NOVPUB"Enough, Mom—taking so much back, we can’t finish it!" Seeing her mother carry two more large burlap bags of vegetables out from the house, Yao Jinping said helplessly.
"What do you know, the vegetables in the city are all full of pesticides, these are for Xiao Fan’s classmate!"
Since the road out of the village was unlit for a long stretch, and worried that it would be unsafe to walk after dark, as soon as the election ended, by six o’clock, the adults were already packing up things to take home.
Grandpa Yao Shulun had successfully been elected Village Chief of Chuxi Village, and following a chat and laugh upon Yao Jinping’s return, Yao Jiankun learned that several people had thrown away the roast chicken he had bought, and immediately upset the table in anger. Knowing that his hopes of becoming Village Chief were dashed, he left dejectedly with his money.
If Yao Jiankun knew what his departure implied, he probably would have gone to any lengths to become Village Chief.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the savvy for it, nor could he imagine that twenty years later, he would become a billionaire.
In this era, many of the first to become affluent didn’t do so through their own intelligence; their success was largely due to one thing: audacity.
Xu Qingfan had quite the feeling of being the mastermind behind a fantasy world, killing a man every ten steps without leaving a trace for a thousand miles.
Only he knew that, because of his rebirth, Chuxi Village would not experience its history of pollution and destruction once again.
"Grandma, goodbye!" After everyone had gotten into the vehicle, several women reluctantly said farewell to Lai Man Yao through the lowered window.
"Eh~ Goodbye, my girls, remember to come to the countryside again!"
"Grandma, next time I’ll bring you chocolate!"
"Grandma, goodbye!"
The taxi slowly started, and the figures of the grandfather, grandmother, and uncle quickly shrank to a point, until they could no longer be seen.
The five turned their heads back and lazily leaned on each other.
"Brother Qing Fan, give this to you, Ningning is so full~" Lin Wanning, her little hands patting her round belly, tilted her head and passed half-eaten sweet potato to Xu Qingfan.
"Wipe your mouth, it’s all gray and dirty!" He took the sweet potato Lin Wanning handed over and pulled out a half piece of tissue from his pocket, laughing while wiping her face.
"Here you go!" Xia Xiao Xiao, following the example, also passed her leftover sweet potato to him.
"I’m not a scrap-eater, don’t give me everything you can’t finish!" He quickly finished the small piece of sweet potato in his hand and threw the skin out the window.
"Brother Qing Fan, you’re littering!" Xiao Ruawen weakly chided.
"Stop talking nonsense, there are fields on both sides of the road, and what I’m throwing isn’t plastic. This is called ’fallen blossoms are not heartless things,’" Xu Qingfan said as he ate the half sweet potato left by Xia Xiaoxiao.
"What does ’fallen blossoms are not heartless things’ mean?" Xia Xiaoxiao thought hard for a moment, confirmed she hadn’t seen it in her textbooks, and questioned Xu Qingfan.
Xu Qingfan paused, remembering that he probably hadn’t studied that poem until junior high, and explained with a smile, "The full phrase is ’fallen blossoms are not heartless things; they turn into spring mud to protect flowers,’ meaning that just because flowers fall to the ground doesn’t mean they are useless. They become the mud in spring and continue to nurture new flowers."
"How can flowers turn into mud, Brother Qing Fan, you’re trying to trick us again." Lin Wanning, drowsy, leaned against Xu Qingfan’s shoulder and murmured in retort.
"Why flowers turn into mud, the reason flowers turn to mud is because..." Xu Qingfan elaborated for several minutes from both biological and chemical perspectives, "Understand?"
He turned his head to look at the four little ones, only to find that they had fallen asleep at some point.
Xu Qingfan smiled softly and then closed his eyes as well.
...
"Wake up, we’re home!"
After an indeterminate amount of time, Xu Qingfan felt someone patting his face.
His eyes were blurry as he opened them, and the inside of the car was dark; outside, the sky had long since turned black.
"Are we there, where’s Wanning and the others?" he asked Xia Xiaoxiao next to him, yawning wearily and stretching languidly.
"They got off early, you were sleeping like a dead pig!" Xia Xiaoxiao disparagingly pushed away Xu Qingfan’s hand that was resting on her shoulder and showed him the damp spot it had left.
