Standing Next To You

Faraway from the crowded city was an unknown peaceful village.

River Village was surrounded by fields and mountains. But its name came from the long river that was beside the village.

In order to get into the main town where the market and other establishments such as the school and the hospital were, the villagers need to cross the bridge on the river and the mountain field.

Some families in the River Village owned tricycles as a means of transportation. They would let other people rent their tricycles whenever the others wanted to go to the market.

Sometimes, they would use their tricycle as a service for the children who were attending school in town. The parents of the children would pay them monthly service to get their child a seat.

However, Bei Sangyun and her grandmother did not have any pennies to spare for transportation. They were the poorest family in the village. Her grandmother's stubborn attitude and introverted personality did not also help their situation.

Thus, they had become one of the people that the villagers avoided. Of course, the villagers were more lenient to the young Bei Sangyun who was implicated by her grandma's uniqueness.

Bei Sangyun looked at the children in the passenger seats of the tricycle with envy. She also wanted to experience riding the tricycle for once. Too bad though, she did not have any coins to pay.

If they ride the tricycle, they don't need to walk for a long time while carrying these big baskets behind their backs. Especially her grandma won't struggle while carrying the big woven basket that was tall as a person.

Her grandma noticed her gaze. She pulled Bei Sangyun close to her. "Don't look at them like that. If people saw you, they will pity us again. Remember, don't let other people look down on you."

Bei Sangyun lowered her head.

She did not understand why her grandma was so obsessed with the word 'pity'. Her grandma always lectured her to not ask for other people's things. If she was hungry, either she get food on her own or endure it. She should never beg for food or ask other people for help.

Her grandma would always say that it was better to endure their own struggles than to be pitied and treated like a beggar.

However, the young Bei Sangyun did not completely understand her grandma's reasoning. Her classmates often asked for food from other people if they were hungry. They even snatched food from their classmates. They never endure hunger.

Bei Sangyun looked at her thin wrist. Was it why her classmates were plump and big while she was small and thin?

They passed by at the entrance of the village.

River Village had better living conditions than the other villages. Because they were surrounded by fertile land and a river that provided them with free clear water, the villagers in this place were able to farm their own land and enjoy the harvest of their labor. The hard-working families were able to buy a tricycle after saving money for three years.

Not only that, the erected bridge and smooth asphalt road around the River Village, let the villagers travel more smoothly than any other nearby villages. It was said that a wealthy family whose roots were in the River Village developed the road around the village.

This village although a bit far from the town had more brick houses than any other village. Especially at the entrance of the village, there was a big house which was surrounded by a brick wall.

When other people from other villages visited the River Village, the first house they would see was this big house. Thus, the big house had become the landmark of River Village.

But this big house was always empty. With its big iron gate and tall walls, it made it even more prominent and isolated.

However, today, when Bei Sangyun and her grandma passed by the big iron gates were open.

Bei Sangyun stopped in her tracks and curiously peeked inside the gate.

Before, she only saw the roof of the house because of the tall wall. Every child in this village was curious about what was inside this gate.

Bei Sangyun saw the village chief and his family cleaning the vast yard.

The little girl was stunned when she saw a big yard that was ten times bigger than the village chief's courtyard. There were beautiful flowers everywhere. At the center, there was a pool of water with a statue as tall as her. The clear water was coming out of its eyes, nose, and mouth.

Her eyes turned wide. How come such a 'well' was so beautiful and scary at the same time?

"Let's hurry. The young master is on their way here. Did you already change the bedsheets?"

The village chief who Bei Sangyun found powerful and formidable was currently mowing the field. He asked his wife who just came out from the living room.

"I have changed it. Xiao'er and Yun'er are doing the laundry now. Do you know what time they will arrive?"

Bei Sangyun was stunned. Xiao'er and Yun'er were the big beauties in the village. As the daughter of the village chief, who was the richest in the village, they never do hard labor.

The village chief's family hired other people to work on their farm. In fact, Bei Sangyun was even planning to work in their field once summer started. So it took Bei Sangyun by surprise after seeing the richest family in the village working like every other people.

"Tsk. I thought the Chuan family will never return here again in this lifetime." A bitter tone came from his grandma.

Bei Sangyun looked up, "Is the Chuan family who owned this big house?"

But Bei Sangyun never heard of any Chuan family in this village before. Who are they?

Grandma Bei pulled Bei Sangyun away from the big gates. They still need to walk for two hours to arrive at the market.

"Silly, girl. The Chuan family owned all the land you see here."

Bei Sangyun: ?

Her grandma pointed at the rice field. "This village is practically owned by them."

Bei Sangyun tilted her head. How can a single family owned all the land here? How about the other families who were working on their land? Didn't they own them?

Grandma Bei glanced at Bei Sangyun who had a look of confusion on her face. Her bitterness eased lightly seeing her granddaughter's adorable face.

"The families in the River Village rented this land from the Chuan family. I heard the village chief made a deal with the Chuan family long ago. After working for decades, the land here was divided among the other families based on their contribution. Anyway, you will learn about it when you grew up."

Grandma Bei did not hide such information from Bei Sangyun. She would teach her child anything she wanted to learn.

Bei Sangyun's head was full of confusion. She did not understand most of the words but she got the gist of it.

"Then how about us? Why don't we have a land like the others?"

Grandma Bei halted. She looked at the golden field before them. A bitter smile broke out on her lips which made her look older, "Because of your mother."

Bei Sangyun: "?"

This was the first time she heard her grandma mention her mother.

"I thought I was picked up from the road."

The discomfort in Grandma Bei's heart dissipated at Bei Sangyun's words. She laughed.

Right, she had indeed said that. Because the moment Bei Sangyun realized that in order for her to exist she need to have a father and a mother, the young Bei Sangyun constantly asked her about her parents.

At that time, Grandma Bei did not know how to explain to Bei Sangyun so she said she picked her up from the road. She did not expect her smart granddaughter would take it seriously.