hsntnovel Chapter 141 At that time, she thought that as long as she went up the mountain...
Chapter 141 At that time, she thought that as long as she went up the mountain...
Comics are primarily depicted from the protagonist's perspective.
In those insignificant places, the author doesn't dwell on their names.
Just as Xiao Jiming wouldn't know Xu Niannian's parents' names, they only needed to know terms like "Xu's father" and "Xu's mother".
Jiang Xingni didn't know what Xu Niannian's parents' names were either.
After all, no one would scrutinize their friend's parents' names. Jiang Xingni only needed to address them as "Auntie" or "Uncle," and Xu Niannian had no need to tell Jiang Xingni her parents' names.
And Grandma Ji was the same, of course.
The more names appear, the easier it is for readers to forget them, and screenwriters will need to put more effort into depicting their storylines.
If their names are not shown, it is obvious that they are just NPCs and insignificant beings.
Even if the name Cui Shuhui did appear once, not many people would seriously remember it.
Jiang Xingni received the name Chen Hongying.
Thus, Grandma Ji finally stood out from the countless random NPCs in the entire comic.
Among the many black-and-white, faceless passersby sketched with just a few strokes, she gained her own name and a story independent of Ji Shanqing.
If she wanted to be called "Chen Hongying," more people would call her by that name.
She didn't care about her son, only about herself.
*
Chen Hongying has been called "Chen Hongying" since she can remember.
She doesn't remember her father, only that she lived with her mother.
Life on the mountain was certainly pleasant. There weren't many people in military uniforms bothering them, and little Chen Hongying ate very little, managing to eat by digging up some wild vegetables herself.
Although life was difficult, Chen Hongying was young and therefore didn't have many worries.
Rainbows are a rare sight after rain, and Chen Hongying's mother hoped that her daughter could also be cherished, so she named her Hong (meaning rainbow).
The character "英" (Ying) was added to her daughter's name because she had heard rumors of heroines who were just as capable as men in the mountains.
Her mother named her Hongying.
The mother wasn't very educated, but she wanted to use all the beautiful words she knew to describe Chen Hongying.
She wanted her daughter to know that she was loved.
that's the truth.
Chen Hongying never asked where her father had gone; she always felt that having her mother and herself was enough.
She can eat very, very little.
Even if she has very little to eat, she can still survive with her mother.
When she was almost ten years old, her mother got married.
Chen Hongying doesn't remember much about what happened after that.
She only remembered that the man her mother married was surnamed Cui, so she changed her surname from Chen to Cui, following her stepfather.
"Cui Shuhui, I suppose," her stepfather said, stroking Chen Hongying's hair. "A girl needs a good name to get married."
Chen Hongying angrily shook off his hand.
She didn't know what was wrong with her current name, even though her mother had worked so hard to choose it for her.
She didn't know why girls had to get married.
Isn't Mom living a good life with her?
Why did my mother get married?
Why would she change her name for a man who doesn't even exist yet?
Then Chen Hongying remembers very clearly that after she shook off that man's hand, her usually gentle mother changed her expression for the first time.
After giving Chen Hongying a severe beating, the mother hugged Chen Hongying and sobbed in the dark room.
"Yingying, you must listen to your father."
"Yingying, from now on you will be called Shuhui, Cui Shuhui."
"Yingying, we can't stay unmarried. There aren't any self-combing women around here. If we don't get married, those thugs will come and bully us, and I won't be able to protect you."
"Yingying, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. You're still so young. What if you grow up and become beautiful, and those thugs take advantage of you? Who will I hold accountable then?"
As she spoke, her mother cried even louder.
Chen Hongying was too young at that time.
She couldn't understand why her mother was crying, nor could she understand how far into the future her mother was worried about.
She just said blankly, "But, Mom, I can go up the mountain to dig potatoes and pick wild vegetables. Mom, I eat very little, and I won't take your food."
"Mom, can you please not get married? Mom, can't we just stay together like before?"
"I don't want to be called Cui Shuhui either; I want to use the name my mother gave me."
Her mother looked at her deeply, with eyes full of tears, and then hugged her child tightly.
Soft sobs came from her mother's throat.
"Be good, be good..." she whispered. "Mom is a widow with a daughter, it's going to be hard for her to get married."
"It's not easy to find someone who doesn't mind you and can treat you like their own daughter, Yingying."
"My dear Yingying, please listen to your mother!"
Amidst her mother's cries, Chen Hongying accepted her new identity as Cui Shuhui.
Time passed very quickly after that, you could say it went by too fast.
She saw someone coming to register her household and registered her under the name "Cui Shuhui".
She watched as her stepfather and mother were allocated land, and then there were always people who tried to secretly take advantage of their family, only to be chased away by her stepfather.
She saw her stepfather carrying a sickle to fight with people from the next village for water, and then he got into a fight with them using a homemade gun.
When she got a little older, she was able to wear a sickle and go to the fields.
While cutting pig feed, she used a sickle to kill two thugs who tried to take advantage of her.
Her usually stern stepfather smiled at her and then taught her how to use a gun.
The stepfather said something like, "Next time anyone dares to take advantage of you, shoot them with a bullet. If you get shot and killed, Dad will take responsibility."
Later, when the guns were confiscated, it was time for her to get married. Her stepfather and mother chose a handsome young man from the surrounding area, a boy from the Ji family.
Thus, Chen Hongying's decades of life passed by in a flash, like clouds and water.
My stepfather is old, my mother is old, and my husband is sick.
Graves began to spring up one after another on the back hill.
She raised her son alone and used a sickle to scare away one person after another who wanted to bully the orphan and widow.
Then came Ji Shanqing.
She thought her granddaughter was doing very well in her studies.
She thought Ji Shanqing could break free from such constraints.
She thought that Ji Shanqing wouldn't have to stay in these mountains, and could get married like her mother and herself, wielding a sickle and a hoe.
She thought that in the end, Ji Shanqing would be able to leave this mountain and go to the city, to a bigger city.
Ji Shanqing can experience the subway, take the high-speed rail and airplane, and move around the city with ease, just like the girls she had seen before.
She thought there might be a second possibility for Ji Shanqing.
As a result, Ji Shanqing, like her parents and her husband, was buried on the hill behind the mountain, becoming a small grave.
She misses the days when she could still be called "Chen Hongying" in her childhood.
At that time, she thought that as long as she went up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, she could survive.