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墨書 Inktalez
Quiet and peaceful, this was the first impression that Xu Li had of the countryside.
At this moment, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and Xu Li and Andrei were strolling along the dirt road that ran through the village. This used to be Old Anton's home. A few days ago, he and Alyosha had gone to Irkutsk; after all, the girl needed care after getting married and having children.
Old Anton's yard was not small, but it had been neglected for some time, allowing wild grass to grow thick outside the fence. The two continued down the dirt road, introducing Xu Li to the remaining households in the village one by one.
By the time the sun was fully up, they reached the end of the village, where a two-way railway stretched across their path. Andrei pointed towards where the railway extended: "In the past, trains would go west directly to Moscow and east to Vladivostok. It was because of this railway that we thought about settling down here."
"Now it's different; the railway has fallen into disrepair. Our village has lost a lot of extra income. We used to graze livestock and grow vegetables, selling them directly through passing trains. But after the trains were rerouted, we couldn't consume all our cattle and sheep ourselves, so we had no choice but to sell them at low prices to traders."
Xu Li lit a cigarette for his father-in-law and gazed at the lush green grass across the railway, dotted with bushes on a small hill, and further away were mountains and forests. He suddenly felt a sense of openness in his heart. He looked at Andrei, who seemed somewhat despondent: "We have a saying in China: 'To get rich, one must first build roads.'"
"Build roads? Hahaha!"
Andrei laughed loudly. "Don't joke around, kid. Our village only has about thirty people, and we're too remote for anyone up top to spend millions or even tens of millions just to build a road for us."
"We can build it ourselves."
Xu Li stepped closer to Andrei, looking up at the old man with gray hair and a beard. "Let's fix a bit while spring is here and do more during the slack season in farming. One day we'll connect to the main road outside."
"As long as we connect to that road, our cattle and sheep can go out. When we earn money, we can widen the road. With better transportation, plus selling our livestock and vegetables ourselves, people will want to live in our village."
"Only with people does this place become a village. With enough benefits, many will be eager to come here and live; they can also help take care of Ji Yue as Uncle Pushkin grows older."
Andrei looked at the young man standing before him, speaking earnestly with conviction, and smirked: "Do you know how to build roads?"
"Uh... no."
"Then what are you talking about?"
Old Russian shot him an annoyed glance and tapped his forehead: "Go home for dinner."
"Oh."
Lao Yi slowly made his way home, greeting several of Ji Da's uncles and aunts along the way. Having young people in the village was a good thing; it meant there would be life here. In wintertime when everyone huddled indoors, it wouldn't be boring; they could visit each other and chat.
It would be even better if they had children; in this sparsely populated Far East plain, children represented hope!
Just then, Vasily called to say that Bratsk was preparing to install some internet receivers in nearby towns and asked if they wanted one here.
Natasha set breakfast on the table and casually ruffled Xu Li's hair. Andrei scratched his head: "What’s that good for? If we install it, will Our Family’s TV get more channels?"
"That’s an internet receiver; it's different from TV. If we install it, we'll need to buy a computer so we can look up tutorials online—like how to grow vegetables or fruits—or play games like Anna and Eva do."
Xu Li took a sip of milk and explained it briefly to Old Couple while Andrei nodded: "Then tell Lao San that we want one too; we’ll need a computer as well. Also check what else we might need at home so he can bring everything together."
Natasha nodded and sat down to eat together.
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