However, she soon realized she was wasting her effort; it was pitch black inside the car, Xu Qingfan couldn’t see anything.
"Did we stop? What time is it now?" Xu Qingfan patted his somewhat numb thighs and asked.
"It’s almost eight o’clock, are you hungry? Shall I cook some noodles for you when we get home?"
"Not hungry, I’m stuffed."
"Good, if you’re not hungry, you can watch the store for me; Lingyu has been there all day!"
Xu Qingfan: ...
"What were you guys doing?" he asked.
"You all had roast chicken and sweet potatoes, your mom hasn’t eaten yet. Stay in the store properly; I’ll come over after I’ve eaten at home!" Yao Jinping turned around and gave Xu Qingfan a chestnut.
"Oh oh, is Xiao Xiao coming too?"
Xia Xiaoxiao pursed her lips, thought for a moment as she had nothing to do at home, and then agreed, "Oh."
He remembered a joke from his past life and blurted out, "No."
"What did you say?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"I said you look really pretty today!" he said with a chuckle, patting the little girl’s head, "Let’s have dad drop us off ahead, so you don’t have to go out of your way!"
"Grab some lychees from the trunk for your Aunt Wu!" Yao Jinping reminded.
"Got it."
After getting off at Li City Experimental Primary School, where they had studied in a previous life, they held hands and watched the car drive away.
Looking at the school where they had spent six years living and studying, Xu Qingfan suddenly felt nostalgic, "Let me ask you a question." The two of them, hand in hand, strolled on the sidewalk flanked by hardware stores. Xu Qingfan suddenly spoke.
"Ask," Xia Xiaoxiao answered as straightforwardly as always.
"If I hadn’t passed the entrance exam to Experimental Primary School last year, would you still have gone to study there?"
"How could you possibly not pass the entrance exam to Experimental Primary School!" Xia Xiaoxiao turned her head to glance at him.
"Just suppose, if I hadn’t passed the exam last year and then attended Li City No. 3 Primary instead, which school would you have gone to?"
Xia Xiaoxiao lowered her head and thought for a long time, "Where to go to school is mom’s decision; I don’t have a say!"
Xu Qingfan suddenly laughed in relief, "Okay, forget I asked."
"Weird and whimsical!"
"Strength and spirits!"
Xia Xiaoxiao turned her head and gave him a look, adding, "Divine Skills!"
"Great wisdom may appear stupid!" Xu Qingfan grinned triumphantly.
"So foolish!" he continued when the little girl didn’t catch on.
"Enjoy... Enjoy yourself while you can!" Xia Xiaoxiao retorted, not willing to give up.
"Unconcerned with the world!"
"Sich... Sich... I can’t think of anything!" Xia Xiaoxiao pouted in frustration.
"You can’t even think of that? It’s quite simple. I’ll teach you one!"
"What?"
"Sich Sich my duck!"
"There’s no ’Sich Sich my duck,’ it’s completely nonsensical!" Xia Xiaoxiao tilted her head, her face twisting with disdain.
"Brilliance breeds brilliance!"
"You keep going!!!"
"A long future lies ahead!"
"Xu Qingfan, are you not bored?"
"Better to chat than nothing!"
Xia Xiaoxiao: ...
The little girl completely turned off her mic.
"Speak, Xiaoxiao, why aren’t you saying anything?" Xu Qingfan turned around and skipped back and forth in front of Xia Xiaoxiao.
The little girl turned her head away, too lazy to deal with her neurotic childhood friend.
"Bam!"
"Damn, Xiaoxiao, why didn’t you warn me." Xu Qingfan complained while holding his head that had bumped into a lamppost.
"Serves you right!" Xia Xiaoxiao wore a smug smile, her lips forming the words without making a sound.
"Asking for it!" He forcefully slapped the little girl’s butt and then took off running.
"Xu Qingfan!!!"
"Mediocraties of the century!" Xu Qingfan shouted back at Xia Xiaoxiao after running seven or eight meters away.
"Xu Qingfan, you’re a dog!" Xia Xiaoxiao chased after him, flushed with embarrassment and annoyance.
Xu Qingfan was momentarily lost for words— he really couldn’t respond to that "are".
