for you, you help me watch Sisi."
Without waiting for Fang Miaomiao's reply, Cui Mantong stood up from her seat and went to ask the villagers for wine.
Cui Yongsi shook his head like a little adult, "Mom is always so impetuous."
"That's good, it's free-spirited."
"Why isn't Miaomiao singing?"
Fang Miaomiao watched as Zha Jie sat down beside her and smiled, "I'm old, I won't join the fun. It's nice to sit here and watch."
"You're very beautiful, not old at all."
Fang Miaomiao looked at the villagers dancing and singing in the distance, "It's nice, full of enthusiasm."
"They are all university students who left to study and have returned," Zha Jie said, following Fang Miaomiao's gaze.
"They love their hometown, good children."
Zha Jie drank a bowl of wine, "I wish they wouldn't come back."
"Why?"
"Because this shouldn't be their responsibility."
Generation after generation, people have devoted themselves to tree planting, a task where the cost exceeds the expected return, and it is the easiest way to consume one's energy.
Fang Miaomiao chuckled lightly, "How do you know they aren't willing? Perhaps they also want to see what it's like when the forest becomes a sea. They, too, are fighting for their beliefs."
"That's true." Zha Jie scratched his head sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I suddenly became so pessimistic."
"Uncle Zha Jie, we all admire you," Wen Yan'an said, looking at Zha Jie. "You have led the young people and planted a beautiful wish in their hearts."
A wish, as long as it is not against heaven, will always come true.
"That's true too." Zha Jie wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, "I'm sorry, I've made you laugh."
"Brother Zha Jie is the real man."
"What are you two talking about? Miaomiao, look at the wine I brought."
"This is the grape wine our villagers brewed themselves, have a taste."
"You grow grapes here too?"
"Yes, we have plenty of sunshine here, so the grapes are plump."
"A toast?"
"A toast."
The three large bowls clinked together.
The taste was a faint aroma of grapes. Fang Miaomiao, who wasn't a connoisseur of wine, found it delicious.
Cui Mantong's eyes lit up, "This wine is good."
Zha Jie said with pride, "These are all made by hand using the largest and best grapes selected by our villagers. The storage conditions are also very strict."
Fang Miaomiao smiled faintly and didn't reply.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Zha Jie was called away by his good friend to sing.
His singing was deep and sonorous, and with his radiant smile, it attracted many young girls to send him flowers.
"This person is good," Cui Mantong said with a smile. "Do you know what he meant just now?"
"I know," Fang Miaomiao nodded slightly. "But this has nothing to do with me, I can't promise him anything."
Cui Mantong said with a hint of regret, "It's hard for this place to develop."
Deserts surrounded them, and there weren't many attractions. If the forest grew, it might be different, but the investment cost was too enormous, and there were many other problems in between, with returns that were nowhere in sight.
"He, too, knows this situation."
So he just smiled and didn't delve into it.
"It's all for a living," Cui Mantong shook her head.
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Wen Yan'an asked, confused.
"An'an is still young and doesn't understand."
"Mom, explain it to us, and then we'll know."
"I don't really understand this kind of thing either. If you want to know, ask your dad when we get back," Fang Miaomiao pinched Wen Yan'an's cheek.
"Mom also doesn't know things?"
"Of course, I'm not a genius. Even geniuses don't know everything in the world."
Wen Yan'an nodded, "I thought you, as a fairy, knew everything."
Fang Miaomiao's mouth twitched. What was she thinking back then to tell An'an she was a fairy? Now it was a self-inflicted problem.
Cui Mantong giggled, "Alright, you say you're a fairy, how can a fairy not know?"
"Drink your wine."
"Let's drink, let's drink."
Fang Miaomiao's eyes darted. "An'an, want to try something good, do you?"
"Wine?"
"Want to try it?"
Wen Yan'an shook his head, "Dad said that children shouldn't drink, it's bad for their health."
Is that so?
She used to sneak her grandmother's wine when she was little and was chased all over the village by her grandmother.
Thinking of this, Fang Miaomiao drank the wine in her bowl in one gulp. "Cough, cough, An'an, Mom forgot that children shouldn't drink, I'm sorry."
"Mom, will you get drunk if you drink so much wine?"
Dad used to come home drunk often, with Uncle Xin carrying him.
Uncle Xin said Dad had to negotiate business and drink. If he didn't drink, some people would deliberately make things difficult and wouldn't let Dad sign the contract.
"No, it's just one bowl, I won't get drunk."
"Dad gets drunk often."
"When?"
"After I turned three and lived with Dad," Wen Yan'an mumbled. "Dad would come home drunk every night, and Uncle Xin would carry him to bed."
He would sleep all night, and when he woke up in the morning, Dad would already be gone.
"Your dad must have been very tired back then," Fang Miaomiao rubbed An'an's head. "An'an must have felt very disappointed too, right?"
Wen Yan'an was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Mom, I'll tell you a secret, don't tell Dad."
"An'an, tell me, I promise I won't tell your dad," Fang Miaomiao leaned down.
"I know Dad was very tired, so I never blamed him. On the contrary, I liked Dad very much."
Fang Miaomiao smiled absently and dotingly tapped Wen Yan'an's forehead. "Your dad will be very happy when he knows."
Wen Yan'an hugged Fang Miaomiao's neck and murmured, "I don't want him to know."
"Okay, I'll listen to An'an. If An'an says not to tell, then I won't tell."
"Mom, you're so nice."
"I think I'm pretty good too."
Wen Yan'an threw himself into Fang Miaomiao's arms.
"Sleepy?"
Wen Yan'an didn't speak.
"Go to sleep. I'll carry you back when it's over."
Later, An'an truly fell asleep in Fang Miaomiao's arms.
Whenever someone wanted Fang Miaomiao to go and dance with the villagers, she would glance at the little one sleeping soundly in her arms and politely decline.