Love You for the Rest of My Life

Chapter 268: The Start of Tempering (3)

After a hearty meal, they hoisted their burdens and resumed their journey. Their goal was to climb over the mountain before them and keep going until they arrived at their destination.

The instructor told them that the people living in the interior had to spend two days every time they ventured out to sell their goods. After selling, they would buy needed supplies at the local market and then spend another two days to return.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qibao turned pale and blurted out, "Why don’t they just move out?"

The instructor chuckled and replied, "They have no special skills, no knowledge, and no money to buy a house - how could they possibly move out?"

He went on to tell them that, in fact, the young people from inside had already ventured out to work. Only the elderly and children were left behind.

Because they couldn’t afford homes, the young adults had to leave their children with their parents back in the old village. They were out working to earn money, maintaining their realities in this way.

Gu Qibao was deeply saddened by the story. Weren’t the children living in the mountains simply pitiful?

They not only had to live without their parents but also endure such living conditions. It was indeed pitiful!

After two days of climbing mountains and crossing rivers, they were finally approaching their destination - an extremely remote settlement, so remote it made them want to cry.

The only advantage was the fresh air!

Other than that, there weren’t any other benefits.

After two days of mountain climbing, many people bore ashen faces. Without a way to bathe, they were feeling very uncomfortable. This included Gu Qibao.

They anxiously anticipated reaching the destination so they could have something to eat, take a shower, and change clothes.

With this thought, their pace quickened.

Upon arrival, Gu Qibao was stunned. Looking at the house before her eyes, she couldn’t help but ask Nangong Ran, "Is this a house?"

Nangong Ran grimaced, "I suppose it is?"

"This is their living quarters." Bo Chenghe added, nodding at the side.

Gu Qibao was almost brought to tears. These were houses?

They were nothing more than mounds of mud, not even a single brick in sight!

Seeing such poverty struck the other students dumbfounded, as they had never before witnessed such destitution.

They had no idea how the school had found such a top-grade place as this.

"No way! We have to live here?"

"Why is there only one house? Is there no toilet?"

"How can we live in such a house? Don’t tell me there’s no electricity? Won’t it be pitch dark at night?"

The instructor nodded, "You guessed it, there’s no electricity here. But we do have light at night, from the kerosene lamps!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, the students were all aghast, "What on earth is a kerosene lamp?"

"If there’s no light, won’t it be pitch black at night? Will there be ghosts?"

In the midst of their impassioned discussions, the instructor ignored their questions and spoke up, "Line up, line up. The village head is coming soon."

The village head...

True to his words, the village head arrived not long after.

On seeing the village head, Gu Qibao nearly fainted. That outfit of his...it was dreadfully shabby!

The clothes he wore were so worn out that their original color was indistinguishable, complete with patches!

Moreover, the village head looked aged, with a slightly hunched back and a face full of wrinkles. His skin was so dark that one couldn’t tell if it was his natural complexion or just dirt.

He was holding a dry pipe, and his hands were so rough, they were hard to look at. There was this dark substance under his fingernails, which could be either mud or dirt.

"The youngsters are here." The village head spoke with a beaming smile that showed off his wrinkles, large enough to trap a mosquito.

While his attitude was extremely amicable, his set of dark, stained teeth was hard to ignore.

The students seemed to be petrified by him, as if seeing such a person was a first for them.

Such people existed only on television, but never this real.

The characters on TV were made up, while the village head was the real deal.

Looking at him gave them a deep understanding of what it meant to be weather-beaten and impoverished.