"Speak, why aren’t you talking now? Won’t someone not know how to respond to an ’are’!" The little girl shook her body triumphantly.
"Boring." Xu Qingfan replied tit for tat and then grabbed her hand again to resume walking.
Xia Xiaoxiao: ??
[Obviously, you are the boring one, Xu Qingfan, you stinky dog, bad dog, silly dog!!] The little girl fumed inwardly.
When they returned to the store, only Wu Lingyu and Li Mei Juan, the mother and daughter, were sitting inside.
"Auntie, Yu!"
"Hey~ Xiao Fan, Xiaoxiao, you’re back! Was the countryside fun? Have you guys eaten? Auntie will fry some skewers for you!" Li Mei Juan, who was tidying up the shelves, popped her head out enthusiastically.
"Auntie, we’ve already eaten. We’re here to take over the shift, sorry to trouble you," Xu Qingfan walked over to the cash register and said with a smile.
Wu Lingyu, who was sitting at the cash register writing ’Happy Summer Vacation,’ shyly nodded at them, "Have a seat." She stood up and addressed them both.
"Brought these for you—lychees, longans, and passion fruits, all handpicked by us." Xu Qingfan grabbed Wu Lingyu’s hand and smiled as he hung the plastic bag in her hand.
"Thank you..." The little girl looked at him gratefully.
"What’s there to thank for? If you truly want to thank me, just lend me your completed ’Happy Summer Vacation’ to copy. Don’t be like Xiaoxiao, who doesn’t let me copy!"
"Hmph, if you dare to copy homework, I’m telling Auntie. She mentioned the family’s feather duster hasn’t been changed in a long while!" Xia Xiaoxiao angrily pinched his flesh.
"Ouch~ You’re killing me!"
"Sorry... Sorry... Brother Fan, you better write it yourself, copying homework isn’t good!" Wu Lingyu mustered her courage to refuse.
"Right, Xiao Fan, students really shouldn’t copy homework, you know. I’ve heard that the first grade’s summer vacation is the scariest, you shouldn’t take it lightly," Li Mei Juan added after hearing their conversation.
"Pfft~"
He suddenly remembered seeing in his past life that each grade’s summer was the scariest, blah blah blah, and then they would try to sell you their summer course. It seems this gimmick was already popular back in 2003.
"Got it, Auntie, I’ll definitely do my homework diligently. You shouldn’t busy yourself; come eat some fruits. They are just plucked from the tree, very fresh!"
"Alright~ Thank you!"
"No need to be polite!" He picked up Wu Lingyu’s ’Happy Summer Vacation’ book and surprise struck him, "Wow, you’ve already completed three quarters of it, how could you write so quickly? The vacation just started a few days ago!"
"After finishing this, I still have to do the math Olympiad problems the teacher distributed. I’m not as smart as you guys; I need a long time to think about those..."
"The teacher distributed math Olympiad problems?" Xu Qingfan looked at Xia Xiaoxiao, perplexed.
"Hmph, your copy is in my room! The teacher said we’re going to participate in the city’s math Olympiad next term, and we should complete it well!" Xia Xiaoxiao pounded Xu Qingfan frustratingly.
It seemed there really was such a matter. Xu Qingfan smiled slyly, "Lingyu and I have a little secret to discuss!"
He opened the door to the storage room behind the cash register, pulled Wu Lingyu in, and locked the door.
"What’s the big deal!" Xia Xiaoxiao fiercely bared her teeth at the closed door.
"Look, how about we make a deal? You help me with ’Happy Summer Vacation’ and I’ll help you with the math Olympiad problems!" He cornered Wu Lingyu against the door, smiling as he spoke.
"Lingyu, you don’t want to be the tail ender in the city math Olympiad, do you?"
"But... but..." Wu Lingyu stuttered.
"What’s this ’but?’ Just tell me, is there a question in ’Happy Summer Vacation’ that I can’t solve?"
"There...there shouldn’t be..." Wu Lingyu thought of how Xu Qingfan often came up with answers faster than the teacher during math Olympiad tutoring, her answer hesitant.
"Then that settles it. It’s a win-win. I’ll give you ’Happy Summer Vacation’ tomorrow!" Xu Qingfan cheerfully patted Wu Lingyu’s head.
"Alright... alright..."
