A Ruined House, A New Courtyard. A Home Upgrade, Rustic Scenery Remains
While strolling through Yijianggou, you'll appreciate the tranquil, secluded rural scenery and the rustic, simple farm atmosphere.
Therefore, when a red brick and tile house appears in the depths of the bamboo grove, a sense of surprise and excitement naturally arises, especially with yellow mountain yam flowers at the courtyard's edge and vibrant lilac flowers behind the house. This idyllic rural life is precisely what people yearn for, and it's also what most attracts tourists' attention.
When entering the courtyard, however, one feels particularly disappointed. The entire house has completely collapsed, leaving only the red brick wall standing, with wooden planks, supports, and rafters scattered haphazardly across the wall. Yet, the furniture inside has been cleaned meticulously, with no belongings left behind, save for a bottomless enamel basin and a large 'wooden stake' lying beneath the porch.
This 'wooden stake' was common in rural areas in the old days, constructed from bamboo strips tightly bound around a wooden board to hold various grains – practical, waterproof, and rodent-proof.
In the decades before, or even ten years ago, it was rare for people in mountainous areas to build houses with red bricks and tiles. Because bricks had to be purchased from outside the mountains and transported in, it was a difficult undertaking, requiring not only wealth but also labor and small vehicles.
If someone could build a red brick and tile house in the mountains, it would be a source of pride for the entire village, bringing smiles to the faces of adults and children alike. It was an object of envy for neighbors.
But what happened to this collapsed red brick and tile house?
The mountains provided plenty of wood, allowing it to fall and rot, while the furniture and household items were clearly taken away by the owner. Abandoning this already decent red brick and tile house, and the surrounding bamboo and fruit tree environment, wouldn't be possible.
We continued to the end of the gully, where only this one house remained, and it was already collapsed.
The gully wasn't large or deep, with a small stream dividing it in half, except for a small road, flanked by blossoming lilac and mountain yam flowers, golden and slightly dark, giving the gully a touch of color.
The stream carried a series of stones, of varying sizes and covered in moss. The moss was wet and glistening, with varying shades, cute and beautiful.
On a small plot of land, two men were working – one using a rake to clear weeds, and the other using a tractor to plow the land.
During a conversation, we learned that the collapsed house belonged to them, as they had built a new house on the roadside. The old house was simply left to collapse.
Previously, Yijianggou wasn't accessible by car. After the new road was built connecting Baoshan and Wenquan Town, it became a complete and larger scenic area for rural tourism. This gully road was expanded and paved with concrete, significantly reducing the distance from Wenquan Town to the county seat and greatly improving the transportation situation in Yijianggou Village.
Then they built a better house on the roadside, and the old house was gone.
Although they built a new house, the original land and fruit trees remained, but the distance between the old and new houses wasn't far. During busy farming seasons, they still had to return to tend to the land and prune the fruit trees.
Now that transportation is convenient, everything is easier. Especially with the recent development of mushroom cultivation, which has opened up a new revenue channel, and life is getting better day by day.
We strolled back and forth, exploring the small gully. When we emerged from the gully onto the main road, we found two courtyards on the roadside, similarly nestled behind bamboo groves. The courtyards had fruit trees blooming with white flowers, and scattered oilseed flowers, also golden and tempting to passersby.
Outside the courtyard, a farm tricycle and a pickup truck were parked, clearly owned by the farmers. Inside, a motorcycle stood behind a stack of firewood they had just carried home.
In one courtyard, a mushroom bag-making machine was located. Surely, this was their treasured and helpful invention.
Even a 'wooden stake', just like the one left in the old house, but lying down, was standing by the courtyard. It was likely discarded because it was broken and unusable, but could be moved to the new house for future use.
